Wired

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Sleep lab today - putting all sorts of wires and electrodes on before bed!  I don't think they'll show anything at all, since my problem seems to be not the breathing so much as the brain patterns (I feel like I'm not getting any deep sleep, more foundering on the surface).  Plus there's so much other crap going on with this sack o' bones that lack of sleep can't possibly explain it all anyway...

Just set me on the curb!  First stop on the way to the landfill heheh

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Stormy weather

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The weather today is really really bad.  REALLY bad.  It's 3:45 PM and it's dark as night outside...the kids are going kookoo (as is their poor mommy!)...

Doesn't help that mommy was at a Clutch concert last night either, didn't get nearly enough sleep!  

(yaaaaaaaaawn)

...also, because of said Clutch concert hubby got to work far too late, and is now threatening to come home really late as well.  

I'm thinking pizza for dinner.

Again.

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I almost don't feel guilty today!

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I know, amazing right?  Hubby and I both had the day off today, and despite his working anyway for about half the day we actually got quite a bit done.  Put it this way: our storage locker is STUFFED - but our apartment is a bit less so.  Yay!

I do feel a little guilty about not going for a run today - but ummmm, there is some rain of biblical-deluge-proportions going on outside today, so I lazily decided that all the tidying/cleaning/schlepping had been workout enough. 

I am sure my muffintops agree wholeheartedly, and are high-fiving each other, celebrating another day of survival.  I'll let them feel safe for the weekend moahaha...!

I am now watching the second Cars movie with my son while hubby snores like Bigfoot in the easy chair.

Later I will be eating veggies and dip, drinking white wine, and watching the latest Harry Potter.  Am I horrible for saying I hope hubby falls asleep while reading to the boy?  ;-)

In summary, though, at this very moment life could actually suck more!

Have a good weekend everyone.

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Life after laundry

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I cannot BELIEVE the amount of laundry I've done today.  All I have left is two towels, and I can't environmentally justify washing them since they won't fill up the machine heheh - otherwise I wouldn't have a single item of clothing/towels/linens in the house in need of washing.  Well, except for on hubby's side of the bed where there's a freakin mountain of crap in varying stages of soiled-ness.  I'm not going anywhere near it.

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Revenge of the Reluctant Housewife

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Having fun with the laundry today, incidentally.  It might have a tiny bit to do with hubby scaring me yesterday.

(I'm still freaked out.)

But mostly I think it's that I'm sick to death of laundry.

Anyway just about every single article of clothing in the house, plus all the sheets and towels, were in need of a wash today - and with that amount of work at the start, I decided fairly quickly that clothes delivered to the hamper in various states of disarray would be returned in the same way.

So today I have washed and dried a whole bunch of clothes - and hubby's clothes were put in his basket (yes I have one basket per family member - makes things easier) inside out, already buttoned/zipped, socks bunched up and inside out...you get the idea.

I'm not singling out hubby mind you, it's just that I put my own clothes in the hamper, and more often than not I'm the one who puts the kids' clothes in there too.  So our clothes are usually right side out etc.   A while ago I stopped washing clothes that hadn't made it to the laundry room, which basically forced hubby to start putting his clothes in there - usually when he either (a) runs out of clean clothes, or (b) can't get to the bathroom from his side of the room anymore because his entire dirty wardrobe is on the floor next to his bed.  (I use the kids' bathroom when this happens.)  I suppose I should be glad that part one of my plan is working - at least his clothes are making it to the laundry room!  Maybe after a few weeks of wrinkly inside-out already-buttoned clothes we'll see a change there too?

I'm not holding my breath ;-)

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Everybody screeeeeam!

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Hubby scared the crap out of me last night...apparently he'll be 'helping' in the starting phases of some big project which is in the works. I told him to say no - he seriously doesn't get how this freaks me out. I don't like being a single parent. Parenting is hard enough with the both of us around!

