It's Christmas time, people!

Just want to take a few minutes to wish you all a VEEEEERY MEEEEERRY CHRISTMAS!!

We will be celebrating Christmas in a climate where "...dreaming of a White Christmas" is probably all we'll be able to do.....dreaming of one I mean! I've heard that the temperature is supposed to be more than +12 degrees Celsius tomorrow... Not so white in other words, but certainly the most special one we will have had so far as for the first time, we will spend it being a family of our own.....and talking about first times, I couldn't think of a single thing to wish for this year! I really mean that...... Who really needs more than this..?I've never been happier!!

Below, an Instagram round-up and some additional photos from the last few days to give you a flavor of what our Christmas is looking like so far.

OK, so maybe I had one wish.... I was hoping Christmas would look a bit like this...as it did a week ago.... 

Instead, it looks a bit more like this....not too shabby, but not really "Christmasy".

A small reward after our walk this afternoon - a "Christmas style Cappuccino"
accompanied by Chris's homemade "Zimtsterne"

The tree has been decorated since a little over a week and now there's just a feeeew gifts still missing underneath it ;)

Deco details ;)

For me, as a Swede, there simply wouldn't be Christmas without Glögg, but it needs to be the one from "Blossa" (and not the IKEA food shop version!)..... =p

Wrapping the last few gifts.....

Uhhmmm.....this bowl was really overflowing yesterday when we came home from the Lindt Chocolate shop... Oooops! 

That's all for now and all that's left to say to you, before the festivities begin is: Enjoy, love, laugh, sing, eat, hug, kiss, dance, take some moments to remember the loved ones that for whatever reason can not be there with you and allow yourself during these precious days to be as lazy as it gets!! You deserve it and hopefully, Santa know that ;)

With love,

xox

14 down......6 to go.....

On the left side, +20kg's ;)

The weather has been a bit of an enemy lately.... An enemy of me getting back in shape post-pregnancy that is. I gained about 20kg's during the pregnancy and I still have 6kg's left to loose before I'm back to the old me. The first 14kg's more or less fell off me a few weeks after Allison was born, but now it's as if it all stopped. As if, (most likely), what I have left now was not really needed during my pregnancy, but rather weight I gained by not being able to exercise properly and letting myself go a bit towards the end ;))

Well, the old me could enjoy going for a run without any problems with the back and if I was able to go running now, which momentarily I can't, I wouldn't mind this weather...not at all! In fact I would enjoy running in the rain and cold as it keeps me fresher and more energized longer.....but to get the same exercise feeling as running for 30-45 minutes gives me, I would have to walk for 1.5-2 hours at least and that, in this cold, humid and grey weather? I just can't bare the thought of! Solution? I'm right now sitting in the sofa, eagerly and excitedly waiting for this to arrive so I can get back on track again! Completely weather independent!

Yaaaaaaaaay! Best "investment" ever and it will make training when having a baby at home so much easier ;)

xox

December and all of that....

December and only some rare spots of snow here and there remain up here on the hills of Essertines. Winter Wonderland has again turned into a few hundred shades of grey and green and unfortunately, the weather forecasts, if accurate, reveal that this will NOT be a white Christmas. 

For (hopefully) explainable reasons, I am behind with absolutely everything! Lately, I have managed to miss no less than 4 important birthdays (I'm so sorry!) and practically forgot that Christmas is just around the corner and am just realizing exactly how close it is now that presents keep arriving at our place and the few presents we have managed to buy are not even wrapped yet and still have to be sent off! Oh well....at least the Christmas tree is in place and decorated since a week. Hope you guys are more on schedule for Christmas than I am?

Today was such a great day! It started with the postman bringing up two packages filled with christmas gifts from Sweden and so many beautiful Christmas cards from our friends and family.... Afterwards, a "baby-date" with lovely "Piretta" and her adorable baby girl, Charlotte, who is just a few days younger than Allison. After they left, Allison and I spent the afternoon playing, singing and reading stories together and she was in her best sunshiny-kind-of-mood the whooooole day, smiling, "talking" (No really! Like whole sentences in baby language, not just gurgling!! ;)) and being very cuddly. She has started to really listen to what I'm reading to her and, in a big-eyed way, watching the illustrations as the stories unravel. I can't wait for her to start understanding what all these words really mean, as for now, I'm sure my reading sounds to her just like her baby language sounds to me. She also started to play around with trying to put the pacifier back in her mouth without my help when she looses it. This cracks me up as of course, being only 2 months, this works maybe 2 times out of 10, so I end up assisting her lots more than normally as she also now spits it out on purpose just so she can practice her new moves and she gets VERY frustrated when she can't manage ;))

"Piretta", during our country side walk.....

