Well, Sweden has pulled out all the stops this morning. It's my last morning in Sweden and after a horribly stormy day yesterday, I wake up and open the curtains to see the most gorgeous day outside. I like to think its my send off. It really is nice. Dont know the temp but that never really bothered me before, as long as its sunny. And today is definitely sunny.
I woke up to also be greeted by a loooong and boooooooooring speech by President Bush on my swedish TV. Even the audience is waning in their applause. Honestly, I have no idea what he is talking about but all I hear is "libery, freedom, soldiers". So I'll have to go online and check it out for myself. Tired of his babbling. Its funny though, now that I am living in Europe, I think I started to see America the way they see us here. I never really liked Bush but I saw him for the arrogant person I think most of the people see him as. The first thing he talked about was how America will help other countries and will never impose our government on them. Do I even have to say it?
Enough of that. Im down to get some coffee and dream about tomorrow. My first day in the United Kingdom as a resident! So happy and excited! Btw, I added a Weather Pixie under my tagboard so you can see the weather in London as that seems to be an interest to my friends overseas. I don't know when I will be able to post again but I will try to do so soon and tell you about the move. Love you guys!

Not that I expect anyone to ever read this all the way through...unless you are as bored as I was when I write 1-100

1. What color are your kitchen plates? Technically I do not have any.
2. Book reading now? The Piano Tuner (too lazy to get up and find out what the author is but its quite good)
3. What's on your mouse pad? Use a laptop thus have no mousepad
4. Favorite Magazine? Guess it would be the Awake and then Jane
5. Favorite scents? The woods after it rains, the ocean, wisteria, honeysuckle and my hubbys cologne.
7. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning? Thank God Ronny has stopped snoring. LOL No I don’t, I don’t think anything really.
8. Favorite colors? Blue (most shades), yellow and believe it or not antique white.
9. Least favorite? Lime green and neon orange and pink
10. How many rings before you answer the phone? I usually run for the phone.
11. Future Child's name? Im not sure anymore. I used to like Raychel (a mix of my brothers name and my sisters) but now I like Alexandra and Arden. For a boy, Gavin.
12. Do you like to drive fast? I don’t drive. I know, pathetic isn’t it.
13. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? Does my hubby count? lol
14. Do you like storms? Only if there is no thunder.
15. What type was your first car? Well I guess the one we have now is my first. A 1989 Citroen…..red. =)
16. If you could meet one human, dead or alive, who would it be? Peter
17. What is your Favorite Alcoholic drink? Strawberry Pina Colada and a Hurricane
18. What is your birthday? May 12
19. Do you like to eat the stems of broccoli? Nope, only the little leaves or whatever that stuff is.
20. If you could have any job, what would it be? A writer/archaeologist/photographer/dancer/world traveler all at once.
21. If you could have any colour hair, what would it be? I would go black again but Im too scared to.
22. Have you ever been in love? Yes, and am in that very state right now.
23. Is the glass half empty or half full? Half full unless it is full of beer. I hate beer and then its too full.
24. Fav. Movies? Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Star Wars Triology, Princess Bride, Pride and Prejudice, Tommy Boy, The Fifth Element, The Truman Show, Anne of Green Gables, Sense and Sensibility
25. Do you type with your fingers on the right keys? Yep 60 wpm
26. What's under your bed? At the moment really evil dust bunnies
27. What is your favorite number? 2
28. Favorite sports to watch? Football, baseball, ice skating29. What is your single biggest fear? I know this is dumb but either Ronny dieing or me dieing on the other side of the world from my family.
30. Say one nice thing about the person who sent this. She is a really talented artist.
31. Person likely to respond? *shrug*
32. Favorite TV shows? Everybody Loves Raymond, Fraser, That 70’s show, Less Than Perfect, Seinfeld and sometimes Fear Factor oh and American Idol
33. Ketchup or Mustard? Ketchup
34. Hamburger or Hot-dog? Hot dog
35. Favorite soft drink? Coke or orange soda
36. Best Place you have ever been? London
37. What background screen is on your computer now? One of my wedding pics (before that was the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC)
38. Burger King or McDonalds? Taco Bell
39. What is your Full Name? Melody Lee Kristensen
40. What colour pants are you wearing? Ronny’s…..black with white stripes on the sides
41. What are you listening to right now? The whine of the laptop and an occasional meow from downstairs
42. What was the last thing you ate? A salami stick
43. Do you wish on stars? No, but I used to as a kid
44. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Cerulean (it’s a shade of blue)
45. How is the weather right now? Really crappy. Windy and rainy
46. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? My hubby. =)
