Spring is ever so slowly springing

Spring is coming quite slowly to Sweden this year.  It's already April 14th and yet we've only had a couple of days reaching up towards 8 or 9C (upper 40s F).  We have had plenty of sun lately, though, for which I have been very thankful.  At night, though, the temperatures keep dropping back down below freezing.  Just on Friday it was actually sleeting during my bike ride to work.  It wasn't pleasant, as sleet in the face on a bike going downhill is rather painful!  It had snowed over night, as well.  Luckily, it rained throughout the day and melted the little bit of snow that had accumulated.  I suppose with all this chatter about the current weather what I'm really trying to say is that I'm ready for spring!  It's mid-April already, let's go Sweden, get with it!

In any case, I took a couple of shots yesterday when I first saw these lovely little snödroppar (snow drops) in our back yard.  They are usually taken as the first sign of spring, as they are the first flowers that usually pop up out of the spring snows, hence the name.

I was so excited to see them I whipped out my phone and ran over to crouch and snap these shots.  J simply continued to enter into our building without waiting upon me.  Alas, he's not so delighted with nature and signs of different seasons as I am.

Speaking of J, this past week he officially accepted a new job!  He will be working at Göteborgs Universitet (Gothenburg University) in their library as a production engineer.  Engineer, library?  I know it sounds odd, but they need help converting their entire library into a digital one.  We're so excited!  I think the job fits his profile quite well and that he'll be quite happy in his new roll.

In other good news, we also finally booked our honeymoon trip this past week!  I know, I know, we got married last September, how have we not even planned or taken a honeymoon 'til now?  I guess it just hasn't been very possible, we've been busy bees working.  We did at least go on a short Pisa, Italy weekend trip back in October.  This time, though, we'll be spending a lovely week in Cyprus in mid-August.  This is the first time I've ever booked a "fancy" hotel and I am super excited!  It's also an adult hotel, that is, the age limit is at 16 years of age.  No one younger is allowed on the premises.  I wanted this kind of peaceful and relaxing environment for our honeymoon.  I am usually the advocate of saving a buck and going with more budget options and not minding children running around, but this is our honeymoon after all!  I figure for once in our life we could indulge a bit. I've always wanted to go to the Mediterranean, as well, so to put it simply, I'm excited and very much looking forward to August.

February, March and into April...

Lots has happened since my last post.  For the first two weeks in March I went home to the US.  It was a bunch of fun!  I'm sure I will post more about it later, but I just felt the urge to write a small little interlude post so that you all (if there are any of you left anymore =) know that I'm still alive and kicking!

February was not very eventful.  For Valentine's Day, J and I decided to cook a nice homemade meal to celebrate the occasion.  We don't really buy into all of that consumerism with needing to buy gifts for each other and little boxes of candy shaped like hearts.  But it is always nice to celebrate the person you love and have a special evening.  We decided to actually buy some steaks (those never appear in this household, way too expensive to eat on a regular basis!), and we also had hasselbackspotatis and green beans with red wine sauce with it.  Mmm!  I also made vanilla panna cotta and we had some nice red wine with it.  Nice!

Then came my two week trip to Ohio!  It was really great to get out of  Sweden and the work work work with mail work work work mode.  I was really beginning to feel run down in my body (i.e. physically), so that trip couldn't have come at a better time.  In a nutshell (to be extended later), it was lovely to see family and friends.  It was just me this time, J needed to stay here and keep working.  The good thing about going alone is you really can focus all of your time and energy on friends and family.  Two weeks is never long enough (I usually travel 3 weeks, but now that I work pretty much full time, that wasn't possible).  But this time around I really ended up missing the States and Ohio.  For the first time I was actually sad to come back to Sweden (although of course looking very much forward to seeing the husband again).  I usually get my fill and then come back, but something stuck this time around.  I have it as a goal to work on moving back, even if that process takes several years.  We shall see!  The story is never over.  I also don't think I am done with Sweden, either, but there is always a pull in the other direction.  That's simply a choice I've made and I've got to deal with it!  You never know what life may throw you.  =)

So for the past couple of weeks I've just been back at the grinding stone with work.  Luckily the weather has been rather cooperative (that is, sunny!).  There has been a good deal of cold, but this week it's been nearly up to 50F/9C so far!  This past weekend was Easter, meaning that it was a 4 day weekend here in Sweden. We get Friday and Monday off.  J and I went "home" to Tibro and visited with friends and family all weekend.  We even went to a new show at his brother's place in Hjo, and then Sunday evening we spent the evening/night at my good friend M's place.  It was just a lovely, getaway weekend socializing with the family and old friends from the Skaraborg district.  Here are a couple of pictures to leave you with of the beautiful view his brother now has from his newly acquired waterside restaurant in Hjo!

PUT!

