Snackimals!

Yes, animal shaped snacks. I'm in love with them. I'm addicted to them. I've od:eed on them.

Snickerdoodle. Pure snappiness, really!

My childhood home

My childhood home is for sale again in Stockholm. Feels weird to see pictures from it. Same house, different soul. A lot of memories from that place. Like the time my dad fell into the huge tree we had in the back and couldn't get out of it. And no one could help 'cause we were laughing so hard. Good times. Nostalgia XXL.

Big, Bigger, Biggest...

This blueberry will keep you full for a day... -and probably grow you an extra nipple.

A good name is the best you can inherit...

Perse = Ass in Finnish. I wonder what James really is selling? :)

EEEEEEK!

SHRIEK! Who put almonds in my giant jar of... almonds? :)

Munamies or Mioli?

Munamies is a Finnish TV-character... Mioli is just a character... :)

Above & Beyond!

Saw Above & Beyond in Santa Cruz yesterday. Check their podcast out on iTunes here. Befriended a guy without a shirt, but with a pacifier (or soother, or napp for you Swedes and tutti for you Finns). I mean, why bring anything but the essential, right? Well the music was fantastic. Proud to have a Finn amongst that trio!

Robyn... or Mioli?

Bolognese!

My friend, the sauce, and myself, the pasta = Bolognese!

 

Amazing name

Just signed with a web host, called fat cow. A name like that calls for a shout out. Well done, techies!

Bear with me, don't hurl!

I just got this sent to me:

Sweet, I thought. The hubby found an e-card saying "my love"... But then I realized: Hey it's me in there! So he took a picture of me sleeping and made it into this card. Sweetness.

Love 2011.

The hunt for a perfect salon

I've been going to the same hairstylist for 8 (eight!) years in Helsinki, Finland. His name is Antti Haakana at Konst Hair & Gallery and is amazing. Not just with hair, also with people. So when I first moved to Stockholm, Sweden I'd fly to Helsinki to get my hair cut. I know, a bit extreme, but totally worth it. I'd always come out of his salon feeling uplifted -and gorgeous added to that. Perfect fit.

In these two pictures Antti did my hair.

But after a few flights over to Helsinki it became too expensive. So the hunt began for a salon in Stockholm. And just like it was meant to be I bumped into Steve Terry, with whom I had the pleasure to work with when he was with Toni&Guy. Turned out he had opened a new salon, You. And so another story of hair-happiness began. Love, love, love You! Look at this blogpost and you'll see Steve, me and his work on my hair.

Flying to Stockholm from San Francisco to get a haircut seemed a bit too extreme even for Mioli. So once again the search for a salon began. And just like that, ta ta! I found the perfect one: W's salon

Ah, now I feel like myself again. Ready to take on the world.

So much love!

This is me with my sister and one of our dearest friends, Laura. She has so much love to give and is more sophisticated than most people. She teaches me a lot about prejudiced thoughts and emotions. Love you both!

Definitely 25+

I was at the gym yesterday, running on a super nice treadmill that was softer and more like running cross country, and watched TV at the same time (good thing I'm a woman and can do more than one thing at once, snap!).
Saw the Sharks game (lost, btw, that sucks) and was mesmerized by how fast the subtitles came up. Since it's live, you know.

So I said to Sofia: Wow, can you grasp the speed someone has, doing that? Whereto she answered: "Well Maria, it's probably software doing it". And we realized we are so 25+. I'm so old I took typewriting classes in school and fought over the electronic one. No one under 25 would even have assumed it was done by a human.

Today's find!

All you Swedes in America: LOOK HERE!
In Sweden we eat this thing called "filmjölk". A very distinct taste and texture. Took for granted it was no where to be found in the US, as it usually is one thing that Swedes crave for being abroad. BUT... (bare with me and scroll down)...

TADA! (drumroll). I found this little puppy at Wholefoods! It's no Filmjölk, but close enough. Like Filmjölk's long lost brother. Welcome home! Check it out at: Lifeway.

New Favorite

See, crave and drool. Found a new favorite store: Club Monaco. For my convenience (and doom) it is located in the shopping mall right next to my new home. So much for my new sustainable, minimalistic new life style...

Coconut Water, even Madonna drinks it...

• Coconut water is more nutritious than whole milk; it has less fat and no cholesterol.
• Drinking coconut water is healthier than OJ as it has a much lower caloric count.
• It is naturally sterile, water permeates through the filtered husk
• It is a natural isotonic beverage, it has the same level of electrolytic balance that is in our blood and is identical to human blood plasma.
• Coconut water contains more potassium, less sodium and natural sugars than most energy and sports drinks.The coconut is a magical food as every part of it can be used in food preparation or as its own dish. The milk, meat, sugar and oil can be found in prepared foods, recipes, as well as non-food items such as candles. The classification of the coconut is difficult to determine, but what is not is its myriad of health benefits.

