Wearing my surprise

I går havde skolerne og Ford lukket pga Martin luther king day. Men universitet var åbent - så jeg måtte afsted som den eneste. Mens jeg sad på arbejde fik jeg en meget mystisk sms fra Teresa om at en overraskelse ventede derhjemme..... Jeg låner jævnligt hendes "bear claw" støvlet når hunden skal luftes og det havde hun fået nok af. Så se her hvad hun fandt til mig: et par UGG støvler (til 20$ i salvation army - vi har jo vores - øhm - principper). Nu har jeg meget glade varme fødder. Tak Teresa!

Yesterday the schools and Ford was closed due to Martin Luther King day. The university was not closed so I had to get going. As I was at work I got a mysterious text from Teresa, that a surprise was waiting for me at home. I regularly borrow her "bear claw" boots when the dog needs walking, and she has had enoght of that! So she found me my own pair of UGG boots (in salvation army - we do have our - ehm - principles). Now I have very comfy warm feet. Thanks Teresa

Cold weather and hot science

Det lykkedes mig at cykle hele den første arbejdsuge I januar. Den anden uge…? Not so much. Vinteren har gjort sit indtog, men I modsætning til sidste år kan jeg holde ud at se vejrudsigten. -15 som det koldeste om natten som det laveste er til at håndtere I modsætning til -15 som den den højeste temperatur I løbet af dagen. Livet som hunde-ejer I den michiganske vinter er også til at klare, da kræet ELSKER sne og kulde. Og sådan helt ærligt – er det faktisk en del lettere at samle hundelorte op fra sneen end fra vådt græs. Vi har dog indført hundepote-sko, da der bliver saltet en hel del, hvilket fik Bailey til at halte. Det er særdeles underholdende at se den gakkede gangart, lige når han får skoene på – LOL. 

I managed to bike to work all days of the first week in January. The second week ...? Not so much. Winter is on, but unlike last year, I can bear to see the weather forecast without breaking down. 5F as the coldest during the night is manageable as compared to 5F as the maximum temperature during the day. Life as a dog owner in the Michigan winter is also cope-able as the creature LOVES snow and cold. And, frankly - it's actually a lot easier to pick up dog poop from the snow than from wet grass. We have had to introduce dogs paw shoes though, as there is a great deal of salting going on, prompting Bailey to limp. It is highly entertaining to watch his goofy gait, just when we put them on - LOL.

Lige pt er det søndag eftermiddag. George er på besøg. Igen. Vi var ude at spise med hans forældre I går aftes, da vi skulle udnytte kun at have eet barn hjemme hele weekenden. Ulrik og Teresa er på Spring Hill camp med kirken oppe nordpå, og forventes at ankomme møg trætte lige om lidt. Luca har inviteret sin far og George med I biffen senere I dag for sine lommepenge, som han nidkært har sparet op fremfor at styrte ud at bruge dem sekundet efter, at have fået dem udbetalt. Han var dybt fascineret af den nyeste Star Wars, som er een af de allerførste ikke-børne-film han har set I biffen.

Currently it is Sunday afternoon. George is visiting. Again. We went out for dinner with his parents last night, as we had to take advantage of having only one child at home all weekend. Ulrik and Teresa are up north at Spring Hill camp with the church, and they are expected to arrive shortly. Luca has invited his father and George to the movies later today – spending his own allowance money, which he zealously saved rather than rushing out and spending them the second after receiving them. He was so fascinated by the latest Star Wars movie, which is one of the very first non-children's films he has seen at the theater, that he really wanted to go again.

Ellers har vi fået weekenden til at gå med at skule ondt til vores sofa. Den er stor! Man sidder helt enormt godt I den! Og den var meget billig! Men køn er den ikke. Jeg plejer at joke med at den har “personlighed”, men den springer lidt for meget I øjnene på den ufede måde efter al julepynten kom ned. Det er blevet heftigt debatteret om vi skulle kigge efter en anden een, eller evt ombetrække den. Vi tog derfor I Jo- Anns I går for at kigge på stof. De har “door buster” udsalg på møbelstoffer lige nu med 60% besparelse på alt. Men det vil stadigvæk koste I omegnen af 250$ at ombetrække bæstet selv. Uha det er svært. Jeg har forelsket mig I det her stof, og vi har indtil I morgen aften til at bestemme os, inden udsalget stopper. 

