One visit!

Would you believe that we only have had one visit tonight?? So now we are sitting here with one giant bag of sweets..booooooooo

Halloween

Happy halloween everyone! Finally got around to carve the pumpkins last night, phew. The stomach flu came inbetween on Sunday. Wasn´t as bad as I thought, they are kind of hollow and it did not turn out to be the slaughter I expected;) I had to go to Target last night to get a battery for the pumpkin light and  the sale had already started. Folks, you can get anything here. Halloween socks, spatches, outfits for dogs, ANYTHING. Spend till you drop, LOL.

                                                                        The tools...

                                                                 
                                                                        My pumpkin

                                                                      Gavin´s pumpkin, not bad huh

                                                                                 Mine..

Still think pre carved ones would be nice, it wasn´t THAT much fun. Took a walk around the neighbour hood the other day to look at the decorations. Since we live in a predominantly Asian City, you can imagine that we don´t live in Halloween city, haha. Kind of had to search for these houses....

 

         
                       And our own little lady bird:)

Most of our neighbours are Asian so we are not sure if we will get any visitors tonight, but we have bought ONE big bag of sweets just in case. No left overs I hope. Last year we had no one so we ended up throwing it alla way, but that was at the old house.

Stomach flu

Just recovered from a very nasty stomach flu. It popped out of nowhere last week Friday, then slowly wiped the whole family Clarke out. At least we are up today, not quite up and about butup and standing. These things suckwhen you have no family around. And what a stomach flu. I usuallu say the US is a country of extremes, well this was certainly a very extreme stomachflu. Never seen anything like it before. Phew!

Talking about illness. I think it is quite interesting when you think about each countrie´s national diseases. Let´s take Sweden e.g., during the winter the stomach flu (vinterkräksjukan) is something you read in the paper about a lot, everyone seems to be expecting it. Many young people are diagnosed with ADHD. And burn-outs and feeling stressed are very common among adults. Kind of ironic, Sweden is not known for long hours and short holidays.

In Germany, every second person seems to have diarrhoea (durchfall), no one is shy to talk about it. Most other people would probably say they have a bad stomach. Many adults seem to have ligament injuries. I had never heard of this before. When I had a cold in Germany people used to tell me all the time to go to the doctor. Why, is he going to make me feel better? Not sure if this is because I was brought up in Sweden where you can´t even go to the ER without phoning up the nearest health centre first but I don´t see the point in going to the doctor just because of a cold. But in Germany they do. And you´ll get a sick note. Always thought that was funny when people said they were written off sick for a week. How do you know you´re going to sick for that long?

So what is the national disease in the US? Not sure. I do know flu shots are big business here. Many shops (most grocery stores have a chemist) offer a discount if you get your shot there, something like "10% off your next shopping". Crazy!! In general I also think people are crazy about vitamins and remedies.

To a complete different subject. I stumbled upon this article the other week. It is in Swedish, and aout the conservatives in Orange County. Felt absolutely disgusted reading it. Do we actually live among these people?

http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/har-ar-man-overtygad-om-att-obama-vill-krossa-amerikanska-drommen/

Dinner, Swedish School

Friday night it was time for a fundraising dinner for the Swedish school, ladies only:). There were five chefs and I had volunteered to sort out the potatoes. You know, the Swedish potatisgratäng. Folks, don´t ever volunteer to peel potatoes for 18 people. That turned out to be my Friday. Since our potato peeler is kind of aggressive, it turned out to be a painful experience too. Menu of the evening was; Champagne; salami and mozzarella, starters; crostinis main: prime rib, oven baked potatoes, salad, horse radish, gravy, afters; white chocolate mousse with marinated strawberries. If I dare say so, it was very nice.

And what a house - THE perfect party house. The dinners are always hosted by someone at the school, this time it was at Anna´s in Newport Beach. People pay $ 40 for the dinner (last night we were 18) and some guests volunteer to cook. It is a really good opportunity to meet people and these dinners are alwyas very nice. Had a mini panic at the beginning, I left all the spuds at home so hubby had to come to rescue and bring them. Phew. Also, Anna´s rat had escaped so we had to keep an eye out for it. Just imagine it would have ran across someone´s foot during dinner. Oh oh oh.

Saw some raccoons outside

                                   A real party house! Lots of space and open planned.

Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend one of the residents here in Northpark organised a pumpkin patch. Him and his wife do it every year apparently.  And what a pumpkin patch. I wasn´t quite sure what to expect. Small, busy, quiet? All I can say is wow wow. That someone is prepared to throw such a party for the whole neighbourhood. There were free pumpkins (I grabbed two, since the last fiasco with the first one turning green I figured I needed two, just in case I mess the first one up, carving it), live band playing country music (yaay),free hot dogs, water, popcorn, candy floss, face painint for the kids, games for the kids, raffles, etc etc. Well impressed. Very nice afternoon. Pumpkin patches are something I definitely didn´t know about before moving here. Currently they are everywhere, many parks, malls, etc have a small/big little pumpkin event going on.

                                                        Never seen this outside the US

                                             My first candy floss since a grown up,  hihi

Living in OC

So, today it has been a year since I hopped on to that flight to LAX, 34 weeks pregnant and all. What a year it has been.

A summary;

• We have seen a lot. Numerous visits to San Diego and LA. Long weekend in Palm Springs. Joshua Tree National park. All the beach cities in Orange county. This is one of the best things about living here. SO MUCH to see!

• The whole ob/gyn concept here was a shock.  It all turned out great in the end but geez, I had one culture shock after the other. I still prefer going to the doctor in Germany. All kind of doctors.

• First christmas in OC; Emily was 2 weeks old and we kind of skipped christmas. The weather didn´t help. Let´s face it. Christmas in hot weather sucks. Big time.

• We have never spent so much on food as we have here. Very very expensive. Nice supermarkets, great choice. But our monthly bill for food shopping is more than 3 times as high as in Germany. We do love all the organic choice there is, all the vegetables and fresh fruit. And Costo and Wholefoods, of course.

• Customer service. Where you are eating out, shopping or at the bank. Most times it is great. Constantly getting ask if you need help, if you have any questions..or act as a spoilt child asking for lots of substituitions when ordering food.

• Americans know small talk. Anytime any where, they can chit chat about anything. We are catching up.

• The earthquakes - we could have made without them.

• People are very friendly and polite. But we have learnt people can also be extremely rude and ignorant. And stuck up. It all depends where you are.

• You can survive without great Indian food. It is called Mexican. All those Mexican restaurants, fastfood or not, yum yum yum.

• I didn´t mind dark brown furniture until we moved here. Complete overkill. Give me white and bright.

• Irvine must be the cleanest city in the US. I do wonder, if I throw something on the ground, will an elf or a gnome jump out to pick it up?

• We miss news. News other than  just politics, hollywood and dui. I love politics but it is like listening to parrots sometimes. The same over and over again.

• Tell me again, why are towels and bed linen so expensive?

• Living here is like back in the future sometimes. Men and women are stereotyped from birth. I am shocked. Girls are dressed in pink or as princesses. Children´s clothing is VERY different compared to Sweden.

• Money is everything here. I have realised that if you don´t have it here this place sucks. And what sucks even more; pople who have it like to show off. The bigger the better, the more bling the better. There is a huge difference between wealthy people here and in Europe (I dare compare with Europe as a whole). They dress differently, they spend differently, they behave differently. Not all. But many. Stuck up people - you suck big time! 

• Plastic fantastic. Not much is real around here. Big boobs, botox, blond. 

• Hot hot hot. I miss rain. The good thing here about rain is that you know the sun is just around the corner. This week the sun is back. To hot again.

• Bad bad drivers. What is it with people, they always seem to chew on something, text or drink when driving. And if not that, they seem to be half asleep at the traffic lights. 

• Coupons coupons. I still feel ripped off every time I buy something without having a coupon with me, because if you do search long enough, you will find a coupon somewhere. 

