All The World's A Fomite

Bedtime reading

2012-02-10T01:13:00.002+01:00

London pictures

2012-02-04T14:01:00.002+01:00

...are up on facebook. If you want to see, but don't have an account, e-mail me for login details.

Being a packrat pays off!

2012-01-29T06:29:00.001+01:00

Will be in London for three days. It will be my first solo trip not counting trips to or within Sweden or The Philippines.

Needed a somewhat formal shoulder bag and none of my usual bags would work, but I unearthed this in one of my many storage boxes.

Mid-December to mid-January was an anxious time for me with my fate for the spring semester hanging in the balance. I was pretty sure that things would work out, but the lingering doubt was draining nonetheless and I'm hoping this little trip will give me a much needed energy boost.

Have seen shoes hanging at various places before

2012-01-27T14:19:00.003+01:00

...but not a bra on a tree...until yesterday, that is.

Spotted at a local bookstore

2012-01-26T17:02:00.002+01:00

The last name caught my attention and the back cover confirmed that the author is Filipino. Don't think I've ever seen a book by a Filipino author translated to Swedish before.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T22:02:00.004+01:00

After I placed the gifts under the tree, The Big Niece informed me that she could do it "righter" and then proceeded to rearrange the presents. :p

Christmas shopping done

2011-12-23T15:43:00.002+01:00

Now eating at IKEA's Christmas buffet before heading home.

Where the wild things are

2011-12-19T12:48:00.002+01:00

When the SIL heard I was going to a Christmas market, she asked me to buy reindeer sausage. I didn't actually make it to the Christmas market in Gamla Stan (Old City), but there were some stalls at Centralstationen. I ended up buying one of each of the specialty sausages, namely bear, deer, moose, reindeer and wild boar.

Where's the pizza?

2011-12-18T17:58:00.001+01:00

Ordered a ribs & wings platter at Pizza Hut. I dislike it when cole slaw is the default side dish, but I actually liked their version.

Mumsy, is that you?

2011-12-13T12:54:00.004+01:00

Commuter cards with a photo of the crown princess and her prince were released around the time of the royal wedding last year. They supposedly sold out quickly, but I somehow got this when I purchased a new card at KS Solna a few weeks ago.

As The Big Niece and I waited at a dimly lit bus stop on Saturday evening, I showed her the card and figured we were going to talk princesses since she's at that age. Instead, she cut me off and declared "That's just Farmor!"

[Farmor means father's/paternal grandmother.]

Look C!

2011-12-10T01:17:00.004+01:00

This is what happens when you enlarge the photo and increase the contrast...

Do you believe me now? :p

After the OSCE storm

2011-12-09T00:36:00.002+01:00

We took the test in batches of 6, but to safeguard against cheating, we all had to come in at 0800 and then remain in the classroom until we were done. They supplied us with sandwiches and beverages in the meantime.

My start time was 1030, but got pushed back to 1045. I slept last night and didn't get much studying in, but I managed to skim through the examinations, interpretations and procedures sections of the OSCE book while waiting. At some point, I looked out the window and spotted a helicopter hovering for quite a while (yes, that's the speck encircled in the photo).

At the start of the OSCE, I was really terrified, but I got calmer with each station. May have been too calm by the 6th and last station actually.

Thought "Oh, crap!" the two times I entered a room/station to find that the examiner would be one of our regular teachers. Most lecturers pop into our lives for one or two lectures. The regulars, on the other hand, know your name and the course objectives. I really didn't want to make a fool of myself, but I need not have worried as they were quite supportive.

Anyway, I thought you would be done for the moment you gave a wrong answer, but that wasn't the case and it turned out to be a valuable learning experience. Had also expected it to be procedure-heavy and had been stressing out about that, but all the stations involved diagnosis and treatment recommendations instead.

After we were done, we received a cinnamon roll and a hot beverage.

A few hours later, I received an e-mail from the course secretary informing me that I'd passed. I'm so relieved to have that behind me and so grateful for the people that believe in me especially when I struggle with believing in myself.

