I was up ridiculously early this morning, 4:30am to be precise, and not even in the teeniest tiniest little way can I agree with the taxi driver who, when I arrived in London this morning told me "It's the best time of the day". Nope. Naaha! No way!! 4:30am is sleep time, not awake time.
As a consequence of being up too early, nothing I have done today has been done with passion..... On the inside, I have been sleeping my way through the whole day....feeling nothing but drowsiness, burning eyes and an urgent need to go to bed. Maybe this is why, I've spent the whole day questioning what I saw this morning. While I was stuck in a traffic jam going from Gatwick airport to my destination, I swear I saw an abandoned green Elf suit in the ditch next to the highway!! The only thing that makes me confident that this is true, is that the taxi driver also commented on it..... He said something like "What the........" with his eyes big like ping pong balls. This has certainly not helped my level of concentration during the day, but rather frequently lured me off into fantasy land, plotting the story behind this suit. I'm sure the story must be grand! Thoughts on this anyone?
The other day, somebody asked me through my Formspring account what I want for Christmas.....my first reaction was "Nothing.....", because I honestly can't think of anything I really need! Anyway.....this got me thinking about it....which is never good besides when it's with the purpose of sharing it with you ;)) So, here I go, sharing with you some treasure I bumped into recently that I wouldn't mind sharing my home with:
Happy about: Traveling to London on Thursday for business and instead of flying home again on Friday, Chris is also coming there and we decided to stay for the weekend.... It's his first time in London, so double excitement =))
Friday dinner: Home cooked Teriyaki Salmon with Edamame
Enjoying: The lack of business traveling lately (too much in one go is exhausting).... As a consequence, I've had the pleasure of spending so many beautiful evenings at home, enjoying the new apartment and the new kitchen.
Disappointed about: IKEA's unbelievably BAD decision to switch all of the traditional Swedish brands in the Swedish food shop into their own brand, which can not even begin to compare!!! Honestly, the IKEA food shop has been one of the reasons I have been able to live abroad quite painlessly since I can still find my favorite foods etc. This is now gone....and so is my hope for having a Christmas eve in Swedish style.
Looking forward to: Besides going to London, I am really really looking forward to Christmas and a bit of time off without the usual million plans like we'd normally have for this time of year. Am also looking forward to, hopefully soon having, the first snow, going for skiing and having my mom and stepdad here for New year's eve!! Also excited about going to Milan next week and for once actually having time to visit the city ;)
Listening to: This amazing song, the OST from the movie "Drive", on repeat (great movie btw, but a lot of violence.....)!!!
Hoping: That we will be visited in January by my amazing friend, Madde!
Wanting: Started to write here, but realized it will be better to do a separate post on that topic as I've discovered quite a few little treasures recently ;))
Thinking about:What other holiday destinations we will visit during 2012......maybe Kenya...or the US....or the Maldives...or....well.....I could go on forever! To Be Decided.
Honestly, these are DIVINE!!!
Smiling about: A recent discovery......namely a Lindt Chocolate outlet in Aubonne which is only 10-15 minutes away from our place. Not only was this a fantastic discovery in itself, but also what I found inside the shop that until Friday last week, I had no idea existed and now I'm not sure how I could have ever lived without....see picture on the right....
Sad about: My lack of self-discipline not to eat all of the contents of the box to the right, way too fast and then having a guilty conscience about it after ;p Feeling: Really great! Both physically and mentally.....had some great runs lately (9km's effortless as one example...) and also some good gym work-outs! Work is fabulous and private life even better.... Feeling pretty much ready to conclude the year 2011 as one of the best years of my life!
After I published the post H.A.P.P.Y the other day, someone asked me "What's the secret?". This got me thinking......and well, here's the thing, I don't believe there are any secrets on how to be happy! No magic revelations or rocket science will come out of this post nor will my way of thinking make everyone else happy..... Am I always feeling happy? Noooooo! Am I always in a sunshiny-mood? For sure not!! Happy is hard work and the common misconception is that people seem to believe that being happy, means that everything is perfect.....well it's not, it just means that you have chosen to simply accept the flaws in yourself as well as the flaws in what and who surrounds you. This is not so easy, which is why I am saying, for me, being happy is not just me being lucky or living the perfect life....being happy is hard work and nobody else can do the work for you.
