Year 2011 has passed and it takes the bejeezus right out of me, thinking of how much occurred during that year!
I must say that my new year's wish must be to please let year 2012 be a little calmer, a little lighter!
J a n u a ry
January seems to have started with me being a happy camper, in need of some un-booked times and celebrating a cancellation with some just-being.
I see (in the blog) that we "still hadn't bought" a dinner table for the living room. That makes me laugh now, since I recently took it away, deciding we don't need more than the kitchen table!
It sure does look like I dream of coming together in the house, as far as furniture and painting of walls is concerned. I'm pleased to read it, now, and take joy in the fact that It Is Done! All of that: check!
Snow, snow, snow and going down hill in sleds.
Coffe with cookies, brunches and weeks consisting of Sundays: January last year seems to have been made good!
F e b r u a r y
Meant starting to speculate wether spring was on its way or not?
Snow started to melt and I was philosophical about how one can almost see time itself, when it passes so darn quickly and The Small Boy isn't a baby any longer and The Big Boy soon will be 20 years old...
One weekend we drove around to just look around and found a fabulous place for dinner, right by the ocean. We enjoyed the moment so much, since we were both really spent and tired. I remember this vividly, for some reason.
February 8:th I conclude that one now notices that the days are lighter a little longer, hey it's light 'til after 4 PM...!
February is the month where The Little Boy utters these words to his father:
-You don't have the password to mom, so you can't snut her hair!
There was a gigantic spring storm.
Friday 11:th of February I braved the outdoors barefoot for the first time this year: the snow was gone!!
Friday 18:th of February is the day, I think in retrospect, that this form of my blogging starts to find its shape.
February 19:th I post what I think is the first photo of these breathtaking sunrises!
I see that since February 20:th I've learned when to use AM and PM - finally. That's something!
I will never ever in my life forget the outing we did to the beach in freezing cold February! I forced my family to go there with me, to indulge me since I needed to be right by the see. It was really cold...
Really really. It bit your cheeks, your nose and the photographing hands of mine.
M a r c h
March came with a new invention: Tuesday Snuggle! The week needs more Fridays, I state in the blog, and that is so right. Tuesday snuggle with popcorn and a movie is still a weekly tradition here and most Tuesdays I go to bed at the same time as The Boy, which means a well rested me Wednesdays.
Spring flowers start to show and we cheer them on!
We snuggle at our favorite places around these parts, in the weekends and try to make the most of what really is limited time together. I think that realization has started to take form around this time: we live a long way from work!
That's one price to pay for living in paradise.
March 11:th I sing the praise of our new life in the south. I mourn the lack of my oldest son but I enjoy an absence of negativity, that has risen since we left various connections behind. I thrive, it seems, on the new beginning and the new surrounding.
We see more spring flowers and we realize that Saturday breakfasts is a thing of beauty.
Funkie The Dog starts attending dog daycare.
I renovated the laundry room.... pew!
We LONG for spring time...
Some illnesses, some outdoor crayons and some fun.
We went to the beach again, a little warmer - or less freezing if you will - this time. The boy rolled in the sand and we all had coffee and cinnamon buns at the beach!
We BBQ:ed for the first time - yay, start point for the season :-)
Towards the end of March we see a third spring flower, we are outside sometimes - even for coffee - and we start practicing The Boy's bicycling.
March is ended with the twentieth birthday of my oldest son. Another evening to remember all my life! We went to a very nice restaurant with family and celebrated with good food, good drinks and so much laughter. My heart was filled up with love.
A p r i l
Trampoline jumping after school (apparently it's light, still, at that time??!! seems unbelievable at this point) and even a popsicle - what a grand life it is.
Yes, April seemed to come with much joy.
We went out for misty excursions, went to beautiful places, enjoyed occasional new sunrises of beauty, wine in the evenings, readings outside, soccer playing outside in the front yard, floor ball playing outside and so on.... We start being outside again and writing this, I still remember the good and free feeling!
Nothing like being able to be outside.
