Happy New Year

Long time ~ no write

Dec 28; L.A buddy Lina - who was hanging out with family in Tällberg over Christmas - came to visit in Falun, we had very organic and fat free homemade elk burgers and some Ecologica :) We walked downtown and had some coffee at my favorite spot Pralin. Mia, Millie, Jesper and Viggo stopped by, my baby brother Marcus as well. It was a good afternoon.. I bought a purple fruit bowl at Indiska and checked out the new huge shoe store Deichmann.

New Year came around; we stayed in and served a 3 course dinner when my mom + bf arrived around 21 (9pm); gingerbread cookies with creme fraiche/smoked salmon/wasabi as an appetizer, followed by spicy chicken & mushroom enchiladas and a dessert made of meringue, orange and whipped saffron cream. Toasted in champagne and watched fireworks outside, played Blokus; and 2009 had arrived..

Mia stopped by the next day with Viggo and had some mussel soup, after that we walked around the teeny tiny lake Tisken here in Falun, it was freezin, but it was good to get some fresh air and exercise. I truly need to start working out for real again.
More walks Mia!!

January 3, Saturday; Mia and Jesper had to go to a funeral and Mia stopped by with Millie on Friday night, Millie had some food and fell asleep, she slept next to my bed all night and around 5 in the morning she managed to occupy my bed as well ;-) I was a wee bit worried how she would react when she woke up in the morning, but all was good, she was in a good mood all day, we took walks with stroller, went to the museum, ate, watched TV, played with rats, took naps :-) It was fun day.

January 4, Sunday evening; An "After Christmas" night at my place with dudes and darlings from Varggården; Pappa (daddy), Ulla, Anders, Johan and Johan's pretty girlfriend Sara that I met for the first time. I received a gift certificate to SIBA and a necklace :) Yay, presents!

January 5, Monday; went to see farmor & farfar (grandma & grandpa) in Borlänge, brought a pretty Azalea plant.
Invited over to the Ragnegård family in the evening where a delicious fish soup was served. We played a board game called Absolut Överens which was really fun and then my official real poker game.. which I won. Eat it.

Tonight is Grammisgalan, a Swedish music award show.. I like the look and layout of their website..
www.grammis.se
I'm gonna make yet another seafood (crabsticks?) soup which will be served with Umbala.

Mellandagsrea på Annandagen, yay; shopping!

Traskade - över stock å sten å gnm kyrkans staket i den härliga vintersolen - till Jysk idag med Macke (bärhjälp) och införskaffade 2 jättesköna täcken för 199kr (behövde bara ett, men erbjudandet gick ej att motstå) och 2 nya sköna kuddar för 100kr, kanon! Igårkväll följde jag med Tina till City Gross bl a och köpte rosa örngott; härligt med nytt å fräscht.

När tillfälle har getts (och jag inte firat jul med nån del av släkten på juldagen) har jag gått ut på juldagen här i Falun, det har typ hänt 2 ggr; en gång på Harrys (2005) och en gång på Banken/Kings Arms (den berömda spagatuppvisningskvällen) (2007), men igår stannade jag hemma, det va ganska skönt; lite taxfree Lapin Kulta och whiskygroggar, iTunes, Pirates 2 (vilken e favorite of mine utav piratfilmerna) osv.. La mej mellan 1-2, men väcktes kl 2.15 av ett relativt oskyldigt booty call av en mkt full pojke nerifrån stan. Det va dock ej Carl Urban som va på studiebesök i Falu stad, så jag fick ligga kvar i min ensamhet, och somnade om på stört.

Efter Jysk shoppingen käkade Macke och jag lite scrambled eggs med röd lök, Västerbotten ost och franska örter, sen kilade jag ner på stan och träffade herr å fru Ragnegård; gick till H&M och Gina Tricot med Malin innan vi träffade Markus för en fika.
På H&M blev det en jacka och ett par svarta tränings (ute) byxor (498kr) och på Gina en lång svart kofta och en lila långärmad tröja (249kr), jackan passade jättefint (tyckte Macke), sen har jag inte provat det andra än.

