We are about to put another year, 2021 behind us and look forward to 2022. For myself… 2021 wasn’t a bad year, but it wasn’t spectacular either. It was much better than 2020, that’s for sure.

I had a great time going skiing in Colorado with a bunch of friends, most of us within the EMS field!

I had not been on a pair of ski for 25+ years and I must say I did surprisingly well. And I had so much fun!

Just a couple of days after that trip I experienced Texas Snowmageddon 2021…

That must be one of the most weird, crazy and fun weeks in my life. Never would I have guessed that I would work EMS in snow… IN TEXAS! But I did. Thankfully we never lost power at home, only water so it was bearable.

I have released not one, not two but five songs… that’s crazy!

They all were so special to make. My favorite is probably The Rose. Simply because we were able to make it a little different from other versions out there. But I’m so proud of them all! If you haven’t heard them, you can listen to them in the right column here on the website!

I had the honor to sing the National Anthem a couple of times which is always fun and an honor! It was so refreshing that events opened up again from Covid, even though Covid is still a thing but a more normal life returned slowly!

With events opening up and the world go back to normal CERT activities also resumed. We had a couple of classes for new members, we had a couple of deployments and we covered a bunch of events. Some great memories has been made and new friends as well!

Life on the ambulance has basically been the same. Dominated by Covid, of course. We had to be very flexible and adjust with new rules and guidelines every shift. We have almost gotten used to never know what was on or off for the day. I still think that we will never get rid of covid, it is just another thing to accept. After some planning I got my vaccinations as well, even though I wasn’t really supporting it. But I know that it would be a hassle if it became mandatory.

We had something horrible happen at work. We lost a coworker in a horrible traffic accident. It was the most weird experience ever. I didn’t know David personally but yet we were family. I hope I will never have to experience anything like that again!

And then the dogs and I took a weekend trip to Hot Springs, Arkansas. It had been a busy two months and I needed to get away. Didn’t tell a lot of people that I was going or where. Loaded the car up with the dogs and off we went. Had some amazing days with time to recover both physically and mentally!

I started two new podcasts. In July the first episode of The Swexan Podcast was aired and in October the Swedish livecast Mellan Himmel & Jord was aired. A lot of work but so much fun!

There is so much more I can mention but that’s some of the highlights at least. I am excited about 2022. In a couple of hours I have a livestream with Sweden to celebrate when they are having new year. It will be a lot of fun. If you want to watch, you can see it on Mellan Himmel & Jord’s Facebookpage.

This year I have at least made an attempt to go into 2022 with fresh start. This morning I went to the nail salon and got some new nails… well one of the nails had fallen off and another one was just about to so I had to.

Then I decided to get my hair a much needed TLC with some color. I was thinking about going black but not sure that would be good on me. But I found a darker red that I tried and I was very pleased with the outcome actually!

So new year – new me? Naaah, not really. More like new year – improved me. Life is always a journey of becoming a better person. I have some goals for 2022 and I must say I am excited about a new year and new accomplishments.

• Slowly increase my workout. I have to do it very slow since my heart has some opinions about it. I have signed up for Run The Edge’s challenge for the third year. My goal is to walk 1500 miles this year as well. I didn’t really reach the goal for 2021 but believe I can absolutely do it. I have also signed up for my first live 5K race. It is only 15 days away and that thought is a little frightening. But I believe in myself!
• Release more music I am proud of. Just a couple of weeks ago I wasn’t in the mood to sing or record again. I felt like people liked what I had done this year and didn’t see the point of doing it when people didn’t like it. But as time has evolved I have come to the conclusion that not everyone will like what I do. People may like it but not tell me. I shouldn’t pay so much attention to people’s opinions but do what I like… which leads me to…
• Put myself first. I have always been a person who value peoples opinions and thoughts about me highly. It is time for me to learn to not care about that and instead look to myself and ask what do I think? What do I like? Does it benefit me? If you don’t like what I do or say, that will be your problem, not mine.
• Positive thinking. I think this is the hardest thing for me to accomplish. I work in an environment where whining and complaining about absolutely everything is a norm and culture. You can never please an EMS person. We have too long shifts, dispatch sends us left and right, we drive too much, people (general public) are stupid, equipment is never working. The list goes on and on. I am absolutely not better. During the soon 3 years I have been working in EMS I feel that I have been influenced by this and lost some of my positive spirit. And the only one who can change that is myself. The challenge will be that the EMS world does not have the same goal or mindset as I do. And when you get tired it is so easy to fall back. But my goal is to improve my positive thinking. Remain the goal to make at least one person smile a day, that will make me smile as well.
• I really hope that I will be able to find somewhere I can afford to ride on a regular basis. Yes, I have three horses of my own but they are not broke. And no, I can’t afford to send them off either because that’s expensive. Maybe someone can help me break them? Let me know if you do English and are willing to help me… But I want to get back into the equestrian world. If there is something I miss in my life, that’s it… the closeness to the horses! That would absolutely fulfill my life!

So there is a little bit of everything to work with. I think I will be able to do it! Yes, I will continue blogging so you can follow my journey here. 2022 will be a fun year. I will make the best possible out of it, so welcome along!