Mother's Day Outing

Blogger doesn't seem to want me to move my pictures around today, so they are out of order. We had a very nice Mother's Day morning. First we went to one of our favorite places for breakfast, then we did a little bit of fishing, to try out Sarah's new fishing rod, then we took a gamble and went down one of the many little dead ends on the north end of Anna Maria Island. We ended up at a very nice little beach access.

We parked next to a huge old banyan tree, and then we hiked down a very jungle like trail, where we finally were rewarded with a beautiful beach! It was very windy today, as you can see in the pictures, it almost leaves a misty haze in the air, all that ocean water being whipped up. Sarah took a dip in the water and we also flew a kite, but it was almost a bit too windy for that!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms out there!

Sarah getting ready to try out her new big kid fishing rod

A great huge banyan tree near the beach

Hiking through the "jungle" down to the beach

The beach!

The wind created a hazy mist from the ocean

Sarah and I waiting for our table at the Rod & Reel restaurant

The view from our table

More of the view

My breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon, home fries, toast and a cup of fruit

Sarah's Birthday Party

Mickey Mouse and the kids

We had such a great time! Since it is so hot here now it was a really good idea to have the party starting at 10 in the morning. We had a pretty good breeze from the lake, but we were all steaming pretty good in the heat.

It turned out to be 10 kids, just perfect! They were running around having fun, I had a bubble machine going and a Mickey Mouse CD playing. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood.

Then we grilled some hot dogs and ate, and when everyone was finishing up their food Mickey Mouse came!!! There were lots of hugs and giggling, and then Mickey Mouse had the kids play a few games, the last one being a water balloon toss, which was very popular in the heat. Then all the kids got prices from Mickey Mouse in the form of Mickey Mouse kites, and then it was cake time.

The cake looked really good and tasted great too!

Sarah (in the pink hat) and two of her friends hug Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse said goodbye and everyone enjoyed the nice Mickey Mouse cake. Then it was time to open presents, hand out goodie bags and say thank you and good bye to all the guests.

Time to open presents!

Sarah opening her gifts, with me in blue standing behind her.

I think Sarah was very happy with her party!

And here is a picture of my, finally back home, very hot and kind of glad everyone had a good time, and that it is over!

Have a continued great weekend!

Stomach problems

I have no idea why, but Bob all of a sudden got sick yesterday. He threw up all day, and he usually have a stomach of steel. It could be a number of things. They did start a new food on Saturday, but that one was suppose to be more natural with no byproducts, and Stan hasn't been sick, and he is usually the sensitive one.

I did also see Bob eating something off the sidewalk the night before, and when I asked the neighbor what that crud was that he so happily enjoyed before I pulled him away, he said it is from those grabbing arms on the big garbage trucks. So essentially he ate a goo of crud from like hundreds of houses. I can only imagine the bacterial soup in it...

Bob has been sick many times before, usually he get better in a few hours, but he was really really not doing good. He threw up anything he ingested, included all the water he drank. He was very weak and dehydrated and I was ready to take him to the pet ER, even though it is a pain to get there at night. But then all of a sudden he snapped out of it and started to sleep with all his paws in the air, a good sign he is feeling good. And today he is back to normal, maybe a bit lighter. I was really worried about Bob, he is very special to us, the little pig. If he just wasn't such a food freak he might not have gotten into this problem in the first place...

My own gut is still hurting, but I am planning on waiting it out until Monday since I really don't want to mess up Sarah's birthday party. I will give the antibiotics a few more days.

Sarah had a good birthday yesterday. We started the day off my waking her up with a muffin with a candle in it, singing happy birthday and opening a few presents in bed.

Last night Sarah got to choose which restaurant she wanted to go to, and she chose her favorite, Friendly's. I had arranged so they would come out with an ice cream cake for dessert, and she was really wondering why all this people were clapping and singing, and when she realized they were singing for her, her eyes got really big and her mouth just opened. She thought it was so cool, even though a tad embarrassing.

Today after I pick her up from school we are going to the mall, where we are having lunch. Then I am getting a haircut, which I haven't had one since December! I am SO ready for a cut right now! Grandma is coming to pick Sarah up when I am at the hair salon, and they are taking off to the Red Barn Flea Market. That should be fun for them! Then when Ken gets home, we have to pick up the Mickey Mouse outfit, the cake and all the food and drinks for the party. Then we have to fill 250 water balloons. So we have a full day today, but I have a feeling it will be a fun party tomorrow!