Det e meningen att jag ska försöka städa och organisera klädkammaren ikväll. Gaah. Har även 14 driljoner papper att sätta in i min pärm. Men än e klockan bara barnet (17.40).
Till dgn bör tilläggas att jag nu har införskaffat alla böcker till de 3 komvuxkurserna (Matte C, Kemi A, Fysik A) nästa år. Gulp.

Det var en God Jul (It was a Merry Christmas)

9.30 today: Ulf (my sister Mia and my brothers Marcus and Martin's dad) picked us up at my apt and we drove to Helena & his place 5 minutes away.
9.45: Started appetizer dish, chatted, listened to music, snuggled Siri (the cat), had some tequila and waited for Mia, Jesper and Millie to arrive; which they did shortly after 11.00. My brother Martin who lives nearby stopped by with his Zelda - the Princess - as well.
We continued last year's success with a Mexican Christmas lunch; an idea noone seemed to dislike ;-)
For appetizer I made a roquemole; guacamole with Roquefort cheese and jalapeno peppers; which was served with tortilla chips and Mexican beer, it was pretty delicious. For entre we had toast with scrambled eggs with red and yellow peppers, red onion, corn, Västerbotten cheese and fresh cilantro, YUM.
After lunch Helena served up a homemade cheesecake and then.. we were STUFFED.

Drove off to mom's a couple of hours later after picking up Jesper's mom Monica and her dog Lurvas, everyone were in a great mood and mom's place was really cozy with lit candles, red and gold decorations, stars and more candles, even her dining room chairs and couch were Christmas red (for real..).. (there was a lot of chocolate as well.. lord have mercy)..

We had glögg and gingerbread cookies with Gorgonzola and Castello cheese, watched Kalle Anka (Disney special on channel 1 since I was a kid) and then came more FOOD! A very typical Swedish Christmas smörgåsbord with herring, potatoes, meatballs, ham and mustard, salmon and Christmas bread with sliced cheese.

THEN, came presents. I think the ones I gave this year were appreciated.
I got a pink blender from OBH Nordica which I've had my eyes on for about a year or so, LOL! Tack Mia & Jesper, and Millie.
I also got a motherfucking cheese slicer ya hrrrrrrrrd..

Watched "Karl-Bertil Jonssons Julafton" and had the cheesecake I made last night (and had forgot that I brought) with cherry marmalade, quiet splendid indeed ;-) But that was enough cheesecaking for this millennium..

Cab home. Cleaning up apt tomorrow.

Avis quam potes cibare, vetula sed nulli picare..

Undesperate housewives

My baby brother (19) Marcus and myself are baking and cooking tonight; cherry cheesecake, peanutbutter cookies and mustard w/ whisky, suck on that; HUSMOR MIA!

Read my little sister's (24) blog last night where she mentioned that she was making Christmas candy, lord oh lord I thought; you are soo TOO much ;-)

My friend Helena came up from Stockholm to celebrate Christmas w/ her family in Dalarna, we met up and she stopped by to see my apt tonight; had some cloudberry glögg and played a set of Blokus, she won, no less (bitch).

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve when the Swedes celebrate Christmas; first off is a Mexican Christmas brunch at Ulf and Helena's and later on we will enjoy Disney's annual Christmas celebration on TV at 15.00 (3pm) and have a traditional Swedish Smörgåsbord at my mom's!

Martin and I went to Estland's capital Tallinn on a 4 day long and very lovely trip a week ago; enjoyed lots of good food on the cruise ship, frozen raspberry margaritas at the pool's bar, saunas, outdoor swimming, Christmas market, medieval restaurants and cheap shopping; it was quiet outstanding!

Back to the cookies. Cheesecake is resting on the shelf in the fridge and will be ready by tomorrow. About to start the mustard..

God Jul! **

Senare:
Ok, jag överdrev, senapen - som skulle blivit en present - misslyckades, ngt i uppsvällningsprocessen gick fel, tror jag. Rackans :( Har äntligen så här 23.50 slagit in alla klappar..

