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Exactly one year ago, my husband came home holding Thor in his arms. His phone ran out of battery so I had no contact with him. I knew when his flight was supposed to land but I didn’t know how much traffic it would be. I was nervous. I was excited. Earlier that day I had cried when Jim called me on skype and showed me this beautiful little fluffball. Happiness spread around my body. 
When J put him on the floor in our apartment we let him explore his new home. Almost immediately, he found his “house” (his crate) and seemed to love it and he understood that it was his. He ran around, gave us both kisses, discovered new things, gave more kisses and wanted to play with everything. I think he understood that he was home, that we were his new parents, that this was a safe place for him to grow up.
That night I slept on the floor next to his house. It was important that he didn’t feel alone. We wanted to make the best transition for him. He left his parents and litter mates, traveled in a car, met new people, flew from Chicago to New York, took a taxi to Battery Park and all of a sudden he had a new home. That is not easy for someone that small. 
Having a puppy is like having a baby, only that the puppy grows up a lot faster. It has been tough, there has been tears, there has been nights with no sleep, but it all is worth it. This little guy gives us so much love and we care so much about him. He is our family member ♥

For exakt ett ar sedan kom min man hem och holl Thor i hans armar. Hans telefon hade fatt slut pa batteri sa jag hade ingen kontakt med honom. Jag visste nar hans plan skulle landa men jag visste inte hur mycket trafik det skulle vara. Jag var nervos. Jag var exalterad. Tidigare den dagen hade jag gratit nar Jim ringde mig pa skype och visade mig denna vackra lilla fluffball. Lycka spred sig i min kropp.
Nar J satte ner honom pa golvet i var lagenhet lat vi honom utforska hans nya hem. Nastan direkt hittade han till sitt “hus” (hans bur) och verkade alska det och han forstod att det var hans. Han sprang runt, gav oss bada pussar, upptackte nya saker, gav mer pussar och ville leka med allt. Jag tror att han forstod att han var hemma, att vi var hans nya foraldrar, att detta var ett trygg stalle for honom att vaxa upp. 
Den natten sov jag pa golvet brevid hans hus. Det var viktigt att han inte kande sig ensam. Vi ville gora den basta overgangen for honom. Han lamnade sina foraldrar och syskon, akte bil, traffade nya manniskor, flog fran Chicago till New York, tog en taxi till Battery Park och plotsligt hade han ett nytt hem. Det ar inte latt for nagon sa liten. 
Att ha en valp ar som att ha en bebis, bara det att en valp vaxer upp mycket snabbare. Det har varit tufft, dar har varit tarar, dar har varit natter utan somn, men allt detta har varit vart det. Denna lille kille ger oss sa mycket karlek och vi bryr oss sa mycket om honom. Han ar var familje medlem ♥

They are preparing the US Women Soccer parade right outside our door now. I had to take Thor out for potty in the middle of the night and there was a lot of police cars already then. T has an upset stomach today and didn’t wanna walk much this morning, which in one was good cause you have to ask the police to open the gates to let you through. It all starts at 11 so I might go out then to watch it.  
Anyway, yesterday my New York State ID came in the mail. My picture actually turned out ok, yay! Feels weird to see my face on a NY State ID, an ID in America. I have a greencard (and I am now in process of getting a new one), but this feels different. This one I will walk around with and show people. It doesn’t say that I’m from another country, that I’m Swedish on it and I think that is the weird part.
But, I also feel bad for being excited about things like an ID, greencard, changing my name, changing address to another country etc. because I am just another immigrant here. Me and my husband have to go through so much crap to prove that we really love each other. In one way I don’t care about an ID, it’s just card with my face and name on it, but when I opened the envelope yesterday I felt one step closer to my husband. Weird, but true. The ID doesn’t do anything for our papers or our marriage but it feels real somehow.

