wednesday

Got up this morning and saw I'd received a text from our childminder at 1:30 in the night. Saying she'd have to take the day off and she'd call and explain. Got the call, there had been a break-in for the second time in their storage room, so she'd have to take the whole day off. Anyway. So George and I caught up on some precious time, I've been sooo busy at work I'm developing a chronic guilty conscience. I actually went to the mall the other day to sort some things out, get a few things that I needed, but left in a rush when I could feel the guilt chumping a big bite out of me... jeez!!! We went to see our favorite family for mid-morning coffee and to cuddle the cutest 5 month birthday girl. Then it was time for George's nap so we headed to awa's place (that's George-ish for afi - grandpa) where he got his bottle and mummy went to work. Stopped on the way at the furniture charity shop to check out what they've got to offer at the moment. A few good things, like cupboards and tables and stuff - oh yeah, forgot to say, we'll be needing some furniture soon, cause we've bought a flat and are moving in on 15 January. YEAY!!! So if you have a sofa lying around like maybe this one --->



--- just let me know :)

All I want for christmas...

pdfradddhhhh

I started writing a post but it was so lame I decided not to post it... god I suck at this!

breathe in breathe out

ssshhhit I´m so busy these days!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARLING HUBBY!

Poor misguided fools

We Icelanders like to say that we are the best in the world. The strongest men, the most beautiful women, the most awe inspiring nature and the best water. This has become our mantra, something we comfort ourselves with when the inferiority complex grabs hold of our little souls, the small nation reassuring itself that we are big players. So far ahead in the world, even owning big foreign companies, getting so unspeakably rich. Ah, bless. It's cute. Only it's not. It's dangerous.

Nothing sums up our ignorance more than recent events. A few weeks ago, an old children's book was republished in Iceland. The book is Ten Little Nigger Boys. An astonishing 88% of Icelanders don't have a problem with this. The arguments are all over the media, the blog sites, the office canteens. Sensible people point out that the book represents pure racism, predjudice and plain cruelty. This is now the best selling book in this country. The people that think republishing the book is all right argue that it is a part of our cultural history, because we all read it when we were kids, we sang the song in school, and oh, it's illustrated by one of our dearest artists, who shows all the little boys looking the same, naked except for little pants, low forheads, big red lips, feet like those of some animal. Those people argue that they read the book when they were kids, but "that didn't make me racist". (Funnily enough, the people that express this view seem to be completely ignorant of Icelandic grammar, spelling and in general have great difficulties expressing themselves eloquently.)

Icelanders need to take a good hard look at themselves. Are we really that much better than everyone else? Can we still be pretty on the outside if we let the ugliness get to our inside?

The first christmas play I was in in school was Ten Little Nigger Boys. There I stood, proud on stage, singing the song, I was nigger number nine, playing dead at the exact right moment. Back then, teachers saw this fit for entertainment, that it somehow could be linked to the message of christ. I dread to think that the message will be spread to young impressionable minds yet again this christmas.

Sorting things out

Yes, so Airwaves took place, but as I didn't have any tickets, most of it passed without my attendance. Sadly. I did manage to get into one gig by showing up way before it started so no one was at the entrance to check for the little blue wristband. See we were possibly meant to get tickets as Hubby was possibly going to do a bit of bv's for The Band. And in fact, tickets were sorted out - well not for me but at least for Hubby. And then this guy, The Band's main man, lost them. So that was that. Although there was an extensive off venue program and I managed to catch just a bit of it at the Nordic House. Sweet little girl with a guitar did three little songs. And when I was walking down Laugavegur on Sunday I heard some noise coming out of Hljomalind that sounded like a girl managing to drown drums and guitars by screaming. Oh well, there's always next year - if I'm not too old by then.
Breaking news! We're teething again! When I say we it's because we all stay up for about 2 hours in the middle of the night trying to get back to sleep. And only Baby wakes up the next morning with a cheery smile, the first thing that escapes his lips: kabubbi! Meaning "Hvar er Bubbi!" Meaning "Where's Bob the Builder?" Meaning "Make Bob the Builder appear on telly so I can dance and sing and laugh a lot". Only thing is, Bob the Builder only exists at the grandparents', so we deal with that tantrum and move on.
From the workfront, I spend my days growling at drawings of concrete that seem to have no end, the Boss has eloped to India, 1GL has sunk her teeth into apparently interesting bits and the other one is sinking her teeth into my brain sending spasms to my mouth that has to struggle very hard not to shout: DEAL WITH IT YOURSELF!!!
Adios for now then, lotsa lurve!