47. Do you like who sent this to you? No one technically sent this to me..but yea
48. How old are you today? 24
49. What is your natural hair colour? Dark brown
50. Do you wear contacts? yeppers
51. Siblings? 1 bro and 1 sis
52. Favourite Month? September…wedding anniversary
53. Favourite Food? Italian and sometimes Mexican
54. Last movie you watched? The Truman Show last night on TV with Swedish subtitles
55. Favourite day of the year? September 19th – our wedding anniversary
56. What was your favorite toy when you were little? My numerous Cabbage Patch dolls
57. Summer or Winter? Fall
58. Hugs or Kisses? both
59. Chocolate or Vanilla? chocolate
60. Do you want your friends to email you back? I'm not emailing them this, so why would they? lol
61. Living Arrangements? At the moment me and my hub with 4 cats.
62. When was the last time you cried? Mmmm, last week sometime
63. Who is the friend you've had the longest? Janice and Debs (14 years!)
64. What did you do last night? Watched a lil TV, checked email and called Ronny
65. What are you passionate about? The truth, my husband, my family, my friends and reading
66. Plain, buttered or salted popcorn? salted
67. Favourite flower? Daffodils, wisteria, honeysuckle
68. Number of keys on your key ring? 1
69. Favourite day of the week? Friday….pay day!
70. What did you do on your last birthday? Cleaned my house probably
71. How many countries have you lived in? 2 going on 3
72. How many cars have you had and what was the best? one
73. Where were you born? Brooklyn, New York City
74. What did you have for breakfast? Ham and cheese sandwich.
75. Who would you hate to be stuck in a room with? Jennifer Love Hewitt….she’s so fake!
76. What characteristic do you despise? Egotism, prejudice, rascism
77. Favorite brand of clothing? I like Old Navy
78. Where would you retire to? Anywhere warm where I can relax on the beach sipping drinks with little umbrellas in them
79. What is your most favorite FUN website? PLF
80. What is the nicest gift you've ever bought yourself? I don’t really know, don’t buy much for myself.
81. What movie/film character can you relate most to? Drew Barrymore from Never Been Kissed
82. Who are your favourite artists? Van Gogh, Maxfield Parish,
. Who are your favourite poets? Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Shakesphere, Lord Byron
84. GOING MERELY ON LOOKS: In your opinion - Best-Looking Actor/Actress?
Actor: Brenden Fraiser, Hugh Jackman actress: Drew Barrymore
85. What genre of books do you like? Classics, mysteries, historical novels
86. What color is your bathroom? Its not really my bathroom but its red and black I think.
87. Gold or Silver? White Gold or Silver.
88. Temperament Type (if you know it): ENFJ
89. Name some of your QUIRKS: (for space-sake, just a few!) I need music while I clean, I have a certain way of eating Snickers and Kit Kats, I cant really eat desserts without chocolate, I know I have more just cant think of any
90. Get along with your folks? Yep most of the time
91. Favourite Type of Music: Oldies, classical, rock, r&b, hip hop, alternative, new age, swing
92. Favourite Game (computer/board):Civ III, Clue
93. Favourite Sports (to play): Football and baseball
94. Favourite comic strips: The Far Side, Dillard
95. Favourite Subject in School: English and Geography
96. Least Favourite Subject in School: Math
97. Perfume?: My brain isn’t working but it’s the one my friend Samantha bought me by JLo….its heavenly
98. Cake or Pie: Cake…thanks, now I want some
99. Pet Peeves: The short list: ego maniacs, selfish people
100. Favourite Fictional Characters: Anne from Anne of Green Gables, Edmund Dante from The Count of Monte Cristo

Feeling restless and lethargic at the same time if that is even possible. As usual I didn't feel like posting but once I starting typing in this little box, I feel its therputic value....*sigh*
I have been beyond bored for the last 3 days and will continue to feel this way for another two. Ronny doesn't usually do this but this week he away on business and I am stuck here at home with 5 cats and loading of packing and cleaning to do which I can't seem to motivate myself to start. I just really miss him. I hate being seperated even though we can really use this money. Ah well.
This weekend was great. Swimming was so nice. We took Felicia to a pool in Halmstad and had an absolute blast! The place is just amazingingly cool with all these slides and things inside. I was thoroughly impressed. If felt really good when Felicia wanted me to go with her on the slide and held my hand all the time. Its a little hard at the moment though cause her mother is trying to turn her against me. I know this for a fact. That is such a horrible thing to put a 5 year old through but Jenny never did care about anyone but herself. Just makes me SO mad cause she is really causing trouble. We caught her in a big lie the other day. It makes me so mad cause she is really trying to keep the kids from us. I love Ronny too much to get involved and only make things harder. But its such a frustrating situation to be in.
Anyways, guess that is it for now. Enough complaining and venting. Maybe I'll post later. I'm off to do some more packing. Later!

