Have you ever hear a song for the millionth time and suddenly hear a completely new meaning for it? That happened to me the other day while listening to Keane’s “Can’t Stop Now”. How do the guys from Keane know how to write about how it feels to be a new mom and completely disconnected from the real world? It feels like there’s no time to be there for others right now and that adds a whole other dimension to the motherly guilt I am becoming well acquainted with. Of course, I will share the lyrics and a video from YouTube.

Can’t Stop Now
I noticed tonight
That the world has been turning
While I’ve been stood here dithering around
Though I know I said I’d wait around till you need me,
But I have to go
I hate to let you down

The motion keeps my heart running

In other news, still anxiously awaiting my new laptop that should arrive tomorrow (at the latest!). I can’t wait to get it so I can start vlogging with the isight camera!

• I take care the baby during the nights on weeknights, while Erik gets more uninterrupted sleep in the guest room. I’m getting better at feeding her without waking up completely unless she has belly pain. So, I get just as excited for Fridays (when Erik takes over) as someone who is working. TGIF!!
• Speaking of TGIF, I can’t wait to go for lunch tomorrow to celebrate with a certain special birthday girl!
• Just watched the movie “Stepbrothers”. It was hilarious, classic Will Ferrell kind of comedy. “Your voice is a mix between Fergie and Jesus”. haha! (Goulet!)
• It looks like I might be going to the Keane concert alone. I don’t mind at all, I’ll just stand away from the crowd so I can see. I really don’t like going to see concerts at the “Annex”! It’s definitely not short person-friendly! I haven’t made up my mind completely, but I really want to see them live! I think Erik would come with me but getting a sitter two weeks in a row doesn’t seem like a possibility.
• Has anyone else heard that they’re thinking of building a WalMart in Sundsvall (a city far (far) north of Stockholm)? I wouldn’t mind seeing this happen if they do it correctly. I’m hoping Starbucks will shortly follow, but I’m not holding my breath.
• The other thing that I’ve heard rumours about lately is that Ben & Jerry’s is thinking about starting a line of ice cream made from breast milk. Don’t get me wrong, breast milk is a very natural product, but I think I would like to know whose bodily fluids I will be eating. I don’t think I would even eat it if I knew the contributor personally.

Sorry, I can’t help myself…

I need to whip this blog into shape! There’s so much that I can update about, but I always think that I need to make a big production, then I drop it. I need a way to post the smaller bits of informatoin and keep myself on some sort of schedule. I was thinking of having days like “YouTube Tuesday” (posting interesting or favourite videos or even our own home movies) and “Thursday Thoughts” (a rundown of things that happened during the week that don’t really need a whole post of their own). That way I can keep things going around here.

I finally took the plunge and bought a MacBook. My old Dell got me through the last 4 years but its screen died on me about a month and a half ago. I held out long enough to see the new lines of the MacBook and the MacBook Pros be released. I’m glad I waited because they are gorgeous and just what I was waiting for. I heard that they will be introducing the 17″ in a few months but I just can’t wait that long, so I bought the 15.4″ one. Not too shabby.

Even though it’s not Tuesday, here is a video of a commercial that is regularly (read:obsessively) quoted around here. It’s funny that a good friend of mine is now working for the company, I totally forgot that it was a Berlitz commercial.

We almost missed the Coldplay concert last week because of Adrienne’s sore tummy. It has been getting better over the last few weeks, but decided to make its comeback on the night of the concert. Erik’s dad was there, but we couldn’t leave him alone with her since her screaming reached her “end of the world” cry.

Erik drove me to the concert and headed straight back home to check on her, thankfully she had calmed down enough for him to come back and catch some of the concert. Since he took me straight there, I only missed the first song. Not bad, although it was “Violet Hill”. He got there just in time to see the band a few feet away from him when they ran up and played to the back of the stadium. We didn’t have seats together, I was a section closer to the stage. Normally, this would have been a good thing. I knew Coldplay would do something special, I just didn’t know what. There were so many people taping that performance I was sure I would find it on YouTube. Look how close this person was!:

Here’s another person’s view (a little further away). They even recorded Chris talking to the audience before they started playing. He was jokingly telling people not to take pictures of them from such a bad angle!

