Merry Christmas!

This years Christmas tree - an all plastic Walmart tree. The kids decorated it with ornaments in all kinds of colors and the more it shimmered and shined the better it was.

We are heading south and I really wanted to show you our Christmas card jingle we made - Rocking all the way to the beach, but the link will not work on here for some reason, so all you, who are Facebook friends with me can view the link on there instead.

We have been watching the news back home about the real winter you have. I know it is tough with all delays in traffic, shoveling snow to get the car out, or just bundle up so much to be able to spend a while out in the cold air. Well, in Alabama, that kind of weather would probably kill people, so I do not wish it over here, but I do miss the Christmas spirit the snow gives me. The Christmas feeling is far away from me even if I do have a Walmart Christmas tree, lights hanging in the trees outside and our advent star in the window. I guess, for me the snow does it all! Unfortunately, the Christmas spirit will probably be further way when we in a couple of days are setting our course south and getting into our car for a 14 hour road trip to the Southern most tip of the USA - The Florida Keys. But at least it will be relaxing and hopefully the weather will be warmer. I am not in need of doing dishes or cook for that matter. So, I will have to wait until next years Christmas and I am hoping to see as much snow than as you have this year back home... Many might not agree with me on that, but you don´t know how much you miss snow when you are far away from it and so used to it during some season...

Marry Christmas to all of you!!!

We have done our best in getting into the Christmas spirit, but I cannot say that I have succeeded.

This Christmas it is the Southern most tip of the USA who is waiting for us. It do look nice and I am looking forward to the service and getting relaxed. I am guessing the hotel will have jingle bell playing all over every lobby and pool area, but it is going to feel weird and misplaced for me who are used to winter and dark times during Christmas.

I know the kids will have a blast!!!

Great inspiration got me into a baking frenzy...

The first cinnamon roles we have made since we moved to Alabama - 6 months ago.

I have suddenly got into baking..... Usually it is my husband that stand for any creation in the kitchen. But I found myself more often stand there lately and today I really hit it off - to my husbands big smile... and he made comments... hmmm I should not do this too often... he might get used to it... *smiling*

Anyway, I started of with baking some cinnamon roles (Swedish version) - not as big and not to sweet. At the same time I stared of to do a batch of ebelskivers. Ebelskivers is my new thing - and I love to be able to make both savory foods and desserts. It started when I walked into one of my favorite stores here in the USA. Williams Sonoma - a very high class store with lots of nice things for the kitchen. That is a store I will miss when I go back home. So now we eat even more than we need... ha ha. I guess I just have to work even harder at the gym...

Ebelskivers (danish) here with a mix of salmon, dill, Philadelphia cheese. Served with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Delicious!

These Ebelskivers contain apples and cinnamon. Topped with powdered sugar.. Yummi!

My favorite cookware and my favorite cookbook for the moment.... Can recommend it to all!!

Dinner out has consequences....

The kids favorite restaurant and they do have good burgers but one should not dine here more than once a month....

My husband and I enjoy food. We like to cook at home as much as we also enjoy going out to restaurants. And right now we are in the country where dining out is less expensive than stocking the fridge and cook at home. Of course it is fun to go out when it makes it easy on the household work and finer dining is also very inexpensive compared to home. But it will have consequences.

Montgomery might not have as many of the gourmet restaurants we would like to see, unfortunately. And it is truly lacking of the healthier version of food. It is easier to find burger restaurants where you can choose from twelve different versions of burgers. It has taken us a while and we have probably gone through all the fast food restaurants in the beginning, but we have found restaurants we truly enjoy and it is fun to be able to taste some of the true Southern cooking - even if it is less healthy for you. However, all the dining out have consequences - large portions, lots of fat and sugar, makes us at least, gain lots of weight if we do not watch it.

So, all this dining out has been limited to weekends now and when the kids get their choice we know we are having burgers. I always order kids size on the menu, and they are compared to home the regular size salad/burgers. We have banned fries and there will be no soda, except for special occasion. One day I ordered sushi and was served a Southern version of it - Fried! I don´t even want to know how many calories that contained. Many might say, well you are just away for a year. And that is true, one have to enjoy oneself and taste much of the American food culture. But SORRY! There is too much junk and if I where to eat and try it all, I would probably be about 10 kg heavier before I know it. At least that was what happened when I lived in the States as an exchange student back in 1988. My mom thought I was pregnant when I sent a picture home at Christmas, at the age of 17.

