The mysteries of men

Of what I have understood from friends I am not alone in this...

Last night I e-mailed a short list for the husband to go by the grocery store on the way home. He didn't bring the list. Even if he did, the result might have been the same.

I asked for specifically FAT FREE organic milk. I got 2 % Organic milk. He knows I hate anything but fat free.

I asked for white bread since I am not supposed to eat anything else right now. He comes home with this monstrous thing called an Easter Bread! It is like a loaf of bread crossed with fruit cake. Nasty!

I said get fruit. He got fruit. That one is an easy one right? Well, one time he came home with pickled grapefruit. PICKLED GRAPEFRUIT???

The rest of the stuff on the list (read the most important stuff) he forgot.

It is ALWAYS the same thing. And then get pissed because I am pissed. Just buy what you are supposed to! Especially when he knows I will be pissed if (when) he screws it up! I don't get it! He can run a complex CPA firm, but not get a few groceries???

Don't get me started on other things, like throwing his used clothes on the floor NEXT to the hamper instead of inside it...! Or putting empty food containers back in the fridge... or... yeah, you know, husband stuff.

Good for him he is so cute!

Time to break out the fake bake!

Today it felt like summer was back! So hot! I was standing talking to the neighbour for just a few minutes, and it was sweltering! I figured since I am so white it was time to break out the instant tan stuff to go with the weather. I was wearing a khaki skirt the other day, and you couldn't see where the skirt ended and the leg started, I was so pale! Hopefully i won't be all streaky tomorrow... :-)

I like Sublime Bronze Tinted Self Tanning Lotion by L'Oreal Paris. I had very good results with that last year. We will see tomorrow when I get out in the reality of the harsh sunlight!

Unwelcome side effetcs

I really hate steroids! I forgot all the nasty side effects that usually comes with it...

I can't remember when I ever took this high dose before, so I shouldn't be surprised. But it happened. I got a yeast infection. And I am not talking about a regular old fashioned yeast infection. Steroids knocks out the whole body, and it is in the skin, colon and other places. It hurts!

Since I often get this type of infection due to all the steroids, I already had the medicine at home, waiting for me. It is a little pill you take that take 24 hours before it starts working. And usually several days before you feel any relief. Nasty, nasty... And last night that head pressure thing was pulsating so bad I just couldn't fall asleep for hours. So uncomfortable!

I also have started to get major bruising all over my legs, not a pretty sight. And I always worry about the 50 % increased chance of a stroke, especially since I already had several blood clots. The side effects are many with Prednisone, especially on 40 mg.

Sverige-resan

Kanske någon av er som besöker Sverige lite mer regelbundet kan vara till hjälp...

Vi ska till Gotland den 6 juli, men på hemvägen tänkte vi stanna i Stockholm 2 nätter och titta runt lite, kanske ta S till Skansen (K och S har aldrig varit i Sverige).

Vi ska boka allt det sista nu i helgen, och jag håller på att bli tokig på att fundera ut vilket hotell vi ska bo på! Antingen nått precis bredvid Arlanda, men kanske bättre att ta nått "mitt i smeten"?!?

Vi vill bo så billigt som möjligt eftersom vi bara ska sova där. Jag funderar på Hotel Tegnerlunden, jag kan få ett dubbelrum där för 2 nätter fö 1980 SEK. Verkar vara ett OK läge. Vad trors? Har ni några andra förslag?

Work day!

I just sent S and K off, and today I have a lot of work to do.

I have this longtime client that is really odd. I love the girls in their office, especially since they send me a lot of work, but they have no people skills! They are located in Hong Kong, and I know from phone conversations that their English is not the best, so I am accepting it is a cultural difference. But I have close friends from Hong Kong, and they are NOT like that!

Anyway, I get a new project from them early this morning. This new project manager I haven't worked with before says: "This is for very important client! You do your best work! Don't mess up!" OK!!! Be a little more subtle... Plus they know I am very detail oriented with work and they always give me great feedback from their end client, so it is not like I need an extra slap in the right direction or anything. Just kind of funny...

Tired to the bone

I guess I am still not as well as I thought. I had some major colon bleeding today, a setback I wasn't expecting after several weeks on hard core steroids! Oh well, at least I am getting a little bit more sleep, always something. I just made and ate my Thai pork with red curry sauce. The dish always comes out differently, depending for what I am in the mood for I guess. Toady's version you can see here in the picture. Note the Swedish wooden spoon!I am going to call it a day for S in a minute, she is just so into this new show on PBS she has never seen before, but it is almost over. Then a little wash up, brush her teeth and time for bed! I am looking forward to a new episode of The Riches on FX. If you haven't discovered this show, check it out!

We went by L's house today, but she was pretty busy getting ready to fly back to work, so we barely stayed an hour, just to see her a bit and say hi.

I better go for now.

Yet another busy day!

S and I spent the morning coasting around town delivering for K. Can't wait until Tax Season is over so life can go back to normal. It is always crazy this time of year! And it being only 2 weeks left now also means K is at the height of stress and he has no energy left. We really need some R&R after this! It wasn't supposed to be so tough this year, with K having a full time accounting specialist and hiring a CPA for the season. But the first CPA was a total waist of time and effort, she completely lied about her abilities... And she was a PhD! The second CPA he hired wasn't much better, but he just don't have the time to get a new one. So he looks at her as a very expensive administrator, since she does help out in that department. But so far he has had to redo most everything she has done in terms of tax returns... Not what he was hoping for!

