Ascension day @CasaR

The day started early, as any other weekday, at around 6.30 (yes, that’s AM). When do kids start sleeping in???

After consuming breakfast I started the task I’ve been planning the last week. Redoing my office/crafts corner…(just realized I forgot to take a before picture…oh well, just imagine clutter…) I started moving furniture around and came to the conclusion that I need a new desk. My old desk just isn’t using the space it takes up very efficiently. So hopefully within a few days I will have time for another IKEA trip.

I’m lucky to have great neighbors, after lunch and a few text messages (and BabyL taking a nap) we went to Ekeberg Hysdyrpark. There SweetieS got to pet/feed all kinds of farm animals – cows, horses, sheep, goats, rabbits, they even have peacocks! And if fur coats isn’t you thing they have a play area with seesaws, trampolines and slides – and big open areas to just run off any extra energy the kids might have bottled inside…

Now that the girls have gone to bed I got time for another project of mine. A few weeks ago I ordered myself a pair of cheapy-cheap sneakers. Nothing special about them other than comfortable and light weight. SweetieS has a pair of Kangaroo sneakers I’ve kinda been envious over. SweetieS seems so carefree when wearing them. So when I came over a recommendation on my Facebook group for Ebay recommended buys (it’s a Norwegian group, and its called “Ebay for jenter/kvinner”), I thought I would give it a try. A pair of comfortable everyday sneakers for under 150NOK is worth a try. They are available here. I’m normally a Norwegian/European size 36, buy I bought a size 37 as recommended by both the Ebay seller and on the Facebook group.

Yesterday my pair of sneakers came in the mail…smelling like new plastic I left them in the hallway over night to “air out”. Inspired by another Facebook group (thank you to Trine Aas and Mona Hagelund over @”Ebay Hobby”), I had to add some bling to my shoes.

The sneakers arrived looking like this…(doesn’t come in a shoe box, but not squashed in any way)

not my picture, I just “borrowed” online as I forgot to take a picture after I unpacked them

I pulled off the little triangle on the logo as it just looked misplaced – using my fingers, just pull hard when you have a good hold and it comes off nice and clean. Too used to seeing another logo perhaps? So now my pair of shoes looked more like this…

don’t mind the mess, I’m getting ready to glue on some bling

Half an hour later and a neck somewhat stiffer, I had my pair of bling’d sneakers. Just need the glue to set over night…

not sure the picture does the bling justice…

In case you are wondering about what I used…
I used this bling (2mm flatback rhinestones), from Ebay – used approx 50 pieces per shoe
This glue (E6000), from Ebay. You only need a small amount of this glue, so I recommend buying the small tubes rather than one big tube. My experience is that glue caps tend to glue shut after a while, so less wasted if/when that happens)
As the rhinestones a quite small and difficult to apply by hand, I used this tool to apply the rhinestones. Bought on sale @Panduro Hobby ages ago…

Now off to start the evenings next project – one gets so much done when one is up at the early hours! Next project: Start knitting a pair for pants for SweetieS…

- what have you been up to this sunny day off work?

Tiny alphas

Since joining different planner and pocket letter groups on Facebook, I have gotten so many tips and so much inspiration. The other day I came over a blog post about how to make my own tiny alphabet stickers. Since I had all the tools necessary I felt I had to give it a try.

Here are some of the groups I have joined, these have some wonderful and very creative members:
- Pocket Letter Pals
- planner, Journals and everything in between!

What you’ll need;
- sticker sheets (I bought mine at Staples) like these
- an exacto knife
- metal ruler

Instructions are available in the blog post here. Now I finally have a simple way to create alphabet letters, and I even get the Norwegian letters æ, ø, å.

my first batch

It took some time putting a word file together, with all the letters and characters I wanted. I would up with a table consisting of 25 columns and 26 rows all fitted in a A4 sheet of paper. Let me know if you want the Word file I created as a template and I’ll email it to you. After printing my first batch and using them to make a pocket letter I will make the next letters a tad bit more narrow. Next time around…

Aren’t these cute!

Still need to work out how much pressure to use when cutting the printed sticker sheets. My first attempt yielded full sheets though some more cut than others.

- do you make your own stickers?

Now off to watch an episode of The 100.

Happy mail

I often hear that pen and paper is a dying medium…everything has gone digital. Working within IT I can’t disagree with that. However the other day I came across the concept of Pocket Letter Pals. A fun, new and not to mention creative way to send snail mail. Remember that? Writing on a piece of paper, folding it up, putting it in an envelope and going to the post office to mail it…Well I did that the other day, well not the post office part – I’ve bought a bunch of stamps I can slap on letters that go the snail way.

The concept is using 9 pocket sleeves (like the ones for baseball cards) and putting whatever you want in 8 of the pockets, and a letter in the last pocket. I chose to decorate both front and back on my sleeves. You can read more about the concept over on Janette Lanes’ blog. Janette is the “creator” of pocket letters and she has some of the most beautiful creations. I also just joined Pocket Letter Pals, a network for pocket letter creators. It’s free to join and a great place to find inspiration and pen pals to swap pocket letters with. There is also a Facebook group dedicated to Pocket Letters, here.

The other day I made my first pocket letter and shipped it of to the US. Hope Lori likes what she is getting. Since I haven’t told here about this blog, I’m taking a chance and posting pictures here – hopefully she doesn’t see it here before receiving it.

front	back

folded up

As Lori had told me she loved ocean blues, I tried to make that the theme of the PL. I folded it up an made a closing mechanism using washi tape and a few star stickers. I’ve seen several on the PL network stating how addictive make PL are. I’ve noticed that and already looking into making my next PL…just need to find another victim  recipient.

I look forward to receiving my first PLs. Sound like so much more fun to receive letters like these than the boring official mailings that frequent my mailbox.

- do you send/receive snail mail?

The power of social media

Last week I got my 15 minutes of fame, well it was more like 15 seconds…more than I’ve ever wanted/needed.

It all started out with a venting on Facebook and before I knew it I had over 100 (!) comments and more were coming…

A Facebook-friend noticed all the commotion and suddenly I was asked if I would like to interviewed by NRK Østlandssendingen for a segment. The interview resulted in an article published on nrk.no here and a follow-up article here. Sorry to my international readers, both articles are in Norwegian. If you’re interested in the TV segment, it’s available here (aired on NRK February 18th – not sure if this can be viewed if you have a non-Norwegian IP-address) The TV segment was originally aired as part of Østlandssendingen, but when they saw the buzz this segment created it was bumped up to the 9 o’clock news for the whole nation to see.

The articles and TV segment has triggered intense discussions on social media Facebook (especially on NRKs FB-page), Twitter and even in my workplace. This subjects obviously sparks a reaction with most people.

Just so I’m clear, the article has focused on the part of yoghurt not being allowed in kindergartens in my district. But this is just a part of a bigger plan which I’m very positive towards – focus on eating healthy and more activity. Statistics in my district show an increasing number of  overweight children, so this focus on diet and activity as early as kindergarten is awareness at an early age. The results of this focus is yet to be seen.

So there you have it, me and SweetieS 15 seconds of fame all thanks to Facebook.

I’m back

It’s been a few full weeks here at CasaR. With BabyS taking a few weeks Summer vacation from kindergarten I’ve had my hands full with BabyS and BabyL. The plan was for DaddyO to take a few weeks off from work simultaneously, but had to change his plans when there was some lousy vacation planning on his colleagues part. So DaddyO had to “work from home” while BabyS was home. In other words, hectic days.

On the plus side…we have been blessed with super fantastic weather here in Oslo, Norway. With temperature well into the thirties. No need to travel anywhere for Mediterranean forecasts.Sunny days and poolside lounging, no complaints here.

Now that BabyS is back in kindergarten I get naptime back so I might even have time to do some blogging again. Though I have to admit…I have had time to do some Ebaying lately. After joining the Facebook group Ebay Baby & Barn I get many great tips on stuff to buy for my two sweeties.

The arrival of BabyL on BabyS 2 year birthday hasn’t given me time to reflect over the fact that my “little BabyS” is becoming a big girl. Just a few weeks ago she “moved” from her cot over to a full size bed – after a diaper mishap we used as an excuse to move the cot out of her room. The cot is now in “quarantine” before moving in to BabyLs room – so that BabyS doesn’t feel she’s loosing her bed to her baby sister. These last weeks I’ve noticed her growing personality, and her temper... her vocabulary is growing and how talkative she is several times a day. The other day I realized that I have to talk more Cantonese to her, if I want her to master the art of Chinese…So note to self – say everything in both Cantonese and Norwegian. It’s fun to see how she loves to try things out herself now. Think it’s time to give BabyS a new nick on my blog – how does “SweetieS” sound?

- have you given your children cyber nicknames?
- how has your Summer been so far?

Still alive…

I know I haven’t been posting much lately. With a new baby in the house I don’t get as much rest as I want..so not much time to write posts.

This week, and the next few weeks BabyS is taking some time of from kindergarten. So have my hands full…luckily DaddyO is taking a few weeks of from work too.

Not much happening happening at CasaR other than sleeping, feeding, burping and diaper changes the last few weeks. In between we’ve had family and friends visiting…and MommyS has had time to do some Ebay surfing. Not much we need, but after joining the Facebook group “<3 Ebay Barn&baby <3” I’ve found lots of items that I found interesting. (a group for Norwegians posting their Ebay buys)

My latest Ebay buy where these mini straws. Perfect for small drink containers like Danoninos drinking yoghurt. Just before BabyS started her summer holiday from kindergarten we were told that BabyS wouldn’t be served milk in the month of July with her meals. So the straws were perfect to send with her lunchbox and a Danonino drink.

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no spill drinking when out and about

- do you Ebay for your children?

Simply amazing

Well my friends it’s almost time…for another season of Amazing Race Norway. Saw the trailer the other day and I’m excited.

Freddy dos Santos is again the host – hopefully this time he won’t spoil all the action with his contant talking. Last season he kept the viewers constantly updated on the teams whereabouts and how many minutes they were apart…spoiling some of the fun of not knowning.

the trailer shows this seasons teams

Was disappointed when I didn’t see my friend amongst the teams. Since I knew he had applied and went for several rounds of interviews last fall. Eventhough he had told me his team didn’t make the cut, I was secretly hoping…can’t win’em alll, hopefully he’ll apply for the next season.

So mark your calenders! The season premier is aired on Tv2 this Wednesday March 6th.
For those of you who want more updates, follow their FBpage here

- which of the teams are your cheering on?

The Amazing Race, Norwegian style

Yesterday I saw a little reminder (aka billboard) on the season premiere of The Amazing Race, produced by the Norwegian TV channel TV2.

I’ve been a big fan of the US version of The Amazing Race for years and having a Norwegian version sounds entertaining.

The Norwegian version is hosted by former Norwegian football player Freddy dos Santos. Like the US version, there are 11 couples racing to the finish. Though the prize money is nothing close to the US version, which is 1 million US dollars cash, not to mention all the prizes for the winners of each leg. The Norwegian version is around valued up to a million Norwegian krone (the winners get not only cash, but also a car). In comparison, todays exchange rate 1.00 USD =  5.80161 NOK. In other words, nowhere close. But still it’s the challenge the contestants are there to experience, isn’t it???

So 8PM tonight I’ll be centered in front of our TV ready for the first episode. I look forward to watch how the stiff Norwegians handle the challenges the world has to offer…

Here’s a little video of the Norwegian contestants
http://tv2.no/v/602409
And some other clips from the show
http://www.tv2.no/play/underholdning/theamazingrace/

Follow The Amazing Race on Facebook

Good luck contestants!

Connecting to Facebook

After finally giving in and signing up to Facebook I wanted to connect this blog to my Facebook account. I did some searching and the easiest way was no longer available due to layout changes within Facebook.

I did some more searching and concluded that using Networkedblogs it the way to go. To connect Facebook and Networkedblogs you need an account at both sites.

After setup, all my posts come automatically on my wall with a link to my blog…sweet!

For those of you who want to know how to connect your blog to Facebook using Networkedblogs. I did the following;
(- assuming you already have a Facebook and blog)
- create an account @ Networkedblogs (if you don’t already have one)
- Register a blog on Facebook
- Setup your Networkedblogs (you’ll need to verify that you are the author of the blog)

I think that was it…doing these kinds of setup right before heading to bed doesn’t help the memory. Sorry.

Just to be on the safe side, I’ll add a link to “someone” who knows that they are talking about:
http://www.maine-seo.com/social-media/how-to-set-up-networked-blogs-on-facebook
or this one:
http://shesselfemployed.com/set-networkedblogs-facebook-fan-page/

Hope this was a helpful tip…enjoy!

I finally gave in

After friends and family have been nagging me forever to join Facebook I finally gave in. What can I say? ….better late than never….