Woohoo! On Friday I finally received in the mail the decision that I am being granted a permanent residency permit (PUT - Permanentuppehållstillstånd)! All I need to do is go into the local Migrationsverket (Immigration) office and have my fingerprints and photo taken. I knew of this previously but still find it a bit strange that they want such information. I understand such action when someone is coming to visit your country and then is planning to leave. The US does the same thing for those visiting. If I'm being granted permanent residency, isn't that a bit over the top? Nonetheless, that is the last step and then they will mail my new residence card in the mail within a week. I've been waiting since the end of September, and it's perfect timing regarding the fact that I'm going to be travelling to the States in less than a month!

 A couple of shots from a street when out on a round earlier this week.

With all the fog and frost it felt a bit like a fairy tale land on this quiet street.

Cold but beautiful

It was quite cold this week, and as an outdoor worker I noticed it especially.  The temperatures during the daytime were anywhere from -10C(14F) to -6C(21F).  It did cause some beautiful scenery, though.  One or two days were sunny this week and I truly enjoyed it!  I took a couple of shots while out on my rounds this week.

Ice crystals formed on a house's mailbox. All of the mailboxes in the area actually had these on them. They were at least a centimeter or two in height.

All the bushes were covered in thick frost. I rather enjoy spending my time outside for so many hours in the week. It makes me feel fresh and healthy. But I also get to enjoy the beauty that the outdoors has to offer, even in freezing cold temperatures. All you have to do is make sure you're dressed in several layers! People ask me all the time in wonderment how I'm not freezing. You go try running up and down three flights of stairs every minute or two and see if you feel cold, especially if you have two pairs of pants on and three layers on top. =)

Just January

Just January has been happening.  The holidays are over and everyone goes back to the daily grind.  So it has been for J and I.

My vikariat (sub) position started this Monday.  It's nice to know that until March 1st I'm working every day, full time.  It also gives you a slightly different mindset because you're scheduled for certain times.  As a timvikarie (hourly sub) you generally come in at a certain time and finish when you're finished with the day's work.  This week I work from 7am to 3:30pm, so it's kind of nice having that end time to aim for regarding picking up the pace and trying to keep myself a bit faster when out on my routes.  It's also become a good, dare I say fun, challenge to really try and improve my times for how long it takes me to do the routes.  Even if there is a lot of mail or very little, the times don't vary too much since you still have the entire route to do.  It's just that you might have to run inside of Long Street 16B and deliver one letter on the third floor instead of several pieces of mail to each apartment on each floor.

A good piece of news, and I can't recall how much I've mentioned it in the past on here, or if at all (and I don't feel like looking up my old posts), is that I've lost a nice amount of weight since beginning this mail delivery gig!  As I don't want to go around blabbing about actual numbers, I will just say that so far I have lost 8kg, which is about 17 pounds!  I'm back down to a weight that I haven't been since my late teens.  No, that isn't all that long ago but still!  It's quite a handful of years.  =)  So hooray, I've been patting myself on the back for that accomplishment.

Something else that I have to look forward to other than working a lot, making money, and improving my overall health and condition...I'm going to visit the US in March!  The day after my sub position ends I'm going to be flying back home for the first 2 weeks of March.  Yaaay!!  I'm quite excited as I've been wanting to go home for several months now, but just haven't been able to make that call.  The initial problem is, and always is, money.  It's not cheap to hop across the pond (I take 3 flights, and this time it ended up costing about 5500kr, which isn't too bad compared to summer prices).  The second and larger problem this time around is that my residence permit expired in mid-October.  I reapplied for a permanent residence permit in mid-late September, and I still have not been given a decision.  It's recommended that you don't leave Sweden while they are processing your new permit because you can have trouble coming back into the country on your return trip.  Last week I simply got tired of waiting to hear from Migrationsverket (Immigration) and decided to buy a ticket as I had the money and have been wanting to go home for a while.  The last time I was home was for Christmas 2011, so it's about time!  The good news is that I received a letter and small questionnaire in the mail last week from Migrationsverket saying that if we (J and I) just fill out the questions, sign and return the form, they can make a decision based on that.  Basically it was saying they didn't want/see/feel the need to interview us in order to make a decision on whether I get to stay here permanently or not.  Seeing as how J and I are now married, I don't think there will be a problem!  My fingers are crossed that sometime in the next couple of weeks I will finally receive a decision and my new residence permit card.

God Jul och Gott Nytt År!

...or Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  I do apologize for taking so long to post.  I figured the last time I posted was December 9th, and with today being January 8th I'd better post before it officially was a month since I last posted.

What all has happened?  Well I didn't post anymore in December because life simply got too busy!  We were super short handed at work (remember, I work for Bring Citymail) so I was working full time and even some overtime up through the 21st of December.  I have no complaints - as stated before, I still love my job!  I'll be extra happy next week when I receive my paycheck for the month.  I believe it'll be my best one yet.  The only bad thing about my job is that it isn't actually a full time job, I'm just a sub, I guess you could call it. I work hourly, and only when they need someone.  Lately, they have needed me pretty much every day.  What's more, I have good news!  Starting later this month and going through until the 1st of March I have a vikariat, or substitute, position for someone who will be gone.  That means I basically replace them in their full time duties.  I will receive, gasp, an actual month's salary for the first time since moving to Sweden.  I've been making money for quite some time now, but I've never been paid a month's salary.  The downside: it ends on March 1st and so I will go back to my normal position of just being an hourly sub.  Oh well, let's hope more substitute positions show up in my future.

