Let's just skip straight to the good stuff

Happy 6-MONTH SLACK-I-VERSARY to me! 

Going for the "cringing in shame" look, but instead accidentally made an ad for pleasantly-scented scarves

I told you I had to go to the ER, got two new grown-up jobs, had cool news, and then... I disappeared off the face of the planet.

Except for the random z***** Halloween picture that has greeted loyal blog checkers since October (sorry Mom).

So you know that typical children's novel plot where the main character's loyal dog starts acting funny, and then disappears, and you cry because it's totally dead and you didn't realize this was going to be one of those "shit-happens,-kid,-we've-all-gotta-grow-up-sometime" books? AND THEN THE DOG REAPPEARS A WEEK LATER WITH A LITTER OF PUPPIES??

No, I don't have any puppies.

(Sad, yes.)

But I DID get knocked up.

You guys are going to kill me. Killllll meeee... because...
we've only got 8 more weeks until Matthews-er #3 pops out.

For people who want to "grow" their blog, probably the stupidest thing you could do is skip seven out of nine months of blogging GOLD.

For other *certain* people who've just agreed to work 50 hours a week and then, surprise!, get a BIG FAT DOSE of exhausting hormones paired with completely overwhelming and exciting and thrilling and terrifying implications about the rest of their life...

Yeah, not a good recipe for le blarging.

(I also partially blame the realization that coffee had been providing 90% of my personality.)

Yes, Sneaky Baby was a beeeeg surprise for us. But now that I'm completely addicted to getting kickboxed from the inside out, and now that I've felt little baby hiccups echoing through my guts (who knew that could happen??!!),  I wouldn't have it any other way.

So thanks for sticking around (and HOLY CRAP a petition?? You guys are the greatest. Sorry for slinking away into my "having puppies den" and hiding from it). I literally have 10 different rough drafts waiting for you in the line-up; my goal is post once a week. I hope it will be worth your wait.

Until next week,
I adore you guys as much as I now love ♥♥♥pickled eggs and strawberry popsicles for breakfast♥♥♥,
that's A LOT,

April

Your Questions!: Most Embarrassing Moment, and what I'll never blog about

This picture has nothing to do with the rest of the post-- BUT-- I am promising you right here and right now, I will never again attempt anything as trendy as bacon cupcakes with maple frosting. Ever.

Meet the "Sam" (right)  behind all the epically long & hilarious comments often found here! Love that kid.

(This was for a "bacon party" for our GYM. So legit.) On a sliiightly related note-- now that I'm sick of cupcakes, I'm trying that Paleo diet again. I'm on day three... and every time I wake up in the middle of the night, I get nervous. Eep. On the plus side, you guys might get more barfing stories...?


Moving on-- next two questions, again from Ryan!

What is your most embarrassing moment?
What's one thing you will NEVER talk about on your blog? And why? 

Ironically, I will NEVER talk about my most embarrassing moment on zee blog. It involves a weekend stay at the Hubster's family cabin, a midnight oversized poo, and the horrific steps taken to get rid of said poo. I've already said too much. If you guys really want to hear about it, email me and I might just tell you. But you'll probably regret it a lot a lot a lot.

Seeing as I'm in a chatty mood, and seeing as I prettttty much just blogged about what I said I wouldn't blog about, I'll list a second blogger-verboten topic.

While I try to keep it real on here, and avoid only talking about happy-go-lucky-things that make my life sound flawless, I will never vent about any specific person on my blog. It doesn't seem like it would accomplish anything other than spreading negativity. I learned from my parents to "focus on finding solutions, rather than dwelling on problems."

I do realize that if I did vent, I might get some helpful feedback or advice from the comments (not to mention higher traffic than normal), I'd rather just ask a few carefully chosen confidantes for advice than spread my drama all over the interwebs. And yes, there are several of you who will probably fall into the "confidante category" sooner or later : )

________________
Your turn, amigos! Embarrassing moments? Forbidden blog topics? I'm curious!

Computer Armageddon : (

I think it's safe to say I'm having some slight technical difficulties.

Friday night, as "the Bible guranteed it," my four-year-old MacBook laptop was raptured. Literally, its little light went out. Poor old 'Pooter (short for Compooter).

Luckily, I had just bought a new iMac (desktop), and kept right on computin'.

Well, apparently both my computers are saints-- because the iMac screen just died too. I wish I were making this up. (The desktop's name was 'Pootation Station, just so you all can properly grieve/rejoice for its saved little soul.)


So until I can get this figured out, I will miss writing here, & miss commenting on your blogs too!

I guess I should go look up some porn or online poker with my phone (what I'm writing with now-- not fun) before the Almighty Motherboard in the Sky deems it worthy of salvation as well.

This is how stylish I am.

what? I had mango stuck in my teeth.  or MAYBE THAT'S JUST HOW GANGSTA I REALLY AM

So stylish that I won an award for it.

Thanks to (the actually really super stylish) Jacqueline @ v o j a c q u e!