Now I better get to work so I can finish the job I am working on before I have to pick her up in school. Just wish the infection was in a different spot. When I sit my lower rib kind of rest on that spot, which is incredibly uncomfortable... Ouch!

Doctor visit update

I wasn't too concerned about my stomach pain. Until the doctor started to poke around. I screamed like a pig! It was pretty clear that it was a bot more serious than I first thought. He is 99 % sure it is an intestinal infection. But this time I got to the doctor fast, so hopefully I won't have to be in the hospital. He said that if I don't feel better after a couple of days I have to come back and get a CT-scan.

I am a bit worried about taking antibiotics, back in December I had some pretty severe reactions. But on the other hand I hope that was because my immune system was in uproar, not because I had a true allergic reaction. Time will tell! At least this time I have a powerful antihistamine already at home, leftovers form December, so I can take that at first sign of any itching.

I am still very happy about the great outcome from the surgery. These things will keep happening, it is just a byproduct you will have to live with, so no big deal. He said there is quite a lit of scar tissue inside my remaining intestine, and that can easily cause infections.

These things just seem to have a really bad timing, with Sarah's birthday and upcoming party, and mother in law coming tomorrow. Hope I have enough energy to clean a bit. At least the FLOORS are sparkling clean!

Oh, another bummer. When they came to fix the dryer it turned out it wasn't what they first assumed it was. So we now have to wait for another part to come in. They were suppose to come tomorrow, but the part is on backorder, and the next appointment is not available until May 15! That is 3 weeks without a dryer! Not fun... Luckily I invested in one of those accordion style floor racks to hang laundry on, so I can wash small loads and hang on that. But still a pain. At least not as much of a pain as in my intestine right now. I am taking a pain killer, thank goodness for those! Over and out...

Of course!

I have enjoyed 5 months of medical bliss. So I was do for a little hiccup. Earlier today I noticed I was having some pain on my lower left side, kind of like intense "stitches" (håll in Swedish). No big deal I figured, but it has gotten worse and I am now having a hard time moving around or even breathing.

I finally called my intestinal surgeon for some advice, and he doesn't think it is related to the surgery, since the area I described is where the stomach is located. Could be an ulcer, could be a lot of things.

So he wanted me to see my regular doctor today, and I now have an appointment at 3:45 PM. Hopefully it will be something that is easy to resolve, right now I just want to get rid of the searing pain! I will update you on how it went later...

Quick update

I am sooooooooooo happy with our new floors! It is like being in a new house! Most of Saturday and Sunday was spent just getting everything back in the house, and on Monday I had to work most of the day, so I still have lots of things to put away. I won't post the after video until everything is in order, but it sure came out good!

I immediately noticed that having the same floor in the entire house, (except the bathrooms) creates a much better flow. The house feels bigger too!

Now I am just waiting for a large payment from a client in Australia, and when that comes in I am getting my new TV! That will be the cherry on top...

Lista!

Hittade denna lista hos Desiree, och listor är ju alltid kul, eller hur Annika?

Hur länge har du bloggat?
Ja halvdant sedan 2002, men på allvar med regelbundna inlägg sedan våren 2007.

2. Hur såg din bild av bloggar och bloggare ut en månad innan du själv börja blogga?
Hade ju inte riktigt hittat alla trevliga bloggar som jag nu följer, då var det mest något som var och en gjorde privat som en onlinedagbok, liksom.

3. Vilken var den första blogg du förälskade dig i?
Kommer inte riktigt ihåg, men jag tyckte det var jättekul att hitta alla andra utlandssvenskar och se hur deras värld var.

4. Hur känner du dig inför dina första blogginlägg, när du såhär i efterhand läser dem?
Ja det var ett ganska långt inlägg för att komma lite up to date så att säga.

5. Hur många bloggar återvänder du till regelbundet som läsare?
Det är 23 stycken som jag följer regelbundet, och ibland hittar jag nått kul någon annanstans med.

6. Av de bloggare du läser, hur många procent är dagboksbloggar och hur många är ämnesbloggar/t.ex. teknikbloggar, modebloggar, politikbloggar?
100 % privata dagboksbloggar, 90 % utlandssvenskar.