Ok first I would like to make an announcement:


Congrats to Michelle and Daniel!
Welcome Baby Leila Hewitt!!!!

I am so very happy for them.

I had a really great few days. I finally got my hair cut on Thursday. I hadnt cut it in one year!!! But the lady did a really great job and I am so happy with it! I also got my UK Family Permit in the mail. Woohoo! I was a bit stressed about since we are leaving next Saturday and I cant really enter the country without it. But we sent it out Monday and got it Friday.....not bad! Last night, Ronny and I went out with his brother Rocky and his wife Jenny to see National Treasure. First I have to say I REALLY loved that movie! It was very good. I had no idea it was a Disney movie and although I really like Disney I was a bit put out when I saw the symbol at the beginning of the movie. Well, I was wrong! It was fantastic! We all really liked it. No cursing and lots of adventure. I would definitely give it 3 and a quarter stars. But anyways, we had a great time with Rocky and Jenny. We havent been able to do much with Ronny working so much and us not affording to go out but since we are leaving we thought we would say goodbye and we had a wonderful time. Afterwards we went to go pick up their baby, Viggo, at a friends house who was watching him and they invited us in for some food. Oh that was nice! Swedish cuisine.....yum! We had a very nice time. Salmon, olives, shrimp (they are very into seafood out here on the west coast), brie, all kinds of cheese and wine. So that was wonderful and they couple were so very nice!
So all in all things are really good. Today we are taking Ronny's daughter, Felicia to the pool. Really looking forward to it. Speaking of which, gotta run but talk soon!

The weather outside is not so hot and neither am I. Haven't been feeling like myself for the past few days. Let me rephrase that. I haven't been feeling the last few days. What I can't stand more than depression is numbness. That to me is the worse. No, strick that......whats the worse is when I get the feeling no matter what I do I am going to be miserable. Should I sit, sleep, eat, read...etc. It's a really weird feeling that makes my skin itch all over. Literally. I hope I start to feel better after we are in London. Its strange how I am more depressed now with London in sight than before.

*UPDATE* Ronny just came home from work with a bunch of roses for me. He knew I wasn't feeling well. How can I still feel bad with such a loving husband? *sigh*

We had a really interesting weekend! We had an EXTREMELY bad storm in Sweden and Denmark. Basically it was a hurricane without the formation. We left Saturday afternoon to go visit our friends who had a baby and who we havent seen in a long time. On the way there we saw a tree in the road and it was really windy but that was it. Nothing too terrible. That night however the winds picked up really bad. I mean really bad. They were telling people to stay inside on the news. By about 9pm we lost power. It worked out though cause they have a fireplace in their living room and we had bought our air mattress so Ronny and I just snuggled in front of the fire and were good all night. In the middle of the night after the fire died he got up and built another one since the heat wasnt working. It was so nice and romantic.
The next day they still didnt have power and we were afraid of leaving in the dark as there would be more trees in the road so we left early cause we wouldn't be able to see them on the road in the dark. Its a really good thing we did! I have NEVER seen such devastation! It was insane! These massive fir trees were totally snapped in half like toothpicks! They were all over the road (crews where just sawing in half, clearing the road enough for cars but leaving the rest....they had their hands full!!!). They were down on telephone and power lines. Not many people died but some houses where destroyed and I think the last number I heard said over 400,000 homes were without power. The trains were not running at all as there were trees over the rails. Over 1 million telephone numbers were not working (as well as ours, we found out when we got home last night but we had power). It was nuts. Ronny said he has never seen anything like it in Sweden. And it covered Denmark as well. Thats a BIG range. But we are glad the casualities were few. Last night on the news they said that many people would go without power to the end of the week!!! That is a LONG time. I can deal without light but its so hard to go without water. Poor things.
Guess that is it for now. I am a bit bummed today. Ronny and I realized when we leave Brooklyn is going to be too young to get microchipped so we are going to have to leave him here with a friend or family member until we can come back for him. I really want to bring him now! I am afraid he will forget us and we are developing such a bond with him its crazy! I have never seen such an affectionate kitten!! *sigh* I just cant wait to bring him to London.
Everything else is good. Still applying for more work, want to set up a few interviews. Here is quiz I found on Shelbie's page. I thought I was way geeker than this!

You are 7% geek

OK, so maybe you ain't a geek. You do, at least, show a bit of interest in the world around you. Either that, or you have enough of a sense of humor to pick some of the sillier answers on the test. Regardless, you're probably a pretty nifty, well-rounded person who gets along fine with people and can chat with just about anyone without fear of looking stupid or foolish or overly concerned with minutiae. God, I hate you.

