aha moments

Becoming a mother made me have a few of these weekly but the other night I really had a big aha moment.

My daughter had a slight cold about a week ago. Wasn't anything big or out of the ordinary. Then it became really hot here and our apartment was just super waaaaarm. Especially her bedroom.

We have dinner, she seems fine, off to bed. I was woken up by her feet ramming into my back a few times but what else is new. Then at around 3am she was flopping around and I go to touch her and my heart stopped. SHE WAS SO HOT. As if she was actually burning. I have never felt anything like it.
I was instantly WIDE AWAKE with my heart pounding and took her into the other bedroom where the fan is in. This wakes up my husband and Son, who obviously thought it was morning and started yelling and jumping around (insert huge sigh). I got the thermometer and checked her temperature and she had a temp of 42.6. WTF. I got two other thermometers and they both said 41 something.
You guys. I was so full of anxiety, I started sweating profusely and was not able to think straight. I got ibuprofen, somehow rattled her awake enough to make her drink it, got wet cloths and wrapped her calves, opened all the windows, and put the fan straight on her.

Now, lots of kids get real hot. Yet, she has never had a temperature above 39 and I have NEVER felt someone THAT hot. So, naturally all my fears crept up into my brain... meanwhile my son was still yelling 'ham ham' meaning he wanted breakfast lol

He wouldn't be calmed by my husband, so I took him out of the room and gave him a banana and rocked him back to sleep, the whole time super worried about my daughter. I finally managed to get him back to sleep and was able to lay next to him and finally fall asleep again myself.

This was the first time I was able to let go of control. 

The way the anxiety felt in my body- was as if there were hands that squeezed my throat all the way down to my pelvis. Super tight. I took really deep breathes while rocking my son and the anxiety went away.

Before this incident, I wouldn't have been able to leave my daughter in the hands of my husband (I rationally know he is fully capable of managing any situation) but it is my anxiety that won't allow any help, if I let go of the anxiety, what will happen?

Nothing. It was fine, it was better than fine, my husband took care of her and it was fine. fine? fine. fine. fine. fine. yep. fine!!!

My aha moment was, that in moments of anxiety I need to let it go, accept the help and surrender.
Pretty easy right, what took me so long to get this!?

Happy Saturday everyone!

The last two weeks have been tiring.

We went to an easter festival at the animal park where my parents live. My son slipped off a bench and hit his head on a curb, blood everywhere, I went a little overboard with hysterics. Luckily my husband was there and told me to take a deep breath and to step away haha. It helped, it calmed me down. It was a 'normal' bloody wound that needed to be glued together, which my almost 2 year old son clearly did NOT like. Poor little guy was screaming his heart out while we had to hold him down. Traumatised all of us.

We then had his normal 2 year old check up and as soon as he realised we were at a doctors office he wanted out immediately. It was a bit of a struggle. The very next day I found a tick on his head, had to go back to the doctors office yet again (!) to get it removed and tested for lyme disease. It was positive. The doc seemed pretty relaxed about it and said to watch the bite and see if there is a red halo around it, maybe check for blood in 6 weeks time to see if he is infected. We are still waiting on that.

A couple days earlier my husband left for a job and I was home alone with both kids. My daughter doesn't like any big changes in routine and finds it challenging to be vocal about it, so instead its a lot of pushing, hitting, screaming, hysterical laughing sort of situation. My son missed his dad a lot a lot a lot. After a week of bedtime mayhem my mom came to the rescue. Hallelujah!

Asking for help BEFORE shit hits the fan is my moral of the story. I often wait just a little too long, saying 'I got this, I got this'. But really, no need to push if there are people that can help, right?

By now my husband is back, kids are more settled and I am in d e s p e r a t e need of some R&R. Weekend- HERE I COME.

Triggers

Having children really made me look at my own behaviour and how I deal with certain situations. I have been working hard at looking at my triggers and examining them in a non judgemental way but rather with curiosity. Noticing them was a big first step for me. 

