Happy New Year!
We are off to James' for New Year celebrations! Hope you all have a lovely evening and I will get back to you next year ;-)
Highlights of 2012
January
New year's Eve was held at our place with lots of friends, was good fun, but hard work to prepare all the food in just one day!
Had an awesome birthday with lots of friends including Phil and Abby, Therese and lots more! Great memories! Tried jello shots for the first time thanks to Sofia, haha, it was fun :-)
February
We took it easy most of February and we had some snow!
March
We went to England for a few days and had lovely spring weather and a lovely time!
My beautiful mum turned 50 and we went out for a great night at the Wild West Steakhouse!
April
We had a great spring/BBQ party at ours, great fun!
We cleared out the garden, so that we could grow our own vegetables and some nice flowers!
We went and saw the bonfire at the 30th of April - Valborgsmässoafton!
May
In May we went to Malmö/Copenhagen to see Skrillex concert with Therese!
I went for a nice long walk in the spring beech wood with mum. So beautifully bright green!
June
Chris' mum and dad came over to see us!
I went to Gran Canaria with Maria and got tanned and ready for summer ;-)
We celebrated Midsummer at my friend's house and the day before that....
He asked me to marry him, and I said YES of course :-))))
July
We had Phil and Abby, Therese and Johan and lots of other friends over for a great summer party!
I went away for a weekend with my family, to a campsite called Ivön. we did some canoting, sightseeing and walking. Really nice!
By the end of July we finally started getting some proper summer weather, and the evenings were both beautiful and warm.
August
Me and mum went for a day of "hiking" in Skåne, haha. This pathway was really steep and we both struggled quite a bit! But it was fun :-)
I made Banofee pie for Chris' birthday, I cannot stress how very appreciated this was! ;-)
We had a brilliant crayfish party at my dad's! This is probably the night when I was the most drunk throughout the whole year, haha!
We also did ALOT of fishing down by the harbour all through August. It gave us plenty of meals on the table!
September
In September we really started eating healthy and did lots of cycling, trying to be as active as possible. We also got our new bed, and I did alot of studying.
October
In October we enjoyed the colourful trees, the first frost and celebrated my dad's birthday! We also had an international food market in town where we got some tasty English fudge, yum!
November
We went to England for 6 days in the beginning of November, celebrated Bonfire night, went to Winchester and saw friends and family. Great time!
We celebrated Maria's 25th and...
...James' 33rd :-)
December
For the first of Advent, Chri's parents came over and we had a nice weekend, introducing Swedish Christmas food on to the English ;-)
And the rest of December offered lots of snow and cold weather, Christmas dinners, a new member to the family, Christmas anticipation and of course lovely Christmas celebrations with both families!
Let's hope 2013 will be just as good or even better than 2012 have been! :D
Last day of the year
Woke up with sore muscles in both arms and legs, but not uncomfortably sore, just nicely sore. The kind of sore that makes you smile because you can feel that you gave the body a bit of a challenge the day before. Started off this last day of the year with a breakfast consisting of apple pie porridge and ½ a banana.
Apple pie porridge: Chop up a small apple into little chunks, put in an bowl together with 1 dl oats, 1 tbsp ground flaxseed, cinnamon and cardamom. Add 2 dl water and microwave for 2 minutes on full effect. I topped it with almonds, dried cranberries, sultanas, walnuts, frozen blueberries and lastly a little bit of milk. Yum!
The housework is done and now I've got to sort out some stuff on the dissertation, then I'm ready to celebrate the beginning of the new year!
Vaknade med en trevlig träningsvärk i både armar och ben! Åt äppelpajgröt (bland små bitar av ett litet äpple med 1 dl havregryn, linfrön, kanel och kardemumma med 2 dl vatten och mikra 2 min. Toppa med mandel, torkade tranbär, russin och mjölk. Gott!
New stuff!
Here are all my new gym clothes! Three new tops, 1 pair of leggings, 1 pair of shorts and a new sports bra. Together with my new shoes I'm gonna be rocking the gym this year :-)
Today I wore the black leggings and the yellow top at the gym. Sorry for the blurry picture, but my arms were slightly shaky ;-)
Sunday
Last night when I went to bed I was sort planning the next day ahead (aka today), when I suddenly realized I had been booked in for work 10-16, haha. Good thing I remembered, eh?