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Hectic

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Wimpy

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My boss says she still wants to keep me on...I still want to take December off though.  They don't have any work to offer me really, not until the summer anyway; we'll see.  I'm keeping my options open, but I am still uncomfortable with the direct contact with patients, so I doubt if I will renew my contract regardless.  I'm a wimp, what can I say!

Hubby is coming home today after a four-day bender with the boys in Dublin...I'm sure it'll be a mixed blessing haha - I can't wait to dump the kids on him, but then I'm sure he'll be too tired-out to do anything useful with them ;-)  At least I'll be spared the harrowing experience of trying to get them to sleep.  Our kids don't like it any more than their parents do I'm afraid.

And of course while hubby was away and we were understaffed already at work, A got sick - a bad throat infection, and the fact that it hurt too much to eat or drink finally prompted me to take him to the doc's, resulting in ten days of antibiotics three times a day - which is a HUGE fight to get him to take every time.  Bribery with candy is my solution.  It's the only thing that works so far.

Otherwise the weekend alone with the kids went a lot better than I thought it would, sickness and sleep deprivation and all!  Not saying I want to do it again anytime soon, mind you ;-)

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Semi-certain future

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Blogging is a slow process these days!

I was saved any drama at work by having the woman I'm filling in for announce her return, not on Nov 1st but on Dec 1st.  I'm really glad about that, although my boss was sad to lose me!  Which is a good thing, of course, but though I am glad of the experience of working there, I am also looking forward to the next chapter, whatever that may be.

Looking forward to having December off, hopefully will be able to organize a wonderful Christmas for my family - my mother was always so good at making Christmas a magical time for us, I hope to be able to do that for my kids as well!

My mood is lifting in time with the de-cluttering around here.  We have managed to get rid of quite a lot of stuff, and more is on its way.  We have a whole carload just waiting to go to the cottage, so once THAT's out of the way we'll be pretty much set I think!  Can't wait to be able to use the third bedroom for something besides storage...!

The nights are getting longer here now, seems only yesterday that it didn't get properly dark at all - now it's nighttime already at quarter past seven!  I realize at these junctions that I love the light summer nights - but that in summer I miss the dark evenings, too.  Seems I'm fully acclimated to Bergen finally!

Gotta go, my mom is stopping by to mind the kids while Thomas and I have a couple hours of "us"-time.  We need it ;-)

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Speaking of patriotism...

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Many people have been questioning the use of the Norwegian flag on facebook profile pictures, stating that it feels inappropriate since a a man calling himself a nationalist is the cause of the weekend's tragic events. My personal opinion is that it is important to take the flag back, and use it the way it was meant to be used, to symbolise unity. We can't allow a person like him to take our flag away from us.

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Patriotism done right

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I have to admit I'm proud of my countrymen these days.

The way the people are quietly calling for love and unity instead of screaming for revenge is truly an amazing and wonderful thing to witness, as is the will to not let this change our democratic society and open way of life. I am near speechless with admiration for the way our country's leaders have handled this most horrible situation, and although I know we will never forget what happened this weekend, I am hopeful that we will not allow it to influence our future.

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High and low

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I can't believe it's been so long!

There's been good times and bad times meanwhile...among other things, I got the job at the hospital after all! The woman they'd offered the job to was after more than part-time, so she said no, after which they called me. Hooray! I was (and am) so happy!

That being said, I'm not sure that I will continue working there after my temporary gig is up. I am working there until Halloween, after that I'm uncertain...but although the direct contact with patients is going much better than I thought, I am still not totally comfortable with it. I have a tendency to absorb too much, take it home with me, and be sad for them...

I really wish I could start working at the pathology lab again, but after the 'fight' I had with them last fall I'm sure the head of the lab is wary of hiring me back...

On a more housewife-y note we are still struggling with our far-too-cluttered apartment - but that is a story for another day.

The last few days have naturally been flooded with grief, anger, and confusion at the events unfolding in and around Oslo - Bergen is geographically far away, but the shockwaves of Anders Behring Breivik's horrific actions have of course rocked all of Norway to its foundations.