7. Nämn en bloggare (obs länka) som verkar väldigt olik dig, vars blogg du tycker om?
Sonja och stormen

8. Nämn en bloggare (obs länka) som verkar väldigt lik dig, vars blogg du tycker om?
Det är ju de flesta som har samma typ av stil som jag gällande berättandet, så det skulle vara svårt att välja bara en.

9. Vad tycker dina närmaste om att du bloggar?
Det har blivit ett ganska viktigt verktyg i att hålla familj och vänner uppdaterade om vad som sker i vårt liv, och jag behöver inte längre skicka en massa kort till folk, de kan gå in och titta på bloggen då och då för att få en uppdatering och se kort.

10. Tycker folk som känner dig att du är dig själv i din blogg?
Jag är helt mig själv, kanske inte lika knasig som jag är i verkligheten.

11. Har du hittat en fungerande gräns för hur privat du vill vara i din blogg, eller tänjs den gränser hela tiden?
Jag gick lite fram och tillbaka med att använda namn och så där, men nu känns det som om jag har en OK balans.

12. Nämn några saker som du aldrig skulle blogga om och varför?
Superpersonliga grejer håller jag ute. Jag skriver inte heller om skvaller som kan få någon i familjen att bli ledsen. Man får ju tänka på att folk i hela världen kommer att läsa vad man skriver. Jag är ganska öppen IRL, men det finns ju en gräns.

13. I vilken utsträckning bloggar du för att få bekräftelse tror du?
Jag bloggar för att ha ett bättre minne av vardagslivet, både för mig och min dotter. Men det är alltid kul att få trevliga kommentarer!

14. Tror du att man kan lära känna en person genom att läsa hennes/hans blogg?
Ja jag tror det. Jag träffade ju min man som jag har varit tillsammans med i 12 år, och vi umgicks enbart via nätet innan vi träffades IRL efter någon månad. Det kändes som om vi kände varandra nog för att det skulle vara en gnista där. Och kan det ske så kan man säkerligen få vänner på detta vis med.

15. Har du träffat folk IRL (in real life) efter att ha fått kontakt med dem via bloggen?
Ja vissa bloggar jag läser kände jag ju personerna innan jag började läsa bloggen, men det räknas ju kanske inte J! Jag skulle tycka det vore jättekul att träffa utlandssvenskar som jag ”umgås” med i bloggvärlden. Ni är jättevälkomna att komma förbi oss om ni har vägarna förbi Floridas västkust!

16. Tror du det kan vara skadligt för vissa personer att blogga?
Både och. Om man lever genom bloggen så är det ju inte hälsosamt. Läste om en tjej som sa att hon inte kunde gå med på bio, eftersom hon skrivit på bloggen att hon skulle komma tillbaka om ett par timmar, och hon oroade sig att hennes läsare skulle bli oroliga om hon inte skrev då hon sagt att hon skulle göra det! Å andra sidan är det nog alltid nyttigt att skriva ner saker och ting. Speciellt om man är frustrerad eller stressad. Det är liksom terapeutiskt!

17. Har du någonsin blivit sårad av någonting som skrivits till/om dig i kommentarer eller i andra bloggar. Och i såfall: Hur har du hanterat detta?
Man kan ju inte alltid ha samma åsikter om allt. Jag kan bli lite stött, men jag känner att jag har mognat med åren, och att jag kan låta sådant glida av mig, som vatten på en gås. Det är ju det som gör livet intressant, att vi alla är så olika.

18. Har du skrivit saker du ångrar i din egen eller andras bloggar?
Nej. Skulle i så fall vara att jag inte kommenterar andras bloggar så mycket som jag skulle vilja.

19. Hur ser bloggandets nackdelar ut, för dig?
Ja det kan ju ta upp en del tid, men man får ju vara vettig och inte spendera för mycket tid.

20. Tror du att du fortfarande efter två år bloggar?
I så fall: Tror du att ditt bloggande förändrats då? Jag hopas verkligen att jag fortsätter, det känns viktigt att kunna ha dessa minnen bevarade för min dotter. Ibland oroar jag mig lite för vad som kan hända med bloggen om bloggföretaget försvinner och dylikt.

