This weekend one girl from my class at Chalmers is visiting San Diego (she is studying at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, north of LA, this year) and we are gonna hang out, a little partying, visiting the San Diego Zoo and maybe go to a barbeque. When I told my H-parents about what she is doing here I started to think about what it really was. And I’m seriously thinking about doing the same. Take my last year at Chalmers here in the US! So I’m gonna ask her this weekend how she did it and everything. It would have been so awesome!

It was my H-dads birthday today so we had a big cake for dessert after takeout dinner from Noodles. It’s not working so well with the whole ”being healthy-thingy” for me… So that’s why I just now finished a new and tougher work out schedule. Five days a week and more exercises every day. I think I will start on it after the weekend!

I think the spring has arrived. It has been about 70F for a few days now and it’s so amazing! It’s still chilly in the shadow and it’s pretty windy. But I can go outside in shorts and a t-shirt if I’m in the sun. I was actually very close to  skip the gym today and stay in the backyard reading this afternoon. But I decided to do that tomorrow instead. I have a tiny tan already. One weekend ago I was out reading for about an hour in the yard in shorts and I can see the line on my thigh! Wonder why I didn’t notice it until a week later… And my arms and chest have a little color since LA. Awesome! 🙂

It happaned one more fun thing today. No, it wasn’t fun, but I think it’s worth writing about. And I’m warning you, it’s disgusting. The six-year boy  can’t wipe himself after number two so I have to help him. I’m used to it now, but today was weird and awful! It was green. And I don’t mean greenich brown, it was green, the same color the leaves have in the spring!! What the fuck?! What did he eat?? Ughh….

I’ve been sooo tired today. When I got to the gym I was really close to drive home again to sleep instead. But I didn’t, I clenched and did my one hour of work out.

When the kids were back from school we pumped my beach volleyball and I was the girls personal trainer for 30 minutes. It was fun! We are gonna practice as much as we can from now on.

Dinner was really good. We eat normal food, but it’s so good. Mashed potatoes with a chicken casserole, delicous! I love the food my host parents are making :).

This post used to contain pictures, but due to new storage limitations from WordPress, I had to fix the problem and decided to create a new blog that works as an archive for all the posts from my two years in California. This full post can be found here.

SATURDAY
Feb 23rd

Manuela, Alejandra, Monica and Dina.

Our hotel, Andaz on Sunset Boulveard in West Hollywood.

House of Blues LA was way cooler than House of Blues San Diego.

They had closed all of Hollywood Boulevard because of the Oscars on Saturday. But we were able to go inside the Dolby Theatre and see the red carpet inside. On Sunday they had closed all the road leading to Hollywood Blvd and put big screens on the fences so you couldn’t see anything at all!

Hard Rock Cafe Hollywood! Our menus was on iPads.

A cool fountain in the middle of Hollywood & Highland mall. A cute girl was running around in the colorful water.

A really fancy mall and the prices were kind of the same as in Sweden so it wasn’t that bad.

The red carpet inside the Dolby Theatre!

SUNDAY
Feb 24th

Big and fancy houses behind our hotel.

The sun deck at our hotel. Too bad we didn’t have time to hang out there because it was really warm (80F, 25C) and sunny!

The view from the sun deck.

Me and Paul Johansson (Dan Scott from One Tree Hill series)!! Highlight of the trip :). He was nothing at all like Dan, he was nice and was asking us if we wanted to take photos when he noticed that we recognized him.

Brunch at IHOP! The best brunch I’ve ever had!

This is as close as I could get to the Oscars. By the big tower was the red carpet…

A train restaurant on Sunset Blvd. We have one at Chalmers campus, copycats…

I don’t know if this is where the afterparty was held. But it could have been.

A pair of jeans from Guess, a top from Angl, a pair of heels from Bebe and three panties from VS. A good shopping day :).
The heels were super high, but my feet didn’t hurt at all!

SATURDAY
Yesterday was the first day I didn’t post anything, and that was because I was in West Hollywood (without a computer). The weekend in LA didn’t go as I expected, but I’m glad I came along anyway, another weekend alone at home would have been really boring!