Otherwise, we've spent weekend giving our couch the evil stare. It is big! It is as comfy as they come! And it was very cheap! But goodlooking is not among its qualitities. I usually joke that it has "personality", but it just jumps a little too much in the eye in an uncool manner after the christmas decorations were removed. It has been fiercely debated whether we should look for another one, or possibly re-cover it. For this reason we  paid JoAnns a visit yesterday to look at upholstery farbrics. They have "door buster" sales on these right now with 60% savings on everything. But it will still cost in the range of $ 250 to re-cover the beast itself. It is difficult to make a final decision. I have fallen in love in this fabric, and we have until tomorrow night to decide before the sale ends.

Ellers har jeg endeligt opnået et par succeser på arbejde, der bringer motivationen I top. Jeg har netop indsendt abstract på nogle ret spændende immune forsvars data ifbm fedmeoperationer til en konference I San Diego til april. Valget stod mellem Banff I Canada og San Diego…… Uha, det var svært at vælge…… eller også var det ikke. Jeg glæder mig helt usigeligt til et gensyn med Californien og er lidt spændt på om jeg mentalt bliver “sparket I maven af en hest” af hjemve ved at gense stillehavet, bakkerne og palmerne. Og så har jeg sandeligt også fået lov til at “lege” med selvlysende mus. Eller dvs hvis man lyser på bugspytkirtlen med UV lys, vil de insulin holdige Langerhanske øer lyse op. Planen er at jeg skal følge insulin sekretionen live I en bedøvet mus på bedste mus+mikroskop+”gaffatape” vis forstået på den måde at musen er avanceret, mikroskopet er avanceret, men at få bugspytkirtlen installeret korrekt kræver både tape, legeklodser og muligvis også nogle af de dersens øreringe til dem, uden huller I ørene I en sindrig Storm P løsning. Videnskab, når det er sjovest.

Otherwise, I have finally achieved a few successes at work that really brings on motivation. I have just submitted an abstract of some pretty exciting immune defense data after obesity surgery to a conference in San Diego in April. The choice was between Banff in Canada and San Diego ...... Oh, it was hard to choose ...... or maybe not. I am more than excited about my California reunion but also a little anxious if I will be mentally punched by homesickness by being back at the Pacific ocean, the hills, and the palm trees. Also I have finally gotten to “play with luminescent mice. Or, more correctly, mice where the islets in the pancreas light up upon UV light exposure. The plan is to follow insulin secretion live in an anesthetized mouse. This is the best of “duck tape science” with an advanced mouse, an advanced microscope, but nevertheless a compilation of lego bricks and clip-on earrings to get the pancreas properly installed. Just the way I like it :-)

Thoughts on the bus

Så gik den ikke længere. Min cykel er frosset fast ude på arbejde og cykelstierne ville egne sig bedre som langrendsløjper, så busserne og jeg er igen indgået i et fast forhold omend jeg elsker min cykel højere.

Time's up. My bike is frozen and stuck at work while the bike lanes would be more useful for cross country skiing. So the busses and I are back in a relationship even though I do love my bike more.

Børn og hund og mand er derimod svært begejstrede. Sidstnævnte fordi det ikke var spild af penge at få sat vinterdæk på bilen i efteråret. Førstnævnte fordi sne bare er federe at lege i udenfor. Især når man tilsætter MEGA begejstret hund, der pisker op og ned ad bakken sammen med slæderne mens halen kører som et piskeris.

Kids and dog and husband are however quite excited. Kristian because it was not a waste of money to buy winter tires for the car and kids/dog because it is SO much more fun being outside in snow. Especially because Bailey gets ecstatic and flies up and down the hills with the sleds while his tail spins like a helicopter.

New year, new sports, new diet, and new use of the fireplace

Januar er I gang. Og uanset  om man bor I Danmark, Michigan, eller Californien, så ER den første uge efter juleferien helt utrolig lang og hård at komme igennem. Heldigvis er vi ikke I nærheden af den kulde, der var sidste år. Min timehop app har mindet mig om en hel del “I dag frøs mine næsebor til is, mens jeg ventede på bussen”, “skolen har lukket pga kulde” og grædeemojis sat sammen med billeder af vejrudsigten. I skrivende stund er det hele 7 grader ovenfor og temmeligt vådt, men det ser ud som om vi kommer godt ned I minus graderne I næste uge. Når det ikke så koldt har det også betydet at vi ikke har tapet pejsen til endnu. Den er lidt utæt og hvis det er -30 grader udenfor, så kan sådan en lille smule træk godt føles som at have installeret en fryser under gulvtæppet. Nu bruger vi den næsten uafbrudt,, når vi er hjemme, og har efterhånden lært at når men tænder en gaspejs, skal man  liiiiiige træde et par skridt væk indtil den er tændt, med mindre man gerne vil have svitset øjenbrynene