When my mother and sister where visiting us a few weeks back, I was guiding them every where around the neighborhoods, we often dined out for lunch and once for breakfast - just because they would like the experience. The portion we got for breakfast was best suited for a hard physical steel worker or something. I am not kidding if that breakfast contained close to 1000 calories.

I have however, started to work out every day now and I also have a wonderful PT (Shea). No less than an hour of hard work, every day, is what I have to do at the gym, to be able to treat myself a little bit of all the big American portion of junk...

This is a local version of Sushi with salmon and Philadelphia cheese and topped with a spicy sauce. The outside of the rice

was

fried. Fried food is a Southern thing. There is a saying: "if it isn´t fried it is not from Alabama."

Breakfast served at a local restaurant. French Toast with scramble eggs and bacon. Topped with syrup and butter.

I however don´t think we are very much better in Sweden. We do have most junk food restaurants, burgers, pizza and lattes. But I know for a fact that the portions are smaller and home cooking a lot more common. And we do not use the car as often as I do in the US. Here, it is no other way to get around which also means less walking and less physical work.

Fried Green tomatos is a Southern dish. And they taste really good if it made correctly. This, served at one of our favorite restaurants, LaJolla.

A nice lunch is served at LaJolla. What we paid for the lunch (2 dishes with water to drink to) is very inexpensive (10 dollars), and what I like about it is that they do serve smaller portions - but if it is healthier - don´t know.

Crazy weather.... everywhere...

Compared to back home in Sweden where they are dealing with lots of snow, icy and cold weather we are in Alabama dealing with severe weather too, but the most severe once are Tornados and Hurricanes.

Now when the summer has passed us and from what we have experienced it is quite difficult to explain, but I do like the Swedish summers much better compared to the Alabama humid heat. Parts of this summer was awful. We could not be outside at all. When I try to illustrate it for folks back home I said: Turn on the hairdryer, turn it on low speed with heat on. Blow it directly to your face so it almost burns. In your other hand you have a bottle of water which you squirt onto your face so your face stay constantly moist. That is how summer is here from top to toe.

We haven´t seen much rain this summer at all, but when it does rain... it does not drizzle. It is pouring down. No umbrella would like to have to deal with it either. But, what is the most worrying about the weather systems here is the tornado season which runs from April-November. We have been very fortuned to not have had any encounters of Tornados or Hurricanes yet. But the closest call we had this season was the very last day of November and the last day of the tornado season.

This morning there was a lot of moist in the air and it was 22C (73F) outside already at 8 a.m. It started blowing after dropping of our kids at school. It seemed like every body (local people went about their business) and so did I. When I got home I saw my Iphone blinking and I checked it to find issued warnings in our area for tornados. I turned on the TV and followed the news about the warnings. But it seemed cool and I did like everybody else, went about my business and made it to the gym right before the rain came down. Or should I say heaven opened itself and through a bucket of water down on us... The noise of the rain coming down was high and water came flooding through the cracks of the doors and windows...

Apparently there are different stages of tornado warnings but I cannot separate them. However, this particular weather system was just crossing our neck of the hoods, but luckily not in my neighborhood. But in the aftermaths of it, it left traces of so called "touch downs" just a half hour drive from us... And that is close enough for me. Because the devastation these weather storms leave is unbelievable. When the system had passed the temperature had also dropped nearly 12 degrees C and that is just over a couple hours time frame - so this moves fast...

Luckily this touch down was not too bad and severe. So, I guess we were lucky this time and no lives were taken.

We have since we moved here learned how to act when the warnings are issued. If we were at home, we should take shelter inside the house in a room without windows and a room located in the center of the house. If we are outside and encounter a tornado, the recommendation is the leave the car and go lay down in a ditch. If kids are at school we cannot go and pick them up until the tornado has passed. The warning it self of a tornado in your neighborhood is through a laud signal like our military alarm - these signals are tested every third month like they are back in Sweden, but for different causes.

The Weather Channel and all the local channels was reporting about the Tornado warning this day. Here you can see how the warnings are issued from New Orleans in the South to Huntsville in Northern Alabama.