So got up this morning and started of the day with a good breakfast.
1 orange, and a bowl of plain organic yoghurt with oats, flaxseed, almonds, hazelnuts and blueberries.
After work I went to the gym and had a 35 minute workout, going through arms, shoulders, legs and stomach. So not a very heavy workout. And I must say I love my new workout gear! Yay!
När jag gick och lade mig igår hade jag nästan glömt att jag skulle jobba idag. Tur att jag kom på det, så jag kunde sätta klockan! Åt denna smarriga frukost, jobbade, gymmade och handlade sedan lite mat. Jag älskar mina nya gymkläder! Yay!
Second Christmas
Yesterday we went to my dad's for some Christmas celebrations. Eating nice Swedish Christmas food, lots of chocolates and cake, haha. Thankfully my stomach was feeling a lot better, and I could enjoy without worrying about a grumbly tummy :-)
Today we decided to go shopping in Helsingborg. It's nice to go out of town sometimes. I bought a few things, I'm so happy for all the gifts I've been given this Christmas, and also the finds I've done in the sales so far! Will show you it all tomorrow, but now it's bed time... Sov gott!
Tired Thursday
Stir fried vegetables with whole wheat pasta./ Wokade grönsaker med fullkornspasta.
Just enjoyed this fresh meal after a day of shopping with the girls. Eating mostly vegetarian/vegan today, to give my stomach a break from all the meat left-overs from Christmas. Feeling a bit better today, but my stomach is still grumbling a lot. Feeling really tired and exhausted, so I will not do any workout today, even though I had it planned. I will sit on the sofa, and recharge, and hopefully I will feel better tomorrow!
We are also going to my dad's tomorrow, so need to make sure I'm all well for that too :-)
Tissie
Tissie, the "new" member of the family. We have had her for about 3,5 weeks now and she's settling in quite well. She's a nine year old lady who hates having her backfeet stroked but loves cuddles.
On a different note I'm looking forward till tomorrow! Will be a girly day in town, shopping at the Christmas sales. I will also make sure I eat good foods tomorrow, since eating Christmas food left-overs for every meal the last few days has made my stomach really upset. It's hurting and growling is not happy at all. Back to normal eating again! :-)
Boxing Day
A few things I got for Christmas. I love all my presents so much! Everything I was given were things I really wanted, or things I'm really interested in and things that I think are very beautiful! Thank you everyone once again!
I am a little bored today though, and a little restless. It was raining all morning, but the sun is trying to come out now, so I'm thinking of going out for a run or going out to just take some photos or something similar. What are you doing this fine Boxing Day?
God Jul!
The best gift you can give yourself
If you are not already, please let this Christmas be a starting point to try and accept and love yourself. You are a child of this universe, you belong here and you have the right to be here. You have the right to be happy, proud, curious, and loved. If a negative thought about yourself creeps into your mind, just let it pass, don't let it settle. End the negative thought with a strong "BUT" and a positive thought about yourself. You are so much more than the flaws that only you can see. And in the end, noone is perfect. Noone. Not even celebrities or supemodels. Stop comparing yourself to retouched images in magazines. You are beautiful the way you are.
Börja den här julen med att vara snäll mot dig själv. Du har all rätt att vara lycklig, nyfiken, få kärlek och vara stolt! Låt inte negativa tankar slå rot, avsluta dem med ett bestämt "MEN" och en positiv tanke. Alltid. Ingen är perfekt och det är detta som gör oss till unika, fantastiska individer av detta universom. Älska dig själv.
20121221
I love my new jeans I bought the other day at H&M for only 100 kronor. Good buy! For dinner tonight we had scrambled egg and smoked salmon. Very simple, but oh so good! Had a nice juicy orange and a hot chocolate for dessert, hehe ;-)
It also seems like the world didn't end this time either. Don't know how many doom's day I've survived now, hehe.