Dangerous by association

2011-12-07T12:37:00.006+01:00

Tomorrow is OSCE day. I know now that OSCE stands for Objective Structured Clinical Examination. The thing is when I hear OSCE, it could just as well be "åske/åska". Åska is Swedish for thunder (or thunderstorm). That gets me thinking things should go fast, fast, fast --- lightning speed! And when you screw up, that's when the ominous thunderclap comes in. Do you get where I'm going with this?

I think I need to relax and breathe...and sleep, sleep would be good.

Sushi brunch

2011-12-07T10:37:00.001+01:00

Hopefully the wasabi and ginger will do my sad little throat some good.

To quote Vector (Despicable Me), "Oh, poop!"

2011-12-06T16:56:00.002+01:00

Took the wrong train and now have to double back to the station where the two train routes diverge. :(

It is done

2011-12-06T02:05:00.001+01:00

Sent in my project proposal on Monday. It's actually more of a formality since I already submitted it online about a month ago. The signatures took a while.

Used the internal mail so I wouldn't have to buy stamps. :p

Where will it end?

2011-12-04T03:45:00.001+01:00

A cake recipe inspired me to make these lemon cupcakes with blueberry frosting. When I tasted the frosting, which is cream cheese-based, I automatically thought blueberry cheesecake, so that's now on my to-make list.

The frosting turned out pretty dark since I'd decided to make a smaller batch and adjusted the ingredients accordingly, but somehow managed to forget that when it was time to add the blueberries.

Added the sprinkles for decoration, but I actually think it looks better without so you can see the swirl better.

What I ate today

2011-12-02T00:56:00.004+01:00

Toast with caviar & sour cream and butter & fig marmelade for lunch.

Cheese plate for dinner.

Scrambled eggs with parmesan, pancetta with honey, and the butter&fig marmelade toast for my 10 PM snack. They were making eggs benedict on MasterChef and I was envious, but not envious enough to make hollandaise, so this had to do.

Carbonara for dinner

2011-11-30T23:49:00.001+01:00

The real deal this time with pancetta and parmigiano reggiano.

My 10 PM snack

2011-11-30T23:48:00.001+01:00

Yes, the 10 PM snack is a thing now. In fact, it's the new midnight snack. :p

For lunch today

2011-11-30T02:18:00.001+01:00

...I had something barbeque-like at 10 AM.

Faux carbonara

2011-11-26T03:25:00.001+01:00

At around a quarter past midnight, I just decided I wanted carbonara. Had to make substitutions for the pancetta and cheeses, but it tasted good enough for me to eat two bowlfuls.

WeightWatchers Dinner #4

2011-11-26T03:24:00.001+01:00

Nope, it's not what's in the picture. Had baked chicken which was marinated in honey, lemon juice and mustard. I was already halfway through my meal before I realized that I'd forgotten to take a photo. Oopsy!

Made a snap decision to bake a brownie for dessert because...well, it's friday? :p

Sightseeing during lunch

2011-11-23T13:58:00.003+01:00

There's a site for locating graves in Stockholm. Checked it years ago and found out that the ancestors are buried at Norra Begravningsplatsen. Wanted to visit, but never got around to it. Only realized pretty recently (while looking for McDonald's) that that cemetery is just across the road from Karolinska Solna.

Crikey!

2011-11-23T04:07:00.002+01:00

Can't sleep. Alarm is set at 5:45. :(

WeightWatchers Dinner #3

2011-11-23T02:31:00.002+01:00

...was French fish stew. It shared most ingredients with the previous day's dish and this is the third soup dish in as many days. Clearly, I didn't put enough thought into this menu.

WeightWatchers Dinner #2

2011-11-21T23:01:00.001+01:00

Vegetarian chili...good stuff or maybe I was just really hungry because it was my first meal for the day. First class was at 1 PM, so I slept late and set my alarm for 11 AM and ended up having to rush to school and skip breakfast and lunch.