Hey, do you guys want to hear seven random facts about me?
Well today's your lucky day, because that's what I'm supposed to tell you when I get this award:

[1] White has been my favorite color since I learned its name in preschool, and I get more obsessed with it every year. (Second-favorite colors rotate on a daily basis, but are almost always delightfully loud and obnoxious.)

makes my heart go pitter-patter

[2] Speaking of loud & obnoxious, my favorite band? Metallica. I'm a sucker for anything minor-key-- even if they're screaming their larynxes out, it soothes me.

[3] ...but Brit-Brit has always come in a close second.

[4] As much as I want to go out and work my butt off and save the world, my whole life I've felt like I was born to have some kids and then love them a crazy amount. I doubt I'll ever be a stay-at-home-mom, but I also know that nothing will ever be more important than my family.

[5] I'm terrified of people who I can't read easily. That includes anyone wearing sunglasses.

(Or alternatively, Keanu Reeves without sunglasses.)

[6] I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm currently rehabbing 3 injuries: hip tendonitis, a shoulder strain, and a knee strain. This is how I now have to do pushups at the gym:

they're called rubber-band-assisted one-armed pushups. I'm such a badass little grandma.

[7] Jason was the first "boy" (yeah, it was that long ago) that I ever kissed without him being my official "boyfriend." But then we went and got married, so it ended up being not so scandalous after all. Oh, well. I tried.

first make-out sesh wasn't quite this dramatic :>

I could still just make out with that dude's face all day long. (Except that he's developed a lot more chin hair since 2003 and there would probably be scabs by the end of the day).

****

And now I'm supposed to list ten stylish little blargy-blargs, and by "stylish" I mean blargs that are new-ish blargs that I love & want to spread the word about [...alphabetical, yo]:

• Adventures of a Ginger: This chick is kind of nuts, and more than "kind of" nerdy. Enjoy.
• All Groan Up: a hilarious yet sincere attempt at figuring out what exactly growing up even... means...?
• Beautiful Little Fool-- wacky, often vulgarity-strewn recollections of a young high-school teacher.
• A Creative Beginning-- Super rad home renovation projects by my friend from Architecture school.
• life is sweet. love is real.-- often goofy, stunningly introspective glimpse into the life of two head-over-heels newlyweds.
• tumor-ey side of me-- A brave, beautiful, & faith-guided young woman's journey with a rare disease that grows hundreds of painful tumors on the nerves throughout her body. This chick's amazing.
• Margo & Betty-- beautiful photography and crafts! Eye candy warning-- don't lick your screen.
• Scrumptious Somethings-- JACKPOT blend of stylish, geeky, and romantical. I <3 this blog.
• She Got Married-- all about being a newlywed; lately has been focusing on healthy & inexpensive meals. Makes meh hungreh.
• True Colours-- I love me some deep introspection, and this blog's got it in spades.

           (I'll email all of you on the list tonight w/ full details!)

I'll get back on-track with regular posts soon, I just piled too much on my plate these past two weeks... and then got super sick on top of it.

However, recharge has almost completed.
(Evil cackle.) (With the aid of a sick raspy throat.)

[images] [1]  [2]  [3]  [4 (I drew it)]  [5]  [6]  [7]

I have a blog girlfriend

As in, like, a romantical kind of girlfriend.

Things were already seriously serious between Nano and me, but then she had to go and write this blog review about yours truly. Within it are some of the sweetest compliments I've ever gotten in my whole life.

I'm tempted to consider the marriage proposal that she ends it with. (Except that I'm already prrrrretty married-- so I guess our BLOGS can be engaged! I don't know exactly what this entails, but it's exciting.)

...technicalities. ANYWAY. I am floored.

         FLOOOORED. See? Down here on the floor.                                                                             

My blog is not the jealous type, so it doesn't mind if you go on a little field trip over to its cute, feisty, hilarious girlfriend fiance, Phile Not Found, and check her out. She's a beauty.

& SHUCKS. This made my day. Actually-- my month, at least. I'm finding myself nervous to write any more posts now, because I don't want to ruin this glowing opinion.

Ha. Right...as if I could ever keep my mouth shut around these parts.

P.S. I love that she linked to this photo of The Hubster. It's a favorite for sure.

Is it "unfair" to blog about Japan?

My friend Lauren started a forum on "20-Something Bloggers," posing the question:  "Have you posted something about the tsunami in Japan?" A handful of people* responded that they hadn't-- and in fact, they were morally opposed to doing it.

To paraphrase, they explained that there are many ongoing humanitarian crises that bloggers and everyday media completely ignore, and so it seems unfair to bring more attention to Japan's tsunami when it has already completely saturated the news.

They also pointed out that the tsunami was an unpreventable natural disaster, unlike the smaller-scale genocides, false imprisonments, etc. that are caused by people (and therefore preventable), and have been going on for years.

They brought up some good points, and I had gone through a similar train of thought before I wrote last Monday's post. I ended up posting about it anyway, because blogs are about sharing our personal perspectives on the world-- and because I lived in Japan for a while, that day my thoughts were all about Japan.

