Happy New Year!

“I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.” William Allen White

I believe it is only natural to reflect on the year that's passed just as a brand new one is about to begin... I've been thinking of all kinds of creative, potentially innovative ways to present the highlights of mine, but in the end I thought "Why bother spending so much time on the past when what I really should be doing is looking into the future?".

Having that said, I decided on a kind of compromise and thought I'd list the highlights of 2009 but also the things I hope to do 2010.

Here goes ;))

Feeling

2009 Going home again after 8 months! ...all I can say is WOW!

2010 2 things.... The first one I'm hoping for is the one I get when friends/family come to visit. The second one I'm hoping for is a sense of feeling calm (which is unfortunately quite unusual for me)!

Holiday

2009 Italy for sure!!! Como, Venice, Tuscany & Cinque terre was truly AMAZING!

2010 Planning to go to a tropical island (yet to be decided which one...and shared ;)) with one of my best friends....bliss!

Shopping

2009 Oohh....this is tricky, but I think I'll choose my latest Betsey Johnson dress!

2010 Hoping to find the perfect knee-high boots for next fall/winter....as this was mission impossible this year!

Meeting

2009 Joshua Radin!!

2010 My favourite author and one of my greatest sources of inspiration....will keep you posted!

Professional achievement

2009 Hmm.....well I guess getting "accidentally" promoted in November can count??

2010 Mainly aiming to stay afloat, but I guess passing the APICS exams could be a goal ;)

Music

2009 Ingrid Michaelson entered my musical world and all I can say is WOW!

2010 Really really looking forward to hearing Regina Spektors newest!!

Project

2009 Well.... I guess that would be this blog!

2010 I am really hoping to start writing a book, or at least outlining the idea I have ;))

Movie

2009 Slumdog Millionaire ties with Grave of the fireflies!

2010 Tim Burtons "Alice in Wonderland" and of course "Harry Potter and the deathly hallows Part 1"!! Exciting movie year ahead!

(

Mistake

2009 Postponing the import of my car because of silly indecisiveness....have a very unpleasant bill coming my way =((

2010 I could say NONE, but who would believe me?? Let's not forecast this!

Resolution

2009 To make 2009 a better year than 2008...succesful?? Uhmm yes!

2010 Take better care of myself!! (less stress and not worry too much)

That's all for now but want to leave you with this brilliant quote:

“When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened.”

John M. Richardson, Jr.

Now which one would you like to be??

Thank you so much for all your support during 2009! Hope to see you here also during 2010 ;)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! May all your wishes and hopes come true....

xox

Linda - Still lost in Switzerland....but let's see what 2010 has in store!

A very merry Christmas!

Hoo Hooo Hooooo everyone!

It's christmas time and Sweden is certainly showing itself from its best wintery-side!

Sorry for the silence lately.... I've been deliberately occupied with other things, such as spending time with my friends, shopping for christmas-gifts and eating cupcakes - in other words, relaxing and having fun ;)

I just arrived in my home-town an hour ago to spend Christmas with my family.... This christmas is one of the whitest I've seen in years!!! It's been snowing like MAD and I'm enjoying every second of it (with the exception of driving here ;)).

I wish you all a merry and magical Christmas!!
May all your wishes come true...

xox

Linda - Celebrating Christmas in snowy-white Sweden

Life is like a road....

Maybe you have a diffrent metaphor to describe it that suits you better, but this one has always been the one on my mind....

Sometimes life is uphill (the kind of uphill while on your bicycle), sometimes it is downhill, thrilling and exciting!

Sometimes it takes an unexpected turn while at other times, it all feels like the same old road that you've been driving for years to go to work, school or to soccer-practise...

