life, week 23

"There is no room for baby here, mamma. This is my window. You have to build a new window for him."



June 2nd: 7 C, pouring rain, stormy winds. Have anyone seen summer?

I wish I was more patient and less grumpy when bedtime takes forever. 

sommer kommer

In bed before 9: 30 pm. Total bliss!

How to get through a whole day of watching 8th graders work on their maths midterm: get sweets delivered from the best colleague M plus seeing the light in the dark tunnel that is Norwegian sidemål midterm grading.

low ambitions Friday tacos

First cup at 3 pm. What was I thinking?!

"reading"

Living room status Saturday June 6, 9 pm

No repeat of yesterday - first cup at 0750 am

We love our weekend brunch rituals. She always asks for egg and bacon.

weekend working - soon coming to an end // my home office

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Week 23: June 1-7

things I like lately

Åsly, summer 2014 // Kodak Portra 160, Canon EOS 500N

- this and this new to me blogs
- this home (love the plywood furniture)
- Taza's guide to urban living
- the old orchid in our bathroom is blooming yet again
- reading Astrid Lindgren's Lotta books for Sara
- the first white clovers of the season
- using Kahoot in classes - students love it
- first outdoor dinner of the season (finally)
- the fact that there is just seven work days left until school is out and my summer vacation starts
- eating an ice cream under the plum tree in our garden in the evening sun
- Ingvild has beautiful new layout on her website and blogg
- we have been eating well this week thanks to this week's dinner plan
- Sara's name suggestions for her little brother
- finishing yet another pile of midterms - just one pile left

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Things I don't like lately

- lots of work - including evening work - when I'm super tired
- the fact that I still haven't worn sandals yet this season

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Answers to questions in the comment section:

AlittaM asked on this post: Does Sara eat your same food?

No, there is a lot of what we eat that she doesn't eat, that she doesn't even want to try. She is quite picky at times. I make sure there is at least one thing she likes for dinner, even if it's just pasta or rice. If she doesn't eat very much for dinner, she'll eat again for supper.

June 11, 2006-2015 // 8 years of blogging!

2006: a mountain cornflower (knoppurt på norsk) min our Bergen garden

2007: Title and caption written on Flickr: The things he enjoys. Read books and drink beer - in the sun. Hmmm. I wonder why he is touching his nose... // Also: the day I started this blog. Here is the first post, if you are interested.

2008: Title and caption written on Flickr: onsdag 11. juni | 163/366 | I did my accounts today. I almost died. We had taco while watching tv. My hands got cold while biking. Where did the warmth go?

2009: Caption written on Flickr: I'm working on a text thingy that is a bit hard to get right, so I thought I'd just stop by and say hei. Hei! How are you? What are you doing?

2010: My aunts and cousins were visiting Bergen and they stayed at Hotel Norge. This was the view from their room.

2011: our Bergen garden

2012: Sara, 32 weeks old

2013: garden playtime with Sara

2014: First: substitute teaching / hiking in a thunderstorm with 60 screaming 8 year olds. Then: a flat car tire. And then: day 2/27 of #Astridsdailyworkout (a short run with the view above), Kinfolk magazine in the mailbox and a job offer in Stavanger.

2015: Picked up this self-proclaimed seal/whale/leopard in kindergarten this afternoon. Apparently it is very scary.

my home office

It has been a while since I had anything to contribute with in NIB's monthly challenge, naturally. Now, finally I do. The theme of the challenge this month is home office, so here you go; my little office spot beneath the staircase in the basement. 

The desk is a kitchen countertop from IKEA (which is nearly 2 m, I think) supported by Hilver legs in either end and an Alex chest of drawers in the middle. The shelves to the left are Galant.

Old apple crates from Åsly are now book shelves for my media studies books and Sølve's economy studies books. No room for my pedagogics studies books though; need to keep them somewhere else. Print by Sandra Juto. 

The cabinets on the wall are from IKEA's Metod kitchen series. By the way, there is no special styling for the photos here! This is a home office in use - grading 8th grade Norwegian midterms.

Sometimes this little reader (mostly disturber) joins me under the stairs.

As a (fresh) teacher (and until recently, part time student) I do quite a bit of work at home, in the afternoons and weekends. I'm super happy about how this little workspace tired out.

what's for dinner, week 24

An August dinner memory from our old apartment in Bergen // Kodak Portra 160, Canon EOS 500N

So, after about a year of hardly no dinner planning, I want to slowly get back to it - especially for weekdays. Here is an attempt of a plan for this week's dinners, mostly based on what's in our fridge, freezer and cabinets:

Monday: First course: Fish & Crisp with leftover homemade coleslaw (cabbage, carrot, green apple, celery and dressing made of sour cream, creme fraiche, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper - I love fresh coriander in the slaw, but we didn't have any). Second course: an omelette made with leftovers from the weekend; sausage, bacon and baked potato

Tuesday: couscous salad with grilled sirloin of pork (grilled on Sunday when Sølve grilled the Sunday dinner - yay for planning ahead!) and vegetables from the fridge (tomato, red onion, green bell pepper and romano lettuce)

Wednesday: baked salmon with seafood and fish spice mix and apple avocado salad

Thursday: stir fry with steak (not quite sure which cut; it's from the freezer), cabbage, carrot, plus possibly some other vegetables that I will buy during the week, and a spicy soya sauce dressing from the Trines mat cookbook

Friday: Sølve is eating out with his colleagues, so I plan to have frozen pizza - luckily the homemade kind

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PS: my pantry essentials | thoughts on dinner planning and grocery shopping

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What are you planning to have for dinner this week?