Interesting

Here's an interesting site about architecture in Iceland.

Here goes...

I've been promising to blog a lot more, now that we have finally got access to the internet at home, so now I must rummage my brain for something interesting to tell you. Well, the short story is that I used to live in London, had a baby, moved home with my little family which consists of me (mummy), hubby and baby. Well, baby isn't really a baby anymore, but a 17 month toddler with lots of energy, hubby isn't just any hubby but the bestest man in the world (most of the time anyway) who has landed himself in Iceland, coming all the way from East-Africa via London amongst other places. And me, well you know me. I used to also be me before I had the baby, just a slightly different version of me. Here you can read all about my previous life. But here I mean to tell you just a little bit about our new life on this little island in the north.

So to more recent events... (or even future events that might or might not take place)

Yesterday my Baby had his first haircut ever. I got a bag with his lovely locks that I'm going to keep somewhere safe. Hubby finds this hilarious and makes jokes about me giving them to him on his 20th birthday... eeeh thanks mum... yikes! Now he just looks so grown up, like a little 5 year old or something. I can't wait for his hair to grow back!

Work is getting quite busy, finally a little bit of stress. See I can't work under no pressure. I need just that little bit to get me going, otherwise I just get lethargic and bored, and then it's just too easy to "quickly" look something up on the internet, make up my own house in my head or think of some cool outfits that I wish I could afford (and fit). But it seems we will be very busy up until christmas at least, so I guess I should start writing the christmas cards soon. Yeah right! I plan to do this every year, but every year nothing gets done. So, sorry guys, I will try but no guaranties. Back to work though, we're designing this primary-secondary school and we're a team of about 4 at the moment. The project architect, me and the two German Ladies. I have recently discovered that the 2GL seem to think I am their boss of some sort. They found it hilarious that I suggested we hide in the kitchen all friday afternoon and do nothing (crazy lazy moment, never really happens to me, honest). I don't think I'm their boss, I have certainly never been asked to be anyones boss and if I am, I want to get paid more. So that I can afford to buy a house, or even a flat will do.

See we are a family with two cars. I get to drive the mummy-car, ford focus station car with room for a pram, a whole weeks shopping (and that's grocery shopping, not real shopping) and then some. Hubby drives the Dodge, the Man-Car. Except on mondays when he takes Baby to the childminder and needs to bring the pram with him, then he has to settle for the Focus because the Dodge just doesn't have that capacity. hmmm... mummy versus Man, who has the bigger capacity... interesting... But the family with two cars hasn't bought a place of their own yet, we live in rented accommodation (well, a pretty nice flat actually), in the middle of suburbian hell. And I don't even own a Cintamani fleece! I wonder if they'd shoot me down if they found out my coat is second-hand???

Our plan is to move into town sometime next year, into our own place. We will sell one of the cars, become a family of one car, one flat, one Reykjavik City in walking distance.

Upcoming events: Airwaves! I've only be waiting to go to this for years. But it sold out before I got tickets. It's all Hubby's fault of course, but I'll have to get back to that later, Baby is sleeping and I'm going to have a little nap too before he wakes up, the MaPas are coming for dinner tonight and I've only got a little bit of cleaning and tidying to do before they come... adios for now, hugs and kisses - and don't forget to comment, just to let me know that you're there :)

WWW I'M BACK!

Finally, after siminn got their act together and got some routers, we're online at home and I'm ready to do some serious blogging. For now I'll leave you with a few pics from our trip to the farm animal zoo, but I promise I'll be better - honest!

luxury

Aaah, it´s 4 o'clock on a friday afternoon, I just finished a drawing and should be about to start working on the next. Only it´s slightly too complicated for my "desperate for the weekend" brain and I just can't bring myself to get started. I need to stay here for one more hour to finish my 38 hour week, so I guess this is a luxury problem. Working 38 hours is easy.
Got a Mothers and Daughters party to go to tonight, that might make for some interesting stories...
Got to come to work tomorrow actually, we've got some kind of a workshop regarding quality standards and stuff... I'll see if I can make up some interesting stories about that...
And in 2 days I should have the internet at home... so y'all my faithful readers can finally get something for your money... :)

Lotsa lurve and a happy weekend!