For Christmas J and I headed out to Tibro to stay with his parents for a few days.  J's sister and her family stayed the same amount of time we did. So it was a nice, relaxing few days of just family time.  What is even better, we had a super white Christmas!  It snowed on the 23rd just after we arrived, and then again I think on the night of the 24th it snowed again.  It was great!  It started melting on the drive back home on the 26th so it all worked out perfectly.  I'm sad to report that I didn't take any pictures over Christmas.  I know, for shame, for shame.  We did all the Swedish Christmasy stuff though like decorating the tree on the evening of the 23rd.  Then on the 24th we got up and had a nice breakfast, ate a giant julbord around 2pm and finished eating just in time to sit down with the kids and watch Kalle Anka (that's Donald Duck) at 3pm.  They play a mix and match of really old Disney clips, several including Donald Duck.  It's national tradition here in Sweden for the country to sit down and watch it at 3pm.  After that Jultomten (or Santa Claus) came by and handed out a bunch of gifts.  Then later we had leftovers from the julbord and of course risgröt (or rice porridge) with cinnamon.  It's a Christmas classic here.

This year, instead of all the adults getting gifts for everyone, we decided to play a swap game instead.  Each person bought a gift, wrapped it, and kept it secret from everyone else as to what it was.  Everyone got assigned a random number, opened his/her gift and then the game ensued.  To make a long story short we played a swapping game based on the roll of a die and I think everyone ended up happy!  There were 8 of us so it wasn't chaotic.  I ended up with an ice cream maker machine (which I actually bought, as well as J's mom and sister! So there were 3 overall).  I didn't end up with my own machine though, so there was that.  J and I have already made 2 batches of chocolate ice cream and it is sooo good!  I doubt I'll buy ice cream anytime soon as it is so incredibly simple to make and far more delicious than store bought.  As for J's gift, he received some nice crystal long drink glasses.  He gladly used them for the first time on New Year's Eve.

Speaking of NYE, my good friend M and her man were in Gothenburg for the holidays so we decided that we would have the 2 of them over that evening for some nice appetizers (turned out to be a mealsworth) and some fun games.  It was a blast!  They printed out their own version of Cards Against Humanity and it was so incredibly fun to play.  We did not stop laughing the entire probably 2 hours that we played it.  My face hurt from smiling and laughing by the end of it.  I definitely recommend it as a party game for adults!  We ended the night by meeting up with a couple of Swedish friends at the Hard Rock Cafe downtown.  The one thing that bummed me out that night was that the cafe didn't have a countdown!  Either that, or somehow we missed it.  There are several levels at this one, but most were closed so we were in the most populated area. Maybe Hard Rock figured they were too cool to have a silly countdown.  In any case, the evening was a blast, and it was great to see some good friends.

And here we are!  I worked 3 days last week and am working again this week, so it's back to the grindstone for me.  J technically has off from December 21st to January 14th since he had a lot of vacation days to take out.  He has, however, worked here and there since he is so needed at his job.  Tomorrow he is even going to a meeting.  I keep booing the fact that he's working when he should be on vacation, but only because he truly works so hard all the time.

I'll try to write more often, that will be my blogly (made up, yes I know) New Year's resolution.  Write more often!

Another photo post

As requested by a previous comment, I've taken some more photos.  The first one right below was taken downtown while J and I were out running some errands yesterday.  Talk about insane amounts of people out Christmas shopping.  Anyway, this is a hotel that was very neatly decorated.  I just had to get a shot of it.

The picture below is my lovely kitchen window.  I see the most "happenings" from this vantage point in our apartment.  The shot below it is if I go up to the window and look out to the left a bit.  Our building is angled that way towards the street so it's pretty difficult to see the other way up the street.

Below is if I look straight out our kitchen window.

The view below is out of one of our living room windows.

Looking the other direction from the window next to it (they both sit in the corner of the room, so one facing one direction and the other facing 90degrees in the other direction).

So these last 3 shots are like starting from left and going right when using the 2 windows.  This last shot is our "backyard".  The little deck there is for everyone in the building to use.  There are only 8 apartments I think, it's a small building, kind of like the one across the way there.

I apologize for the crappy quality of the shots - I used my new phone.  I wanted to test out the camera, but it seems you have to spend the insane amounts of money to get a decent camera equipped on a phone.  I have the brand new Samsung Galaxy SIII mini.  It was just released a couple of weeks ago from Samsung and is amazingly fast and I do love its performance.  However, it does only have a 5 megapixel camera.