- And it keeps getting better: the first breakfast outside, cutting the hedge, using the trampoline every day, sitting at cafés outdoor spots. Amazing times are coming!
The beach visits get warmer now, we enjoy the soft sand like crazy.
In the middle of April it's full blown spring without a doubt: playground chilling, water gun shootings, sitting in the sun and smiling in photo after photo. I write about it being light airy times, times of so much joy and I feel so lucky.
An occasional line or word, here and there, that lets us understand that there may be other levels, other parts of my existence that is in a different way. I blog about my free time, not my work time and that's so on purpose. I blog here to stay sane. That's why I started and that's why I continue.
To focus on what's good, to be able and allowed to be me. To be allowed to BE, at times.
I went to a luxurious hotel weekend with girlfriends, my best girlfriends, this month. That was well needed and wonderful.
Easter came with Miami heat and we went with it: outside all the time!
I blog about walking on the sunny side of the street and it feels really good reading that now.
April ends with "blended bliss" which means friends, playing, lying in the sun and having a generally grand time!
M a y
The month of May starts on the last of April, here, and is starts with a huge bonfire!
In our town that fire is on the ocean, which is very neat. We experienced it for the first time and loved it.
I read that we kept painting walls and got the lower hallway done.
Early May brought this adorable conversation in our master bed, one day:
Dad:
-Try to get some sleep now, boy!
The Boy:
-I'm not here to sleep, I'm here to snuggle with mommy!!
-Try to get some sleep now, boy!
The Boy:
-I'm not here to sleep, I'm here to snuggle with mommy!!
We could almost feel butterflies of anticipation of spring and upcoming summer. It's as if we're charging, gathering energy for it, almost. Or at least so it seems reading my blog posts.
I see that I long for the simple life, which maybe confirms the feeling I just felt: I want easy and simple and I also wrote that I have a "blooming" heart.
I like the sound of that!
Pink flowers, sunshine, BBQ!
The playground life starts again, after winter has let go of its grip. I enjoy it to the fullest and try to force the hubster out there. Not always successful in that particular task but enjoy the playground none the less.
May brought such gorgeous beach days also, it's indescribable. We found nirvana in the soft white sand, in the ocean and in the free time. Love easily runs free in an environment like this.
I went to a three day conference in another beautiful and very old town on an island off our country's coast. I even got to dress up and dance with old and new colleagues.
And, as always, it was fantastic coming home to loved ones.
May promises bliss and delivers big time! I see that it's impossible not to enjoy with all my being, the splendid times that occur. There's a lot of sunshine, a lot of fun times together. The photos and faces that look back at me in this blog tell a story of important and fun times. People enjoying the fact that they're blessed.
May was ended with Mother's Day which was a nice day with my husband and son, in the peace of the home. I'm fortunate - that's the word that has been waiting to jump out. Fortunate!
J u n e
All kinds of gorgeous flowers are now in full bloom and even the hedge produces fantastic white tiny flowers. The lanterns light up the late evenings-go-nights and a hail storm passes by.
But mostly June starts with splendor.
I see my childhood friends again, and as always we have heartwarming gettings together since we share special memories.
My husband's brother ended his bachelor status with a remarkable wedding that took place at what must have been the most gorgeous day of all of summer 2011. It was like a dream, very still, very warm, very sunny. Yes, love was definitely in the air!
There was seeing the oldest son, the parents, the friends, restaurants, ocean, glimmering and what not...
Popsicles!!
There's no beating around the bush: summer went all in and was actually excelling in loveliness. I wanted to live on the beach - never leave - and went down as often as I possibly could.
These weekends I capture, sure look to be grand. I long for summer seeing all these pics.
I do not, however, long back to the flat tire even if The Boy was all laughter when it was going down...
I praise my home and my family and in June The Boy and I baked outside for the very first time - it was a good idea that we both enjoyed!
Even June ended in style: celebrating Midsummer with our dear friends and getting to visit the oldest son. For me these happenings are always welcome, always healing.
Midsummer was a spectacular event, as it always is in our country. It's the national day we don't really have.