21. Tror du att bloggarna har (eller kommer att ha) någon inverkan på vår kultur, eller är de en grupp människor som mest påverkar varandra?
Bloggandet har blivit oerhört mainstream! Det känns lite för mycket ibland kanske. Men samtidigt är det ju en samhällsutveckling.

22. Avslutningsvis 1: Kan du sammanfatta kort vad ditt bloggskrivande har betytt för dig?
Jag har fått en inblick i andra utlandssvenskars vardag. Det är alltid intressant att se hur lika man faktiskt är i sina vardagssituationer. Ger en dessutom ett bollplank för att få svar på situationer som man inte alltid vet hur man ska hantera.

23. Avslutningsvis 2: Kan du sammanfatta kort vad bloggläsandet har betytt för dig?
Det känns lite som om jag har fått tillgång till en ofantlig resurs av likasinnade som alltid finns där, och som jag kan lära mig oerhört mycket av.

24. Nämn 5 bloggare som du vill ska svara på enkäten.
Det är upp till var och en tycker jag.

Sarasota Bayfront Park

We just got back from a fun couple of hours at the park. Boy is it hot out there! It is over 90 F (32C) today. This is such a nice place, and it also feels kind of urban. They usually have some kind of art display going on, and so they did today as well.

The large banyan trees give you a welcome relief from the sun, like the one you see here:


These trees are a type of ficus that can very large and very old. I think the oldest is a banyan in India that is close to 600 years old!

The walkway hugs the waterfront all around.


From the walkway you can see one of our favorite restaurants across the water. This place is called Marina Jack's. Ken and had our third date ever on one of their dinner cruises that takes off from the left side of this building.

At the tip of the park (which is a peninsula) is a large dolphin fountain. If you stand on the side downwind from the breeze you might get a cooling mist from it!

When we turn the corner and start walking back on the other side of the park the walkway follows a natural beach. Bob was very happy to cool himself off a bit. He hates to take a bath, but any other kind of water situation he loves!

Sarah found a few cool fossils and shells along this stretch as well.

Then at the end (or the beginning depending on which way you go), there is a large playground as well as a large area with fountains that shoots out water. This has been a favorite among kids here locally for years! Sarah was soaked and very happy when we finally left for the day!

Almost ready!

Tonight around 6-7 PM we are heading over to our house to do a final inspection of the floors. Then we will be moving back in tomorrow morning.

It has been a long week, kind of boring. It is going to be a lot of work this weekend, but I am really looking forward to it!

We are planning on cleaning each piece of furniture really good before putting it back in the house. I need to figure out where I can find a leather cleaning kit, the couches really need a good cleaning.

Sarah and I was out this morning and got breakfast and a few things at Target. The plan is to head down to the Bayfront Park in Sarasota with the dogs soon. It is a very nice park, kind of a peninsula with water on three sides. There is also a very nice playground there for Sarah to use. The park is beautifully located in downtown Sarasota, with lots of nice yachts to look at as well as marine life and greenery.

Then we will head back to the hotel and start packing up any stuff we don't need. Can't wait to get home!

Depressing

I am sick of tired of sitting here all day waiting. Cabin fever! I don't really have anything to do, and I don't feel like doing much either. It isn't exactly much you can do around here with two dogs in tow... It wouldn't have been so bad if I could at least lay out by the pool, but then we would have a howl-fest on our hands in the room.

Bob is still very homesick and not happy at all, barely tolerating the situation. Every time we go to the house to get the mail and check on the progress he gets so excited, the poor thing. He thinks he is going home... I usually take them on a long walk around our neighborhood while there, so they can smell some familiar surroundings.

And then I feel so bad about something else. Sarah's teacher told me how many invitations would be needed, so I could put one in each kid's "mailbox" at school. But when I dropped them off yesterday I noticed there were at least 3 new kids in the class that I had never heard of before, they must have started recently. Luckily nobody was in the class room when I dropped the invitations in the slots/folders of each kid, so nobody will now who got invited or not, just the parent picking up each kid's "mail" and art. Since I was a few short (and I can't make more since our house is all packed away in boxes), I skipped a few names that I never heard off. I figured Sarah would most likely want the kids she knew the most to come. And I had to make a choice, so I did.

Then in the car afterwards I asked about one of the new names I had seen. "Do you know who Arthur is in your class?" I asked. She said "He is a new friend. He LOVES me a lot mommy! He is very nice!" Great. I didn't invite Arthur. I feel like shit...