Daily Jamie

Daily Jamie

Cliché

Two Sundays ago, on the first day of the conference in Cleveland, my colleague Emelie and I met my counterpart in Lyon, a friendly Frenchman who quickly became our BFC (Best Friend at the Conference, obvs.). He told us at some point during the week that there was no better meal than just a simple baguette. What else is new, right? A baguette with a couple of stinky cheeses and sausages has become my go-to lazy dinner lately. It feels super classy, though, now that I've gotten the implicit approval of a real, live Frenchman.

Daily Jamie

September 29th

September 30th 

Catching Up

The Swede took some much-needed, much-deserved lone wolf time at the football stadium tonight, leaving me and ol' Jamie boy at home to make up for lost time. He was in a much better mood than yesterday, when he was cranky about the sheriff arriving back in town with her uncool rules, cramping the bachelor lifestyle to which they had apparently become accustomed. Yes, today he sat at the table with me and ate his dinner without any cajoling, danced and sang with me, rode around on mamma pony, and just melted my heart in general.  It was exactly what I'd been missing. 

Where I Belong

I'm back home in Sweden and unbelievably happy to be with Jambo and The Swede. I'm also excited to go back to work tomorrow with some new knowledge under my belt, and I'm satisfied with the series finale of Dexter, which I finally got to see tonight. So things are looking good! See you here tomorrow!

Daily Jamie

Selfie cuteness captured by The Swede.

QT With GJ&B

Today, before Mom and I spent many, many hours at Target, we spent a few at Grandma and Grandpa's. Unfortunately Grandpa was on a hike most of the time, but that did mean that we could maximize the girl talk. We started about a thousand conversations, finished maybe two, and covered just about every topic imaginable. It went too quickly, though, and before we knew it we were saying good-bye again. The thing is, after all these years and all these visits, I think we're finally starting to understand that it's always going to feel like we were never apart.

Daily Jamie

Cuteness captured by Mama Swede.

The Vacation House

The conference wrapped up this morning and directly afterward I was picked up outside the hotel by this fine lady. Mom, that is. We went out to lunch and she schlepped me around on a shopping trip before heading back to Mom and Ray's. It was hot like summer, but their autumnal yard decor looked so stunning I had to take a picture. We took our time fixing dinner, then enjoyed it with Grandma and Grandpa. It was cozy and fun and we all pretended it was okay that The Swede and Jamie weren't there. But if I'm not in Sweden with them, there's nowhere I'd rather be than this home-away-from-home.

Daily Jamie

Cuteness captured by The Swede.

Daily Jamie

Have you ever SEEN a more beautiful child? I'm sure missing me some Jambo.

Cleveland Rocks

I've been waking up sometime between four and five in the morning since I arrived here in Cleveland. Jet lag is a beast, y'all. This morning I watched the local news with the newscasters who were once so familiar until it got light enough that I was pretty sure I wasn't going to get mugged out on the street in front of the hotel. I jest. Sort of. Anyway, I walked across the street to Starbucks to pick up some lattes for my colleague and I, and for the first time since I've been here I missed America. The sunrise, the traffic, the smells, the steam floating up from the manholes. There was nothing in that moment that I have ever thought to miss in the four years since I moved to Sweden, and missing them then didn't make me sad, it just made me grateful that I had woken up so early and been given the gift of that lovely moment, just my old home and me.

Daily Jamie

Cuteness captured by The Swede. You know, the one who provided the new cars.

Icebreaking, Mindblowing

The HR/Marketing and Communications Conference I'm attending this week started officially today with the requisite ice-breaker. Balancing a marshmallow atop a pillar of spaghetti taped to a measuring tape was a fun beginning, but nothing could have prepared me for how incredible the rest of the day was. There was one external speaker in particular whose presentation I suspect will prove to not only be a career game-changer, but life changing. I know that sounds extreme, but Connie Dieken really was that good. My wheels are turning and, while I can't say it's worth missing my guys quite yet, it's a promising start.

Daily Jamie

Cuteness captured by The Swede.

Squeezing In Some Girlfriends

 

The agenda for this week's conference is packed solid, but the stars aligned to allow me some time this weekend to visit with some friends. The little time I did get to spend with Selah and Zeynep and Dilara was well spent, and we all only barely stopped talking long enough to breathe and stuff our faces with great food.

Daily Jamie

Cuteness captured by The Swede

Daily Jamie

What's with the light, Ma?!

The Things I'll Do

I travelled thousands of miles over fourteen hours and stayed up till four-thirty a.m. Stockholm time to have dinner with Kate and Cary in downtown Cleveland tonight and it was totally worth it.