J u l y
It was a sweet and fun thing, starting the month with running through the sprinkler in the garden! The dog was less than thrilled but the boy and I thought it a good substitute for a pool.
To think rain could be that beautiful?!! I caught some great rain shots in July! I also formed a method, which I apparently stuck to and will keep sticking to, remembering it now: running out for sun slivers whenever they appear! No matter what you're doing - you drop it and run out, even if it's only for three seconds.
Great idea!
I went to Copenhagen in July, for work, and then I spotted a building, which would mean something special later that year...
I call my life extraordinary and I talk of the gigantic love of my sons.
We sure do enjoy the season - no other way to put it!
Vacation, thunder, hedgecutting, saying goodbye to pre school, inhaling the scents of those beautiful flowers, being outside and being OFF DUTY!!!
Good friends came to visit and looking at the photos remind me of how gorgeous and in bloom these parts are in July: heaven!
Vacation week number one came with friends and outings, vacation week number two came with raspberry picking, fence building, baking and a birthday...
Friends, beach, wine, restaurants, sun and free time - seems like heaven!
July is also ended well: family! My cousin and her family came for a quicky.
A u g u s t
August came with hardships at work - even though I was on vacation. I best get it out right now, so I don't have to dwell on it another second!
Apart from that (if there is a "apart" from a consuming anguish): beautiful surroundings, friends and some joy. A bittersweet mix, one might say. A month of August like no other month of August, in a bad way but also in a good way.
Life is strange, life is a challenge, life is a mystery.
Wow, July-August was my Instagram premiere I see, that's a milestone!
We started August in a grand style: going to Great Britian to see my dear childhood friend! The anticipation was huge, we all had butterflies about leaving for adventure.
That trip was gorgeous and beautiful and a fantastic break from everyday life. The south west of Britain is something else, I can assure you, and if you get a chance to go there: go!
Coming home after wasn't half bad either: going to see the filming of The Boy's favorite TV-show, going to the outdoor's theatre with The Boy and hearing The Boy exclaiming that it's wonderful being back in our cosy town - that seems righteous!
August was showtime for me, at work, in a non exciting way. "When the going gets tough, the tough get rough", was what I was aiming for.
August also brought some jolly jolly good things like a visit - with our dearest friends - to a cowboy theme park which turned out to be The Boy's all time favorite. Bull's eye!
We had nothing but a grand time together and I concluded, yet again, that friends is da shit!
I felt totally happy and lifted, after having to do "what this woman had to do". I ordered happy and happy I got. The Scandi sun must have taken a wrong turn, on the way to Maimi, 'cuz honey did it get hot?! Jeez....
Even if we did go back to work, we still grabbed a whole lot of summery, beach moments. We wanted to carpe like never before, I distinctly remember. And we did, the times still stand out in my mind.
There were just so many good things in August: The Boy's very first day of school, dinners out at exquisite and cosy restaurants, picnics, coffee, plenty of sun and lots of love. Intense love. Celebrating 13 years together was cool, wonderful love too...
The Boy also put the bike away for a while, in order to practice balance, on the kick board instead.
S e p t e m b e r
Of all the months of the year 2011, I see that September was the one that started in the best style! I found my (new) mojo and that is never bad! I get chills just reading and experiencing my then state of mind.
Other kinds of grandness did happen in September: when we finally took time out to hardcore practice the bicycling with The Boy he aced it and biked away almost immediately! He's been biking ever since, for the record, like he's glued to that bike...
I see very well, in the blog, that September offered exactly what the doctor ordered after (this) summer: peace and quiet and time to be a little more still. Time to recuperate. 'Cuz we sure did! Coffee at our favorite place, in the warm kind sun, shopping together and just chilling together. We all needed that.
It's obvious that life in the north, where we are, has its seasonal phases: somehow everything starts with summertime, where we're extremely active all the time and outside all the time. After summer fall comes with pause, for catching the breath after summer. Then winter comes with more activity paired with cosy snuggles and there's hectic Christmas... Then spring arrives with being together, breathing after Christmas and anticipating being outdoors again. Spring always comes with promise and butterflies in stomachs!
