Post 39. The Game is tonight!

TONIGHT! Iceland vs. Austria!!!

If we don't win tonight, we do not continue! So, when those Vikings start cheering, Cheer with us!

Can't wait for the game!

GO ICELAND!

Post 18. I'm Icelandic and Eurovision was rough!

I woke up this morning as if I had gone to bed at 5am. Feeling a bit hung over (impossible since I don't drink) I forced my candy-ass out of bed. (I can call it that since the Rock sang me out of bed this morning. Have I mentioned how much I  love the Rock App?)

       I got my kids out of bed and over breakfast I had to tell them Iceland would not  be competing in Eurovision this coming Saturday. They didn't really care, just asked me to pass the apple juice. I walked them to school and tried to be fun and upbeat but the fact is, I'm so disappointed. 

Even my workout this morning wasn't enough to get me out of my funk. 

       I know Iceland wasn't the only one not to get through and no one likes to see their country miss the finals. This year, though, I had convinced myself Iceland had a real shot. Of course, anyone who knows an Icelander will tell you, Iceland always believes we will win! Most Icelanders take this with a grain of salt. 

       I believe we are simply being supportive and positive. This year though, most of my friends and family were shocked. Checking out social media reveals many agree with the Icelanders. None of this matters, of course, there will be another semi-final tomorrow and the contest itself will be on Saturday and it will all be fabulous. 

       I managed to shake off my funk around noon, reminding myself of the fact that Eurovision is what it is. There's always next year :)

But I tell ya, going to bed right after the disappointment, didn't make waking up any easier. 

       Never the less, I am SUPER happy with Iceland's performance last night. The song, singing and performance were fantastic and their participation all around was superb.

I look forward to seeing the results from the votes on Saturday. 

This is all I have to say about Eurovision until after the weekend. 

Post 10. I jinxed it!

If you saw my blog yesterday, you are awesome! Also, you will know I put away all the snow gear and clothes because it's spring, damn it!
Well....

I jinxed it! 

This was my view when I looked out my window this morning. The streets were covered in sludge and our feet were soaked  by the time we got to the kindergarten, no thanks to my youngest since she kept stomping her foot down, splashing me with extra sludge. Thankfully, I brought along extra socks. That's right, weather! I'm Icelandic, you can't fool me. 

Weather: What? Who dat be? 

(No, I don't know why the weather would sound like that.) 

        So when I got home, I'll admit, I took off the wet clothes and lay on the floor of the heated bathroom. Aaaaaaaaah! 

I seriously considered staying there today. Just put on a summer dress and pretend I was on a beach somewhere. 

        Which is what I would do when I lived and worked in Iceland. No matter how cold and windy and snowy and rainy it was outside, I would pretend I was working in Mexico or Spain, on a beach somewhere. It's my favourite happy place when the weather isn't co-operating.

I couldn't even rouse up enough energy to get my workout on. I skipped it (GASP!) today and already, I feel hideously guilty about it. I might just have to get to it tonight after the kids go to sleep. 

Yes, I'll do that. Guilt be gone!

Things are looking up already, this is the  view from my window right now. Let's hope it will last this time :)

This week the weather has been very Icelandic in nature. 

         

Have a great weekend and I will see you Monday! 

Post 8. Iceland vs. Norway

As I've mentioned before, I think, I am born and raised in Iceland. I recently moved to Norway and as with any move, things can take a little getting used too.
First things first, Icelanders are notoriously impatient. We don't really think we are but when we hear about it taking two weeks to set up a bank account somewhere in another country (not including getting card and such) we are outraged.
              In Iceland, you walk into the bank with ID and you have an account and access to your internet bank when you leave. Basically. (It might take a day or two now, it's been a while since I actually went to the bank in person for any other reason than to get foreign currency.) 
             When we came to Norway it took 5 weeks to get our social security numbers, not the three we were told to expect. Once we had those, we could get a bank account. Well, ze man could because they don't give you an account if you don't have a job.
As an Icelander, it was hard to wait. It's hard to wait for takeout, let alone a bank account.We want what we want and we want it now. (That's a lot of W in one sentence.)
We've learned a lot of patience since moving here.

Then there are the TREES! Glorious, big, bushy trees!! We don't have a lot of them in Iceland.

As a parent, I find there are all kinds of things people do differently here with their kids. For example dinner time.

In Iceland, the classic dinner time is around 6.30 - 7.30. In my household dinner is usually at 7, it was the time of day which worked best for everyone.
However, in Norway, dinner time seems to be between 4-5. Needless to say, this has left us scrambling when it comes to my son's friends coming over at the Norwegian dinner time. All I'm serving at that time are cookies, fruits or toast.
Or when they come over and ask my son to come outside and play and he can't because it's his dinner time.
I am told Norwegians will have a lighter meal later in the evening, which makes sense. At least my kids would be cranky AF if I didn't feed them from 5 to bedtime.
So, I am trying to move family dinner time up a few hours and let me tell you, it's hard! I find myself constantly munching on something in the evening. (So not good for my workout!) The kids don't seem to care either way so we will see. Meanwhile, I will stay away from snacking and munch on apples and peanut butter in the evenings.

Then there's school system. When my son started school, in October, I asked the school for a list of things I need to buy. The look I got from the woman was comical as she asked me what I meant.
I told her again I needed a list of what my son needed, you know, like in his bag when he comes to school.
Again, she shook her head.
"You know, pencils, colors, notebooks, those sort of things?" I tried again and she smiled at me.
This time, she explained to me all these things were provided by the school. I tried one more time.
         "But there has to be something I am supposed to buy, right?" Now I was the one starting to sound slow. This time, the woman outright laughed at me and asked me if this was not the norm in Iceland. This is the point where I should explain there were three other people in the office and they all laughed when I told them NO, it wasn't.

This is one of the coolest things ever, because in Iceland, every year, parents are sent a list of supplies their kids must have. Including pencils, erasers, sharpeners, colors (wax, pencils and so on) and then notebooks for math and writing, folders for this and that and on and on and on.
Needless to say, I left the school office with a massive smile on my face.

The kindergarten also surprised me when they informed me I could bring my kids whenever I wanted, as long as the school was open and pick them up, whenever I wanted (again, provided the school was open) All I had to tell them was what days they should expect the girls.
In Iceland, you tell the school what days and what time they arrive and leave. You can, and will, be fined if you are more than 15 minutes late in picking up your children, regardless if the school is open.
In Norway, my girls arrive when we are ready and I don't have to panic if I'm running late with the chores or shopping or whatever. It's so nice.

Of course, these differences are just a few of the many we've noticed here and they are only my point of view.

Feel free to tell me what differences you've experienced after moving. :)