Älskar mina nya jeans! 100 :- på H&M, billigt och bra! Världen gick inte under idag heller, jag kan börja skyta med hur många domedagar jag överlevt snart. Eller alla vi på jorden för den delen ;-)
Christmas dinner
Yesterday we were invited to our friend's house for some Christmas dinner. We all brought a little contribution and it was all lovely. For dessert we had fluffy rice pudding and mulled wine, yum :-)
Today I have been to the gym and then me and Chris went shopping for Christmas food for Monday. Still need to get a few presents, so now I've unched down some leftovers for lunch I'm gonna have a shower and then go back down to the shops and hopefully not forget anything ;-)
Oh, Christmas Tree!
Finally home after two intense days in Malmö- Our discussion went well, we only need to fix a few minor things with the dissertation and then it will be finished. Such a relief to have that over and done with. I must say I'm proud over the fact that we have done a pretty good job with it!
On to the next course now, and as many of my course mates said today - we can actually see the beginning of the end. Soon we will have been preparing to become excellent career counsellors for three years. I can't believe it. Before that, however, we have some work experience, some counselling sessions to film and give feedback on and a few examinations to go. Wow!
Anyway, sitting here on the sofa, relaxing and enjoying our pretty Christmas tree.
Third Sunday in Advent
Happy third Advent! Only a week until Christmas :-) Hope you all are having a nice Sunday. I've been feeling a little like I'm coming down with a cold. Tried to ward it off with some enchinacea, blueberries and mango this morning, and a fresh chicken salad for lunch. Soon off to yoga, maybe some slow workout will do me some good.
Next week is busy, busy. Off to Malmö tomorrow morning and wont come home until Tuesday evening. Working Wednesday morning, off to Varberg for lectures on Thursday, Christmas food shopping and prepping on Friday and work at the care home on Saturday. But after that I will take some Christmas time off :-)
Breakfast
Soured milk, mango, muesli, banana and peanut butter. Yum!
Now I'm ready to go down to the shop and pick up a few things. Later today we are invited to a birthday party, need to figure out what to wear!
Filmjölk, mango, müsli, banan och jordnötssmör till frukost. Nom! Nu ska jag till affären och köpa lite saker, sedan ska jag bestämma mig för vad jag ska ha på mig på födelsedagsfesten ikväll!
Salmon burgers
Phew! I went to cross fit class at the gym today, and it was really hard! It was three stations with different exercises at the gym. My pulse went really high and at some point I started to feel a little dizzy, haha. It reminded me that even though I'm fitter than I was when i didn't exercise, I still have a long way to go! I will definately go there again, to try and build more cardio and strength!
Cooked a really nice dinner consisting of a home made salmon burger and a home made burger bun to go with it. Spreaded some low fat cream cheese on the bread and also put some avocado and cucumber in it. It was really good!
This is how I made the burgers (two):
- 200 grams of salmon
- 200 grams of prawns
- 1/4 onion
- 1 egg white
- salt and white pepper
- a little bit of lemon juice
Mix it all in a food processor until smooth, and fry in a medium hot pan with some butter, for about 5 minutes on each side.
Also, the tree has come up, but the lights aren't working, so need to sort that tomorrow before we can decorate it :-)
Var på Cross fit på gymmet idag, vilken pärs! Kommer definitivt gå på det igen, för att utmana mig själv och få bättre kondis och styrka. Åt goda laxburgare till middag när jag kom hem. Mixa lax, räkor, lök, äggvita, salt och peppar och citronjuice. Forma till burgare och stek 5 minuter på varje sida i lite smör. Nomnom :)
Lussefika
This is the lovely "fika" my friend invited us over for. Yummy and a nice tradition. The saffronbuns are traditionally eaten on the 13th Dec, St. Lucia day, so we call them "lussebullar" or "lussekatter". Gingerbread and mulled wine. Nom nom.
Just been doing some housework, will do some more soon. We are putting the tree up today, so I want the front room to be thoroughly cleaned, behind the sofa and TV-cabinet before we do that. It will be harder to that when the tree is up.
Christmas is coming
Today was Saint Lucia. It was nice. Also went over to a friend's for some mulled wine this evening which was nice. Sat and chatted for about 3 hours! Anyway, really looking forward to Christmas now, can you feel it? :-)
night night
I say good night with my stomach full of "lussebulle" and a more content self since me and my dissertation partner got 3 hours worth of "discussing" done of another students dissertation. Not looking forward to Monday!