There is the occasional short-cut or detour! Sometimes you'll find yourself at a cross-road and at times you'll even find a dead-end, but one thing is for certain - there is no such thing as a GPS in life to guide you (just intuition and good advice), but your road will always lead you somewhere so you'd better just move with it ;)

This past week has surely reminded me of this and to paint you the picture, here is my past weeks route:

Beginning of the week was surely uphill! Not only because it starts with going to work on a Monday, but because someone that I thought I knew has deeply disappointed me and shown a side to me that I never even knew existed. How to not feel so utterly disappointed and upset by something like this is a lesson I have yet to learn...

Funny enough, it almost instantly went downhill again in that "happy-eyes-closed-wind-in-your-hair-kind-of-way! A wonderful Christmas-party with work with a 1930's Mafia-scene theme..... (if you happen to know me, you'll know that I LOVE THEME-PARTIES)!

During the evening, I also experienced some unexpected turns of the good kind...

My week took another unexpected turn when I recieved a message from someone I truly

admire - completely unexpected turn in the "too-good-to-be-true-kind-of-way".

Won't mention any details here, but if it is too good to be true or not, only time will tell!!

I have decided to go wherever my road takes me and if it takes me to disappointment - well, so be it ;) I will get over that and learn from it. What I won't do is let fear of disappointment replace my curiosity in life!

Friday was absolutely wonderful and still very much downhill! Spent the evening with two of my friends and I feel so blessed to have so many wonderful and brilliant people in my life... This is a kind of fuel to really keep one going!

Saturday was more like a traffic-jam ;) Went to Zurich for Christmas-shopping and couldn't believe the number of people in such a small space... Found the most brilliant English book-store and will surely become a regular customer! Especially after the Christmas-frenzy has blown over.... I was completely exhausted when I came home and spent the rest of this weekend recovering and relaxing.

In 17 hours I'm going home! Now this is as much down-hill as it gets these days ;)))

I feel so lucky to be spending the next 15 days with my friends and family! Such an instant happiness-trigger!

Hope you are all enjoying your roads.....hope you feel that you are headed in the right direction and if not, just remember that life has a funny way of turning when you least expect it and also remember that YOU and no one else is the driver!

xox

Linda - Off to be a little less lost than usual in Sweden for 15 days ;)

I have been Schmap'ped!!!

Just have to share this!

Some exciting news were waiting in my Flickr inbox the other day.....

Two of my photos have been chosen by Schmap.com for their upcoming travel-guide editions for "Venice" and "Milan"!!!

They will be published in December!

www.schmap.com/milan/sights_water/p=132622/i=132622_131.jpg

www.schmap.com/venice/activities_burano/p=314840/i=314840_172.jpg

xox

Linda - The amateur photographer (?!), Lost in Switzerland

In my comfort zone?

Yesterday we had a kind of "event" at work where we (among other things) watched a truly inspiring and motivational video-clip.

This clip was about a man with big dreams, who went blind in his early twenties and realises that he can no longer fulfill his dreams and that this is probably the worst imaginable thing that could have happened to him! Or at least that was what people were telling him.

It took him a looooong time to get out of his state of mind of self-pity and realise he had to stop thinking about his physical boundries and state and just do it the other way around... To start thinking about what he wanted out of life and what his dreams really were and then start thinking of ways to get there! It's about stepping out of your comfort-zone!

It is about opening your mind to new things and let go of fears and insecurities.....

Seriously.... Have a look at what this man has now achieved!

http://www.mileshilton-barber.com/adventurer.html

Well, you might say that this kind of thinking is no rocket-science and I agree! Really! ...but how

many of us really function like this in every-day life? Certainly not me!

I think it would do most of us some good if we started to apply this mind-set even if it takes us YEARS to get there...

The funny thing is that right now, right this minute - I am soooo much in my comfort-zone, and I'm loving it!! But here I am talking literally in my comfort-zone. In my sofa, drinking a cup of hot chocolate in my brand new cashmere leggings (highly recommended...wow! ;)), a warm hoodie and cosy-socks, enjoying some peace and quiet...

I think this is OK too and I do need this! Most of my time is spent out of my comfort-zone these days!