The channel also very carefully tells you how to act when a Tornado is spotted. This is of another tornado in our neighboring state Louisiana.

The storm had just passed Montgomery in this picture and moving North.

The news seemed very intense when this weather system appears and it is difficult for someone who has not been in a weather like this to even illustrate how what it can do or what force it has.

There is even a Pink hunting season i Alabama...

I am overwhelmed of all the typs of advertisements that surrounds me every day, but it is fun to read, watch and listen to them, just because they are different from home. And they are tons of them over here, on radio, TV and the big pack of paper ads that arrives every Wednesday in or mailbox.

This time of the year is must be the hunting season in Alabama, at least if I read the ads. Because in them you can buy anything for that season and what amazes me the most is the selection of different guns and fire arms one can get - even in pink if you like it!

What also makes me laugh is the many pink versions there are on things. If there is a sport activity that women participate in there has to be a pink set up of the gear - in any sport.

I who have stared golfing have been to several stores looking at clubs and every sales representative took me immediately to the pink clubs, the pink bag, the pink tees and the pink balls together with the pink clothes I should wear. I hate pink!!! And why should I choose a pink rifle going hunting? It will glow in every environment - there is not very much of kamoflash over the color pink.

But I guess ladies here in Alabama likes pink. And their husbands likes to buy pink stuff to them, according to the sales representative I spoke to when I asked who the buyer is.

First grade and already in pursuit of excellence.

Well, it feels like it when I sit down with my daughter to get her daily homework done. At the beginning of this school year, about 3 months ago, she didn´t know what was waiting her - homework, routines, discipline etc. The routines are important and therefor everyday of the week looks exactly the same. Discipline is also important and they have rules to obey while in school like good behavior, learn to be responsible etc. The school has a high focus on the academics, which in my Swedish world, is a little bit too early when attending first grade. But they argue it is easy to form the students at an early age and it becomes easy for the students later. I guess some parts are good and some parts I just want to take out of the curriculum if I could choose (but that is due to cultural differences).

My daughter starts school approx 8 a.m. and gets out at approx 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. When we get home we have about an hour of homework ahead of us - (for a native it maybe is 20-30 min). I get out the blue folder, sent home with her everyday, where I can find personal notes from the teacher or general information from the school. I can also find a section saying: "Homework to do". I pull it out and it can be anything from two to four or sometimes five different papers that should be done until the very next day. We begin with spelling homework and try to learn how to pronounce and spell the words. They are usually about ten of them. Later in the week a spelling test will be held. We continue with math and we help her prepare herself for an upcoming test later in the week. If she is not too tired at this time I will help her finish whatever work she did not complete before the end of the school day.

This is tough for a girl that cannot even read or write in her own language and now in a very short time needs to learn English, a language she has not heard of or not understood until about now. But I am amazed how fast they learn. It goes fast and I wish I that capacity to learn a new language in one year. She works hard and I am very proud of her!!! It is amazing how flexible they are and trying to their best in any situation.

However, in the beginning it was a struggle and she could not understand why she needed to work when school was over for the day. Today, 3 months later, she has less unfinished work with her home. She tells me what homework she has with her home and there is much less protests when doing her homework and it goes faster to complete them every day. We are progressing and she is growing amazingly fast of learning it all - A Pursuit of Excellence I guess...

Inside the blue folder I have sections to look at. This blue section with a zipper I send personal and important messages the teacher needs to know about.

Every Monday I get a letter of what homework needs to be done thought out the week. I also get all the homework in math and spelling in this section. That needs to be returned the very next day.
When the homework is done I put this in the "completed" section so the teachers knows it has been done. I also sign the homework before sending it back.

Routine, routine is very important and I agree. This is the morning routine for my daughter.

Some of the homework that arrives home. Some are more difficult than others....

This is a picture of the car pool line I am lined up in while waiting the school to dismiss. I am at the end of the line and I probably have 20+ some cars in front of me. I don´t walk in to get her - I line up with my car and she is released as I pull up and where I will be identified as the right person.

Sunshine, warm weather, shorts and sandals and Christmas approaching...

In Southern USA where it is still warm and the sun is shining (today and most days) it is difficult to get into the feel of Christmas and the Swedish holiday season starting in two weeks - the first of advent.

