Thank you, mommy dearest♥!

FRIDAY 27th of FEBRUARY 2009

Ah, my dear mother called me late Wednesday evening when I was still at work. Though it's always nice to hear from mommy dearest, this time the call can only be described as absolutely fabulous!

She surprised me with a trip to wonderful Barcelona as my birthday present! It's the best present I could ever get, and just what I wanted the most, a vacation!

So, between 13th - 17th of May you'll find us on the southeast coast of Spain enjoying the city; it's architecture, culture & atmosphere, food, shopping, and warm & lovely weather!

♥ I can hardly wait!!! ♥

Have you got any advice on what to do & see in Barcelona for me?!?

Winter in Oslo

THURSDAY 26th of FEBRUARY 2009

Totally forgot I had these pictures, taken last weekend just after I'd finished working. It had been snowing all day again, and according to a newspaper article earlier this week, it hasn't been this much snow since 1987.

Here, in the first picture, you see the view of Rådhusplassen as seen from the entrance to Aker Brygge. The square is completely covered in snow! Which it actually still is, just criss-crossed with little paths where loads upon loads of people have laboured through the snow.
And below, you see what I think about all this snow: I'm not quite happy about it. Anybody else looking forward to spring?

Little boxes...

WEDNESDAY 25th of FEBRUARY 2009

Yesterday I finally had time to go to the post office to pick up the parcel that's been waiting for me. Okey, so it did only arrive the day before, but I'd been happily anticipating the arrival of my parcel full of goodies from Strawberrynet.com for almost a week! Yes, I really am that impatient ;0) - but can you blame me?!?

So, barely inside the door I dropped my bag & groceries on the spot and headed straight for the couch to open my parcel. And inside the box I found the items beautifully wrapped in shiny silver paper. Nice. Here's a photo of my favorite products - all ordered from strawberrynet and skipped all the way from Hong Kong. And that in only a week!

The Clinique moisturizer and superbalm (must-have products in my toilet bag), and the Anna Sui eye shaddow (just because I love & need Anna Sui products) I ordered, while the Stila products were complimentary gifts, the lip gloss for being a new customer while I guess they threw in the eye shaddow just because they liked me ;).

The only downside was that thanks to the ridiculously low maximum value for duty free order from abroad (which in Norway is just over 200 kr), I had to pay 100kr in customs and another 100 kr in VAT on the payment of customs - isn't that crazy?!? Still, I know I saved money on ordering online in comparrison to buying it in the shop, so I'm happy.

...and just because I've given this post the same title as a song I often find myself singing, courtesy of the hit TV-show Weeds, here's the lyrics to 'Little Boxes' by Malvina Reynolds:

Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of tickytacky
Little boxes on the hillside, little boxes all the same
There's a green one and a pink one and a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.

And the people in the houses all went to the university
Where they were put in boxes and they came out all the same,
And there's doctors and there's lawyers, and business executives
And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.

And they all play on the golf course and drink their martinis dry,
And they all have pretty children and the children go to school

And the children go to summer camp and then to the university

Where they are put in boxes and they come out all the same.

And the boys go into business and marry and raise a family
In boxes made of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.

Dancin' queen - I wish!

TUESDAY 24th of FEBRUARY 2009

I've been lagging behind on my posting lately, in spite of the fact that I've both had quite a few things I've been meaning to share with the world. Hihi, grand words (if I must say so myself)!

However, this is not meant to be a post about good intentions, because what I wanted to do is tell you what I did on Sunday (the picture is should be a hint): I went ice skating!

Now, growing up in the south of Norway it hardly ever got cold enough for there to be any snow and ice during the winter months, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that winter sports isn't my forte . And when it comes to ice skating I can count on one hand the times I've actually tried it. The first time being around the age of 6 or 7 on a pond, holding my fathers hand while trying out my very own pair of skates - pink with white fake fur trimmings - and probably the first & only time they were use. Later on, when I was at junior high, we had a winter or two when the lake by the school would freeze over and we would have so-called Activity days, where a few hours at the end of the school day (usually a Friday) would be spent having fun on the ice. Thus, ice skating is something I haven't done for over 10 years, and its' something I was pretty sure I would never do again...until recently, that is.

So, about a fortnight ago I bought a pair of skates - inspired by my dear house-mate and her adorable 4-year old son - and last Sunday we went skating. Definately Bambi on ice! Scary as hell, but so much fun too. I had a great time; wobbly legs all the way & laughing so much that my stomach is still hurting (almost)!

Hurrah for winter!...and hurrah for Oslo & it's artificial ice rinks!

-:- Update, 25/2 -:-

Decided on adding a few pictures from Sunday's skating outing with E, T & S - taken on the ice after I'd found my "sea legs". No pictures of me in action. Now isn't that strange? ;0)

Yeah! Fun - I wanna go again!

Project A

THURSDAY 19th of FEBRUARY 2009

Okey, so attempt #2 at trying to turn myself into a morning person is almost complete. The first try was a couple of weeks back, and a week of getting up early, say around 8 o'clock which isn't really early at all, rendered me completely useless for a week. I literally got sick from trying (okey, so I actually was sick that week too - that darn cold just doesn't want to go away)! Thus, I was back at square one.

This week the experiment continued and I must say it has gone remarkably well so far. I've been up sometime between 8 - 8.30 everyday so far except for Monday, when I woke up feeling like I'd been to one hell of a party the night before. And, I hate nothing more than waking up feeling like I've got a mega hang-over. Condition = zombie - and that's was even after I had a cup of coffee! Yeah, and just to make it clear: There was no party. Just Shekira who did a lousy job of looking after herself during the weekend (neither eating enough, drinking enough - definately could have skipped the Irish Coffee after work - nor sleeping enough).

Though I might never become a full-fledged morning person, I at least hope to be less of a bat and more of a rooster. And, more importantly, I've discovered two aspects of the A-rhythm that I actually like: 1) starting the day off with a hot cup of coffee & a newspaper, and 2) feeling sleepy early in the evening!

Happy Valentine's Day!

SATURDAY 14th of FEBRUARY 2009

Happy Valentine's Day!

Not really a "red-letter day" I bother to celebrate simply because there's no tradition for celebrating it in Norway (or at least used to be, though this seems to be rapidly changing). Alas, it's not because I'm old, bitter & single ;)

Anyway, Valentine's Day was spent at work hanging up way too many heavy winter jackets & coats - it amazes me that all the middle-aged women in Oslo don fur coats when dressing up to go out for dinner! Ouch, my arms feel like they're going to fall off...
Luckily there haven't been to many couples getting too lovey-dovey down here when either visiting the bathrooms or picking up ther jackets. Okey, now I'm starting to sound bitter, haha!

Hope you've had a nice evening & big hugs to family & friends on "alle hjerters dag"!

My little secret

MONDAY 9th of FEBRUARY 2009

You must think I'm crazy - shoe crazy that is - as I've postet 2 entries in the topic, though I assure you that I'm just as interested in shoes as your average girl. Who would blame me, when there are so many beautiful shoes out there...

Though the crime happened a few weeks ago, it's time to confess:

I've been a naughty girl. I just couldn't help myself - it must by those darn Lemley-genes (a legitimate & frequently used reason as the love & need for beautiful shoes literally runs in my family), but I just couldn't go home without taking these babies with me!

Okey, so it was more a case of me desperately wanting them than actually needing them, though I guarantee they'll be handy to have no matter what the occasion might be. Besides, black satin high-heeled peep toes are always a great buy, and as they were on sale (70% discount!) I just couldn't say no.

...though, you know you've done something bad when you're immediately haunted by a guilty conscience thus prompting you to hide them away (still in both box & bag) in the bottom of your closet, only taking them out to wear & admire when your alone and preferably under the cover of darkness. Therefore it about b****y time my secret sees the light of day: "Look, I've got new shoes and I ♥ them!"

Grrrr

WEDNESDAY 4th of FEBRUARY 2009

I hate galoshes. I really hate them!

Though I understand why they are becoming increasingly populare in Norway, there is nothing more irritating that loose obects when working as a cloakroom attendant - and I find galoshes particularly irritating as there is no good way of storing them where I work.

...and most importantly, they're always wet!

-¤- Update 05/02/09 -¤-

Jepp, still hate them, but I've been eyeing a pair of galoshes for ladies called Cityslippers. Their especially made for high-heeled shoes, so no need to hide away my favorite pair(s) of stilettoes until spring!

(http://www.swims.com/)