Housekeeping Tip #9: Windows

Washing windows stink, but I do it all the time since my kids like to press their noses against it and make grease fingerprints.

I use warm water and a cloth and wash them. Then I use a good squeegy (spelling?) and scrape the dirty water off. I suppose you can use some kind of cleaner, but why do that if you can avoid it?

I bought an Ikea squeegy, and I got a bunch of streak marks...So now I am on the quest of the perfect squeegy. If I find one I'll post it up. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

Pollen can suck it!

I hate my spring allergies with a passion.

I use nasal spray with steroids in it plus claritin. It came to the point where I couldn't swallow at the end of the day since I ingested so much pollen during the day. I would have to take 2 aspirins for my headache, then load up on the spray and pill. I think I have been doing this for the past 3 weeks, so my body is in a real funk. There are a range of symptoms starting from nausea, fatigue, drowsiness, to real pop belly bloating. I think I am retaining water too...but apparently these can be side-effects due to the claritin. So today I didn't take any just to check, but I am still blasting spray up my nose. =)

The good part of this whole thing is that I can tease Kim by saying he made me pregnant. haha. He doesn't appreciate it at all.

Ipred Law makes me sad.

The other week I went to Elgiganten (the equivalent of the American Best Buy), and to my surprise all the movies and music were really cheap. The price was down by 40%, which is amazing since the retail taxes in Sweden are really high. If a CD costs $15 in the US, then the CD will cost $22 here, maybe even more since the dollar is weak.

Anyways, I am assuming it is done because of the new Ipred law which prohibits downloading of torrents or any other file sharing application, due to all the publicity and attention the Pirate Bay has brought to those nasty copyright seekers.

I think following the law is good, however I feel it is bad when it starts to go overboard because of money issues. Sharing files are good since it actually may increase recognition to a new band or a failing B-movie, and give it great sales in the after-math. But many people are against it anyways, and some people are just overly self-righteous about persecuting Sweden and the Pirate Bay. I don't think ANYONE under the age of 40 who owns a computer and has internet has NEVER EVER in their lifetime downloaded a song, a movie clip, picture, or an article, which is copyrighted material. I believe if everyone admits this then this whole file sharing dilemna can become obsolete.

Before the age of internet, people dubbed cassette tapes, used their VCR to record and dubb movies and tv shows, and burned their friend's CD. This was acceptable. But now since the internet increases the activity at a faster rate, it is illegal.

The stupid part is that the Ipred law, lets those corporate companies investigate by themselves which IP addresses are file sharing, and they can hack into your computer for evidence without a warrant. They then monitor your computer for one month before they call you out to court, and slap a big ass fee. It doesn't even matter if you didn't download the file yourself. If your internet is unsecure and some wireless user decides to use it to download things... you will be fined.

Messed up right?

Now I can't watch my favorite TV shows in real time...I have to wait a year later since I live in Sweden. It sucks since I am in the states maybe 2 months of the year. So I start a series.. and never get to see the rest without the help of torrents. I can't even go to the NBC website to stream the show... they block out international viewers.

FEEL MY FURY !!!!

Dishwashers are dangerous!

Today I turned on the dishwasher, dropped off the kids to daycare, and then ran some errands. When I got home, there was this terrible rancid burning metal/plastic/corn-like smell. I followed my nose and searched everywhere for the culprit and found that it was my dishwasher.

I opened it, and didn't see anything straight away so I emptied it out and saw at the bottom near the metal heating rod, there was a burnt plastic spatula cut in half since the rod melted it. It stunk up the whole house, so I had to open all the windows and doors, then run the machine on maybe 3 times, to get the burnt plastic smell out.

Imagine what could have happened!? My whole house could have burned while I was out. I will always check for fallen utensils now...geez...SO DANGEROUS! They should make more safety precautions, or maybe I just have a really old dishwasher. It's from '92.

Easter Weekend

I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend!

Our Easter weekend was jammed packed with family events and work.
The weather here in Stockholm was beautiful. We had a traditional Swedish Easter dinner minus the Lamb, we were served a wonderful Salmon dish instead. I wish I took pictures of the pickled herring, mini sausages, and meatballs. But I was so hungry after work that I just dived in and ATE LIKE A MANIAC!

The kids did a mini egg hunt, and got lots of candy. Little Perry got a hat and a pair of socks since he was too little to eat candy. He did taste a little of the cream on my cake. His mouth was wide open and ready! =)

Here are some pics of our Easter crafts.
Decoupage Eggs with feathers, the kids made.
I made the other eggs. I blew out real eggs and colored them.

Housekeeping Tip #8: Eco-friendly Drying

Last week I bought these "Dryer Balls" for about $10. They are supposed to save energy, and help the environment by not using dryer sheets or fabric softners.

They worked great! But they made a lot of rattling noises the first 10 mins, since the laundry is still pretty wet.

Honestly, I liked the design so I dished out the $10. But you can use just plain old tennis balls. Preferably clean, new ones. =)

I use tennis balls to fluff up my pillows, blankets, and down jackets after I have washed them. Works like a charm. But now I have these special designed $10 "dryer balls." haha.

Yes, the design snob comes through. =)