We had a fantastic start of fall here with so much sun and so much warmth. We were quite spoilt! I talk of inspiration (a little) and anticipation. I marvel at the hollyhocks that seem to never wither and die (little did I know they'd last 'til January...!!).
September was the month when hubs finished the fence. September was also the month when summery BBQs were paired with more and more indoor snuggling and wine in front of the TV. Already I started longing for a "real" ethanol fireplace, since our little ethanol lantern made me want more...
The Boy had his long-awaited b-day party with friends and even if it was September we all to sit outside since it was soooooo hot. Go figure!
A whole lot of things started up in September - like floor ball practice for The Boy. Talk about loving a sport!!
Hollyhocks in bloom, sun, bicycling, grapes, bees, sunrises and sunset - that's September for ya!
Still playground times, too, and being outside without jacket.
Summer met fall and walking never was sweeter.
I went away for a conference and got to see my firstborn and got sick with stomach flu right in the middle. All fun, despite that, since seeing that boy is never a bad idea.
September ended like a true "weatheronista", so stylish with nothing but sunshine, spoiling us all rotten.
O c t o b e r
What did October bring, pray? Well, I'll say this for myself: I started with an intention of making it a remarkable day, the first day.
The gorgeous sunrises started to present themselves for real and had I not discovered them earlier - now I did!
Apparently I let the first weekend of October come dazzle me and I guess that was well needed. Looking at the photos I see plain and clear that they give testament to a glorious start of a doubtless fall month.
I made my very own - very first - marmalade of our very first grapes, this month.
I watched summer give fall a one h*ll of a match for the season - summer just wouldn't let go!
I was amazed by the sky when October had made its entrance. It offers a variety of shades and shapes and is gorgeous, to sum it up in a word.
Hubs went on a business trip and in general - the cooking began!
October 15:th I conclude that fall went all in
In October we had a beautiful outing to the pier and the sun, the waves and everything was just wonderful, fantastic. Soulmending.
We had nice walks, fall time is the perfect time for walks and you get a chance to discuss or just be quiet together. Beautiful surroundings offered gorgeous fall scenery.
The first morning of frost presented itself when we headed out for floor ball.
There was a peak sunrise...
October is a month for thinking about saving the moments, how fast time passes, balance and having a Favorite Day every darn day. No answers are presented by me but I seem to think that balance is key.
Hubs and I headed out, looking for balance, and found it!
That wrapped the first full blown fall month up: those thoughts, those heart warming outings together.
October was a nice, warm and lovely month - a hight point of the year 2011.
N o v e m b e r
Looking at the blog I see that November started out hectic: we went to see dear friends and a weekend away will mess this blessed blog work up, every time! Via the Instagrams I offered in the first November post I see that we made the acquaintance with the fog. I have never seen fog like it gets in these parts, it's like something out of a Stephen King movie....
November shows proof of the "new" thing that has rushed up to top five for me lately: The Evenings! We light lots of candles, we sit down together and we eat good food and let the dinner be a real moment in time. I'm able to really take it in, I think, since this fall has taught me to aim my focus toward the free time, like my life depended upon it. In a way it did.
I managed - evenings has never stood out like that ever before in my entire life!
Back to November.... I got to see The Old Son twice during the initial trip! We got to be introduced to his girlfriend: a milestone! The joy when I felt she was wonderful in every way.
Seeing The Old Son does things with me, makes me stronger, makes me realize I'm invincible - so I thrive and I thrive again now, writing this, seeing the photos.
I reflect over the inner journey, I've embarked on since moving to the southern part of our country. I have a Friday off together with my precious husband and together we have a good and calm day, enjoying the beauty of our town.
The Boy learned how to make apple sauce at school, this month. He even wrote the cutest label!
I picked paint brushes up - out of the blue - and started painting walls that I was tired of seeing waiting for paint. My paint energy finally forced hubs up too, so went bananas all of the month, painting. To much delight.
After what seemd like colds-on-end I got back to jogging and felt like flying to Will Smith and "Summertime"...