Why does it bother me SO so much when my kids yell-talk all the time? Why, in certain situations, can't I just accept that my child has a different view or opinion than me? When I am under time pressure, why do I get frantic and have no mental capacity for things like 'I DONT WANT THESE SOCKS, I want THOSE socks' even though to my eyes, they are the exact same (!!!).

Looking back at these situations, I realise that it is always, my own emotional struggles that make me snap, grunt, roll my eyes at my children. It is something within me that gets triggered by their behaviour. Why? What happened to me that I am bothered by this? Why do I want them to act or be a certain way, is it because I want that or is it because I am just blindly following what was pushed onto me by others as a kid? 

I am learning to let go and be a little gentler with myself and my own tantrums, since I realise that is what I want to show my children too, its okay to feel overwhelmed, its ok to be angry or annoyed. It is even better to explain and talk about my feelings with them.

I am getting better with taking them the way they are, their own thoughts and feelings and often different views. I listen less to my fear. And, that is wonderful. But.. just sometimes, wouldn't it be nice for them to just SLEEP when I want to sleep, like.. PAST 5am?!? Who's with me?
Happy Saturday my friends.

Singapore babies

Moving to Singapore pregnant at 4/5 months and not knowing anyone but my brother and his wife, not having a job, not having a place to stay, not knowing the way things are done there, was a b s o l u t e l y terrifying. 

We hadn't planned for all of this to happen in these ways, clearly, but sometimes life just happens and you kinda roll with it. After settling in a few weeks and figuring out where to go grocery shopping and what to do, I found a few friends through Facebook. It was the first time that I ever went on blind friend dates. It is not something I was overly comfortable with. I liked my bubble when we lived in Berlin. I am a chatty person and can talk to anyone but this was a really different kind of situation. I was on a mission to make friends! 

I found one friend very fast in particular since we had similar due dates and we instantly clicked. I met other friends through her and through my neighbourhood that I lived in. For the first time I realised what it meant to have a 'tribe of mamas' supporting you. It was so vital for my mental health to be able to talk to others that were going through the same experiences or had just gone through them. 

I was very excited and nervous to have my child in Singapore, not knowing how things were done and a lot of things are done very differently in the hospitals, at the doctors and so forth.

In Singapore the doctor rules the birth. In Germany, a midwife has to be present at the birth but in Singapore there are few midwives, mostly there are nurses. They check up on you and check you, keep in contact with the doctor. You can ask for special midwife care in one hospital and you can hire a private Doula as well with a variety of hospitals.
Your gynaecologist who supports you throughout your pregnancy is affiliated with one or more hospitals and will be your delivery doctor. I really loved that aspect. The thought of having a close relationship throughout your pregnancy with a doctor and then going into labor and getting 'any doctor on site', that thought scared me. 
I had an absolutely wonderful Doctor, for both my pregnancies and birth.
For my second birth I had an amazing Doula who supported me just beautifully.

What made me nervous though, I really didn't like how they took my babies away for the tests, we weren't allowed to accompany them. They were taken away, brought back and you were just notified 'everything ok mummy' or 'need to re take the test, baby was crying too much'.  The hospitals, on the other hand, were like 5 star hotels! It was like a mini vacation for us to stay in it (minus the sleep deprivation obviously. oh and all the blood, sweat and tears) other than that though. Magnificent!
Looking back at my experiences in Singapore surrounding the birth of my children, there was a lot of support. Support from strangers on the street (who tend to like to just grab your child out of your arms because its just 'soooo cute'), support from nurses and doctors and most of all support from all the surrounding mamas. 

Singapore is extremely child friendly and my children were always greeted with smiles and giggles. It was a great experience over all.  

ohhh boy. so much has happened since the last time that I have written (ehh. years ago) I have been busy being a mom, a lover, a friend, moving countries, moving cities and a mom all over again. To Joe Walter McKinnon Josten. Hey there Joe, been a while already (almost 2 years! ha) but nonetheless, WELCOME to this world!

Second time around has been a crazy ride yet again. Much smoother I would like to say though. I now know, babies turn into toddlers, toddlers turn into kids and sleep is definitely UNDERRATED.

Life on the other side

'The quieter you become, the more you can hear' 

-Ram Dass

Hello, it's been a while. 