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com

Guess what? GUESS WHAT?????????? I got my first interview lined up for London!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woohoo!!! I cant believe it! I called them this morning and the lady was SO nice. She sounded VERY interested in interviewing me. Saying things like "The position may be filled by the time you get here but we have a few more we could interview for that might work out for you." and "You seem well suited for our company, its now just dependent on weather we fit the bill for you." !!!!!!!! I am so thrilled!!! So my interview is on the 24th. I hope I get it. The company seems so cool. Very personable and everything. So I will let you all know how it goes. We are probably flying out for the move on the 24th. London here we come!
Yesterday was really nice. We took Ronny's grandmother out shopping and she treated us to breakfast, lunch and bought me a pair of jeans I desperately needed. Grandmas are the best! Today we were supposed to get the kids but they were really sick so they couldnt come with us but we went back to grandmas and had lunch with her. Afterwards I cut her hair and we looked at the wedding pics. All in all it was a nice day. Right now Ronny's sister, Ronja and a young brother from our congregation are in the kitchen cutting chocolate cake and set up a game we like to play down here. Its called cashflow. Its really fun and teaches you about budgeting and money. Anyways, gotta run but just thought I would share my good news with you guys. Love ya!

Well, good news and bad news......not really bad news. That one job offer turned out to be nothing but I have been getting people interested in interviewing me like crazy!!!! It's insane. With almost the same resume it took me 6 months to get admin work in New York. In London I have had so many responses! I feel pretty good about that. There was even this one company who said my resume was most revelant to the position they had and they were very interested in interviewing me!!! Its for a receptionist/assistant manager position and get this.....the office is across the street from Buckingham Palace!!!!!!! I about died when I saw the picture and location of the office. You can check it out here. So that is good news. Also, our search for accomodation in London might finally be at an end. We are not really looking for anything permanent right now, just a room until we have work and then we can search for a flat to settle in once we are already there. So I got in contact with this lovely American lady who has been VERY generous and kind even offering to pass on Ronny's qualifications as electrician to her brother-in-law who has his own construction business! She has also said its ok with her if we bring Brooklyn (BIG plus), she just needs to check with the other guy working there. And the house is right near our wonderful friends Jack and Monika so hopefully we would be able to go to their cong!!!! Its great. I hope it all works out. Jack and Monika said they would go by and check it out this weekend for us and Ebony (the lady's name) said she would hold the room for us until we got here with having to send any kind of deposit. We would only need to stay there for about 2 months and she is fine with that. So the London plans are going great for now.
On to other news: I have been suffering from the WORSE headaches. I get this inflammation on one side of my neck and for about 2 days straight I have this throbbing pain in my forehead. Its so bad I cant laugh, cough or bend over cause I feel like my brain is pushing against the front of my skull. I have only had this headache twice since I got here (never had them before) but they are SO bad the idea of getting one terrifies me. The last time I got one I couldnt even see light, it hurt too bad. I have scholiosis (spelling?) so I think that is what it is. Oh well. We need the new system! Im only 24!!!! Not 85!
Anyways, guess that is it for now. See y'all later!

Is this the end of my search??? I am not sure but I hope so!!! I have been searching for hours everyday for work and a place to live in London but haven't gotten a whole lot of luck. But today I got an email from an employer I had sent my resume to. They were interested and wanted more information about my past work experience. I don't know if it will amount to anything but they are a fashion supplier and the job is for a secretary for 10-12 pounds an hour which for admin work is very good I think! I would take it in a heartbeat! It may not turn out to be anything but it was enough to give me the encouragement to keep going. There were a few other people I sent my resume to (went to Yahoo directory of London business and just sending my resume out to companies like crazy) who weren't hiring at this time but wished me luck in my search and I thought that was really nice. I can deal with a no but its hard to deal with silence. So I feel pretty good today!
Other than that not much else is new. Ronny and I were invited over to an older couple's house in our Swedish cong. It was so nice cause I thought they had invited a bunch of people but we were the only ones! I felt so special. We had champagne and everything. A lovely time. The brother is American and his wife is Swedish. So the brother and I talk like crazy. Last night we went out to Helsingborg to visit some of Ronny's friends who we haven't seen since the last time I was here. We were able to show them some wedding pics and have dinner with them so that was nice too. We don't have the opportunity to do much recreationly here but this weekend was busy for us and very nice.
Oh yeah this is interesting. In America most companies give you about 3 days off for X-mas and New Years. Here they give you a few weeks!!!! Most companies close for about a week or two. That is awesome! It isnt even included in your personal vacation! Ah, Europe!
Guess that is it for now. Hope you are all well and really missing you guys!