Yesterday Dina, Alejandra and Monica picked me up at 8am. We picked up another girl in Manhattan Beach. First we went to the Hollywood sign. I didn’t mind seeing it again because the weather this weekend has been amazing! Really warm and blue sky with a lot of sun. I even think I got a little tan today. Then we met another girl outside of Madame Tussauds and went to Hard Rock Cafe to eat lunch. Super delicious once again!

The last girl, Marcela, had seen the museum too, so she and I went to the mall. I wanted to buy a pair of heels for the evening. I thought that I was gonna buy a pair of kind of cheap shoes, but when we were done and went to meet up the other four girls, I had four bags and spent almost 2000kr. I bought a party top (I really needed one), a pair of heels (really high heels from Bebe), three seamless panties from Victoria’s Secret, and a pair of jeans from Guess. They had $20 off, so it wasn’t so expensive, like 450kr which is very cheap for a pair of jeans in Sweden. And this is a big brand too, win for me!

Back to our hotel, Andaz in West Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard. A really nice hotel where they parked your car for you and brought all of your bags to the room. We all got dressed, put on makeup and everything else a girl needs to do before going out.

We found a bar/nightclub that had good reviews on the Internet. When we got there we got a free shot and the music was really good. But when we started to look around we saw half naked (and muscular) male bartenders and half naked male dancers… It was a gay bar… All the bars there were gay bars. One of the girls got mad, so we got back to the hotel and took a cab to a nightclub called Avalon. I think it would have been relly nice inside, but a cover of $55 is a little too much when it was midnight. So we got back to the hotel and I got to bed. I think two more got to bed and the rest went back to the gay bar, the ones who has boyfriends.

SUNDAY
I woke by myself at 8am and the sun was shining like yesterday. We all got ourselves ready and we took a quick tour up to the penthouse and the pool. It was really nice up there and I wished we had time to lay there in the sun. But we had big plans!

Everyone except for Dina went to Starbucks next door because she had to check out. And when we are there I see a guy coming towards us. It was Paul Johansson (Dan Scott from One Tree Hill)!! OMG! Me and Monica were the only ones who recognized him but we were so excited and I don’t think we were so discret because he said Hi to us and said that he was just gonna get something to drink first. So when he came out we took photos of us with him and that made mine and Monicas day. It was the only celebrity we saw today, but it was good enough :).

Dina drove Marcela and Alejandra to the Oscars because they are crazy about famous people. I am not, I promise. It was just so surprising when he just walked there in ordinary clothes like nothing :P. We other went to IHOP for brunch. I had a stuffed french toast combo. Hash Browns, scrambled eggs and bacon. And of course the stuffed french toast. Everything was really really good!!

After that we tried to get close to the red carpet but the whole neighborhood was closed to the public. Marcela and Alejandra got places pretty close because they were there earlier than us, but they didn’t see any celebrities except for Ben Affleck and Salma Hayek, so I think it was worth missing for that brunch at IHOP.

Me and Marcella was at the red carpet yesterday when the public was still able to see it from inside the Dolby Theatre. It was really cool. And when we were walking around inside a couple with a big camera and mic came up to us and asked us if we wanted to be interviewed. They were from Voice of America and just asked us where we were from, what we expected from the Oscars today and what movie we wanted to win. It was soo awesome!!

When we didn’t see anything on the carpet we decided to go home. But it took time because Marcella and Alejandra needed to eat and we had to drive Marcella home to Beverly Hills where she is working as an au pair. I didn’t get home until 10pm and now it’s really time to go to bed. So all the pictures from this weekend will be posted tomorrow. Good night!

Every day looks kinda the same now. So perhaps I don’t have to update my blog every day… But it’s nice to practice English.

It was a very good day, no problem at all with the boy and I really loved being an au pair today. Nothing special happened, everything just felt good. Before lunch we played New Super Mario Bros. And then I made pancakes for an hour and prepared a lot of them for the boy. Before I hated Fridays because he ate too fast so I couldn’t eat anything, just prepare new pancakes for him.