I've been struggling finding the words to write this post. Maybe I've been out of it for too long or perhaps I am just tired. Maybe that. I am tired. 

The past eight months have been insane. So fun, so crazy, so exhausting.

After Lily has found her groove and I found my pelvis again I was able to start exercising again! What a treat. This whole mind body connection is truly no joke. 

Before pregnancy I was active in my daily life with such ease, riding my bike anywhere, popping in and out of the gym like I'm brushing my teeth. Then came the belly and everything became harder, my breathing changed the most. Granted, its harder to breathe when there is a little human inside doing summersaults. However in the midst of this new life, I forgot how to breathe in a way that keeps me grounded.  

It took me a while to come to this realisation. I just thought I was sleep deprived, hormonal, ecstatic and crazed... oh wait... that is how I was? oh. dear.

Jokes aside. I had to re-focus my breath daily, moment to moment. 
I have to remind myself to breathe from the toes to the crown of my head- effortlessly. Whatever is happening, if Lily is laughing, sleeping, crying, grunting or climbing up the walls again, I have to remember to breathe effortlessly.

Its very easy to fall into the dream clouds. Wishing for things that are not right in front of you (sleep perhaps) but it's more important to stay on the ground that you are walking on and make every moment count. It's been taking me a little while to get back to earth. My breath is what makes me stop and take a moment to listen to what is going on. Tea helps too, after my morning yoga session. I also found a mantra that works for me and keep repeating it whenever I feel out of touch with the present. 

I hope to write more in the next little while. 
Until then,

Lily Belle

Hey! Friend! Heeey!

I seriously dropped the ball for a few months! I had too much going on and too little focus to write anything that would've made sense to anyone (including me!)

So where do I start? Oh right, I HAVE A BABY! I can't believe it to be honest, she will be two months on the 24th and I still don't really believe she is mine!

In hindsight, being pregnant was a super strange experience, I liked it, don't get me wrong, but it is almost superpower-ish. I mean, growing another human in your belly! and then popping it out! and then feeding it with your body! It is really crazy. Awesome crazy. But crazy.... Crazy? I think crazy.
The emotions ran high from the moment I peed on that stick, expectations, thoughts, fears, hopes etc etc. Then, when the big due date came and went, it was more like 'WHAT. is. HAPPENING.' and then, when birth started to kick in it was like 'WHAT. is. HAPPENING'.  And then, when my babe popped out it was like 'WHAA...' and I fell crazy in love.

Motherhood.
It's weird. It is almost like you belong to a tribe all of a sudden. You are now allowed to give tips to other parents without being that a-hole with no kids giving pointers on how to anything baby.
It's a ROLLER coaster of emotions and actions. The first four weeks were like a hurricane had swept me up and spat me out, leaving me not knowing where up and down is. Then I gradually found my brain again.

I read a quote somewhere that your baby is brought to you to teach you something. I believe it!
I've never been the one to plan too far in advance or need to stick to a plan rigidly but I do have expectations of a day. Already in the short amount of 8 weeks of her life I had to learn to throw that right out the window. One day is never the same as the other, she surely keeps me on my toes!

And the amount of advice and books there are out there! I read a few too many tips and 'ways' to parent. I was taking all that advice a little bit to seriously. After trying hard to figure out what I want to do I just realised I gotta go with my gut. There is no other way for me to parent. I can't read a book and then apply it to my child. My new tribe of moms have been a greater help than any book or website I have read so far. My kid and I, we'll work it out. After all, us humans have been around a long time.

Now, I live life day to day, soak in all the wonderful new faces and sounds this little creature makes and try to get as much sleep as I can!

Hurray!

Oh Baby!

Giving up our life and all our belongings to start a fresh new adventure, only to find out we are starting fresh in many more ways than expected was well, unexpected. 
I have decided to share some of my pregnancy thoughts with you today. Pregnancy is a miraculous and wonderful time but can also be tough and confusing...

Once officially pregnant, some people really want to share stories that they have either heard or experienced that are really more fear instilling than empowering in any way. (no thanks!)