One of my other favourite parts of the concert was when they all gathered on one of the stage “arms” that jetted out into the audience:

I have to say that the audience was pretty lively that night too. Swedish audiences aren’t always the most enthusiastic bunch, but they were that night (and during their last concert too, if I remember correctly). Go Stockholm!

Oh, and Chris Martin shaved his hair! His longer hair was just starting to grow on me (no pun intended!) and now it’s gone! How come everyone cuts their hair before coming to Europe? (Dave Grohl, John Frusciante to name a few!) Of course, he still looked good and was as friendly and inviting as ever!

I’ll definitely be attending more concerts of theirs in the future!

This is what I’ve been doing during nap time lately. I wish I would have ordered the next books in the series a little earlier. They should arrive sometime early next week, but it just doesn’t seem fast enough. Can’t wait to see the movie in November! I can almost taste the popcorn and PB M&Ms now…

With all these doctor visits and all the other wonderful things that this stressful September will bring, there are a few positive things that will give me something to look forward to. One of which is happening mid-way through the month…

I can’t believe it’s been 3 years since I saw them last. They put on such a show that you wish that it could last forever. Last time, Chris Martin ran a lap around the whole stadium. I can’t wait to see what he does this time. I just wish I could go to their concert on the following night too, but it’s been sold out for a while.

Another something that I’m excited about that’s happening at the end of the month is the start of an online scrapbooking course that’s focused on design. Anyone who knows me, knows that I love to take classes and learn by doing. Since it’s a little more difficult for me to go to evening classes right now, this online course is absolutely perfect for me. And, since it’s based out of the states the price is excellent too (even though most would think it’s too expensive!). This twelve week course, is equivalent to three evening classes that I would take at one of the local craft stores here. The instructor is none other than “Simple Scrapbook”’s design guru, Cathy Zielske. I love her style and her sense of humour - it should be fun!

We are experiencing technical difficulties.

The screen of my laptop decided to crash the other day. I am now without a computer of my own and we are back to sharing one. This means that I don’t have access to photoshop where I would edit the photos of my finished craft project. I guess everyone will just have to wait for it. I know, the anticipation is getting intense!

In the meantime, I am using my “time” on Erik’s computer to research potential laptops. I’m leaning towards a mac but a part of me is scared to make the leap from a PC. The more I learn about them, the more I want one. The photo booth and time machine programs have me pretty much sold, but I’ll keep looking just to make sure.

I’m not the only one who is eager to get the new computer. It only took a couple of days of hovering around Erik and kicking him off his computer before he was ready to buy me a new one!

For the first time in a LONG time, Erik and I are having some quiet alone time, and by alone I mean from each other. He’s quietly enjoying one of his computer games and I’m crafting. Yes! Crafting! We’ve been getting better at bedtime around here so that means we have more time to spend on ourselves. Over the past week, we’ve been addicted to old episodes of Arrested Development. We had to “acquire” them after hearing such great things about the series from our friends. It is one of the funniest and well written shows I’ve seen in a long time! I love all the characters, but want to slap them all at the same time! I want to watch more, but with every episode, we get closer to the end of the series. How could they cancel such a great show!?!

My craft project right now is painting a necklace holder that is in the shape of a dress form. I bought it at Panduro (Swedish craft store chain) and decided that it needs to be all black. I might add some extras on it, but I’m not sure yet. If I don’t like how that looks, I can always decoupage some nice funky napkins on it. This is the original holder:

The final product will be revealed at a later date (hopefully tomorrow!). It’s not a complicated project, but it’s so nice to finally have paint on my hands again! My plan is to make some necklaces in the near future and hang them on it.

This part of the site is supposed to be about me, my crafts, my inspiration and my life. Since the baby was born, there has been very little time for just me. I really want to keep this part going even when I have only a few minutes here and there to dedicate to it. So, I was thinking of things to add that could represent who I am or what I am feeling at the time.

While I was clearing up my craft room (no I haven’t had time to be crafty lately! I just bought some supplies that never got put away), I noticed the envelope of concert ticket stubs that my mother brought over to me. So, I thought I would give you an idea of how much I love concerts and how many I have been to over the years. I might have to add some as I go. I have to compile them with the pile of concert stubs I have since moving here. Okay….here it goes!