This is not my boyfriend

I decided to remove the picture that was here... it hurt my eyes everytime I looked at it :(

soon I´ll do some more blogging

Beautiful!

Weekend

So I took this test to find out what city suits me best, and the result was New York. Cool. Except I had great difficulty answering the multiple choice questions, as I found the choices don´t apply to me very much anymore. Like what kind of classes i like the most, what school I would choose if my parents were making me transfer. Hmmm... and the last thing I do before leaving the house for a party (grabbing something to eat, looking in the mirror, phoning to see if all the cool people are still there, etc). No, I make sure I´ve given the babysitter all the instructions needed and that the pizza is on it´s way - for her, not for me. Oh I must be getting old, but the important thing is that I don't feel it. When in the right mood I can feel positively hip and young, I just pray that I don't just look pathetic while feeling so cool.
Had a good weekend, ma&pa kindly babysat and Hubby and I ventured out on Saturday night. Met up with some friends, the guys talked music as always and then this ex out of hell showed up (my friend's ex, not mine) and the mood died a little, as it tends to do around psycopathic people. So we all decided to leave and go to this place Sirkus but left when they closed the garden and we couldn't freeze to keep the smokers company anymore, then we went to a place called Organ which was a bit of a disappointment. I wonder what it's going to be like, going out in Reykjavík in the winter, since they banned smoking everywhere...

See you later!

What City Should You Live In?
	You should live in New York City. America's largest city will ensure that you will blend into the crowd. You are the brooding type--introspective, creative, and eccentric--and NYC's cutting-edge, individualistic culture and ambience will appeal to you.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

OMG

I want you!

I LIKE LÆKJARTORG

The second price winner in the Lækjartorg competition

by the geniuses in krads architecture

...

Deal or no deal?

Yes, Hubby is here, and we´re one happy family again. Baby is loving all the attention from his complete set of parents and Mummy (that´s me) is enjoying her coffee while reading the papers again. But obviously there´s some ajusting to do, after 3 months of seperation, as expected. All relationships require negotiating and ours is no different. I would like to congratulate myself on my skills on that matter, as I think I have struck the deal of my life. I don´t like big sofas. I don´t think you should necessarily be able to lounge about in front of the TV in a sofa big enough to live in. I´m perfectly happy sitting pretty in a Danish sofa from the fifties or the sixties, perhaps putting my feet up on a well preserved teak table from the same period, or perhaps a contrasting modern one. I also don´t like TVs in the bedroom, not so much for the "style reason" as the fear of me becoming stuck in a bed full of crisp-crumbs and chockolate stains. Not very condusive for my love life - or my mental and physical health, come to think of it. But compromise is the secret to every successful relationship. So I´m willing to allow a TV (just a small one) into the bedroom, if I get my pretty sofa. Hubby is thinking about it. Please don´t try to make me end up with this thing:

HUBBY IS HERE!

buy, buy, buy!!!

In my quest for fitness, I went and bought myself a large detox smothie, consisting of beetroot, cellery and carrots for lunch. Never do that to yourself. Can't buy me love, can't buy me fitness...!

But also...

I am infuriated. For those of you who speak Icelandic, please check this out. And for those of you who don´t, I might put an english version of this here soon. Keep coming!

I AM SO HAPPY TRALALALALAAAA

´CAUSE HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HUBBY´S COMING SOON, HE IS COMING SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!

MONDAY!

It started yesterday already. Bro came over to watch a movie, a very good movie until about 5-10 minutes from the end, the DVD player decided to freeze and no matter what we tried, it refused to show us the rest. Officially monday morning now and from the kindness of my heart I decided to let Baby run around for a bit without his nappy, he´s got a slight nappy rash so this would be good for him. Of course he peed on the floor, so if you had looked inside my window at 7:15 this morning you would have seen something resembling a woman, in her underwear and tanktop and pink marigolds mopping the floor. Then everything was fine until I was on my way to work and the petrol light started blinking at me... gosh, I better buy some petrol then. Went to the self service place, boldly placed my credit card in the reader (cause I can´t remember the pin on my debit card and I had it stored in my phone that died a week ago...), entered the pin - the correct pin by the way - but the bloody machine refused... did this three times but no luck. Bloody stupid machines controling our lives... Hurried to a proper petrol station where you can pay inside but somehow didn´t see the big bright yellow button where it says "pay inside" so stormed in and barked: "how do you do this pay inside thing?!" and the little teenager meauwed:"push the big bright yellow button where it says pay inside". And so I did and so I got my petrol and so I remembered as I was driving away the actual correct pin for my credit card. Got to work and it was someone´s birthday and someone had the great idea that we should all sing the birthday song for this person.
Brace yourself for more to come. If you´ll excuse me now, I´m going to go get myself some more coffee and some chockolate. Goodbye.