One cannot avoid what season of the year we are approaching - any store you walk into displays their latest Christmas decoration and are getting ready for the big Christmas shopping spree.

However, walking around in the store in shorts and sandals does not get me in the right mood quite yet! But I am trying to get into the feel of it and together with my mother we walk through department stores to interior design stores where Christmas and winter country now rules...

So here I am walking around in shorts and sandals and trying to portrait an American Christmas tree and the decoration I should get this year. And what is the best looking tree in our Swedish tiny apartment back home? I must say that Americans do have lots of space since many of them have these huge trees. Some of the trees below will actually take up a majority portion of our living room space in our apartment down town Stockholm.

I also must give the American Christmas trees and their decorators some applauds because the trees they look fabulous and inspirational (even if they are plastic). But I am also amazed on how much stuff actually can fit in one tree. Below you see a great collection of American Christmas trees from a nearby Interior design store.

Should I have this one... Absolutely stunning but lots of decoration in it. I could hardly see the tree..

Or should I go with the more winter like...
Our the maybe city like tree... look like the three outside the shopping centers.
Or should I go with the traditional American Christmas tree with lots of bows...

Christmas tree at Target... what size do I need?

This is a Christmas outdoor decoration. I am guessing the southern version....

Elvis and Graceland...

These passed two weeks I have had my mother visiting us in Alabama and we have had great fun together. She had only one thing on her wish list while visiting and that was a visit to Graceland and to see where Elvis lived - the pop star of her time. Since it's only a 5 hour drive, one way, from Montgomery it would be an easy trip to make especially when it is a clear free way all they way through Alabama, parts of Mississippi and into Tennessee.

I never thought in my life I would visit Graceland - the home of Elvis and nor did my mother. But we got there and wow... I must say I am impressed by everything. I whom is not an Elvis fan will not understand, but seeing his house and get a glimpse of what his life was, I can understand that he is a true legend of his time.. and will be so for a very long time. I also found out that he has been until now the most sold dead artist in the world. Michael Jackson beat him this year. Elvis Presley´s house Graceland is also the second most visited house in the country after the White House.

We stayed at the Heart Break Hotel in Memphis, just a few steps away from Graceland itself. At first I felt the whole environment kind of cheesy. You could see recorded and televised concerts of him, his name and picture on tons of things one can only imagine. I guess, its all business, and for a non-fan it seemed absurd. But I found that his fans thrive in it.

Graceland itself was awesome. WOW. He bought the house back in late 50's for a 100 000 dollars. Its not a big house compared to today´s measures and everything inside and outside has kept the same since his death in August of 1977. The cool jungle room, or the billiard room which was covered with the same fabric from the floor to the roof. The sofa in the same fabric blended well in.....

The graves of the Presley family was some what very emotional. Some fans were quiet, other talked with him, some had clearly emotional breakouts and others had to sit down because they cried too much. I never thought a pop star could have such an impact on his fans still today, more than 30 years after his death.

If you pass Memphis you need to see Graceland, even if you are not a fan.

This is an early photo of Elvis and his mother and father. Born in Mississippi in 1935. His round cheeks is because he had his mouth full of peanuts...

This car he gave to his mother - and as I understand it she was very special to him. He had several very nice cars in his collection but this is the only pink car.

The Presley family graves. Graceland receives flowers daily from fans all over the world, to put on his grave...

Not so flattering photo of him.

Impressive collections of awards, prices, etc... This used to be his racquetball court.

This is the famous jungle room. Scary if you would find a house on the market looking like this today, but I guess, Elvis was a little cutting edge of his time. But he had the money too..

OK. The billard room. Totally covered with the same fabric from wall to wall and roof. Including the sofa. The room gives you a wired feeling and it becomes narrow.. Don´t ask me but there got to be several 100 meters of fabric in this room.

Anythings you can print on you can find Elvis on it - starting with candy for kids...

A fury phone....
Elvis in his best looking years according to my mom... She had this portrait of him above her bed. She slept good that night.....

The Real House Wife - A Fabulous Doer and The Ultimate Organizer

There has been several season with house wife reality shows in Sweden and I am sure in the USA too (I seldom watch any TV over here) . These shows have had its share of viewers who either just envies the house wives or just hate them and don´t like their behavior on television.