At least there is still snow a bit higher up ;))

On top of this, she fell asleep effortlessly, a little after 8pm (Yep! In her own bed....) and since then, I managed to enhance and speed up the Christmas feeling with a cup of Swedish Glögg, in bed, in my cosy flannel pajama while blogging.....and if I'm lucky, she'll sleep through the night, like she's done most nights since about three weeks now. A happy HAPPY day.

Since my previous post, I have decided to keep blogging, but to re-launch the blog once we move to Sweden under a different name (still to be decided), as obviously by then, I'll be neither lost nor in Switzerland anymore.... I hope you'll follow me there.  
I'd like to thank everyone who sent me amazingly kind feedbacks regarding the blogging! I will try to reply as soon as I find some spare time (yep...I'm behind on this as well ;)).

....and one more thing before I close this laptop down to join Allison in the land of dreams. Who's watching Homeland?? OMG what an amazing season finale!! Best series since Dexter =p

xox

The end of an era....

In the middle of the happiness and emotionally overwhelming time of having our first baby, after careful consideration, many sleepless nights, lots of stress, pro's and con's lists, days of both worrying and daydreaming, it's now decided and official... As of spring 2013, I will no longer be "Lost in Switzerland" but rather home in Sweden. 

Yep! We are moving.....and now that it's decided, I can finally exhale and allow myself to feel ridiculously excited about finally being closer to my friends and family again after what will be nearly five years in Switzerland (!). No words can describe how much I have missed them over the years while going through so many changes in my life and no words can really begin to describe the joy I feel inside at this moment, knowing that all those hugs I have missed so desperately, all those heart to heart conversations I could never have, at least not face to face, will soon be within my reach again....

Besides all the massive amounts of planning required now for the move....there is one other obvious question: What shall happen with this blog now??  It has brought me so much joy over the years....a relief and an outlet for so much I needed to get out of my system. I have found so much inspiration from the people reading and commenting and it has also enabled me to meet some amazing people.

Shall I continue to write from Sweden about our life and new adventures there? Would anyone be interested in reading it then? Please please let me know what you think by commenting here below, on the Facebook page or by sending me an e-mail (linda-lostinswitzerland@hotmail.com) ... Potential lack of comments/responses will be taken as a sign of a non-interest. Thanks a lot for your feedback =)

xox

To go or not to go......

...that is the question I've been asking myself now for the past three days! To go or not to go for a walk that is....defying this HORRENDOUS weather! It was so beautifully snowy here a few days ago, but then it started to rain and the result is an ugly, wet and windy 500 shades of grey. For the past three days, I have been on my way out but then changed my mind at the last minute as the weather got increasingly worse......but today I did it!! ...and well, I am happy now that I went - but trust me, I did not enjoy it! In fact, after about 500 meters of walking, the sky opened up and the wet snow came down on us as if to tell me "You idiot! Turn around!". Some sample photos below ;))

Doesn't it look appealing?! Not!

....and then the wet snow came down and it was freeeezing!!

Please note that these pants are supposed to have a very light grey color (some centimeters of the pants are still dry here in this photo ;))....and btw, not so clever of me to go for a walk in this weather in sweat pants 8o) The only clever choice in my outfit were my "Canada snow" boots (which I LOVE!) - so at least my feet stayed dry!

Luckily, our buggy came with rain protection ;))

My unglamorous, un-made and rosy-cheeked faced after having been out in the cold!

One of the best ways to defrost ;)))

Mommies/daddies! Do you take your babies out for strolls in this weather or not?! I feel so incredibly lazy the days when I don't =o/

Now we are back in the warmth of our home and I will use this opportunity of Allison sleeping after the walk to start watching season 2 of "New girl" (loved season 1!) with a very hot cup of coffee. Enjoy your afternoons.......

xox

Happy baby!

We got this "number plate" for her buggy. Love it!

Allison started to smile a few weeks ago, but she hasn't been consistently smiling ever since...just a few smiles here and there. Well, that was until yesterday ;)) Now, she just can't seem to get enough! 

She woke me up at 7am this morning and ever since, every time I look at her - she smiles at me. Maybe it's because I recently learned that being fussy and saying "Goooaahh" doesn't mean "Mommy, I'm done eating!" but rather "Mommy, please give me the other booby!". Maybe that's why she's so happy now? ;)) Regardless of the reasons, I can tell you it's the best feeling ever!!!

xox