Sleeping is a bit tougher than when there wasn't a big belly in the way.

Some people feel that now is the perfect time to give me direction in my eating, sleeping and exercise habits.

Swelling of the fingers and toes have started to kick in (but hey, at least they are looking young, right?) 

Some people like to comment on the size of my belly 'THAT still has months to go? There is only one in there, right?' (thank you so much for bringing that to my attention, I didn't feel big and uncomfortable until you said that)

Clothes are a little harder to find in this weather of heat hot warm sizzling sunshine

Some people like to show their support in 'feeling sorry' for me- as in, 'you poor thing you are pregnant' (oh... I thought this was a time to be excited and happy about? no? uhhh... shit. what now?)

NOW. Let's forget all the silly comments and annoying questions and come to the good parts, shall we?

Most people are so excited for me that I feel very supported and loved.

I can still walk around without reaaaally waddling (yes! For real)

Most people treat me so thoughtfully, I might want to be pregnant for ever (where can I buy those fake bellies they use in movies?)

I look at life a little bit differently than I had before, everything is more special.

When I feel this little worm squirming I feel so overwhelmed thinking 'how is it possible to love someone already so much you haven't even met yet!?' 

I get to visit every public toilet in Singapore!

Life slowed down a lot and I've become calmer and turned more inwards. 

All my old t-shirts are now really sexy belly shirts (SCORE!)

I've had a few mood swings (shocker, right?) with some well deserved pregnancy rage and a week here and there where I thought the world will end because I am so sad over nothing, but over all I just feel really grateful to be able to experience this. This little baby, that we have made will be my baby for the rest of my life. My little squirt that I can tickle, tease, cuddle, kiss and see grow every single day. What. a. blessing. 

Moving in

We have found an apartment! Right by the botanical gardens, a really cute character-filled 'older' building with a much loved tropical feel to it. Our view out the window is greenery filled with the most amazing palm trees! We are very happy here to say the least.

Looking back about six months ago, we gave up almost everything we had in our Berlin apartment and promised to live minimalistic, so far? Success! We have a two bedroom, two bathroom. In one bedroom we have a shelf, thats it. In the other bedroom we have a bed, a side table, a laundry basket and a shelf. Not bad, right? In the living room we have a couch, a coffee table, a chair, a shelf, a dining table and a smaller cupboard. That is all the furniture we own and it feels great. The shelves are empty, the cupboards are empty and the walls are empty. The last one we need to change ASAP. Also a few plants will do this place some good but all in all this minimalistic living feels more freeing than I thought it would. I sit here on the couch, not having to look at clutter or stress about cleaning up! What a treat :D

A few strange things about our apartment compared to living in Europe and North America? 
-No ovens in older buildings! Our landlord was kind enough to buy us a brand new counter top oven, very nice of him! But having no oven? A little strange to my cake loving tasty buds... 
-There is a back door in the kitchen that is just an open gate that you can lock, no windows or closed door, that leads to the laundry area that is kind of like a balcony, so basically the kitchen is in the 'open'. 
-We have a Drink machine in the lobby, in case you run out of cold drinks.
-I don't think there is a time limit here as to when you can make noise, I noticed our neighbour the other day vacuuming at 11.30pm (in Germany, if you are considerate and don't want complaints within a short while, you leave that till the next day)
-Most buildings have guards. Even though Singapore is considered super safe, there is always someone just chilling at the front smiling and waving at you. 
-The buildings are well kept, the greenery is always watered and shaped
-Every apartment door has an extra ledge where you leave your shoes before entering (LOVE this) 
-Once every two weeks they go around buildings (this is a law) and smoke out any mosquitos, to keep dengue fever at bay
-Most Condos come with pools... that one isn't strange, just freaking awesome :D

Life in Singapore still feels surreal, as if I am on a long vacation waiting to go back home, I've heard that it takes our heart about 6 months to follow our mind...

I hope you are enjoying fall for me! I will now hop in the pool and swim like there is no tomorrow.

Toodles!

The four stages of culture shock

I've been walking a fine line between adaptation to a new life, staying true to myself and comparing everything to my last life. 