Dan före tisdan före DoppareDan

Jag önskar mej en osthyvel i julklapp.
En osthyvel skulle glädja detta hushåll stort.

" - Like the fish Marlin.. without R.."

Dec 10 is my "namesday" in Sweden;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namesday

Some people celebrate their namesday with cake and will maybe receive a small gift, other people don't have a clue where their name is placed on the Swedish calender year.
So Dec 10 is MALIN, all day :-D
It´s also the day when the Nobel prizes are presented by the King of Sweden here in Sweden, the anniversary day of Alfred Nobel´s death.

So I decided that "After Work" does NOT need to take place at a bar. I thought I could start a new tradition on Kisvägen 30C :-D
For last night´s soiree mini invitations were sent out by Facebook mass mail and sms, people showing up from youngest to oldest were: Millie, Samuel, Mia, Jesper, Sara and Tina :-D YAY; creds to these folks and much thanks for coming, thanks for the wine and the lovely scented princess shower gel, thanks for challenging my ass in Blokus.
In addition to this I need to let all know that if you´re ever invited to MY place; there´s NO need to bring any kind of beverage or food. "Dryck m tilltugg" will in the future mean that you can come and stuff your face with edible goodies and fall asleep with your mouth open under a bag-in-a-box.
Last night yum yum: gingerbread cookie with horseradish cream, salami and pickle.

En tripp till dit de bor länge

Denna eftermiddag och tidiga kväll har jag varit på Kupolen i den fina staden Borlänge och handlat: * 12 rosa JULA kylskåpsmagneter, * en hålslagare (kostar 199kr på Akademibokhandeln och 49kr på JULA och Tiimari; införskaffade den på JULA, förhoppningsvis inte samma skrot som Tiimari), * diverse mat på Willys inkl mkt ost, * rosa Sony hörlurar på OnOff (som jag egentligen hatar), * ngt som jag ska ge till mammutt och Dan i julklapp, * lila ljus på samma affär, * en grön å guld klapp till Mia och EN KLÄNNING (till mej)på H&M! ..som jag sett på H&M i Falun för några veckor sen (!) men som ej fanns i min storlek, men JOVISST hade de stlk 38 på H&M i Blge. Hade tänkt erhålla lite fiskelina (för att hänga upp lila julkulor i vardagsrumsfönstren) av ngn jag känner i Falu stad; men eftersom jag gick förbi en fiskebutik när jag gick fr Elgiganten (där den billigaste handdammsugaren jag sett i reklambladet var utsåld) så slank jag in och bad att få köpa lite lina; fick 3 meter GRATIS!

Long live BLGE

Hon e otroligt het; E-li-sa-beeet..

Idag hade mitt mellannamn ELISABETH namnsdag, men jag fick inte grattis från en endaste själ.
Ska dock maila Lina nu som bor 9 timmar bort i baktiden (Los Angeles) som också heter Elisabeth, jag ställer mitt sista hopp i henne att hon kanske mailar Grattis tillbaks.

Cheddar Cheese

Mommy was over tonight for our weekly "iron meeting", meaning the evening when we indulge in blodpudding (which contains plenty of iron) and usually a glass or two of red.
Tonight's 3 course menu at my casa: * Gingerbread cookies with cheddar cheese, a slice of Granny Smith and topped with a baby dollop of mango chutney. * Blodpudding with lingonberry for the main course.. * and a most delicious (but a tad sweet) secret recipe raspberry dessert. Glögg and an organic Shiraz from Argentina were served.
It's easy to pop into a Gristedes/Shoprite/Whole Foods/corner bodega for a block of cheddar cheese; you have the options of Sharp, Extra Sharp or This-is-really-gonna-put-some-taste-to-your-nachos Sharp. But in the big supermarket in the city centre in my hometown I could only find one block of cheddar which I couldn't figure if there was some sting in or not, so I actually picked up a Creme Bonjour with cheddar flavor, it turned out alright.

Purchased

Skippy peanutbutter doesn't taste the same in Sweden as purchased in U.S of A, it's more peanutty, like the peanutbutter you can make on your own at Whole Foods for example.

Tonight I finally put up a shower curtain rod with its shower curtains; which I got at Linen n Things, the rod I got at LIDL today.

In 2 days "Communion" will be realeased :)

xo

Personliga kommentarer (fet stil); på ett email som damp ner här om da'n..

25 tecken på att du börjar bli gammal.

1. Dina växter hemma håller sig vid liv, och ingen av dem går att röka.
Växter existerar inte i mitt hem, eftersom; de inte håller sig vid liv. Det minsta. Fast nu har jag fått importerad aloe vera fr Australien. Den e fortfarande grön, men jag vet inte om den växer på höjden.
2.Att ha sex i en 80-säng är helt uteslutet.
*Levande-frågetecken-minen*
3. Du har mer mat än öl i kylen.
Det e sant. Men jag vet inte många svenskar som för jämnan har en kyl fylld med öl.
4. Klockan 6:00 är det dags gå upp. Förr var det dags att lägga sig vid samma tidpunkt.
Eller så är man på väg att gå och lägga sig runt 6-snåret efter mkt härj, men inser istället att det bara är dax att sätta igång kaffebryggarn och hoppa in i duschen. Play hard.
5. Du hör din favoritsång i hissen.
Det finns inga musikhissar i Falun.
6. Du tittar på vädret på TV.
Det e November, i Sverige. Ingen väderprognos behövs. Vippa och gråt.
7. Dina vänner gifter och skiljer sig, istället för 'gängar' och 'dumpar'.
THIS IS TRUE! Check!
8. Du går från tre månader ledigt om året till fem veckor.
5 veckor.. om det vore så väl..
9. Jeans och t-shirt är inte längre att 'klä sig fint'.
Inte??!
10. Det är DU som ringer polisen, när de där &%@# grannungarna inte sänker volymen på stereon.
Polisen kommer självmant till Järnet.
11. Äldre familjemedlemmar drar sig inte längre för att dra snuskiga skämt i din närhet.
Men kiss & bajs skämt är förbjudna, av ngn anledning.
12. Du vet precis när ICA stänger, men inte McDonalds.
Nej, men mamma brukar veta. Eller nåns mamma.
13. Din bilförsäkring blir billigare, men amorteringen blir högre.
Herr Ahlgrens bilförsäkring e jättebillig.
14. Du matar hunden med av experter rekommenderad föda, istället för gårdagens pizzarester.
Mina råttor får varierad kost.
15. Du får ont i ryggen av att sova på soffan.
I nacken iallafall. Och blir blöt (slemmig e så slemmigt att skriva) av allt dreggel.
16. Du tar tupplurar på dagen.
Sova e bortkastad tid.
17. Middag och bio är hela dejten, istället för bara början på en.
Ja vad mer finns det att ta sej för i denna socken..
18. En 150-grammare med pommes klockan 3 på morgonen vänder uppochner på din mage, istället för att lugna den.
Säkerligen. Men Sibylla har vegetarisk.
19. Du går till apoteket för att köpa Ibuprofen och magsyredämpande, istället för kondomer och graviditetstest.
Har aldrig köpt kondomer i hela mitt liv. Graviditetstest däremot.. 20. En 40-kronorsflaska med vin är inte längre 'grymt bra'.
Nej, huga.
21. Du äter riktig frukost vid frukostdags.
Ibland.
22. 'Fan, jag kan inte dricka på samma sätt som jag gjorde förr...' ersätts av 'Jag kommer aldrig mer dricka så mycket!'
Eller “Jag kommer aldrig att dricka MER!”
23. 90 % av tiden du spenderar framför datorn är faktiskt arbetsrelaterat.
Tyvärr inte.
24. Du dricker ett par öl innan du går till baren, för att spara pengar.
Och en flaska tequila.
25. Du gratulerar dina vänner när du får höra att de väntar barn, istället för att utbrista 'Åfan! Vad har du nu gjort?!?'
Och avslutar med att fråga vem den lycklige fadern är.

Och som bonus...
26. Du går igenom hela listan och försöker desperat hitta en punkt som på ett eller annat sätt inte stämmer in på dig och ditt gamla arsle. Sen skickar du vidare detta till alla dina vänner, eftersom du vet att de också kommer ta åt sig av det. Så nu vet du varför jag skickade detta till dig...
Yeah yeah, what-everrrrrr..
GO OBAMA!

On our way to Arvika

Hej Mamma.

And so the day arrived when the Bergman-Wallerborg clan will go on their very first trailer trip to the music festival Arvikafestivalen to live, love and work with their 30 functionaries big hopefully most awesome group of the festival.

On our journey will bring my almost 3 month old niece Millie and in the car down a couple of ppl that is working there as well. Exciting times are about to happen!! My sister's fiance Jesper is the old fox of the game and has worked there for about 10 yrs, my sister Mia has worked there as well the last years. Me - never. I'm a little nervous but very excited.

www.arvikafestivalen.se

Maybe maybe I get to see Hot Chip again. They are actually coming back to Terminal 5 in October for 2 shows which I think everyone should attend.
Maia and I have tickets to Madonna at MSG in October!! :) Lina and I saw her a couple of yrs ago; same place, different seats.

It currently looks like it's about to rain so the ride down to Arvika will probably take a little while (4 1/2 hrs or so w trailer that Jesper just picked up). I'm sitting w Millie in my lap, Mia is running around and forcing me to listen to Sister Hazel on iTunes. Yikes. What else what else.

Other news: I have filled a car's gas tank for the very first time in my whole life here in Sweden. Mia and Jesper have an American imported car with automatic so EVEN I CAN DRIVE in this country; hooray. I love driving. What's currently playing in the car is M.I.A (that has cancelled her whole summer tour including Arvika), Duffy, The Ting Tings and Coldplay.
Last night I watched my first Beck movie and was introduced to Gunwald, it kinda sucked unfortunately. But we got to eat Indiana Jones M&M and Snickers fr U.S of A, that was another movie that sucked deeply.

Ses i skogen.

No Coffee

I didn't drink coffee today.

Blogging etc..

I had my last session w Abel tonight before heading to el Swedo on Thursday night. It was fun; we did resistance bands and balance balls exercises that I will bring to Sweden and do w Mia, Sara & other curious characters. That was followed by cry party. It was really difficult, he has become a very close friend, trainer, coach and pusher of all things impossible. Yea fine, call it wimpy :(

Picture is fr last year..

I will start blogging again once in Sweden; about all beautiful things that will surround me, pinky swear. Not sure how long I will stay. I already miss New York terribly. My mom is turning 50 on Aug 1, so until then anyway...

* Maia and I got tickets to MADONNA in October today! Hooray. (today, hooray..)..

* Other music news... Chrystal Castles is playing THURSDAY NIGHT at Studio B (Crooklyn) and then a DJ set on Friday. But will play at Peace & Love in Borlange next week...ugh..! So now I need to go..ya heard.

* Last but definitely not least..

One of the greatest jazz musicians has passed away at the very young age of 44. I had some wonderful oppurtunities to watch & hear him play all over the place; at the lime stone quarry Dalhalla in Sweden and at Joe's Pub in Manhattan among some place... I believe I have introduced everyone - with somewhat music interest - I know to the magic that formed E.S.T..So greatly missed already.
http://www.downbeat.com/default.asp?sect=news&subsect=news_detail&nid=1251
In Swedish (+ links to several articles on Esbjörn Svensson..)
http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=145&a=794402

Hot Chip

They are coming to Terminal 5 again!!!

http://www.terminal5nyc.com/calendar/show/1619/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-m4cxIHu3U

Hot Chip will also be playing at Arvikafestivalen in July were I'll be bossing w/ Jesper :-)

http://sakerhet.arvikafestivalen.se/0organisation_08.php?function=oins

I teach Swedish classes for anyone that can't struggle through that last page.. ;-)

Baby Brother

Picking up Macke @ JFK tonight. Hopefully. Pls don't get lost.

Pretty in Purple

I dyed my hair.

Millie - April 4, 2008

52 cm huge and 3611 gram fat.

Rock ON.

Kanske..en...h-h-hund

I told my sister Mia the other day that I'm gonna keep smeering out the bull ka ka when she finally gives birth to that MILLIE girl that have been partying it up in da belly way too long now.

She WAS supposed to pop out this past Saturday, but alas...coward!

So a while ago - around 4am in Sweden - my sister attacked me on MSN to let me know that the contractions had started! Oy.

I can not really believe this, one of the most exciting - if not THE most, I believe - thing ever interrupting my life, it's way out of my league, LOL. It feels unreal, and almost comparable to Christmas when you were a kid, but MUCH cooler. They are at the hospital now.

I actually went to Sweden in February for President's/Valentine's to make out /w Jon and bake pink cupcakes for Mia's babyshower. There are some pictures of various pastelle flowery goodie bags and Blokus championships.

(Picture: Opening party for Brazilian street art exhibit Ruas de Sao Paulo @ Hiro Ballroom, later showed at Jonathan Levine, Feb 2007)

scrab yo ass

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/business/02game.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Scrabulous&st=nyt&oref=slogin

I'm gonna start writing here again. Soon.

Puppy Love

R.I.P Enkidu and welcome to the world; Astrid's kittens.

Mellow Yellow

If I eat ANY more cheese I may turn into cheese. But I like yellow. (so it's all good in the neighborhood?).

Went to see Robyn tonight at Highline Ballroom w/ concert buddy Maia :-) Show was nothing extraordinary; but you gotta support the Swedish blonde. Even though she is a ...gemini.
Where are the bulls at??? Some Tremendous Taurus Power por favor.

Oh, I put some lo-lights (darker color) in my hair a couple of days ago.

I need more live music. And more spring. I'd also prefer some sex. But let's not go over the top with wishes.

Tech

This passed wknd...

I finally got around to pick up a new AMERICAN charger for my Nintendo DS that was purchased in el Swedo, I also got the ridiculously boring game Diddy Kong Racing.

I officially started using my new camera after various attempts to head over to Best Buy w/ my old camera and see if I was smart enough to get some kind of service plan (warranty) when the ex bf bought it for me Xmas 2006, alas I've found no receipt, but it probably has some plan and I'll give it someone. The camera that is.

My laptop keeps shutting down while I use it and the video calls in MSN Messenger has started to freeze up or slow down. Terribly annoying.

I added the Countdown Application on Facebook today. Pretty fun. Cute pictures.

Scrabulous didn't allow the word ZEN, I can't believe it.

I'm packed (and stoked) to go to Sweden.

Bitter/Sweet

I was driving in Jerz today - I believe I was in one of "The Oranges" - and witnessed a black little car getting smashed by a yellow school bus at a crossroad, it was something out of the movies when the car just exploded and what was left of it was thrown through a fence and into someone's yard. I think it was the scariest thing I've ever seen.

Heath Ledger passed away a couple of hours ago in the fairytale town on New York.

:(

I started the Master Cleanse lemon/cayenne/grade B maple syrup diet today. A little experiment to see if I could do it. I've drinking plenty of tea, I cheated this morning (yup, I started off by cheating) with some Starbucks' Triple Grande Soy Latte. I may cheat even more now before I work out and have a sugar free Red Bull.

Kiss kiss and some bang bang

Just wanted to let you handsome motherfuckers be aware that I'll be in Sweden Feb 15-21 next time; belated Valentine kisses for all and my sister's babyshower; I'm shopping like a little walnut ;-)

What can I do...

My studies are going well but slow, I plan to take the exam in May. It will also be my 30th bday that same month w various ppl visiting from Sweden etc, more updates to come...

In yo Face

I have received 6 Happy Pills on Facebook even though I'm in such a good state of mind atm.

Seems like I have less to write about back in NYC than what went down during Christmas. Thank g-- Lina found the Scrabulous application on Facebook. We've indulged in many wars, multiple boards at the same time; the Scrabulous pro way.

I'm going to Sweden for Valentine's/President's Wknd. Hee hee hee hee. FANTASTIC! :)

And it's spring outside and 3 ft of snow in New Mexico.