I still can't stop wondering though..........am I limiting myself? Am I really all I can be?

Are you?? ...and how long will we wait before we go after our dreams? Let's not wait twenty years ;)

xox

Linda - Lost in her comfort-zone (?) in Switzerland

Linda - Lost in Poland....and an award!

Finally arrived at my hotel-room in Katowice, Poland. The flight here was NOT pleasant! All I can say is T U R B U L E N C E and during 5 awful minutes, I managed to go from "HEEEEEEELP! I am going to diiiieeeeee" to "Oh well.....can't really do much to influence it anyway. If this is it - then this is just.......it.....really!"...

.......as you can see - that was not IT! I am very much alive, allthough ridiculously tired - just feeling a little lost.....in Poland.

Now off to be lost in the land of dreams, hopefully without any turbulence ;)

Just stopping by to say hello.... What are you up to this week?

Ooooohhhh!!! Dear Sweet Wonderful Emma from the Swedish blog "Om en tjej" has given me an award! YAY!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

I will pass this award on to "Daisy Pink Cupcake", "From Lina" and "Wonderlander".

xox

Linda - Lost in Poland for 2 days

I'm an ALIEN!

Dear diary,

The more it goes, the more it is clear to me....

I, Linda Andersson, am an ALIEN!

(at least in this country)!

Before moving here, I thought to myself "We can't be THAT different?!"...well I was wrong!

OK, first of all - I am in most ways to blame for this, after all, I am the one who chose to move here and in all honesty, I haven't tried so hard to learn the language...or change my ways to fit it. Also, I just figured I'll get by on the little German I already knew and on top of this, I've taken another 10-15 lessons.

I have plenty of proof of my Alien-hood (Alien-ness?), but here are 3 clear examples:

1. A few weeks ago, I was at Coop buying groceries... Since I am lactose-intolerant - I wanted to ask the sales clerk if they had any lactose-free ice cream.

Well.....I made the most terrible mistake ever! I started asking in English.

"Excuse me, do you have any lactose-free icecream?"

(please note that lactose-free is laktosefrei in German, quite similar in my opinion?).

The response?

"All ice cream is gluten-frei".

I can assure you, that even after switching to German - I didn't get any ice cream that day...

2. Last summer, I was hiking in the alps. At that time, I thought I was more or less fit....maybe not at my all time high or anything, but OK'ish.....again - I was wrong!

To hike up that mountain, it took about 2-3 hours. During these hours, I had to stop 12 times and the higher we got - the more I felt like I was getting an astma-attack! OK....so I've heard this is quite normal if you've never hiked at this altitude, but this is what really surprised me:

After 30 minutes climbing up this very steap mountain, 4 guys on bikes pass me by!

They were biking uphill almost the same speed as me on a normal road......... What the?!

15 minutes later - a couple overtakes us - SMOKING (...and talking...and laughing!)!! How is that even physically possible?! I could barely breathe with pure air in my lungs (oh, and let's just say I didn't feel entirely thankful for the passive fumes...).

I was in shock, but when we finally reached our destination - we had been overtaken by another 5 groups of people, all smoking. I am clearly the abnormal one!!!

3. Going to the hairdresser for me used to be a time to relax and be pampered. Now it's a time of confusion and fear (Yes, fear.... I am barely exaggerating!).

I want my hair classic, no fuss, just natural..... In Sweden, I could go to my hairdresser and say "Do what is needed" or "Do what you think will suit me" and I'd get out of there looking more or less the way I'd expect... I'd feel tired - but relaxed because I would have probably fallen asleep in the chair.

In Switzerland, going to the hairdresser, I wave to be on the alert!

We can only communicate with body or sign-language and a few words of english or german..... ...and seriously, even if I had studied German like an A-student this year, hair-dressing terms would probably not have been a part of the basics course anyway ;))

Also, let's just say our styles are veeeery diffrent... Not saying mine is good and their is not, it's just very diffrent.....and one thing is for sure:

Falling asleep is NOT an option!