Cinema visit, foam baths, mag readings, commuting - a lot is the same and good and quite a lot is fantastic. Life feels fantastic!
My Old Son made me cry from happiness in a middle of a work day!
I got a text message, that was larger than life. It was my son describing how thankful he is that I'm his mother, telling how happy he is that he got me for a mother and that he loves me endlessly. He continued by telling me a memory from his childhood that he had just told his girlfriend. A special moment, in his childhood, surrounded by all that horror and chaos that existed around that little bubble that was always our love.
I cried receiving those text messages and he cried on the other end.
That was a moment in my life that stands out. So November 2011 will forever stand out, thanks to that.
Another thing made November 2011 stand out was: celebrating 11 years of marriage with my husband! At 11-11-11 at 11:11 AM we renewed our vows at a special place. We then had a wonderful three course lunch together and loved the day.
I invent my very own "Vacational hours" when I realize that it's a method I really use: a coffee at work, visiting a dearly loved blog (by one of you reading this perhaps?!) is a micro vacation! Wine and snacks and a movie, on the couch at home an ordinary wednesday could be a mini vacation. Lunch with a friend or with my husband - things like that! It's a break in the routine and could be a much needed vaca.
November 18:th I write that it's official now: it's freezing out there!!! Apparently it felt like minus 40 degrees Celsius :-) So, I'm guessing that winter finally found us, huh?!!
Still flowers in bloom here...
I conclude that I have all the things I dreamed of some years ago: I used to have a dreamblog in which I'd blog about my dreams. No, this is true!! I dreamed of having a house and a child with Marcus, I dreamed of having a car and I also dreamed of the kind of job that I now have. The dreams had all come true - go figure, 'cuz I didn't really notice when it happened...
November is pretty much packed: The Boy has multiple parties every weekend to attend to, so we just roll with the punches!
There was a huge class 3-warning storm in November and we went out to look at it. Gorgeous and very much here-and-now.
November also ended in a classy way: heartwarming times at favorite places, in favorite town closing in on a favorite time of year...
D e c e m b e r
Time to sum December - thought I'd never get here.... a year is long!
"Swooosh, Friday", yeah that's how I started the last month of the year and with it: a Lucia bun.
December is hectic every year, no different this year 2011.
We had some painting left to do and The Boy was excited to put the Christmas decorations up.
I went to dinner with my childhood friends again and it's always very wonderful and very special seeing them.
It was time for the yearly Second of Advent family dinner at my cousin's hotel: sweet joy as always.
Hectic work days, gorgeous evening together every evening, baking, looking forward to Christmas, having butterflies in the stomach to see The Old Son - a lot going on...
Sunrises that try to outdo each other! I've never in my life experienced sunrises like these.
I was really tired in December but kept my head up straight to fly right. Many things needed being done: gingerbread hearts with names on them, Lucia celebrations, cooking, baking and cleaning.
I was in awe of ladybugs still active and the hollyhock still in its bloom all through December!
We bought ourselves an early Christmas gift: an ethanol fireplace and we LOVED it from day one.
Big Winter Stomach Flu. I say no more...
One day of snowing.
Hubs latest business deal got torn down.
Waiting.
December 21:st I summed how we "do it" in our family, which was fun doing.
We built a gingerbread house.
The Old Son and his girlfriend finally came and we were all in heaven, actually. Like "Love, actually"!!!
Pure joy and enjoyment.
Oh, yeah... Santa came too...!
My 41:st birthday came and went.
The year ended with New Year's at friends'. Good friends' company, rounding the year off. Good time, great time, in fact.
So: the year, huh?!
It was a very hard year, in several ways. I learned a lot this year, maybe it was even the year in my life, when I learned the most?
There were many wonderful moments too, many Favorite Days.
I especially loved the sunrises, the wonderful cosy evenings, the garden, the BBQ:ing, the friends, the sons, the husband, the jogging laps with the dog. And the beach! Oh, the beach.
I think year 2012 has got promise. I have a whole lot of faith in 2012, so bring it on!!
Have a good year, all of you out there!
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