In my freetime I was at the gym and then I skyped with Hanna. It’s so weird not to be able to talk with her whenever I want. I hope she decides to come visit sometime during the year :).

I haven’t found anyone who wants to go to Maroon 5 with me and that’s sad, I really want to go! I’m gonna talk with my host parents on Sunday or Monday and ask them what they think about me going to LA all by myself.

Tomorrow I’m going there again, not by myself, but with three of the girls I met some weeks ago, it’s gonna be so much fun! The part of the trip I’m looking forward the most is our girls night out in LA tomorrow! It’s really hard to party here since you have to take the car everywhere, so I’m taking every oppurtunity I get.

Now I have to start packing and then get to bed, I’m being picked up at 7am tomorrow…

Days go by so fast here. Even if I don’t do anything special. It is kinda nice though because I’ve found my pattern and it isn’t exciting anymore. I’m just very tired all day and have no energy to play with the kids. I tried today when I played a shooting game with the boy, but I died the whole time. I hope it will be better when we can do fun stuff outside. Playing with guns inside and tag an so on isn’t fun to be honest. But games in the backyard, like soccer (oh, I’ve americanized, I don’t say football anymore!), or beachvolleyboll will be nice!

The boy and me have been playing a lot of Wii these last days and I love it! I wonder what the parents think of that though. I am a nerd and love technology and games. I’m by my computer a lot but I think that kids aren’t supposed to. But on the other hand, it’s another generation.

At the gym I was bold and tried to add some pounds to some exercises. No problem! I barely made it but I think that’s how it’s supposed to be. If I want to see some results I have to start put some pressure on myself. And I think I’m gonna change my schedule to three muscle groups per day instead of two. And work out every group twice every week instead of one. We’ll see when I have time for that. And I’m not allowed to do it late at night, because I really really need more hours of sleep every night…

This post used to contain pictures, but due to new storage limitations from WordPress, I had to fix the problem and decided to create a new blog that works as an archive for all the posts from my two years in California. This full post can be found here.

I woke up to the sound of hail today. Now I’ve experienced all but one of the Californian weathers, the summer warmth! And if my sources here are correct, it is pretty soon. Longing!

Today was a really good day! I was in a very good mood and so was the kids. He has such mood swings!

We were studying for a big reading test he has coming up. Every week he has gotten a new piece of paper with 24 words on it that he has been tested with every week. Today we went through almost everyone of them. And he didn’t get angry once! Maybe that was because we played New Super Mario Bros on their Wii in between every sheet. I love that game, and all the Super Mario games for Wii. I’m thinking about buying a Wii when I get home to Sweden. And a bigger TV of course!

This night I had a very strange dream. Ever since I saw the big billboard in LA about Maroon 5 playing at Staples Center on March 15th, I’ve had that concert in mind. I didn’t think about it so seriously. But the other day I saw that they were playing with Owl City and Neon Trees. I love Owl City, and Maroon 5 isn’t so bad them either. And this night I dreamt that I was in a cafe or something and through the door came Adam Levine (the singer in Maroon 5). I recognized him right away and approached him trying to get a photo of him and me together. And then he started to flirt with me and kissed me on the cheek. I think that dream is a sign that I should go. Owl City is never gonna play in Sweden, and probably not Maroon 5 either. So the more I’ve been thinking about it today, the more I want to go. I’m here because I want to do things, not save money! I think Monica wants to go with me, tomorrow she knows if she has to work that weekend. If she doesn’t I’m gonna buy the tickets as soon as possible.

The dinner today was a success! I made chicken tacos and the girl even had two and said she loved it. It was a really good day today!

After dinner I went to IHOP again with Lizzie and Anna. I tried pancakes and they were really good. I wish that everything good didn’t have so much calories they have… Or that I could eat as much as I want withouth gaining weight… Or maybe I have to increase my work out schedule!

Late to bed today again. But it’s just sleep, right…

I got my ticket to SHM today!

Success!!

