This Week: Blabbering...

Now we've been back in the U.S for a week. For the first time ever I flew with a cold. That cold hit me New Year's Eve when we were partying over at my dear sister Sara and her fiances Håkan's house. How fun to start the sniffles, and get a soar throat on that lovely day. But that's exactly what happened to me.
Lovely evening, New Year's. Sara and Håkan went all out, as they ALWAYS do! My sister, the bachelor of dietics-to-be (in only one year!!! Yippey and hurray), and Håkan fixed a lovely dinner...Starting with a Gin Fizz as a welcome drink, lots of appetizers on the table. Dinner started with a salmon tartlet that was divine, for our main meal we had Brazilian Beef which was so enormously good, for desert we had Creme Brulee...SOO good!
Then, after dinner, we sat down with drinks and candy. Sara and Håkan always make sure that "Karamellkungen" (Swedish candy provider) don't go out of business, and YES we appreciate that. Outside people were setting up fireworks, and I only wish you could have seen it, and heard it, at midnight!!! Amazing displays of fireworks! That is one of the things that I love so much in
being in Sweden on New Year's Eve. ALL the fantastic, fantastic fire-works that you'll see! Love it! I have always missed the fireworks here in the US at New Year's. Wish we (in the US) had that tradition , too. When I read blogs written by other Swedes living in the U.S I realize that we all miss the same things---the fireworks on New Year's Eve!
Sara and Håkan live one suburb away from my parents, so instead of taking the tube we walked home at 2 AM. Nice! It was my little family, and my parents that happily set off home that night by foot.


Two days later it was time to board the plane back to the States again. Always sad to say good-bye, but time will fly and soon it will be summer again. And who knows? We might get a visitor before then.
So, we took off!!! NO problems flying with the cold, or so I thought.
It was perfectly fine until it was time to land in Baltimore. THEN the pain started. I thought my ears were going to explode. I could have cried, it was THAT painful. Now I can understand why little children cry on planes.
It has honestly taken me until today to get over the ear ache. And my cold is not totally gone either, deep sigh...Oh well.

I am hitting Tyson's Corner Center tomorrow, Christmas shopping. Yup, you've read that right, on Saturday we will have a Christmas celebration here at our house together with Peter's family. We will then exchange gifts with them (never had time to do so before we left for Sweden), have a bite to eat and then have a good time .
I will NOT fix a traditional Christmas dinner, fugget 'bout it. And who wants it anyway? We are all probably still fed up after eating said food only two weeks ago. NOT to mention all the left-overs it did create.
I will also try to find a pair of sun glasses for myself while in Tysons tomorrow. Actually, I found a pair that was so damn good looking, but I can not justify paying 350 bucks for a pair of sunglasses even though it is Chanel. So, no, I'll try to find another pair, slightly less expensive. I am the queen of ruining sunglasses, and I would freak out if I actually bought an outrageously costly pair and then broke them a week later. But, I sure as hell will look for something decent . I hate being without shades.
NO clothes shopping though...I am NOT allowed to shop any clothes until I have lost five pounds. My goal is to lose 12 pounds. It is just sickening to see, and to FEEL the weight I have put on during the lovely holiday season. But, enough is ENOUGH!

What a blabbering nonsense post this is, sorry about that. But, that happens sometimes. I am sure I will find something interesting to write about next week.

Signing Out!