I now have three choices.....

1. Accept that I am an alien and stop complaining!

2. Do something about it!!

3. Combine the above.....

I'm aiming at number 3, but it's going to be a loooong and tricky road!

I'll keep you posted ;)

xox

Linda - An alien lost in Switzerland

I ♥ Sequins!!

...in the mood for shopping? Sequins have a way of making you look and feel dressed up a'la City-chique in no time ;) Here are my top-3 favourites at the moment...

SEQUINS by anderssonlinda (click the link for item details)

xox

Linda - Lost in Switzerland

Movie recommendation - Up

Up (2009)

4.5/5

Don't miss this masterpiece by Disney/Pixar!

A young Carl Fredrickson meets a young adventure spirited girl named Ellie. They both dream of going to a Lost Land in South America. 70 years later, Ellie has died. Carl remembers the promise he made to her. Then, when he inadvertently hits a construction worker, he is forced to go to a retirement home. But before they can take him, he and his house fly away. However he has a stowaway aboard. An 8 year old boy named Russell, whose trying to get an assisting the elderly badge. Together, they embark in an adventure, where they encounter talking dogs, an evil villain and a rare bird named Kevin.

I'm telling you.... This movie was absolutely fantastic!

It is such an adorable, surprisingly moving, rich and heartfelt story......

Loved the graphics aswell!!! It's actually quite scary how "real" animations can feel these days. It already won two awards and something tells me that's far from the end ;))

Watch the trailer:

....or read more about it here:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/up/

Hope you enjoy(ed) it just as much as I did! Do let me know?

xox

Linda - Lost in Switzerland with a new-found love for balloons ;)

Just around the corner....

Christmas is really just around the corner! I can't really feel it as there is no snow here yet, but it's a fact.........and I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!

Not for its religious origins, or the presents....nor for the parties and many dinners - but for the way it makes me feel! Young! Alive! It's a mix of tremendous happiness, sadness, beauty and anticipation!

Happiness because I know I will be seeing the ones I love again.....

Sadness lies in memories of the people who are no longer with me. People who meant the world to me that I think of in a nostalgic way and whom I miss so much that no words in the world could ever be descriptive enough!!

Beauty because of all the happy faces around during the holidays of people re-united, of children opening gifts and all the decorations and lights all aound...

Anticipation of wondering if we will have snow on christmas-eve, of giving and receiving gifts, of wondering if the food will taste as good as previous years.

.....all of this brings me back to the age of 5 again in a heart-beat

- and I LOVE it!!

This Christmas I'll be going HOME for 2 weeks and I can't describe in words how much I am looking forward to it! Last year (due to past circumstances) I decided to stay in Switzerland, so this year I am happier than ever to again celebrate christmas with my family!

I wanna make snow-angels, bake gingerbread cookies, decorate the tree, wrap gifts and try to make a rhyme to go with it! I want to go ice-skating on a moon-lit frozen lake under the stars and then defrost in front of a fireplace with hot-chocolate in my hands.... I want to hear christmas music, eat plenty of food and sweets and watch cartoons!

Oh how I wish time could go by a little faster... Well! Can't do magic, so I will just have to wait!

What are your favourite things about christmas?

xox

Linda - Lost in Switzerland for 17 more days.....

Material-wish-list

All I want for x-mas....

by anderssonlinda

xox

Linda - Lost in Switzerland

Visual inspiration

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.”

George Bernard Shaw

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.
Art is knowing which ones to keep.”
Scott Adams quotes

"Photograph: A picture painted by the sun without instruction in art."
Ambrose Bierce

"You don't take a photograph. You ask, quietly, to borrow it."

Author Unknown

“If you only do what you know you can do- you never do very much.”

Tom Krause

“The camera can photograph thought”

Dirk Bogarde

Enjoy ;)

xox

Linda - Lost in Switzerland