My psyche needs to have some familiarity around and if there isn't any, I will make some. For instance when I visit a new place I always tend to find another place that reminds me of it. Why? I am here now, why would it matter what other places remind me of it?
I have been doing something similar setting up my life here. I find myself comparing almost everything to Berlin. On the one hand I find it extremely useless because everything here is nothing like Berlin at all but on the other hand I find it useful because I feel I am not losing myself and my values that I have gained and embraced in the last five years of Berlin. 

I have read that when moving to a new culture, you go through four phases of culture shock. 

Step 1. Honeymoon Stage
Step 2. Frustration Stage
Step 3. Adjustment Stage
Step 4. Acceptance Stage

I can't honestly say where I am at the moment, I would say I flipflop between all 4 during each day! haha. 

Here is an example of all four stages I went through-
It is very common here to eat out. A LOT. Everybody tells me that its cheaper to eat out than to cook at home. 
At first I also ate out a lot more than I have ever in my life, it was exciting, trying out new restaurants and new foods (step 1), but after going out to eat so much, I realised I really miss cooking and knowing what goes into my food and how its made. I got sad and missed my Berlin peeples that I can discuss awesome veggie recipes with (step 2). If you know me, I cook. Every. Single. Day. 
It has been the biggest struggle for me to figure out how to adapt to this new cultural aspect... I started cooking again every day but also found going out a lot more fun and embrace it a lot more now (step... 3, you guessed it). I realised that I am an adult, I can do whatever I want. Pret-ty awesome! This is where I decided to stay true to my values (yep, step 4). I will still cook. Every. Single. Day. With the odd (or more) restaurant visit.

Here are some pointers on cooking at home in Singapore: Buy locally. If you want to cook at home all the time, cook Asian foods (most things are imported in Singapore so the cheapest ingredients will be from the surrounding countries). If you want to treat yourself, go ahead and go to the more expensive grocery stores, there you can find ANYTHING from ANYWHERE but expect to pay a good amount of money for something imported from further away (do not compare the prices to what you would pay for it at home, it will hurt). 
This has been a fun way to explore new dishes and get creative with the ingredients at hand! Yeay to learning.

There are a lot more differences that I am trying to wrap my head around and find my own way, but those are all posts for another day...

Here is a simple dish I've come to love love love and make at least three times a week, if you feel like a taste of Asia, do make this, its delicious :D

Stir-fried Black Rice

1 Cup Cooked Black Rice
2 Cups assorted Veggies (here I used corn, carrots and pees but feel free to use bok choy, mushrooms, chinese spinach)
3/4 Cup Roasted Cashew Nuts
1-2 Eggs (optional)
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 tbsp Coconut oil
3 tbsp Soya-sauce
3 tbsp Fish sauce (optional)
1 tbsp Sesame oil
handful fresh coriander (optional)






1. Cook rice as instructed on package (rice from the day before works great as well)
2. Heat coconut oil over medium heat in a wok, add your veggies let it fry for a minute or two
3. add your cooked rice, garlic, soy sauce and fish sauce
4. make a little well in the middle of the wok and crack the eggs in it, let them cook a little before mixing them in with the rest of the rice
5. fry fry fry and fry some more (the longer you let it fry the tastier it gets) about 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly
6. have a taste and see if you need more soya-sauce or fish sauce
7. add cashew nuts, sesame oil and coriander
8. serve and enjoy!

Guten appetit!

A new life

Hey Friend!!!

Firstly, I would like to announce that I am pregnant with my first Child (as of yesterday 22 weeks if that means anything to you)! Super exciting and super nerve wracking in midst of all this moving and building a new life. Many ups and downs had in the past little while, many thoughts of 'what are we doing, why are we doing this, this is the best thing to do, is it the best thing to do, how exciting, how frustrating, I love it, I don't love it' 

Moving to Singapore. Pregnant.

 

First impressions 

The people here are extremely friendly and funny. They stare at my growing belly a little confused but then look at my face and give me huge smiles. 

