After jet-lag comes exhaustion...

Exactly one week has passed since I came home from New Orleans. And if it's true what they say that it takes about the same amount of days that it is hours in time difference to be totally recovered I should be back now. So why do I feel heavy, tired, grumpy and exhausted? Maybe because I have a two year old kicking my butt during the night? Or the fact that the girls have been punishing me a bit for being away, they've been very clingy, whiny and demanding. Or is it the fact that it's January and it's still dark, cold and depressing?? Whatever reason it does feel a bit better after this seasons first "semla"...

The girls hair are getting so long so I have to do really advanced things in the morning... Something I suck at but I try to learn as it grows longer...

Crooked but made with a lot of love...

New Orleans!

I'm having a wonderful and intense time in New Orleans. Learning a lot from early morning to late evening and in between squeezing in good food, wine and music. The weather is like Swedish spring at its best, sunny fairly warm days and chilly nights...














The last pic is from the memorial site of all the people that lost their lives in the terrible holocaust a few years back. I was out running along the Mississippi river when I had to stop and reflect over all these names... Made me miss H and the girls a bit more, on Tuesday I'm going to hold them all in my arms again...

A stolen sleigh...

Well, Lovisa is certainly making up little stories... We've finally got some snow here and when I got to daycare this afternoon Lovisa claimed that a pink sleigh, looking very much like a sleigh we have, was ours and I had to bring it home. I thought it was a bit strange that H brought a sleigh since he's bringing the girls in the car to daycare but then again Lovisa can be quite persistent if she wants something and in the morning you don't want to argue about bringing a sleigh or not.... On top of this I was the last parent leaving daycare since they were closing early today because of a staff-meeting, so I thought worst case we'll bring it back tomorrow if it turns out that it's not our, no one will miss it over night... We had a great time with the sleigh, I tied it to the stroller where Andréa was sitting and Lovisa was sitting, singing cheerful songs, in the sleigh. When we arrived home she explained that it wasn't our sleigh... "I just remembered now mum..." Yeah right!
Unfortunately H knew who the sleigh belonged to, it's one of the pedagogues that works at the daycare and also have her little daughter going to the daycare. Since it was a staff meeting she was probably still there with her daughter and probably planned to walk home with her daughter in the sleigh after the meeting. So now I'm feeling really stupid, trusting my 4-year old resulting in that one of the pedagogues didn't have a ride for her daughter to go home in, imagine the surprise! So from now on I have to check with H each time Lovisa tells me something that sounds a bit strange but not impossible...

Watching the "smurfs" while waiting for supper...

Otherwise I'm really tired of being half-sick with a swollen, hurting throat and a tired body unable to run... But you don't have to feel to sorry for me, on Wednesday I'm leaving for a 5 day conference in New Orleans. Bye cold dark Sweden - hi jazz, Cajun food and brightness!

Back in the saddle again...

Despite how nice vacation, lazy mornings and eating rubbish is, it is a bit of a relief to get back in every day routines that work and daycare require. Girls fell asleep before 8 pm and I'm definitely going to fall asleep in a few seconds... I'm on day 8 with a sore throat and aching body, I'm extremely tired because Andréa keeps waking us up during the night and I can't help feeling frustrated because I can't run and on top of it a colleague thought I looked tired at work today, so here is tonight's "selfie" for you all:


Goodnight!

2013 check up - my year of running!

January: 50,1 km
February: 42,3 km
March: 39,7 km
April: 38,5 km
May: 61,0 km
June: 103,9 km
July: 165,6 km
August: 84,5 km
September: 106,1 km
October: 118,5 km
November: 197,2 km
December: 167,1 km

Total running during 2013: 1174,4 km

I'm amazed. It was a though start with the move and disease but then spring came and along came the running and now I'm hooked. I've been sick for little over a week now and it's so hard not to be able to run, I can honestly say that I'm totally addicted.

So how did it go with my goals of 2013?

• I managed to run 10K under 50 min, first during "Midnattsloppet" in August and then I pushed my personal best a bit further during "Hässelbyloppet" where I managed to run in on 46:15.
• I managed to run over 1000K something that felt almost hopeless before this summer, ending at 1174,4 km feels great.
• I ran 4 races this year, one 5K race, two 10K races and one halfmarathon that was my goal.
• Yes, I managed to combine my running with a bit of strength training, maybe not enough but much better than nothing, mostly core training since that's what a runner and a mother needs the most. I'm also proud I managed to cycle to and from work from April-November, a total of 2739,4 km, this made me stronger, more fit, healthier and saved me a lot of money.

Three pair of shoes and four medals later...

I'm thinking about my upcoming year and what my goals should be. In my mind I bare with me my amazing year of 2013 when I achieved goals that I couldn't believe. I ran in rain, in sunshine, in storm. I ran early mornings, late evenings, I ran far and short, fast and slow. The most important thing is that I ran. No matter what I just kept on running sometimes feeling very heavy and sometimes feeling light as a feather.

I'm keeping this picture close to my heart when the winter darkness and life itself feels heavy:

Having had very few infections during 2013 I honestly believe that my motto is true: a fit mother is a healthy mother. And one thing is clear, I'm going to keep on running during 2014.

Happy birthday H!

After Christmas celebration, holidays and New Years celebration it was time for H:s birthday, which I mentioned earlier has to be one of the most boring days of the whole year: when most people are hanged-over and broke... Me and the girls made a surprise breakfast and let him sleep in and had a very nice day including a long walk feeding the birds. Then afternoon coffee with homemade cake and in the evening a nice supper.

Since we never had a big party on H:s birthday I wanted to surprise him with just that. I sent out invitations Thursday hoping that a few off our friends would make to the planned surprise party on Saturday and I was really pleased when 15 adults and a bunch of children accepted the invitation. H was under the impression that we were going to have a friend over for a quit supper so I was a bit worried that he would get suspicious when I started cooking for 15 people... But he didn't suspect a thing. He was very surprised when our friends started to show up and finally the house was filled with friends and children. We sang, ate, talked, the children played and played, glass broke and it turned out to be a birthday party to remember. A wonderful night, thanks to all that made the surprise party to a success!

Today we're picking up the pieces, resting and drinking tea, trying not to think about the upcoming workweek...