And so WeightWatchers Week begins...

2011-11-20T19:14:00.003+01:00

First out, onion soup and sourdough bread with low-fat cheese. Prepared crustless quiche in advance for when there isn't enough time to cook.

Coke is it not

2011-11-18T23:30:00.004+01:00

Have had this tube of gloss for a while, but don't remember having used it before. Smells more like rootbeer than cola actually.

A rare photo of something other than food

2011-11-18T23:22:00.004+01:00

Was at The Royal Opera this evening to watch The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. There were moments when I didn't have a clue what was going on --- should have done some reading beforehand! --- but they danced beautifully, the music was lovely and I enjoyed myself nevertheless.

Guessing game answer (because Dudie Mia tried guessing)

2011-11-14T17:41:00.005+01:00

While they did resemble meatballs, those were actually red velvet cake balls pre-candy-melt-dipping.

The red velvet cake wasn't very red at all though since I refused to heap on the food coloring.

Guessing game

2011-11-01T21:48:00.001+01:00

What in tarnation could these be?

A: The popcorn bag

2011-10-28T16:42:00.001+02:00

Q: What separates the artsy cinema from the huge chain?

Buttermilk update

2011-10-18T18:36:00.001+02:00

Made onion rings and biscuits yesterday. They both turned out well and I'll definitely be making the onion rings again.

Where's your ilk, buttermilk?

2011-10-16T10:48:00.002+02:00

Used to come across recipes that required buttermilk, but could never find any in The Philippines or in Sweden. Ergo, when I spotted it in the store a few days ago, I just had to buy a bottle.

First up, buttermilk pancakes. While there is a difference in taste and texture compared to the non-buttermilk variety, I can't really say that one is better than the other.

Next up, onion rings or buttermilk biscuits.

Boo!

2011-10-11T12:35:00.002+02:00

Bread art by The Little Niece. Guess she's gearing up for Halloween.

[Photo taken yesterday.]

Happy Cinnamon Roll Day!

2011-10-04T12:10:00.002+02:00

Not-so-grand unveiling

2011-10-02T18:21:00.005+02:00

Presenting the results of drawing time with The Little Niece:

All I can say is...

2011-10-01T22:57:00.002+02:00

Blech!

Couldn't come up with a CATchy title

2011-09-25T16:26:00.004+02:00

Have never really been a big Hello Kitty fan because I prefer smartmouthed characters and...well...Hello Kitty doesn't even have a mouth. :p

And yet, these Crocs were just too cute and well-executed to resist, so I finally ordered them when they went on sale.

As for the soda, I spotted it in a small store a few days ago and just had to give it a try. It's raspberry-flavored and tasted perfectly okay.

Brainy Smurf acquired!

2011-09-21T17:26:00.002+02:00

Happy birthday to my favorite person in the world

2011-08-29T20:26:00.002+02:00

...namely, ME!!!

Encountered minor disasters while making the cake yesterday, but I persevered because I didn't have the heart to let myself down. :p

Thank you to everyone who greeted me! Muchos thankies to the Brother, the SIL, The Big Niece and The Little Niece for the prezzies!

Ah, yes...

2011-08-27T17:32:00.002+02:00

"Home, Love, Slime" is the new "Eat, Pray, Love"

Birthday present from Hemköp

2011-08-23T20:15:00.002+02:00

Why, thank you!

Dexterity

2011-08-13T17:25:00.003+02:00

I was holding my sundae cone with one hand, so the other hand had to remove the coffee cup lid, tear open the sugar packets, pour the sugar, stir, replace the lid, and snap this photo all by itself.

Needed to take a break from trying to force myself to study

2011-08-13T17:22:00.002+02:00

...so I reunited with my old friend Ronald.

Brunch at Wayne's

2011-08-04T11:54:00.003+02:00

...after a walk in the woods.

Back in Stockholm

2011-07-26T11:40:00.002+02:00

Arrived shortly before midnight yesterday. The Big Niece accessorized Mumin while I was away.

At Heathrow

2011-06-17T19:37:00.003+02:00

Just finished snacking at Yo! Sushi.

Starbucks fix: check!

2011-06-17T15:21:00.002+02:00

Am now about to board. Will be back on July 25.

This is the closest I'm getting

2011-06-17T14:54:00.003+02:00

...to celebrating Midsommarafton.

Poor Pippi!

2011-06-17T14:51:00.003+02:00

Guess those gold coins couldn't last forever.

Placeholder

2011-06-17T12:50:00.002+02:00

Think the nieces will buy it?

My not-so-balanced diet

2011-06-14T17:08:00.003+02:00

I only ate half of the chocolate mousse, so that makes it 1.5 --- and not 2 --- desserts.

The cheese and spinach pancakes would probably have tasted better if they were hot. Only ate one.

Took the IKEA bus from the city for the first time. One woman kept giving a family the evil eye because a little kid was laughing...sheesh, and I thought I was a misanthrope.

The chicken's revenge

2011-06-12T18:03:00.002+02:00

Was making homemade chicken nuggets yesterday when one piece slipped from the tongs and fell about 6 inches before landing in the hot oil and making a splash.

Packing?

2011-06-10T21:05:00.004+02:00

Well, more like I cleared my suitcase of the stuff I normally store there. Plus, I did throw some items in, namely a belated present and two items my mom asked me to bring. You see, my mom --- who is a travel agent --- left behind a huge bag of stuff here after her last visit, but still managed to get charged about USD300 for overweight baggage.

Anyway, will be leaving for Manila in a week and am mostly messing with my luggage to distract me from what I actually should be doing. Even managed to 'clean' my room a bit, which mostly means that I moved piles of stuff around. I did also throw away a bunch of receipts though...can you imagine how much space that saved?! :p

Reviving leftovers

2011-06-05T11:50:00.002+02:00

Didn't have time to eat the waffles yesterday, so today I warmed them in the waffle iron and topped them with confectioner's sugar.

Eventually

2011-06-01T14:48:00.002+02:00

Today was the last day of my endocrine elective and of the semester as a whole. Had a three-part exam: written; foot status with one of our teachers as the foot model; and patient interview and diagnosis. Afterwards, the course admin fed us chicken salad and various desserts while we discussed the exam.

Happened to pass the venue for KI graduations on my way home. Six more semesters, eh?

Hospital sweet home

2011-05-18T12:45:00.002+02:00

Am spending the final month of the semester at the hospital in Solna for my elective, but we're at my regular hospital today for a little field trip.

Just finished eating lunch in the lobby. Much quieter and more relaxing than the lunch rooms and restaurants.

Before lunch, we visited a lab here that's accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Apparently, it's one of 35 labs globally, several of which currently have their accreditation suspended. I miss spending time in a lab.

Also, visited level 9 for the first time today.

Eat up your ice cream first!

2011-05-15T20:14:00.002+02:00

Chanced upon an episode of Ellen recently and her opening monologue was about how differently people behave in theme parks. She mentioned that she'd overheard a mother warning the kids that they wouldn't get any dessert if they didn't finish their cinnabuns.

This Smarties ice cream treat seems to follow the same principle. You'll have to finish the ice cream --- which contains crushed Smarties --- before you can access the Smarties in the tube.

The Little Niece was a big fan of this product. After eating her own ice cream, she swiped about a quarter of mine.

[Photo taken at 1855 yesterday.]

Brunch at Connect Hotel in Kungsholmen

2011-05-15T20:01:00.002+02:00

Bought a 2-for-1 gift card via Groupon a few weeks back and then invited a friend to come along. Read a negative review on a blog the other night and that got me a bit worried that this would turn out to be a dud. It turned out well though. The selection was somewhat limited, but the food was good.

[Photo taken at 1405.]

Another hospital photo

2011-05-07T01:06:00.003+02:00

...this time from within one of the tunnels. The sign in the foreground points the way to the disaster supply room and --- if I'm not mistaken --- some of the pipes overhead are actually pneumatic tubes for transporting mail within the hospital.

[Taken at 1142 yesterday.]

From the inside looking out

2011-05-07T00:15:00.002+02:00

Quickly snapped this photo from inside the breakroom of the radiology department at Karolinska Solna. The room is situated directly above the main entrance of the main building and is almost enough to make me consider specializing in radiology. Methinks this department must have some major clout. :p

[Taken at 0942 yesterday.]

They've arrived!

2011-04-30T16:32:00.002+02:00

Have been eyeing Swedish Hasbeens for a while, but thought the price tag was too hefty for a pair of glorified bakyas, so I was over the moon when I accidentally discovered they'd released a mini collection for H&M.

I was expecting these to arrive earlier in the week, but never received an SMS notification. It's a good thing I checked the delivery status online yesterday because as it turns out, I forgot to update the mobile number they had on file --- I switched operators several months ago --- and the package had been sitting there waiting for me since the 27th.

If there's climate neutral...

2011-04-29T16:55:00.004+02:00

Why not cupcake neutral? Strawberry intake cancels out cupcake intake...at least in my world it does.

Impromptu snack

2011-04-28T17:05:00.002+02:00

Homemade mini doughnuts! These were easy to make and surprisingly good.

My not-quite-brush with Stockywood

2011-04-26T15:09:00.003+02:00

On my way from school to the station, I noticed a sign on the main door of an apartment building informing residents that there would be parking issues as an international movie was going to be filmed on that street from noon to 1500 today. They were already packing up when I came by around 1430. Ha, I missed my chance to meet Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara! :p

Oh, I almost forgot!

2011-04-24T23:15:00.004+02:00

Happy Easter!

Here's what egg painting with The Big Niece on the 13th --- oh, that seems so long ago --- yielded. The SIL bought her an Easter egg craft kit and told her that she could share it with Faster, The Big Niece then declared "It's for us and me, Faster!" Way to assert ownership! :)

The Little Niece knows there's more than one way to make your lunch disappear

2011-04-17T13:48:00.002+02:00

She chose to go the stuffing-the-rice-in-the-plastic-fish route.

Dinner on the balcony

2011-04-16T19:20:00.002+02:00

Buffalo chicken with German potato salad for the oldies and fried chicken with fries (not pictured here) for the kiddies.

Subject to change without prior notice

2011-04-14T15:24:00.002+02:00

Colored this on Tuesday and The Big Niece was all "Oh, that's so pretty!"

Apparently, she gave it a closer look on Wednesday because she then reprimanded me for getting the color of Kai-lan's shorts wrong. They should have been orange and The Big Niece didn't buy my explanation that Kai-lan was just wearing a different pair for the day.

Fortune cookie says...

2011-04-02T16:13:00.002+02:00

Bought this when I dropped by a Thai store on Wednesday to buy Filipino food.

If snacking were a crime

2011-03-31T23:33:00.004+02:00

...they'd have to put me away for life.

Macaron mission accomplished. I tried vanilla and caramel yesterday, and had intended to just buy chocolate and raspberry today. However, the caramel was sooo good, I couldn't resist!

Now you know why I limited myself to half a cinnamon roll and half a semla after dinner. :p

I also managed to squeeze in some junk food from the Philippines, namely Oishi Spicy.

No interest in trying passionfruit and licorice, but the salesperson helpfully/deviously mentioned that they have new flavors that she just hasn't gotten around to putting on display yet: citrus, lime and pistachio.

No need to worry too much about my new addiction though. Tomorrow will be my last day in that neck of the woods.

Blame it on The Big Niece

2011-03-31T21:04:00.002+02:00

Yep, another food entry. Yesterday, The Big Niece wanted me to bake cinnamon rolls when I got home, so I just promised to bring one home for her today. Of course, I got myself some goodies too, but I only ate half of each!

The girl at the bakeshop wanted to know if I would be eating there. She probably thought I would be eating everything myself. :p

No power outage today

2011-03-30T21:04:00.004+02:00

...so I finally got to buy the things I was supposed to buy yesterday including a nurse's watch. Also visited the specialty coffee and tea shop --- appropriately named Bönor&Blad (Beans&Leaves) --- to see if they sold chai latte powder, which they do and macarons too! These are the real deal and I plan to return tomorrow to try the other flavors.

In other news...
* Today was kinda blah, lots of waiting around.
* I discovered that there's a bus route to the clinic that takes about as long as the tram ride, but is so much less crowded.
* My name plate finally arrived in the mail.

Power outage-induced snack

2011-03-29T16:54:00.010+02:00

The power went out just as I entered the mall next to the clinic, so there was nothing left to do but go home. Since the trains and trams weren't running, I opted to walk aimlessly in the snow/rain in search of a bus stop in the middle of nowhere. The more logical alternative would have been to double back to the main square, but I felt too lazy to do so...nevermind that I actually ended up walking much farther. I'm stupidly stubborn --- a.k.a. dumstridigt --- like that.

Am almost home. Just stopped by a coffee shop for something warm and spotted these. They look better than they taste...but hey, curiosity satisfied.

P.S. Ate my first DrugCo-sponsored lunch courtesy of Cymbalta/Lilly today. :p

Celebrating Friday afternoon

2011-03-25T15:35:00.000+01:00

It's been a long but relatively good week in Kidneyland.

Vardagslyx*

2011-03-23T19:08:00.002+01:00

The Brother made dinner tonight...and his creation apparently merited some bubbly.

*vardag = weekday; lyx = luxury

Have just spent the last 3 hours in the kitchen

2011-03-20T22:19:00.002+01:00

Made pasta salad for lunch tomorrow and on Tuesday.

Also made two types of savory muffins, pizza and bacon, to snack on. The Muffins book was a present from my Secret Santa (Thanks!) and I've been meaning to try out some of the recipes.

BTW, Advanced Happy Birthday C! Hope you'll have a great day!

Hi Blog! It's been awhile.

2011-03-08T11:44:00.002+01:00

Today is International Women's Day and Semla Day (thus the semla on my tray). Some newspaper ad would also have me believe it's Pancake Day.

Arrived early for my 0815 class this morning...wonder of wonders! The seminar that followed finished early, so I got a long lunch and headed over to one of the few food chains in the area.

Let's talk about hair

2011-02-16T21:42:00.005+01:00

As a kid, I was somewhat envious of some of the kids at school who had complicated hairstyles day in and day out. I think the most advanced one my mom and aunt could manage was a ponytail and a plain braid respectively, but I love them heaps just the same. :p

Anyway, left to my own devices, it took years for little Eina to realize that you were supposed to comb your hair. Ha, imagine that! I could have been the Tangled poster child.

Also, I have stubborn, uncooperative hair. I was once forced to return a hairstyling set I'd ordered over the home shopping channel because my hair refused to hold a curl no matter how long I kept it twirled around the curling iron or how much ozone damage I caused with the hairspray.

Anyway, long story short...tried my hand at a French braid tonight. It could be neater, but it's passable. As Kai-Lan has taught us, "you'll get better if you try, try, try."

P.S. I got my hair permed 2 or 3 times while in elementary school because of Andrea Zuckerman from the original 90210.

After school snack

2011-02-16T17:00:00.003+01:00

It was okay, but not really my cup of soup...er, tea. :p

That reminds me of when a Swedish celebrity blogger wrote "It's not my cop of tea" as she belittled the people who shop at outlet stores.

Salt

2011-02-07T21:14:00.001+01:00

It's not just for rubbing into wounds anymore!

I wanted brunch

2011-02-06T19:42:00.002+01:00

...but it was 3:00 PM and the possible brunch places seemed too far away, so this had to do.

Puzzled

2011-02-02T08:41:00.002+01:00

The Little Niece has recently fallen in love with puzzles. Wonder what she'd think of this display at the hospital.