Now, I have realized that I will be wearing the title "house wife" myself - for a year. But the big difference between myself and the real rich house wives, is that I am not married to a rich husband and we are not close to as wealthy or glamorous as those exposed on television. But I must say my days do look a little bit a like theirs.. LOL.

I work out at the gym, almost every day, and I have stared to golf. I eat lunch with my friends - almost every day! And I shop everything from make up, clothes, shoes, house decoration, I run to the hairdresser, and I do manicure and pedicure every other week. I am on line where ever I go, with iphone and soon an ipad. I do dinner out with girlfriends and we do what the reality wives do on televisions too - gossip!

But then there is a different side of a house wife too. Maybe more for me than the reality show house wives with lots of money. I do clean my house by myself, I do all grocery shopping, I cook dinners, I do laundry, I spend 3 hours in the car every day picking up and dropping of kids at school and activities every day. I volunteer, I help out at school and daycare. I plan dinner parties, I plan vacations, I deal with banks, insurance people, the gardner and the pool people. I spend hours trying to fix printers and non-functioning high-tech stuff.. I deal with every single problem that arrises. - NOT that glamorous! Rather tiering to tell the truth.

When this year has passed and I will be putting my House Wife title away, I am planning to translate it and add it onto my CV as the greatest Event planner and the most fabulous ultimate organizer.

I have this year become constantly creative and when a problem occurs it will always be solved no matter what, and if required also communicated in a different language (thank you google translator). I know how to handle small children who are acting up and still keep a perfectly normal conversation with an adult. Within a very short time frame I can be prepared for any event at any time. I can see the broad perspective on things and I am also the most perfect organizer - by the minute. My line of work also requires constant muli-tasking knowledge. I am a very flexible person since my every day schedule some how always change. I am also used to long work hours - usually between 0630 - midnight.

Through my everyday interaction with people from the friend level to the higher end, I have become very knowledgeable in the field of human behavior and I read people easily. Being able to interact with different people I have also become quite the diplomate and with my extensive network of friends from all over the world I can easily access information that would be hard to come by if you are not a native... .....WOW! All this, every day and always looking fabulous! *smiling*

SPOOKY Halloween approaching!

Halloween is approaching fast - an American tradition held high in the USA. Even us Swedes are more and more adapting this commercial event that it is in the US. The decoration, the parties, the costumes and the trick or treat hunt for candy.

But as all commercial events there is plenty of business around it and fun to watch and enjoy. This pumpkin patch happened this Friday night. The kids had a great opportunity of great fun with horseback riding, and jumping castles. The last event of the evening was to go on a tractor with wagon out into the woods on a trail decorated with spooky ghosts, spider, cats and other carractors associated with Halloween. The kids were exited and at the end of the trail we reached the bon fires and hot dogs and marshmallows. Unfortunately, the evening turn soon pitch black and non of us, the kids or I, enjoyed standing there on a field in the woods having no other light source than the small bon fires and the stars up high in the sky. We all wanted to go home at that point!

Decorating with pumpkins are important and one can find pumpkins in most stores to decorate. We did it last year home in Sweden and I think they turned out pretty good. Now when we are in the original country of true pumpkin carving we plan to become professional at it.

The kids and I do look forward to the trick or treat event on October 31st. And since we have our grandmother visiting we are planning to engage her to dress up in a costume too and come out and trick or treat with us. The whole family accept for husband has chosen the costume and we are every thing from witches to pirates to death... I had a suggestion for my husband but he has not really responded to it yet... hmm wonder why?!

It is fun to go shopping for these costumes, my god, there are more than plenty to choose from. Our costume store Buttricks in Sweden stand quite small in comparison.

This is the first time our kids will experience the complete Halloween tradition as it is celebrated. And I think our kids will like it a lot. Especially the hunt for candy (trick or treat part)... and lots of candy too (like we need more of it). I can already now see how the Americans stack up with KILO bags of candy when shopping. I have decided to wait for the purchase of the candy until the last minute otherwise there will be a high risk of us eating of it before the actual trick or treaters will nock on our door. But the "100 dollar store" - Costco, will have plenty to offer us consumers and get prepared for this last day of October.