That being said, while making the events themselves no less tragic, I am very glad it was the work of one terrible man and not a group with any political or religious motives. While the events are of course fathomlessly tragic nonetheless, the aftermath will be quite another - the last thing Norway and the world in general needs is more fear, hatred, and separation. The fact that this was a single man acting alone allows Norwegians of every heritage to stand together in their grief and support each other, with noone pointing fingers...

My heart bleeds for everyone affected by Breivik's actions.

We will never forget.

RIP

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Overqualified...?

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Btw I went to my interview at the hospital, but understood fairly quickly that I wasn't going to get the position.

DARNIT!

She said that I was overqualified for the job, but that they had a research project going that I might be of use to, so she would hand over my papers to the doctor in charge. So my fingers will cramp up from all the crossing...but hopefully I'll get a new job before I get arthritis??

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Handyman holdup

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UPDATE: he has arrived! They called at about 12:30 PM, and he got here about 1. I am SO PSYCHED to hide the chaos in the hall!!!

...of course just now all the chaos is in my bed, to give him room to work...

I better remember to re-hang everything before bed, or tonight will be a sofasleeping night, lol...

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Having a housewife-y day today. Laundry, kitchen duty, mild de-cluttering...

Also waiting for a handyman who might never show. Not a plumber, or electrician, or even a cable guy...nope - I don't even know what to call him, haha, but I've ordered two sliding doors so we can hide the avalanche of clothes hanging on the hooks in the hall, and I'm waiting to hear whether he can come today and put the doors up.

I'm really hoping he can, it would be awesome to get it done!

But that means I'm stuck here all day just waiting.

Too much time online. Not enough time doing sensible stuff. Someone kick me in the seat please.

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Tomorrow...

...is the big day!

Going to the hospital to talk to the woman who might give me a job...aiaiai!

Fingers crossed :)

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Lab rat - PLEASE!

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I am crossing every crossable digit, extremity and limb here...they called from the hospital and asked me to come up and talk to them!!! I have been invited to come have a look at the lab on Thursday...I am really nervous, very happy, and far too hopeful.

After fizzing around the apartment for a few minutes without exhaling, my second thought was ooooh, nooo! I am really, really going to miss my boss!

He is such a nice guy, and really funny, and I will probably do all my shopping there from now on just to see him once in a while - IF I get the job at the lab, that is.

So please everyone - if you have a spare set of digits - cross them for me, just for a sec? I really, really want this job!!

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Lab rat

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I'm starting work this week Mon-Wed-Fri - weird though, the job was only supposed to be a very temporary thing, and now that it's getting more organized I'm getting a little freaked. I've been honest w/ them abt applying for other jobs, and it's a fun job, but - I'd soooo much rather be in a lab!

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Nevermind!

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The house was adorable, hubby didn't care much for it but I liked it a lot -

until I entered the bedroom upstairs. Er, bedrooms actually.

They looked lovely, but O.M.G the floors were so creaky!!! They would've driven me absolutely bonkers!

So we walk into the kids' rooms, and I comment on the floor creaking - and when we walk into the master bedroom it was ten times worse...so I said straight out to hubby that "nope - I don't want this house!" And when he asked why, I told him - and the other prospective buyers sniggered at me.

But mark my words; whoever buys that house is going to be annoyed!

It is almost a hundred years old after all, and there's often not a whole lot you can do about creaky floors in old houses.

So - on with the hunt. Wish us luck!

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Depressed already

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Naw, just kidding. Sorta.

I found the most beautiful house online today. It's in the perfect area, not too big or too small; it's actually an old house but beautifully taken care of. LOTS of closet/storage space, a cute yard, perfect for the young'uns...and the reason I'm blue is because I know hubby won't buy it for me. He says he's not quite "there" yet.