January is on. And irrespective of whether you live in Denmark, Michigan, or California, the first week after the holidays IS unbelievably long and hard to get through. Fortunately, we are not even close to the cold that invaded us last year. My timehop ​​app has reminded me of a lot of "Today my nostrils froze, while I waited for the bus", "the schools are closed due to cold" and crying-emojis together with pictures of the weather forecast. Currently is 43 degrees outside and rather wet, but it seems like we get well into the cold temperatures next week. The lack of extreme cold has made us use the fireplace ore often. It is unfortunately quite drafty and last winter we taped it off to avoid having the floor feeling like a freezer due to the draft. Now we use it almost all the time, and we have gradually learned that when but light a gas fireplace, make sure to step back when it ignites if you want to keep you eyebrows.

Teresa er heldigvis færdig med basketball og er nu startet til synkronsvømning I stedet. Skolen har åbnet svømmehallen op for første gang I 3 år og tilbyder nu svømning bl.a. af den synkrone slags. Teresa ELSKER det og er udstyret med briller, badedragt og har læst op på “knox”, der er det gelatine produkt man putter I håret under opvisningerne. For første gang nogen sinde glæder jeg mig helt vild meget til at se en - øhm - kamp, eller hvad man nu skal kalde det. OG hun kan tage bussen hjem efter træning, så vi får et tiltrængt pusterum her I januar – indtil musical starter I februar – suk.

Teresas basketbal practice is finally done with and she has now started synchronized swimming. The school has opened the swimming pool for the first time in three years and now offers regular swimming as well as the synchronous kind. Teresa LOVES it and is equipped with goggles, bathing suit, and know all there is to know about "knox", which is the gelatin product you put in the hair during the shows. For the first time ever I am actually looking forward to see one of her meets/shows. AND she can take the bus home after practice, so we get a much-needed break from picking her up in the middle of dinner - until the musical starts in February - sigh.

Kristian og jeg har kigget dybt I spejlet og I køleskabet og syntes begge dele så lidt sølle ud. Vi har derfor besluttet at køre LCHF (low carb high fat) I en periode. Vi har været I gang siden nytår og det går egentlig ret godt. Vi får spist utrolig mange grøntsager/nødder/mayonnaise og har det egentligt rigtig godt. Jeg har gjort det I perioder førhen og jeg elsker den måde, jeg føler mig mæt på I lang tid, men det kræver at man overvinder sin fedtforskrækkelse. 

Kristian and I have looked deep into the mirror and in the fridge and decided that what we saw could use some upgrading. We have chosen "to go LCHF" (low carb high fat) for a while. We have been doing it since New Years and it is going quite well. We are munching our way through vegetables / nuts / mayonnaise and are feeling much better already. I've done it in periods in the past and I love the way I feel full longer, but it does require overcoming the fear of fatty foods that was so beaten into everybody in the 90’s.

Bailey er også kommet godt ind I det nye år. Han var en smule bims, da vi hentede ham på hunde hotellet, men han havde vist haft det godt (se “dagbogen” nedenfor). Han er blevet endnu mere flok dyr nu og vi er begyndt at kunne tage ham af snoren ind I mellem – noget han elsker. Som ved at trylleslag er han den mest velopdragne hund I hele verden – bare fordi han ikke har snor på. Vi har dog ikke testet situationen tilsat egern eller andre hunde, men jeg har en fornemmelse af, at det ikke ville gå helt godt, så det springer vi over.

Bailey leapt into the new year in style as well. He was a little nuts when we picked him up at the dog hotel, but he seemed to have had a good time (see "diary" below). He has become even more of a flock animal now and we are starting to unleash him on some walks - something he absolutely loves. As by magic, he is the most well-behaved dog in the world - just because he does not wear a leash. We have not tested the situation with the addition of squirrels or other dogs nearby, but I have a feeling that it would not be the greatest of ideas…….

Nu er det tid til at læne sig tilbage, komme godt igennem hverdagene og så ellers vente på forår:

January is the time to sit back, make it through the weekdays and start waiting for spring: