Mother’s Day isn’t celebrated in Sweden today but I’ll still want to send a greeting to mum and wish her a very happy bonus Mother’s Day.

Simon is helping a mate out with a concrete slab or something (that shows how much I paid attention when he told me) and I’m cleaning the apartment for our guests arrival tonight. Found this little fellow under one of the storage boxes when I was sweeping the balcony before.

Since he had nowhere to hide he tried to play dead instead and he did a pretty damn good job too. He lay super still for at least 30 min not moving a muscle, not even when I put the broom really, really close to him. Then all of a sudden he was gone (I’m guessing he keeps free loading under our storage container). The exiting things that happen on a Saturday in Melbourne hey?!

I came a cross something exciting today, a new magazine with focus on just Sweden written by Swedish based Australian writer/editor Laura Philips – Mr. Wolf. I was invited to the launch that’s held next week but unfortunately I’m unable to go since we’ll be in Adelaide at the time. The magazine is will come out quarterly and it will be profiling the leading personalities in contemporary Swedish Culture (from musicians, artists, bicycle makers, denim producers and jewellery designers). I’m looking forward to reading the first edition if I can get my hands on a copy.

In a week they’ll be here. Soooo excited!

Let me introduce our new family member – Molly Danger.

I’ve been missing Pollux and Nova heaps since we moved and Molly can in no way replace either of them but she can at least fill a hole. I love animals and growing up I’ve always had both dogs and cats around so having no animal at all for 7 months has been very empty. Molly was found by a colleague of mine and she was orphan, tiny and absolutely adorable. My friend Kylie who volunteers for a cat rescue place took her in until she was found a new home. She was so cute and had such a distinct character so my heart just melted. Simon agreed we could give her a new home if we could get an ok from the landlord, since it’s in our contract that we can’t have pets. Simon of course thought we would never get a yes but surprisingly enough we did.

I took her to the vet, she was a bit thin and had fleas but other than that she seemed to be doing ok. The vet thought she was around 6 weeks old at the time and she weighed 530 g, small enough to fit in your hand. Now one week later we’ve made another visit to the vet for her first vaccination and she’s doing well. She’s full of energy, still adorable and tiny even though she has gained 150 g.

It’s been a bit quiet here for a while but now I’m back. Boot camp is over for this time and I’m very happy with my progress. So confident in my improved fitness that I went ahead and registered for the 8 km run in the Mother’s Day Classic held here in Melbourne in May. Not sure I’ve ever ran 8 km but it’s a first for everything. The Mother’s Day Classic is a fun run/walk raising money for breast cancer research. It is one of Australia’s largest charity events and takes place in seven capital cities and more than 37 metropolitan and regional locations across the country.

SWEA has a team so if you wish to sponsor me and our SWEA Melbourne team please feel free to do so HERE.

In only three weeks they’ll be here, Anders and Linda. We’re starting to get really excited and we’re looking forward to seeing both of them again. It’s been 7 months since that tearful goodbye  in mum’s garden back in Karlshamn in Sweden. We’re looking forward to having some time off work and explore (a small part) of Australia together with them. It will be legendary!

View of the city from St Kilda Pier

A friend of my brother’s is visiting this week and since it was a lovely day today we decided to do some sightseeing. A trip to Brighton, lunch in St Kilda with a walk along the beach and an ice cream in Williamstown sums up a good day. Now where heading home for a barbecue on the balcony. Life could be worse.

The bathing boxes on Brighton Beach

Simon and Ove enjoying a beer on the balcony.

It’s possible that I have the sweetest mum in the world. She organised these beautiful flowers for Simon and I on Valentine’s Day. She stalked down my friend on Facebook and arranged for her to get them from us.

Today Simon and I celebrate 3.5 years together. We’ve been through a lot during that time and both the happy and sad times has made us grow stronger. I believe you should show your appreciation and love not only on one day of the year but I still like Valentine’s Day. It’s a perfect opportunity to be a little extra romantic and express your love to your partner even though it’s a bit of a Hallmark holiday.