Sunday plans

August 2014, the last month in our Bergen apartment // Kodak Portra 160, Canon EOS 500N

- mail goal today: grade a bunch of 8th grade Norwegian midterms
- tidy my home office for a few photos to submit to this little home office challenge
- have egg, bacon and Sølve's homemade bread rolls for brunch
- drink lots of carbonated water
- plan dinners for the coming week + possibly share the plans here (I miss my regular dinner planning)
- be on kitchen duty whilst Sara and Sølve work outside - I think the plan is to clean the house (we are painting it later this month)
- thaw cardamom buns and have them for dessert with whipped cream
- get Sara's things ready for kindergarten tomorrow
- go to bed before 10 pm (I have been SO tired this week)
- water our house plants

things I like lately

It has been a while since I made pavlova. Should remedy that soon. Filled to the brim with fresh berries, it really is the most perfect summer cake. // Kodak Portra 160, Canon EOS 500N

- FINALLY having film developed - apparently I haven't had film developed since last summer, which is a long time for me
- backing up photos on a second unit (I have all my photos backed up on two separate units - just in case...)
- unintentionally taking a whole Saturday off when I had planned to grade a bunch of midterms - it was the best kind of procrastination, the kind that left me with positive energy and no bad conscience
- deciding to stay in instead of going to a restaurant for our 17th anniversary celebration - Sølve made the best grilled hamburgers!
- this post on not having a coffee table (we don't have one)
- finishing grading the pile of nynorsk midterms - it has been a long time coming
- spotting the first buttercups and cow parsley of the season - a true sign that summer is coming (if we could only get the summer weather too)
- the sound of the bubbles in my carbonated water
- a beautiful blue hydrangea given to us as a house warming gift from our new neighbours
- a couple of new dresses plus maternity tights (no bare legs weather yet!) for my growing belly
- napping
- seeing how super excited Sara was with her new swimsuit
- and then seeing her excitement over getting her nails painted the same pink as me
- an oat roll with sliced banana
- a set of hand-me-down garden furniture from my parents
- tidying a week's worth of clutter all around the house - feels so good to have a tidy house again (but don't get me started on the state of Sara's room...)
- the white lilies I bought last Saturday have just started to bloom - gotta love cut flowers that last long
- Sons of Anarchy on Netflix
- Mariell's summer to do list - I want to make one too!

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Things I don't like lately

- that lever ending pile of student midterms that need to be graded
- being very, very super tired - it really can ruin a whole day
- stormy weather that looks like autumn
- trying to cut down on sugar, but failing miserably
- throwing away food that as gone bad due to a full fridge and bad meal planning

- - -

Answers to questions in the comment section

Ana asked on this post: Do you eat your eggs runny? What's the rule in Norway?

Norwegian eggs are considered safe, so you can eat them raw if you like. I prefer mine semi runny. 

life, week 22

Sunday ritual on a Monday // long weekend bliss

She looks so big here. I wonder what see was thinking.

I instantly saw a good look down moment.

So glad we live close to the sea.

7:30 am // Today will be a good day, right?

substitute teaching maths // fare for vranglære

Because blue skies and blooming trees always win.

9th grade cake baking test leftovers // festen er ikke over det er kake igjen

proud husband

Sad to see it go, but it was the best solution. It has already been replaced by two new Japanese maple trees - one red and one yellow.

She "saves" the horse, I have to save her. Repeat.

Love it!

A very rare moment of hanging out in the city centre whilst waiting for film to be developed.

same but different // fascinated by the different shades of yellow

For some weird, unknown reason, I suddenly got a craving for instant noodles. Mr Lee ftw!

He always makes more than enough. Homemade burgers for the freezer then!

Best decision: staying in for our 17th anniversary as a couple + Sara sleeping over at her grandparents'

Glad I bought this huge vase at IKEA, otherwise I could not have these gorgeous delphiniums accompanying the blues of Sara's painting.

Her seat under the plum tree.

Sølve's current garden project: plant a new perennials bed, including the two new Japanese maple trees

Saturday 9:30 pm

Sunday lunch // part of every bite

23 weeks

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Week 22: May 25-31

every bite

After reading this I got inspired to document every bite of food I ate yesterday, Sunday May 31 - just for fun. I have done it once before - and here is the background information.

Breakfast in bed: mango yoghurt with granola plus coffee with milk

A glass of carbonated water with lemon.

Sunseed bread from Godt Brød with 1) mayonnaise, ham, cheese, cucumber and salt 2) raspberry jam, plus a bottle of carbonated water (drunk throughout the day).

Big lunch (by Sølve) made with various leftovers from Friday (tacos) and Saturday (homemade burgers) dinners plus diced watermelon for dessert. Eaten in the sun on the terrace.

Sunday dinner at my parents' (plus to pick up Sara who was there for a sleepover): homemade moose meatballs in gravy, boiled potatoes and broccoli.

Dessert: rice pudding and red sauce (my favorite!)

Mint tea

Supper: Sunseed bread from Godt Brød with 1) mayonnaise, cheese and red bell pepper, and 2) honey and cheese.

And then, whilst watching Modern Family on Netflix right before bedtime, I had a huge serving of rice pudding. Smart move, silly.

Finally: vitamins, fish oil capsules and a few sips of water.