• It helps keep you cool by helping to maintain proper body temperature.
• It helps boost poor circulation.
• Coconut water carries nutrients and oxygen to your cells.
• It can help naturally replenish your body’s fluids after exercising.
• It raises metabolism and promotes weight loss.
• Coconut water detoxifies the body, fights viruses, and boosts the immune system.
• It cleanses the digestive track, balances the pH, and can reduce the risk of cancer.
• It can help control diabetes and treat kidney & urethral stones.

Text from: http://www.alwaysnewyou.com/

Okay... So you see all these benefits above, right? Of course I, being a bit of a health lunatic, fell for trying. And they left out the fact that it tastes like dead feet. Madonna, how do you do it?

Did you know?

I can't hear you!

Went to the gym to get some exercise crossed off the to-do list. Looked at the schedule and decided to go to a kick-boxing class. I did some boxing and thai boxing when I was younger, so I figured it'd be a kid's game for this veteran...

You know I was wrong. I did not see Le Jon coming. The trainer. It was 55 min of pure trying-not-to-puke-heaven. I write heaven because I loved it. He made us scream. Count the reps out loud. "I can't hear you", he kept screaming, no roaring. How often do you get to beat the crap out of something (if even just air) and scream your lungs out? Well I don't often enough apparently. So purifying.

And also... for the record... gotta love those who do the sport for real. Seriously challenging! Don't get abs like that for nothing, right?! Maybe they all have a Le Jon of their own.

TAKEN!

Tried to decide on which gym to go to... Went to try this one, Club One, out and it wasn't much of a game... They have 2, not 1 but 2(!) Saunas! My Finnish genes burst out into song (a happy one): I'll take it! Give me free access to a Sauna and I'll be yours forever!

Contradiction...

Happiness is having your basic needs met with a life full of love... and a Balmain jacket or two. Right?

Bliss

This is Elias. My cousin's son. He is a few weeks old and blissfully unaware of the world's cruelty and disasters. He only knows he is loved by a lot of people and that his basic needs, such as a home and food, are well covered. What a genius. If we just could be happy for what we have instead of always wanting more (I do want that Balmain jacket, let's not get carried away), life would be a lot more like this picture of Elias.

Even big things consist of small parts...

I remember being a kid watching my dad pay bills. A sea of bills scattered on the kitchen table to be more accurate. I looked at him with my 8-year old blue eyes, horrified, and asked: "Dad, how am I ever gonna be able to move away from home when I don't even know how to pay bills?". Well, here I am, all grown up, paying my own seas of bills. I guess my point is that a lot of things look scary at first, since they're new to you.


But by just doing, learning, eating one piece at a time even a elephant would be eaten and a sea of bills would be paid. Even a sea is just drops come together.

H&M is back!

Me and my sister from another mister. Hermine & Maria, changing the world, chapter 1. Starting with the alleged doom day May 21st 2011. From here we change the world, as you eat an elephant, piece by piece.

Put me in a cage!

First time in a batting cage, definitely not the last. Loved it, just can't hold anything with my hands now because they're shaking so much. Just do it? NO! OVER-do it! :) Exceeding is my lowest ambition.

I passed the DMV written driver's license test

Department of Mad Violations...?

Going to DMV tomorrow to do the written test to get a Californian Driver's License. Studying these old tests. This one question cracked me up:

"You are being chased by a police vehicle with its lights and sirens activated. You ignore the warning to stop and speed away. During the chase, a person in seriously injured. You are subject to:
a) Imprisonment in a state prison for five years
b) A fine of not less than 1000 USD
c) Attending an anger-management class

Yup, I'd go for the c), definitely. Need to shake that anger!

The power of inspiration

Okay here's the deal. I'm a long way from home and I'm in a pretty vulnerable stage one could say. I'm looking for a home as well as I am a job. I love it, seeing all the opportunities ahead of me. But at the same time it can be a handful without your closest rooters. So today I got this mail from my friend and mentor with a lot of love and "you-can-do-it's" if you may. But the best part was this below. Pictures for my wall of inspiration. Okay, so I say: BRING IT ON, I AM GAME FOR ANYTHING, especially with this group backing me up! :) LOVE YOU!

Sisters

This is my sister and me in Hawaii. Look at her amazingly perfect pores! Lovely! You could shoot up her nose (didn't want to write that other ominous whole, would be too gross) and it'd be a good picture. :)

Just happy to still have her around. Not just in my heart. Annika - Cancer: 1-0!

San Francisco lovin'

In the jungle only the fit survive

...even my lap top sleeve matches. Score!

Wohooooo!

So my sister asked me if I was happy. That made me think about what makes me happy. Well, today I got a revelation driving over the Richmond bridge in San Francisco... The "woohooo-moments" in life make me happy. The bridge made me go WOOOHOOO big time, you see.

A good time to take up blogging again...