At the same time, though, I heard many people say they didn't post anything because they had no connection to Japan, and they were worried that people would judge them as 'insincere' if they did. We ALL have a connection to Japan;** we are fellow human beings. When we hear graphic stories of their struggles, we imagine ourselves in their place. Empathy is in our nature.

However, it's also in our nature to be more moved by natural disasters that kill thousands of people in one day, than ongoing atrocities such as kidnapped children being trained as genocidal soldiers. While it's projected that the tsunami has killed 20,000 people, over 4 million people have died of hunger since I started writing here in October. 

Yet even if some people blog about natural disasters, and never once write about anything more preventably human-caused, I've realized: only good can come out of empathizing with fellow human beings, whether it's "fair" or not.

Sadly, sometimes it's seeing graphic, disturbing disasters on the news--like the latest in Japan-- that help us realize how many living, breathing people there are in the world. Real people, who suffer, love, lose, and rejoice; rather than just abstract countries like "Japan" or "Libya" or "Chile" that we once memorized in high school Geography class.

Me writing about the tsunami was unfair. But it wasn't last Monday's post that caused the unfairness. It's the fact that I've never written about anything else that's pulled on my heartstrings. 

So while this blog isn't going to turn into a "cause-of-the-week" depress-fest, and while I certainly don't think I have the answers to any humanitarian issue, I do think it's important for all of us to stand on a soapbox every now & then and speak to our passions. So, every now and then, I will.

*I'm not sure about how to credit this discussion/the people involved in it. If you were involved in this part of it & want some credit, email me at mrs.matthewser@gmail.com and I'll link to your blog or profile.

**I don't mean to say that everyone with a URL to their name should write something about Japan-- different stories affect different people.  But I do think it would be cool if we would start speaking up when things do affect us.

Photo credit.

Existential Crisis

Alright, amigos. Our time here in Sveeden has expired. For the past two weeks I've been wondering, what's going to happen to this blog?

I try to analyze my motivations for everything I do in life. My first reason for starting this little project was that I'm a giant creep and I LOVE reading other peoples' blogs (our future children's journals will never, ever be safe). I get so excited whenever I discover a friend of mine has started a blog-- so I thought I'd try to return the favor. (And if you're considering starting one, you know you'll have at least one steadfast stalker reader here!)

I can't say that writing this has been ALL selfless giving, though; getting comments and "followers" totally makes our day. If it weren't for you guys, this blog wouldn't have survived two weeks. I'm a sucker for extrinsic motivation.

This weakness of mine poses a problem-- one that seems common to many bloggers (and facebookers and twitterers). When I started this blog, I noticed that I was distracted from 'living in the moment.' My brain had developed a filter that filed daily moments into either 'blog-worthy,' or 'other people won't think that's interesting.' Over the weeks, the 'blogger-brain' has faded, but the posts have gotten a little more sparse as a result.

While we were here, my dear ol' Papa Bear sent us a boatload of tea (I promise this will be related), which had little quotes on each bag. One really clicked:

"Grief shared is half grief. Joy shared is double joy."

Exactly.

And for this reason, I'll keep writing here.  It might not be updated quite as frequently, but you'll definitely have least one or two posts per week.

STALK ON, amigos. You rock my socks off.

So is this a travel blog or what?

Who knows? Who gave these two a blog, anyway?!

Regardless, Sweden has treated us really well so far, so we'll give it a tribute post. Here are some reasons why Sweden is AWESOME:

Do his friends get to call him Gus-Gus?

Sweden ranks as the #1 democracy in the world. I'm not sure what the exact qualifications are, but North Korea is on the rock bottom of the list. So Sweden's government is the opposite of North Korea's. Well done, Sweden; I approve.

(Here's the whole list for all you Poly-Sci geeks out there.)

Not only does everyone have a fair say here, they also have a king! And his name is Gustaf!!

Ohhh, the excitement this gives my little Disney-brainwashed mind.

You know what I would do if I were king? (...or whatever gender-appropriate equivalent, you technical sticklers out there?!) I would design THE COOLEST MONEY IN THE WORLD!!!

Oh, wait, the Swedes beat me to it.

I know it looks like I'm flashing some serious cash here, but alas... it's only a $15.07 dollar bill.

It's my favorite. It has rainbows, BEES, and Carl Linneaus.

("Guys... GUYS.
This is insanity.
We're discovering all these species right & left, and we need some sort of system to classify and name them all.
Can I get some binomial nomenclature up in HEEAHH?!!"

-Carl Linneaus, 1735.)
(Translated roughly from Swedish.)

Click HERE to drool upon the artwork in all its HD glory. (And then make sure to click again so it extra zoomy-zooms.) (I'm making the "Homer Simpson sees a doughnut" noise.)

Besides binomial nomenclature, and a near-perfect democracy compatible with monarchy, Swedes also invented the Nobel Prize. And even more importantly, they invented the word "SMÖRGÅSBORD." Now that's my kinda country.

Anyway, you know what else King April would do? She would give bikes and pedestrians their own street system! And make it really awesome, with tunnels and skylights and everything, an-- oh.

Way to steal my thunder, Gustaf. Your heiny-highness.