There are enough shops and restaurants to test and go eat at, to last a life time. I have never ever seen so many restaurants or shops/malls in one city!! It's insane. The upside? Its not necessarily too expensive to eat out here. The downside? They are big meat eaters here (more to that later).

Grocery stores vary greatly in price and quality.

Beautiful parks and greenery!

The weather... is a tough one for me... My husband just absolutely loves the heat and the humidity whereas me, being pregnant or not, can't handle the humidity as well. This has been in fact, the hardest thing about Singapore and has been extremely hard to come to terms with- I still haven't fully yet. Some days are a lot better than others, depending on my energy level and pregnancy mood! Having a pool to jump into has been my life saver these past few weeks and makes me feel happier than ever each time (YEAY to that!).

It has been a lot easier to make new friends here than in Berlin, other expats want to help out, give great tips and make sure you are enjoying your time here. It's been really nice to meet new people who are so open!

All in all, I would say, apart from the weather ups and downs I am enjoying living here so far, I do get frustrated with the food situation (I'm working on a separate full post on this topic- of course).

I hope your summer has been great and are embracing fall as it should come soon if you are living in the colder regions. PLEASE enjoy the fall, it is my favorite time of year and I am a little sad about missing out this year.

Toodles!

Home.

We made it back to Germany, safe and sound, with a few hiccups on the way. I will not bore you with all the details of this kick-ass trip but let me tell you one thing: it was nice. Really nice. And Sweden is nice. Reaaaaally nice. If it didn't get so cold in the winter I would seriously consider moving there for a few years.

But, I can't not say anything about this trip, so here it is in short...

Phase 1. Started off with serious excitement and ready to take on this new adventure, exploring the new towns, feeling the holiday mode kick in, relaaaaaxing. 

Phase 2. Flash forward about a month into the trip. I was getting a bit sad, grumpy and missed my home (the cold 11 degrees didn't make anything better) and I wasn't sure if three months on a boat was really going to be what I envisioned it to be. This seemed already way too normal to be a 'trip' (is this going to last forever?).

Phase 3. Oh my gawwwd what a nice trip this has been, I wish it would never end, I need to soak up the last week of being on a sweet old boat.

Phase 4. An APARTMENT with our very own BATHROOM and a KITCHEN with an OVEN. Where has this been all my life? 

This was a really nice trip with life long memories made and the perfect ending to our european five year adventure. 

(Phase 5) Asia, we are ready for you!

As a welcome home treat to myself I made chocolate Granola! with an OVEN! You've got to try it.

Delicious Choco Granola!

3 Cups Rolled Oats

1 Cup Buckwheat

1 Cup Hazelnuts (I used Walnuts and Almonds)

1/4 Cup Chia Seeds

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

1/4 Cup Coconut Sugar 

1/3 Cup Honey/ Maple Syrup

1/3 Cup Coconut Oil

1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder 

Directions: 

-Preheat oven to 175 degrees C

-In a large bowl combine oats, buckwheat, chia seeds, sugar, roughly chopped nuts

-In a small saucepan over low-medium heat, melt coconut oil. Add honey/maple syrup, salt and cocoa powder. Whisk until smooth.

-Pour liquid ingredients over dry and mix it well.

-Spread mixture evenly on a baking sheet, firmly press down with the back of a spatula to ensure that the mixture is compact. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven, flip granola and put it back for roughly 10 minutes stirring every so often.
It should smell fragrant and the nuts should taste nutty and roasted.

 from mynewroots.org

Guten Appetit!

A Swedish Update

I must admit, I was very lazy in taking pictures and updating this blog, I just wanted to enjoy some time away from real life but also, internet connections have been a bit of a struggle- siiiigh. 

We sailed and sailed and sailed until we hit the Åland Islands and even though it was the worst weather you could ever wish for on a boat trip (rain, wind, 10 degrees Celsius), it was beautiful. 

We stayed there for about a week and chatted to some locals who said they haven't had a summer like this in about 100 years. Of course, when we are there, the weather decides to give us the exception. Ha!
Nonetheless we had a nice time, there were lots of trails, nature and beautiful scenery we could enjoy, even with rain gear on. We went to an amazing museum, an old Ship called Pommern (read about her here) and learned about how it used to be for sailors- then we had nothing to complain about anymore! 