De forbereder paraden for US Damlandslag i Fotboll precis utanfor var dorr just nu. Jag var tvungen att ta Thor ut for potty mitt i natten och det var redan massor av polis bilar ute da. T har en orolig mage idag och ville inte ga sa mycket imorse, vilket var ratt bra for man maste fraga poliserna om att oppna grindar for att ga igenom. Det hela borjar klockan 11 sa jag kanske gar ut och kollar pa det.
Iaf, igar kom mitt New York State ID med posten. Min bild blev faktiskt ok, yay! Kanns konstigt att se mitt ansikte pa ett NY State ID, ett ID i Amerika. Jag har ett greencard (och jag ar nu i process att fa ett nytt), men detta kanns annorlunda. Detta kan jag ga runt med och visa folk. Det star inte att jag ar fran ett annat land, att jag ar svensk pa det och jag tror att det ar darfor det kanns konstigt.
Men, det kanns inte heller bra att bli glad over en sadan sak som ett ID, greencard, byte av mitt namn, byte av adress till ett annat land etc. for jag ar bara en till immigrant har. Jag och min man behover ga igenom sa mycket skit for att bevisa att vi verkligen alskar varandra. Pa ett satt struntar jag i ett ID, det ar bara ett kort med mitt ansikte och namn pa, men nar jag oppnade kuvertet igar kande jag mig ett steg narmare min man. Konstigt, men sant. Detta ID gor inget for vara papper eller vart aktenskap men det kanns som pa riktigt.  

Quiet. Not even the sound from the fridge. A bus goes by. Quiet. 
I take a zip of my herbal tea and a small bite of my tiny chocolate ball, another zip of my tea. 
The sky is getting darker. I am waiting for the rain. My puppy is sleeping in the window. 
Another bus. Next to me on the couch I have a book.
I want to read but this moment is too precious and I want to enjoy it. 
I am sure there are more sounds outside, this is New York after all, but I can’t hear it. 
I focus on my breath. Sending thoughts to my left shoulder to help the pain to go away. 
Inhale. Exhale. 

> This was yesterday afternoon. It was a peaceful moment and I wanted to stay in it. Instead of reading my book, I just continued to drink my tea taking everything in. It didn’t last long though. Soon we had the neighbors twin babies screaming and running in the hallway and Thor woke up and started to bark at them. Outside the window there was a child and mother yelling at each other and I started to hear cars honking. More and more sounds came to my attention. 
So to stay in that moment I just had, I wrote down what I had noticed (the text above) and I felt calm again. It felt like I experienced it again. And then I read what I just wrote and I could continue to be in that moment. 
A small short moment like this is not something a lot of people let themselves have. Isn’t that weird? We sleep, we eat, we work and maybe we take time to work out but how often do we just sit and notice what is going on around us? Even if it’s just a short moment noticing a bus go by outside the window, it is still important to notice. It’s like a small version of meditation. Being present.
We don’t need to be active all the time. We don’t need to listen to music when it’s quiet. We don’t need to check instagram every time we get bored or have a few minutes over. Instead we need to focus on our breath and fill our bodies with good thoughts. Even if it only lasts for 5 minutes.
Do you have 5 minutes today to focus on your breath? 

It’s very humid in New York now. Went out in shorts and long sleeve this morning on our morning walk and I sweat like a pig. There is rain in the air and then it’s always so sticky here. 
Yesterday came a late birthday gift from my husband. A stylish blue Adidas bag that apparently you can’t find in the USA so it got sent from Spain. I thought only a week ago that I would need a shoulder bag that I can carry my computer in. Jim must have read my thoughts before I even knew I had them, haha. This bag will be perfect for workout clothes or to travel with. 
Last weekend we bought new workout shoes too. I bought mine from the kids section, hahah. They had a lot nicer looking shoes than the adult section and my feet are so tiny that it doesn’t matter what section I buy from. 

Nu ar det varmt och fuktigt i New York. Gick ut i shorts och langarmat imorse pa var morgonpromenad och jag svettades som en gris. Det ligger regn i luften och da blir det alltid sa klibbigt har. 
Igar kom en forsenad fodelsedagspresent fran min man. En snygg bla Adidas vaska som tydligen inte finns att fa tag i USA utan den blev skickad fran Spanien. Jag tankte for bara en vecka sen att jag skulle behova en axelbandsvaska som jag kan bara min dator i. Jim maste ha last mina tankar innan jag ens visste att jag hade dem, haha. Den har vaskan blir perfekt att ha traingsklader i eller att resa med. 
Forra helgen var vi och kopte nya traningsskor ocksa. Jag kopte mina pa barnavdelningen, hahah. De hade mycket snyggare skor an pa vuxenavdelningen och mina fotter ar sa sma att det inte spelar roll vilken avdelning jag koper ifran. 

Of course Thor wanted to try it out too. But, he has his own travel bag, this one is mine:)