Night night
20121212
Unique date today I heard. It's been a pretty nice day too so far, the sun has been out, the snow has been sparkling, I've been out for a bike ride (cold!) and done some housewoork, studying and been to a meeting. Maria is coming over soon and we are going to bake some saffron buns, wiie!
Oh, by the way, we bought something new yesterday - dried mulberries. Never tried them before and we had them for breakfast this morning. We both really enjoyed them. Some information: Mulberries are naturally sweet, but stabilizes bloodsugar levels at the same time. They are high in vitamin C & K and rich in antioxidants, iron, protein and calcium.
Soured milk with gingerbread spices, banana, almonds, mulberries, blueberries and muesli.
Haft en bra dag, fått en del gjort. Städat, cyklat till möte på slottsmöllan, pluggat. Inte tränat dock :-( Vi köpte torkade mullbär igår för första gången och de var jättegoda! Söta, lite som kola. De är rika på vitamin C & K, samt järn, kalcium och protein. Trots deras söta smak är de också bra för blodsockret! Perfekt, eller hur?
20121211
This is basically what we have done today so far. Got out of bed, had breakfast consisting of a boiled egg on a cracker and a small bowl of yoghurt, banana and berries. Took a long walk down to ICA Maxi and did the week's groceries. Made a smoked mackerell salad for lunch. Now I've spent the last hour doing nothing but reading blogs, updating my blogs and I really need to read some course mate's dissertation, since we are having the argumentation/discussion on Monday! Better get going!
Monday 10/12
We were going to go to Gothenburg for some Christmas shopping today, but some train (not a passenger one) had derailed outside of Halmstad, so no trains go past in the south direction. Damned snow :-P
We refunded our train tickets and went shopping in town instead. Since we got home we've basically been chilling out. I've been doing some exercise (80 squats, "the plank", and 70 burpees). Got 30 more burpees to do and 5 more minutes of the plank to do. It's good to get up and do a little exercise every now and then rather than just sit still all day long.
Today's me, before I changed into my softies/fitness clothes.
Todays lunch: Home made baguette with cheese, avocado and cucumber, and an apple.
Bread
Just made some bread cause I fancied doing something, and because we are going out tomorrow, so I thought we could bring baguettes for lunch!
This is how I made it:
- 20 grams of dry yeast
- 1½ dl luke warm water
- ½ tsp salt
- 1½ tbsp honey
- 1½ tbsp olive oil
- 1 dl chopped nuts of your choice
- 3 dl organic dinkelflour
- 1 dl rye flour
Mix the yeast in water, then add salt, honey, nuts and oil. Mix. Add flour (the mixture should be a little wet). Let rise for as long as the yeast packet says. Mine only had to rise for 20 minutes. Take out of the bowl and work the dough into a long baguette. Bake in oven for 10 minutes at 250 degrees C.
Clean eating
One of the best habits I have developed in my adult years is to read labels. It's surprising how much crap companies out in our food. It's important to learn more about where our food come from, what it contains and how it affects both us and the environment. Try to start off with the tips listed above and you will be on a very good way to eat in a way that your body AND the environment will thank you for!
Farmer's soup
Made a simple, yet tasty and healhty soup for lunch today!
Farmer's soup (3 big portions or 4 small):
- 200 grams ham
- 1 onion
- 100 grams celeriac
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic
- handful of haricort verts
- 1 dl large white beans
- 1 handful whole grain pasta
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 7 dl water
- thyme, paprika and pepper
Chop and fry onion, garlic and celeriac in some oil together with the diced ham and seasoning. Add water, stock, tomatopuree, chopped tomatoes and pasta and let it boil for about 10 minutes. Add beans and spinach and add pepper and salt after taste. I also added a little dash of lemon juice. Vegetarian alternative: exchange the ham with quorn or tofu.
A perfect warming soup on a cold winter's day like today :-)
Bondsoppa för 3-4 personer: Hacka och fräs lök, rotselleri och vitlök med kassler och kryddor i lite olja. Häll på vatten, lägg i buljongen, tomatpurén, hackad tomat och pasta och låt koka i cirka 10 minuter. Lägg i bönorna och spenaten och smaka av med salt och peppar. Jag hade också i lite citronjuice. Gott och värmande en dag som denna!