1987:
Haywire
(This is a Canadian 80’s band (if you don’t know already!) They are very much a part of my childhood and I’m happy to say my first rock show. Dave (the keyboardist) was my first fan(atic) crush. After the show, I had enough guts to tell him that he was the best and the cutest in the band. I got him to sign my yellow converse sneaker. I know, I’m cool like that!)

1989:
Bonham
The Cult
Skid Row
Vixen
Europe
Bon Jovi

1990:
Bootsauce
Helix
Lee Aaron
Jeff Healey
Slaughter
Winger
Kiss

1991:
Trixter
Great White
Scorpions
Skid Row
Guns n’ Roses (best show ever!)
Metallica
Slaughter
Cinderella

1992:
Lee Aaron
Extreme
Steve Miller Band
Sloan
Bryan Adams
Bootsauce (2x)
Organized Rhyme (Tom Green’s rap group! We were going to the same high school at the time.)
Testament
Iron Maiden
Big House (w/ Mista Bones)
Killer Dwarfs
Pantera
Skid Row

1993:
Metallica
Sven Gali
Ugly Kid Joe
April Wine
Meatloaf
Def Leppard
Aerosmith
Sass Jordan

1994:
Barenaked Ladies
Hemmingway Corner
Sue Medley
Gowan

1995:
Green Day
Tim McGraw
Travis Tritt (w/ Sammy Kershaw and Charlie Daniels)

1996:
Garth Brooks
Melissa Etheridge
Moist

1997:
Great Big Sea
Big Sugar
Wide Mouth Mason
INXS (This show never happened, Michael Hutchence was found dead a couple of weeks before the show. I still have the unused front row ticket)

1998:
Hayden
Juliana Hatfield
Savage Garden
Pearl Jam
Henry Rollins (spoken word show)

1999:
Alanis Morissette
Matthew Good Band
Edwin

2000:
2001:
2002:
* I know I went to concerts during these years, but I don’t have the stubs here. They must be in another envelope together. I know I saw I Mother Earth and David Usher somewhere during this time!

2003:
John Mayer (2x)
Victoria Williams
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Rufus Wainwright
Avril Lavigne
Bob Dylan

2004:
Default
Nickelback
Butterfly Boucher
Sarah McLachlan
Velvet Revolver
Cher
Pink
Skid Row
Sugababes/Dido/Beyonce/Kylie Minogue (NRJ Radio Awards)

2005:
Billy Idol
The White Stripes
Henry Rollins (spoken word show)
REM
Coldplay
Elton John

2006:
Foo Fighters
Red Hot Chili Peppers (2x - The most amazing two nights in a row, ever!)

2007:
Gwen Stefani
Live
Mötley Crüe (finally!)

2008:
Henry Rollins (spoken word show)
The Cure
Foo Fighters (paid for a full day festival ticket just to see them again. It was worth every penny!)
still to come: Coldplay

Phew! That took a lot longer than I thought it would! At least it’s done now. I’ve never written them all up like this before! This could easily be turned into a scrapbook page.

Ever since I gave birth on May 23rd, one month early, I have been keeping pretty much to myself. I think I needed to cut myself off from the rest of the world in order to deal with everything. We had to stay at the hospital, I had to finish up with my grades for work, we had to get used to 3 hour sleep/eat cycles, I organized and supervised the Cambridge tests at school, and so on and so on.
So much was happening and every time we got used to a schedule, it would change. The only people I talked to during the first month were my parents, that was all I could handle. I hope I haven’t offended anyone, it wasn’t personal or meant to exclude anyone. I’ve noticed that’s how I’ve been dealing with difficult situations lately. I guess I’ve always done it to some extent. Even when I heard that my good friend Glenna committed suicide earlier this year, I didn’t talk about it to anyone other than my mother. It’s was just too hard to discuss it with anyone else - still is. I haven’t even responded to Monique’s message informing me about it. Sorry about that. I think you understand though.
Everything going well now. Adrienne is becoming more aware of her surroundings every day and is such a personality and really too cute for words. Stay tuned for more updates on her page about her development. On this blog, I will be updating about my parents’ trip to Sweden. I can’t believe that my father’s departure is only 2 days away. Time does fly. It’s been a blast so far, I will be sad when it’s over.