It was a very tough day today. I know that he is only six years old, bu the says so many hurtful things. And the way he is acting when he doesn’t get his will through… It’s hard and today was the first day I was seriously wondering what I am doing here…  I don’t want to go home to Sweden, but I don’t want to spend so many hours every day with an energy thief. And it gets worse… I try to be in a good mood because I know that he is only six and stubborn as hell. But today I just couldn’t handle it! I got reallys ad when I tried to explain to him how all of this feels to me, leaving my home and comfort for him and his sister, leaving friends and family so I could get some new experiences. But of course he doesn’t understand. The girl followed me downstairs and started crying and said that she didn’t want me to leave them.

I won’t, but I have to talk about this with the parents because this can’t go on any longer.

The evening was better though. The boy had ”forgotten” about earlier and we had a nice pillow fight. When he said goodnight he gave me extra many hugs and was so adorable. Why isn’t he always like that?

No school for the kids today meant long day of work for me. But it was a really nice day! I had the morning alone with the boy since the girl was at a friends house doing an invention thing for school. And we played Wii, doing a little homework, eat warm sandwiches and had a fun time together, not like the other mornings. I loved it! In the middle of lunch the girl came home and we continued playing Super Mario Bros on the Wii. It’s a little different doing it with a ten,- and six-year old instead of the good old days… But I still love the game. And I actually think I will start my own game and try to complete it all with 3 big coins. I’m seriously thinking (again!) about buying a Wii of my own when I get back to Sweden and buy all of the Super Mario games. Those are the ones I love the most!

We also watched a movie in the afternoon called Mirror Mirror. Didn’t see much of it because I was so tired after just three hours of sleep last night. My shoulder decided to hurt like hell so I was writhering in pain all night. I hate when that happens with different body parts…

I didn’t had dinner with the family today, I went to IHOP with Lizzie and Jenny instead. Lizzie told me all about why she is going home soon and I feel so sorry for her. Being accused of stealing from the LCC? I have a hard time believing that our LCC is like this horrible person Lizzie describes her as, because she is really sweet to me. But I still feel very sorry for her. She went here four months ago with dreams of experiencing a lot of new things and having the year of her life.  I wish all au pairs could have it as good as I have it! I love my new life here! (And I will love it more when I don’t have to wear a hoodie and jeans everyday)

We had a really nice evening together and I tried to teach them some Swedish. They think Swedish is awesome and love when I speak it. But I don’t understand why everyone who doesn’t have Swedish as their native language have such a difficulty with pronunciation, haha! It’s fun though and they could say ”Hi! My name is ….. and I am twentyseven/twentyfive years old!” (Hej! Jag heter …. Och jag är tjugosju/tjugofem år!) pretty good at the end of our evening.

I’m gonna miss them both (Jenny is going home to Colombia in about two weeks too because of bad conditions in her host home). But I will see Lizzie at least one more time before she goes home, to say goodbye. It’s too bad when I just started to get to know them…

And now it’s time for me to say goodnight!

This post used to contain pictures, but due to new storage limitations from WordPress, I had to fix the problem and decided to create a new blog that works as an archive for all the posts from my two years in California. This full post can be found here.

This weekend has been really boring. I’ve asked around but nobody had time to hang out. So I’ve been by myself in this big house all weekend. I’ve been at the gym both yesterday and today and yesterday I was outside in the backyard for an hour and a half. I tried to go to the beach today, but when I got there, after I bought a milkshake at Starbucks, it was cloudy, windy and cold. So I went home again. Sat in the yard for half an hour till my spot got shadowed by the big palm trees at 3pm. Rest of the day I sat in my room, uploading photos on facebook and put together an extra day at the gym if I feel like it some weeks.

I learned today that Lizzie is going home. I don’t know when but I really hope we can hang out at least one last time before she goes. But she is hard to reach…

I decided to skip my LCC meeeting next weekend and go with three girls to Los Angeles! We are gonna do they same things I did when I was there last weekend, but I think it will be fun anyway! And a girls night out on Saturday would have been really fun! And on Sunday is the Oscars!

Not every weekend can be all super fun and exciting. I mean, this is my new life, I’m gonna be here for a year, everything can’t be new and fun. And it wasn’t all bad, I’ve read a lot!

Pelicans flying by!