Show and tell for today

2011-02-01T20:20:00.002+01:00

...is brought to you by the SIL. While preparing dinner, she discovered a little green bell pepper inside the red one.

Who knew bell peppers could get pregnant?! Or is this the bell pepper equivalent of Russian nesting dolls?

Thank you rebates!

2011-01-30T20:35:00.002+01:00

I paid 9 Swedish crowns for this bag of groceries.

Am now waiting for my train home and trying to avoid making eye contact with the pigeons.

Fascinating read

2011-01-25T20:41:00.003+01:00

Owing to the fact that Robert Edwards was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine/Physiology in 2010 for IVF, the theme of the most recent issue of SOMA (a free magazine from Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset) is infertility.

Apparently, 30% of men and 33% of women have fertility problems. I find that surprising because I can only come up with 4 couples that I know personally who don't have children of their own and 2 of those couples didn't meet until the women were in their late 40s or 50s.

Now accepting orders :p

2011-01-23T00:50:00.002+01:00

Looky what I made for The Little Niece's 2nd birthday yesterday! Moist chocolate cake on the inside, buttercream frosting galore on the outside.

Have never attempted anything like this before, but the cake pan the SIL purchased made this practically foolproof.

New semester

2011-01-17T12:06:00.002+01:00

Not off to an optimal start as I can barely keep my eyes open, so the smartpen the SIL and family gave me for Christmas will have to do the work for me. Muchos thankies!

The store with no shelves

2011-01-16T12:43:00.002+01:00

First visit to H&M Home...

Instead of getting products from the shelves and putting them in your shopping cart, you stick little product magnets on a metal "shopping cart" card. Fun idea!

New discovery

2011-01-14T11:54:00.003+01:00

Took the KI bus back and forth today because I forgot my SL card at home.

Just noticed that there are plastic bags in all the magazine holders. Wonder if I've somehow managed to miss them in the past or if these are new additions owing to an upswing in nausea.

Hooray for closing time!

2011-01-11T18:54:00.002+01:00

My mom and I stopped by Cupcake STHLM for dessert. We thought we were too late since the cupcake display was already empty, but the owner motioned us in and we got to buy a box of 16 cupcakes at 25% off!

Two steps back

2011-01-09T17:42:00.002+01:00

Yesterday, I swore off carbs for my South Beachy diet. I don't think I've ever felt hungrier even though portion control wasn't required. Snacking on cheese did zip to still my hunger. And I just couldn't stop thinking about food!

It wasn't even a full day since I woke up past noon, but I reached for my cotton candy as soon as the clock struck midnight.

Today, I need to get a lot of studying done. Therefore, I need my sugar!

And so it begins...

2011-01-08T14:17:00.002+01:00

Am trying out the South Beach Diet for one day.

Although I should probably amend that to "South Beach-like" considering all my modifications.

PSA: Dear friends who shun facebook

2011-01-07T23:15:00.002+01:00

I have posted photos from my Paris trip on facebook and have created a guest account so you can see them too. If you're interested, message me for login deets. Toodley-doo!

Julbak a.k.a. Christmas baking

2011-01-05T20:47:00.003+01:00

A little late, but the Christmas season doesn't officially end until the 6th and I really wanted to use my new cookie cutters.

Ooh, in case it's not clear...the green thing is supposed to be a tree...the pink one, a piggy...and the white blobs, snow.

Welcome to Zurich

2010-12-25T19:38:00.002+01:00

...where someone's bags get to sit on the shuttle bus while people stand.

Can you tell I'm annoyed? The people seated behind us on the plane kept bumping the backs of our seats. Hope the next leg of this trip goes better.

To The Brother and The SIL

2010-12-25T15:48:00.003+01:00

Looky what finally arrived!

It's a Christmas coffee miracle

2010-12-25T15:34:00.004+01:00

Got my toffee nut fix at Starbucks Arlanda. Not as toffee nutty as in Manila though.