All in all, a very good year, lots of culture clashes where we have been wondering why why why. But also many good good good. Right now we are looking forward to Halloween- my first active one, two pumkins are waiting to be carved!

SWEA Regional Meeting

It has been a long weekend, I am so tired I can barely keep my eyes open. It all started Thursday night. Board meeting for the Swedish school. Home just before midnight.

Then Friday. Gymboree at lunch time; say good bye to teacher Tiffany who is having a baby soon, catch up with Dana and Zac. Afternoon: drive some SWEOR (SWEA stands for Swedish Womens´ Educational Association) to Maria Montazami for high tea. Hung around in the kitchen while the star struck Swedeish girls chatted and took some pictures. Secretely changes a nappy in the guest room. Emily was going wild in the kitchen, SO MUCH to play with, i.e. bottles on the wine rack, ornaments, tassels, you name it. Played with the dogs for a bitbefore we gave some girls a lift back to Marriott in Newport Beach.
Emily was content; a lot of attention and people playing with her feet, singing to her, she had a blast.

                                                          The neighbour stopped off to say hi

 

Lots of starstrucked Swedes

Friday night; cocktail party on Balboa Island. What a house. Balboa Island is my favourite and I´ll tell you why. Many houses around here are big and as they are getting bigger, they don´t necessarily look nicer. Lots of plastic around in Orange county. Bling bling kind of thing. Balboa Island may be one of the most expensive places in the US but there are no super mansions. Many are made of wood, nice big front porches, and the little village centre is super cute and gives you a kind of "old style" impression. Very nice!

Saturday..well, day time was the usual Saturday running around. Getting the car serviced, hubby getting a hair cut, grabbing some lunch. Normal drill. Night time; SWEA gala dinner at the Elk´s Lodge on the Lido Island. Lots of Swedish women had flown into this gathering.

                                                                               Best barber

                                                                    Dinner at the Elk´s lodge

Rain Drops!

Finally finally, we have had some rain and a glimpse of autumn. I was so happy this morning when I could put  on my jeans and a long sleeved jumper. Even happier when I had to use the windscreen wipers in the car. Nearly forgot how to turn them on. Felt kind of exciting being chilly again!  Went to DSW this morning and bought myself a pair of boots and a jacket at Nordstrom Rack. !wo bargains - bring on the cold now, I am prepared!!


Of course it didn´t rain much. It never does. It was kind of drip drop, not cat and dogs. But it was enough to keep conversations going all day. "Drive carefully out there", "Be safe", "Is it still raining out there".  All over the news too. Too funny. Shame we´re expecting 30 degrees C on Sunday and next week.

• Have you ever watched Honey Boo Boo? Oh My God, is all I can say. It scored the highest ratings in the US during its first season in August.
• The vice presidential debate was on tonight. How can there be any undecided voters out there still? Full on, full on is all I can say.
• Tomorrow night and saturday I will participate in the SWEA OC regional meeting activities. Fun! Something I am really looking forward to.
• We have had weird dreams all week. Me about book keeping & budgets - now being the treasuerer for the Swedish school - and hubby about ants. Yep, we found a small army of them yesterday. NOT good.
• Enrolled in online banking this week. How unsafe! How backward! Makes Deutsche Bank and SEB like THE future. The bank manager wrote my password and user name down on a piece of paper. For the second bank, the customer rep sent me a mail.
• On Sunday we are going to another pumkin patch - here in the neighbourhood. Something to look forward to. My first pumpkin learning lesson: keep them away from the sun. Mine have turned green and I will have to buy another one to carve. Got all my carving tools ready, yaay!
• Watched the Swedish Hollywood Wives last night. What a bunchof crap. Seriously. Busy as we are with all our other series we watch, this one has dropped to the bottom of priorities.But hey, have you watched 666 Park Avenue? Spoooooky!!

Malibu

On Saturday we decided  to do a little excursion, northbound. After plodding along at home all morning we decided to drive to Paradise Cove in Malibu. This may be the most expensive trailer park in the world. It is located on a private beach, and oh boy do they know how to charge there.  $30 to park unless you eat at the cafe', $10 if you walk to thebeach, without validation. Back in April one trailer was sold for the unbelievable price of $ 2,4 milions!!! Pamela Anderson, Minni Driver live here, just to meantion some.