The trip back to Sweden was the roughest trip on a boat yet for me, extremely high waves and stormy weather but we made it safe! pfewf! Since then we have been doodling back towards Germany and FINALLY! got a summer :D and the cold weather seems like a whole other trip ago.

It has been very nice sailing, anchoring, exploring wonderful trails in Sweden, they have crazy outdoor fitness stations made out of wood, it truly is amazing. No town is too small for little paths with pictures and explanations on where you are and what you are looking at and what used to be here. 

It has also been a little trying, at times, living on a boat, in very small quarters, with my parents, who I see 24/7. Big personalities on very little space, what do you expect? haha.
This is also a very old boat, and we had a few things having to be fixed which caused a little extra stress and doubt about being able to finish this trip. Thankfully, as of now, everything is working again and we can sail back smoothly (hopefully). 

What! A! Summer! It seems like a lifetime ago that we started this trip and we've experienced so much, I already couldn't tell you where we were a week ago! Insanity!  

I hope you are having a suntastic time wherever you are and are enjoying the summer!

Toodles!

Sweden

This trip is coming close to 4 weeks now! Almost a month on the water and every few days if not every day a new harbour. A new town which means new exploring and a new adventure. I can positively say it has been a real treat.

I am sitting in a cafe in Stockholm (free WiFi!), enjoying the wonderful pastries the Swedes have (sooo many and soooo tasty!). We can't sail on today but will be able to get moving tomorrow, the only low windy day in the next few days. I have never felt so dependant on nature in my life. If it's too windy, can't leave the harbour, if there is wind coming from the wrong direction, can't leave the harbour, if it's no wind, can always leave the harbour. It's been very windy but also sunny and Stockholm is a wonderful city to explore, so no complaints from me! 

Interestingly though, in all of this excitement I have found myself sneaking in a routine. I get up around the same time each day, eat a similar if not the same breakfast and go to bed around the same time each day (exhausted from the day with either too much sun or too much wind lol) whatever happens in between is written in the stars. Just the way I like it, but after 4 weeks of not knowing what will happen today, I have come to love my few routined moments each morning. 

On another note, Sweden is truly beautiful. The skerry landscape is just too amazing to describe. You sail through them feeling so in awe of nature.

A skerry is a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation; it may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low sea stack.^[1]
-thanks wiki.

I'm positively surprised at how helpful, inviting and friendly the Swedish people have been! Just wonderful.
In the next few weeks we will be anchoring a lot, and only be sailing in very remote areas, little islands and so forth going up to Finland now, so no internet (I must confess, it has been a bit more of a challenge then I had thought originally, living without constant internet. But, yes, also very nice!). 

Until the next time my friends, 
Enjoy your summer!!!

Sailing

Hey friend! here is an update :D

We've been sailing since last monday! Tuesday we made it to Bornholm for the night, beautiful Island, the weather unfortunately had us sail further on immediately Wednesday morning but maybe on the way back I get to explore it a bit more!
Wednesday we made it to Sweden (Simrishamn) already and then went on to spend a few days on the lovely amazing Island Hanö... Let me tell ya, what. a. dream. There were hardly any people (yet, sure is different during summer season) and a tiny Island= complete nature. It was one of the most beautiful little places I have been to in a very long time! (if you are curious for more specific location updates and pics, please visit this blog)

The weather got us to Karlskrona where we are lying now for a few days and waiting for this storm to pass.
After a week I have embraced the holiday life I must say! Lots of sleep, lots of food and lots of reading!!! 
I hope you are enjoying yourself wherever you are 'cause this sure is a wonderful world!!!

Here are some pictures :)

The boat from the inside!

The kitchen

Bathroom? yes! good guess

Main room where you can fold the top bunks down and have two sofas and unfold the table for cold rainy days (which we won't eveeeer get, right)

Our very humble living quarters

Beautiful amazing Sweden

Gourmet food on the Island of Hanö (yes, yumm!)

A serious word.