Yesterday and today
A few pictures from yesterday and today. Yesterday evening we were over at James' and Helene's for some dinner. They had made really nice taco and then cheesecake for dessert. Yummy! I had my beloved porridge for breakfast, flavoured with cocoa and topped with peanut butter and hazelnuts. Love it!
I also love the snow. It's so fluffy and light and sparkles on the ground, it really gives me Christmas feelings!
Tonight I'm going to Laholm, to a friend's house for a party. Chris is going over to James'. So we will have a Saturday evening apart, hehe. Doesn't happen very often!
Boring Thursday
This is what I would like to do today: Sit on the sofa and drink cinnamon coffee, listen to Christmas music, go for a walk in the sun with my camera, go to the gym early, bake something Christmasy, cook a nice dinner, tidy the flat, drink some nice tea, take more photos.
This is what I have to do today: Sit at my desk and maybe some kids will show up for some guidance. Go to the gym in the dark, go home, cook, sleep.
I have a feeling today is not going to be very exciting :-P Not complaining, just a little bored today :-)
Amaryllis
I need to start taking photos of more things and people: last month all my photos were mainly of food - haha!
My day and lasagna
The last two nights I've slept like a princess, honestly! Waking up feeling completely rested is something truly wonderful, haha! The snow is still on the ground, and yesterday I dragged Chris out for a walk with me and the camera. We enjoyed watching the sun go down and the snow glitter, but got quite frozen!
Today I've been to Varberg to finish the "last" bits on the dissertation, when I came home I made banana muffins, and I think they are quite healthy too! ;-) For dinner I made lasagna. Honestly, the best. lasagna. I've. ever. made. I kept wanting more like an hour after dinner, haha. The secret? Celeriac and mushrooms. Chop some celeriac and add to the tomatosauce, it gives it a really nice, rich flavour. And mushrooms that soak up all the lovely garlic flavour - omnomnom. For bechamelsauce I used low-fat creme fraiche with garlic and parmesan, milk and a few slices of low-fat cheese. Yumyum!
Har varit såå utvilad de senaste nätterna, helt underbart! Var ute på promenad i snön igår, och i Varberg idag. Sedan har jag bakat nyttiga bananmuffins och lagat min bästa lasagne någonsin. Hemligheten? Rotselleri och champinjoner i tomatsåsen. Helt underbart. Som ostsås använde jag creme fraiche med vitlök och parmesan, lite mjölk och 17% hushållsost. Namnam!
Lunch
Made a potato and cauliflower soup for lunch today!
- 3 big potatoes
- 1 onion
- ½ cauliflower
- ½ dl of red lentils
- 1 liter water
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- yellow curry powder, ground ginger, ground cumin
Chop all vegetables and out them in a big pan with some rape seed oil. Stir the vegetables with the seasoning and then add water and stock. Let boil for about 20 minutes, and add salt and pepper after taste. Mix until smooth if you wish. Serve with some bread or crackers and cheese. This made about 4 big portions.
Not really GI perfect with the potatoes, but it's a low in calories meal with lots of vegetable goodness in it and also filling.
Gjorde potatis och blomkålssoppa med ingefära, spiskummin och curry till lunch idag. Inte exakt GI perfekt, men potatis är inte så farligt om man inte äter för mycket av det. Lågkalori soppa som innehåller massa nyttigheter och som håller dig mätt länge.
Snow!
Winter is here! Really getting Christmas feelings now, and today has been so far such a nice day with minus degrees and sunshine, making the snow really shine and glitter.
The new cat is not very happy however, and Pixie and Cloud are rather apprehensive. Ah, well, hope it goes well soon!
Rice pudding
Something that really tastes of Christmas/winter is rice pudding. Had it for lunch yesterday with satsuma, blueberries, raspberries and cinnamon. Nomnom.
Risgrynsgröt smakar verkligen jul/vinter. Åt det till lunch igår med clementin, blåbär, hallon och kanel. Mums!
First weekend of December
Have had a really nice weekend eating and enjoying the company. Had a cheaky, early Christmas dinner and a few glasses of wine, too much chocolate and a lot of fun! I've really had a good time!
And now it's snowing and winter is truly here!