I. Want. A. House.

It's not just the house thing, I also want to get a little bit further away from the city. Where we live now is right at the height above sea level where ALL the pollution sits, all winter long. My parents live on one of the many mountainsides surrounding Bergen, and from there you can see that our house is in the middle of a greyish/yellowish layer of deadly smog. If it was just me I wouldn't worry so much, but I don't like the young'uns being exposed to all that crud.

Plus look how cozy:

I'm definitely going to force hubby to go to the showing. Hopefully he'll fall in love with it too...you never know. Maybe I'll cross the fingers of one hand for the job, and the other hand for the house.

But really, nobody is THAT lucky, are they??

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Crossing all things jointed

NEWS FLASH!

I have applied for a job at the hospital. Sounds very interesting, it's in the Pulmonary/Respiration Laboratory, and I really hope I get it - this job would be PERFECT for me.

And of course would still allow me to be a part-time belligerent housewife. --I mean, reluctant.

So any of you reading this, if you have a spare sec, could you send me some crossed-finger-vibes through cyberspace? Much obliged!

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The Rustbucket's Fate

Our old car, a '95 Opel Corsa teenytiny rustbucket thingy, had its biannual EU-checkup today. I was very excited to hear how she'd do, since being 16 in car years is like being 86 in people years - and we live in a very damp/raw area of Bergen, where cars rust so quickly it takes 5 (people) years off their lives. It's like being a human and living under a high voltage power mast, or in an area that has been used for illegal toxic waste dumping. They do say that rust = car cancer.

But apparently things weren't so bad - there are some repairs that need to be done, but it's not as awfully expensive as I feared, and I think we'll spring for it. Two more years with our little rustbucket, yay!!! I do like the little car after all. Plus I stuck a Darwin Fish on it, which I love, and hubby won't let me stick one on the new car. Party pooper.

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My new favorite doodad

Check this out:

My new favorite toy :) Yummy coffee, perfect milk, SO easy to keep clean compared to my Krups-espresso-monster; just awesome. I am drinking a decaf now even (sacrilege!), and it doesn't taste half bad!!! Amazing. LOVE this thing.

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House-less

Oh and btw, I'm starting a campaign to try to get hubby interested in buying a house for us. We live in a great flat at the moment, love it here...but we really do need more space, sad to say. I don't consider it too freaky, my desire to live in a house, but hubby seems to think I suffer from delusions of grandeur, like a house is too FANCY for us regular folk or something. But really, if we spent three years slugging it out in Korea and we're NOT buying a house, then I will be very put out, to put it mildly. In my head, all the cr@p we went through there was almost bearable because I kept my focus on the fact that when we got back home, we would have saved up enough money to buy a decent house. Am I nuts? I don't think so!!!

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Feeling slightly better today!

Sorry about dragging you all down with me the last few posts...I am really, really good at feeling sorry for myself when the kids and I are sick. I can't help it, since it feels like we are never well - we don't get to enjoy any good health before we're down with the next bug, you know? Ah the joys of young children...

They should have been in nursery today but I kept them home. We were up half the night coughing, or G and I were, so this morning when A asked if we could just stay in I caved pdq. But since I'm not working it's just as well :) If we're lucky we'll have avoided a germ today, you never know!

As for my housewife status it's still there, at least partway. I'm working at the deli counter still, and I enjoy it...more as a hobby than as a job, I must admit, but still I'm getting out of the house and actually making some money. The boss likes me and wants to hire me for a few days a week, either 2x8h or 3x6h...I'm kindof hoping for the 3x6h solution, that would suit me wonderfully. But we'll see. No more news from the Pathology lab as yet unfortunately, but still - they know I'm here, right? :)

Any other news? Nah. I better go while A is watching Curious George and G is having a little nap - try to do something useful!!!

:)

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Oink oink

...and since then, we've been sick. Getting over what MUST be the swine flu at the moment...feeling like this should be a medical blog, all I write about is our germbag existence! Getting really really really tired of it. I was considering a third kid, but I am seriously rethinking it because I cannot stand all the sickness...

:(

Sad silly depressed old me.

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