Dear crazycoldstormyrandom Weather,

We have plenty of fun things to do on the boat and in this cute little city. However, it would be nice if you could leave now and let the sun come out to play so we can be on our way to Bornholm! 

Thank You everrrr so kindly.

Sincerely, 
Nada.

Here are a few pics of the last couple weeks of doodling around!

Greifswald

A view from the top

A very small fare

Wyck

A sunny Moment 

Spring babies at the Tierpark! 

Here is to no more stormy weather,

Toodles!

Sanity through F O O D

I can't wait to set sails, I am a dreamer and adventure seeker after all! But I'm also a creature of habit. The big conundrum I often face, is, how to get both? 
After some thoughts (and lets get honest, some worries) of how I will keep sane surrounded by my parents, living in a tiny room with my husband with barely enough space to stand upright and giving up manicured nails (I know, first world problems). I came up with this solution: I shall bring my favorite habits into my adventures! What a schmarty I can be.

But for realz, as long as I eat my nutritious meals and exercise whenever I can, I stay alert and happy ---> I dive into adventure without hesitation and the small room doesn't (let's hope) seem so tiny and my parents... Well, parents be parents :D

For those of you who know me well, know that Food is very dear to my heart. If I eat every 3-4 hours I am a real nice girl that can laugh a lot. If, however, there is no food around, I am hungry and you are saying something that might be misinterpreted, which in a situation like this is mostly the case, I miiiiight lose my temper just a little bit. Unfortunately. I. Am. One. Of. Those. 
There. I said it. 

But hey, at least I know that lack of food makes me cranky and so to outsmart (yes schmarty once again) myself (is that even possible) I (just wanted to write another thing in parenthesis). Lets start over... To not be cranky and no fun, I do a little planning ahead, I have food on me or close to me at all times... I am in constant search for fun healthy snacks that I can make in a big batch and keep in the fridge and grab to go... 

I made this recipe the other day. I recommend it! It's really tasty and only took 10 minutes to throw together. If you are like me and get grumpy when hunger strikes then I say 'Make these! They will make you happy!'

So here is to a full belly, a powered-out body and a zen-like state of mind at all time!

Quick fix Muffins  

(Great recipe from greenkitchenstories.com)

 

Makes 12-15 Muffins

Dry ingredients

100 g / 1 cup walnuts

85 g /1 cup rolled oats, use gluten free if intolerant

90 g / 2/3 cup buckwheat flour + 2 tbsp arrowroot (or potato starch) (I used whole wheat flour)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp turmeric (use a little less if you are not used to the flavor)

1 tsp freshly ground cardamom (I left this out)

½ tsp sea salt

a pinch black pepper

Wet ingredients

160 ml / 2/3 cup buttermilk or plant yogurt

80 ml / 1/3 cup olive oil or butter (I used sunflower oil)

2 ripe bananas, mashed

5 fresh dates, mashed (I used 4 tbsp Maple Syrup)

3 large eggs
(the eggs can be replaced with chiaseeds or flaxseeds; the ratio 1 tbsp chia/flax seeds + 3 tbsp water= 1 egg)
A large handful blueberries, frozen or fresh

Granola topping

1/3 cup rolled oats

2 tbsp olive oil/coconut oil

1 tbsp runny honey

(I used regular organic mixed Müsli with no added sugar on top, including the dried fruit)

Preheat the oven to 400°F / 200°C. Line a muffin pan with paper liners or grease the pan with oil or butter. Add walnuts and rolled oats to a food processor or blender (or mortle) and mix quickly into a coarse flour. Transfer to a large mixing bowl together with the rest of the dry ingredients. Add buttermilk, oil, bananas and dates to the food processor or blender and mix until smooth, then transfer to the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. Crack the eggs in a separate bowl and beat them for about a minute before adding them as well. Use a spatula to carefully fold everything until combined. Divide the batter into the muffin tins, drop a bunch of blueberries on top of each muffin and gently push them down a bit. Mix together the granola crumble in a small bowl and add it on top of the muffins. Bake for about 18-20 minutes. Best enjoyed still warm from the oven. 

Guten Apetit!