Anyways, it is a nice and tranquil beach and it is a popular destination for movies and music videos. I like it because it is quiet and not so busy as around here.  A nice day out, with other words.

                                                                 Cash Machine, Old Style

                                                                      Time to get Cozy

                                                                Calamares,for two!

                                                       This is where you can spot a celebrity or two

                                       Clearly over priced, had to send back my food 3 times!

As so oftenwith places like this,  the restaurant was over priced and food was pretty crap. But you get to hang out a nice quite beach with huge sun beds and validated parking.

On the way home we stopped home at the Malibu Country Mart. A little more exclusive than the shopping plazas around here. Just a little.

                                     Los Angeles designer James Perse has a flagship store here

                                                     Heading back towards Santa Monica

World Market

On our way home from a play date in Laguna Beach Friday morning I decided to stop off at World Market, aka Cost Plus. Rumours had it they had a wee Swedish section at the moment, and I was not disappointed. Normally I am not such a big fan of this shop, think it is a little bit tacky but you do find bargains occasionally and some Swedish dajm and kexchoklad - who can go wrong with that.

                                                                           Yuuuuuuuum!

Friday night was also date night. A little unprepared the two tired parents sat down in the car. Where are we going? What, you didn´t make a reservation anywhere? We decided to drive down to Corona del Mar since that is where you find some of the best restaurants imo.

Ended up at Gulfstream, a so so seafood restaurant. By the way, I am still looking for a restaurant which doesn´t have cobb salad, burger and sandwiches on the menu. Folks, what is wrong with you. You at sandwiches at home or as lunch somewhere, but not on a Friday night and certainly not at a place where they charge $ 34 for two not so jumbo crabcakes!

We were lucky to get a table after waiting for only 10 minutes and even luckier to get one outside - just a wee loud inside, and lots and lots of cougars at the bar!

                                                                     Classic Clarke pic!

Afterwards we went for a pint at the Shamrock Irish Bar & Grill. What a dump. Either we were typical parrents, going for a pint at 8 pm, way earlier than everyone else. Or are all Irish pubs like this around here? Empty with not so great Guiness. At lease the fella behind the bar knew had to pull it. That's a first! Big boo for the prices, once the live music started - an Irish guy playing Christy Moore and Tears for Fears -  they went up by one dollar.  We miss Charlie's. And we miss having a local.

Longing for Autumn

This is ridiculous, we are getting toasted by the heat every day and I am sick of eating salads and other "summer food". We have a rule in this house, saying that we eat healthy Monday to Friday noon, and weekends we are not so strict. It doesn´t mean we eat at McDonalds or indulge in chicken wings but it means we can have chips & salsa, ice cream and take aways such as Mexican food. Although there is semi healthy Mexican food, it is hard not to indulge in quesedillas, guacamole and chips. However, last night none of us felt like cooking (another "rule", whoever puts Emily to bed does not have to cook...) so we decided to get a take out from an Indian restaurant not far from us we´ve just discovered, Indian Cook House.  Tried to be good and not order a starter (it is mid week right) but we got two samosas for free so that completely failed, grrr! Hubby´s curry was delicious (it is hard to find good curries in the US) but mine was not the best, I know what to get next time! Curry used to be our Friday night food in German, just like Mexican is now. The Persian place next door seemed very popular so we´ll have to try that one next time.

Going shopping is not so much fun at the moment, all these winter clothes - it will never get cold enough for me to buy these thick cardigans and jackets- haning on the rails. I, however, thought I`d ignore this heat for a minute and clicked home this lovely long sleeved t-shirt from BCBG. Online shopping is too easy. Just one click and 2 days later...... this arrives

                                               See, all prepared for winter California style

                 When the items arrives in a box like this..makes me think if it was just a little over priced..

                      Went to a trunk show last week and bought this little thing from stella & dot