I guess the plan will be to hire a full time CPA for later this year. Maybe someone younger straight out of school would be better, someone who is willing to learn and wants to show his feet. K really needs it! And we would like our K back, so we need it too.

After dropping off property tax returns for a few clients we headed over to Super Target to get some party stuff for S's 4th birthday. It isn't until May 8, but she has been so excited about it lately we figured we could get a few thing, get the party favours and so on. It was fun to see how excited she was! This is really the first year she has had any interest in the fact she actually has a birthday coming up.

Her birthday will fall on a day she is in school, so we are bringing in cupcakes and goodie bags for everyone, that is usually the drill. Everything has to be store bought so they can tell what is in it, since there are a few kids with allergies.

For a home party I think we will just have a few friends over for cake (so she can use her fancy Disney Princess plates, cups and napkins she picked out!) We usually do a little lunch time BBQ on the beach. We know this great little park right next to the playground at the north tip of Anna Maria Island. It is right on the beach of the Gulf of Mexico, and the view is beautiful! It is also always a nice breeze under the trees where the picnic tables and grills are, so it never gets too hot. Perfect! We brought over balloons, cake and the whole shebang last year, and it turned out great. I don't know if we will invite any kids though, probably just a couple of our older friends that adore S.

The house is a mess, we haven't really been home much the last 3 days. I guess it will have to wait mostly until Wednesday, since I have to work tomorrow.

Making Thai pork with red curry, veggies and jasmine rice tonight. One of my favourite dishes.

Free calls to Sweden! Tip!!!

A lot of you are Swedes like me living in the US. I am sure you have looked into different alternatives to be able to call friends and family back in Sweden. Well, I needed a solution, my phone bills were crazy! Plus, I call all over the world in my line of work, so something international would be great... A few years ago I started to hear more and more about VOIP, and after doing several translations where I got some inside information on how it worked I started to research this as a n alternative to our regular phone service.

After an extensive search I came up with LINGO. We have been super happy customers for almost 4 years now! i can with all my heart recommend this company! For as little as $17.95 for 6 months (after that $21.95) you get:

Unlimited calling to anywhere in the US, including HI, AK, USVI and PR.
Unlimited calling to US, Canada, Puerto Rico, and 21 Countries including Western Europe (including Sweden) and Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Korea
FREE unlimited calling to other In-Network Lingo subscribers
Local Number Portability so you can keep your existing phone number
Online account management makes it easy to manage your settings, voicemail and more through the web
Select a phone number from over 220 US area codes (International and additional US phone numbers are available for an additional monthly fee)
Plus, all the Advanced and Basic Features
Basic Features:
Anonymous Call Rejection
Call Forwarding
Caller ID Block
*69
Call Waiting
Caller ID with Name
Do Not Disturb
Redial
Speed Dial
Voicemail
3-Way Calling
411 Directory Assistance
Emergency Calling Service
Advanced Features
Universal Number
Simultaneous Ring
Local Number Portability
Online Account Management
Toll Free Number

The option we have is the Lingo Chatter Box. There are others cheaper an dmore expensive plans. the quality is great! There is an activation fee of $29.95.

Since it is hooked up to your broadband you can only hook up phones in that room, but you can solve this problem like we did and get a phone with multiple handsets to place in the rooms you want phone access.

If you are intrested, let me know. I can send you an e-mail link to get you and me a free month each. This is a really great company! Highly recommended and never a problem!

Sunday afternoon

Boy I am tired! We are still at K's office and we are all really tired. Not that we really did THAT much today... The Twin Rivers place was a bust; the drive there was long (though the commute south would be better), but the place felt very bare and uninspiring. Really boring! No, I think I will dream about the Waterlefe Golf and River Club. Much nicer and great location! It is close to everything, 3 minute drive to new shopping center with nice grocery store, close to S's school and in an A rated school district. It helps it is right on Manatee River as well, you can dock your boat in your backyard and have access directly out in the Gulf of Mexico!

A little adventure drive...

Today I was thinking S and I was going to go for a little drive before heading over to the office. I am doing great on that big job and should be able to finish it today, which is great since it isn't due until Thursday!

Anyway, one of my little "hobbies" is to get to know my community better. I have been living here for 11 years now, so I am pretty familiar with everything, but they build all the time and the expansion has been pretty extensive the last few years.

I always look at houses online, to get an idea of where we want to go next when the time comes. Being familiar with the real estate market helped us find our current house and get a good deal. I found this community called Twin Rivers, normally I wouldn't considering something that far out in the country. It is just north of us, on the other side of the river in a place called Parrish. It has had a boom lately and many very nice new communities have popped up, followed by the conveniences of everyday life such as grocery stores etc. They have also built several new schools to off set the influx, so the quality of life would be there. I also found a house that is close to my "dream home dream", so if I were to win the Lotto soon, this is where you would find me! Twin Rivers Dream Home.

One concern I had was the drive for K, he really hates commuting, and now he has about 15-20 minutes which isn't too bad. (Mine is better: 0 minutes!)

So I was looking on Google Maps to see if there are any "back roads" he could take. The Interstate is after all often clogged anyway... And wow! There are all this cool little roads, and mainly just one short and one longer he could take, straight to where his office is! I have been on these roads partially when going canoeing and such, but never driven the entire stretch. So I figured, instead of going I-75 today, I am going to go north one exit, check out this community and then drive the road he would have to drive.

Another benefit is the view! These roads are all surrounded by Florida nature at its best! (Can be a problem too; i.e. the poor deer we hit at dusk that totalled our car back in 1999...)

So a little adventure it is!