Daily Jamie

P.S. How can this ^^^ be the same person as this: 

Daily Jamie

The Schedule

Saturday: 1) gymnastics at the big-kids' school, followed by 2) mischief. 

Daily Jamie

January 27th

January 28th

Lucky Number Seven

The Swede has been sick since Saturday night and I caught his bug earlier this week so we've both been at home for the past few days. Thankfully, we're both on the upswing and Jamie hasn't gotten sick yet, but we are experiencing a bit of boredom. Try to imagine my excitement, then, when I was channel surfing and discovered, in the same moment, that we get TCM and they were airing Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, one of my all-time favorite musicals! I swear, my sister and I watched that film at least once a week my senior year of high school. So cool was I in the year 2001. The Swede is less tolerant than my sister, however, so it wasn't quite as enjoyable as back in the day when singing along was practically mandatory. Nevertheless, talk about sick day pick-me-up! Bless your beautiful hide, TCM!

Daily Jamie

January 23rd 

January 24th

Best Laid Plans

Today, The Swede's fishing club's hosted their big annual competition and The Swede has been working hard to get everything ready for weeks. There's a big network of ice-fishermen on Facebook so he's been marketing the event like crazy, and it really paid off because there were about one hundred and twenty competitors who came from near and far to take part in what turned out to be the biggest competition of the year, behind only the Swedish Championship. Impressive stuff for a little club like their's and I'm proud to say that my husband was responsible for making it as big a deal as it was. I don't need to tell you that there have been butterflies over this event for days. So it was particularly upsetting when I woke up to The Swede leaning over me, telling me that he had a low-grade fever. He went out anyway, of course, to set everything up, and seemed kind of okay while Jamie and I were out there during the first hour or so, but things quickly took a turn. By the time Jambo and I were heading home after a leisurely hot dog break, The Swede had also packed up his gear and left for home with a 103-degree fever. He's a shivering mess now, and, poor thing, must be so disappointed with how the day went, but I'm still so, so proud of what he accomplished today.

Daily Jamie

One Way Or Another

I've been looking forward to today because my choir was starting rehearsals on Mozart's Requiem, which I've somehow never sung before. We got halfway into a sight-reading of the Kyrie and I was so tired and cold that I felt like I was getting sick. I packed up my notes and headed home early and now I've made myself a cup of tea and I'm watching a bit of Amadeus before heading to bed. Surely that counts as some sort of rehearsal too, right?

Daily Jamie

January 15th

January 16th

January 17th

January 18th

Daily Jamie

Winter Sports

The Swede was ice-fishing today, his usual Sunday activity this time of year, so Jamie and I had planned on going to visit Erin and the boys, but when we woke up the news said that the roads were going to be bad. Disappointed, we decided that it was better to be safe than sorry and put off our visit until next weekend. A few hours later, we realized that the snow and freezing rain that had been predicted was never going to happen, but it was too late to change our minds so Jambo and I headed out into the cold. I pulled him on his snow racer down to the lake behind our house where we tested his skates on a patch of ice off of which one of our awesome neighbors had brushed the snow. It went well while it lasted, no frustration like we experienced (but failed to report) last year. But there were more fun things to be done, so we left the rink quickly and headed to a good sledding hill instead. We went up and down a bunch of times, played on a snowy playground, and ate some fresh snow when we got thirsty. And I wondered, how much are you supposed to love your kid? Because I totally think I'm going over the limit.

Daily Jamie

January 7th

January 8th

January 9th

Daily Jamie

He wanted his hair to look like Superman's.

Traditions and The Swedish Folk Costume

Sometimes I feel like I do, or at least have done, all the typical Swedish traditions so when I get a chance to try something new, I get pretty pumped. Especially if that something new includes Swedes dressed up in folk costumes and singing and dancing around some vertical object. The Julgransplundring Jamie and some of our neighbors and I attended today was really just an indoor variation on Midsommar where we danced around a Christmas tree instead of a maypole, but it was super fun nevertheless. Mostly because of the costumes, I'm not gonna lie. I'm officially OBSESSED and making plans to make one a reality in my life. Stay tuned. And if I don't follow through, give me hell because I NEED to be wearing this at Midsommar, agreed? 

Daily Jamie

Just A Day

This was one of the first things I saw this morning. It was accompanied by a not guilty plea, which I managed to mold into a remorseful confession with my awesome legal skillz (thanks for the tips, Manitowoc County criminal investigators). The day got better when The Swede came home and we all headed outside to take a walk in the woods and do a little ice-fishing. Then my fingertips got frostnipped for sure (thanks for putting that idea into my head Everest: Beyond the Limit). Then I went out to get some groceries and drove over a berm and punctured a tire beyond repair. Then the repair shop reminded me that there's a bank holiday on Wednesday so I won't be getting a new tire until Friday at the earliest. Then I sliced off the tip of my finger while peeling carrots. Good thing it was still numb from the frostnip. The day is not over. Wish me luck. 

Daily Jamie