Pictures

Pics link here on the right for pictures to come. Oh and the password is the same as on Baby´s site.

London

Aaaah, London! 4 whole days of shopping, partying, canoodling and some more shopping. It went pretty much as I had predicted, although we didn´t venture into Camden after the wedding, instead we gathered the last remaining party guests at our house - or rather Hubby´s and Will´s house, guess I don´t live there anymore... : /
We picked up a few neighbours as well on the way, Kasha and Davor, always a pleasure (and thanks for the talk – what we here call trúnó!). Yep, it was a good night, our old living room full of people all dressed up, boys in suits and girls in floral frocks, the guitar got a good spanking and throats were left a little sore in the wee hours. Dragged my talking mouth and turned off brain to bed around 7, the last guests rang a cab around noon... my brain still shut down, when asked „what´s the address“ replied „what about my dress?“
Was very late to meet my chicks for an otherwise lovely late lunch, sorry about that guys. Steered clear of child-friendly cafés, relishing in hung-over cool chick mood, but dying on the inside to cuddle Baby again.
Baby had gone to bed when I came home on Monday evening, but I got the warmest welcome I have ever received when he woke from his teething pains in the middle of the night - the loveliest bestest hug I have ever known. He didn´t want to let go for a good few days after this, sorry Baby, I´ll never leave you again for this long!!!

IT WASN´T ME!

Nobody saw me do it, you can´t prove anything...

AAA...HAHA!

Hotma in the suburbs told a joke, wishing me a good time in London with Hubby and no Baby. That maybe I would have so much fun that I would make another baby... It was so funny I laughed all the way to the Rye Bread Factory...

???

What´s this wet thing, falling from the sky???!!!

London London, here I come!

Hey hey, on Thursday I´m off on a mini-break, off to London for a wedding and to catch up with Hubby, just me, no Baby in tow. Baby will stay with my parents, who I hope will be able to cope with a teething 14 month old without permanent damage to their phsyce. I was up from 2:30 to 4 last night, administering paracetamol, hugs, cuddles and "you are my sunshine".
On Friday I´m going to start the day by sleeping veeeery late, then go out and do some shopping (wedding present, new shoes for Baby, some clothes for Baby... maby one dress for me, as I´ve still got about 45 quid left on my Topshop card). Saturday is the wedding, and I´m hoping it will end up a proper party, knowing the lot that will be attending it would be absolutely fair to assume so. I´m envisioning (is that a word?) ending up in Camden, maybe at the Barfly (ah, romantic me, that´s where I met Hubby) till about 7 in the morning. Sunday I´m off to see my chicks somewhere around Brick Lane, then Monday will probably be spent cuddling Hubby before i head back home to Baby again.
God I feel guilty, is that motherhood for you?

Teething... oh the fun!

I got some sleep between 12 midnight and 5 this morning... that was nice. Am at work now, on my 4th cup of coffee. Hubby you can come now, your turn baby ;)
Oh, and the washing machine is broken... puddles on the floor.

Welcome to your new life!

I am a happy bunny, 'cause soon the husband to be will be here. When he arrives he will find himself in a pre-packaged new life: The car, the flat, the in-laws, the friends. Baby now falling asleep by him self, in his room, staying at the childminder´s from 8-4, all together now, let´s work the routine! Poor hubbytobe, this is how we do it!

Let´s get this party started!

So I´m back. Had with me:60 kg of luggage + baby + buggy. Said goodbye to husband to be at Stansted and set about starting our new life in a new (old) country.

Arrived in Keflavík city, put the baby in a carrier, picked up the luggage (pushing 50 kg in front of me, pulling the buggy and 10 kg behind me). Not one person (for example a healthy young man) offered to help. Welcome to Iceland. Let´s get this party started!