If you are not already happy, here are some things that might help:
Focus your energy on what you have, not what you don't have!
Look around you! There is beauty everywhere!!! ...if you are open to it....
Forget the past rejections or failures! Look forward.....where you still can make a difference!
Accept yourself and for G's sake, stop comparing yourself to others!!
Realize that no one else but YOU can make YOU happy!
Realize that the important and the longest lasting beauty is the one you have within and spend most of your time, energy and money on this instead of spending it all on what is purely superficial.
Try new things, foods, hobbies, people!
Be indifferent to other peoples negative opinions and stand up for what you believe is right.
Stop obsessing over things/people/situations that are not as you wish....if you tried and it didn't work, move on!
Know that you don't have to prove yourself to anyone but yourself. If you feel good about what you do, it shouldn't matter so much what other people think. If you don't feel good about what you do, change.
Get yourself out of situations or away from people that weigh you down....
Keep in mind that doing what you've always done, will give you what you always got....
Think POSITIVELY and OPTIMISTCALLY about the future! I really believe it does help....
Smile a lot!
The rain will come, but it's your choice to see the rain as wet and cold or as refreshing!
Last but not least, make no mistake: Happiness is a mindset.
Everybody measures success, perfection and happiness differently.......the trick is to turn the prisma to put yourself and your life in a better light. Try a different lens....
Just dropping by to share a clip of my VERY talented brother, Tony!! He writes the music on his own, plays all the instruments himself (well I think the drums are computerized....but for sure, I could never do that!!) and records it in his home-built studio!! I love this music and can't wait to once hear it with some singing to it!! My favorite part comes around 2 min's..... Enjoy =))
It's amazing how fast time flies.... I really have the feeling it was only a few weeks ago when we were still able to swim in the lake and now it's the first of Advent. I do not have any Christmas feelings yet.... Probably because there is no snow and I haven't spent any time at home this weekend, like I normally would, trying to "Christmasify" our home while listening to Christmas songs. Well....having a slight hang-over today isn't exactly helping either.....for sure this has removed all my usual first of advent cravings for mulled wine ;))
Now we are on the train back to Lausanne after having spent a great weekend in Schaffhausen and Zurich, meeting family and friends! We are tired, but hopefully I can find the energy to at least locate the box with Christmas stuff when we come home.
Today was the first time I at least had a realization of the fact that Christmas is just around the corner. It came from passing by the Swarowski tree at Zurich train station! Quite a nice one I must say!
I hope you are all managing better than me with getting into the Christmas mood! At least it sounds like, reading all the Tweets and Facebook updates of today. Anyway, I'm not really worried....I'm a born Christmas junkie so I know it's just a matter of time before I get all excited about it ;) Happy first of Advent everyone!
If I were to label my life right now, I'd label it "HAPPY". Not just feeling good or being relaxed....but really really happy, in that sparkling-can-not-stop-smiling-kind-of-way. I can not remember the last time I felt so at peace. Probably before my teenage years.....before hormones invaded my body I guess ;))
It's been a while since my last "update", so here goes.....
Currently, I'm:
Happy about: Oh wow.....this will be a list in itself ;))
- that Chris has finally moved in!!!!!!
- that everyone in my family now has Skype so we can actually see each other when talking! Today I saw my niece "live" for the first time in ages and it was amazing! She even blew me a kiss =)))
- the apartment!! My gosh.... We LOVE it here!!! ...and the neighbors are fantastic!
- the fact that it is FONDUE season!!! We had an amazing, locally made, cheese fondue last eve - a phone conversation yesterday with a former colleague who told me such amazing news!!! ...that I unfortunately can not share yet ;) - having time to do a home facial after the run this afternoon! Had a nice bath with one of my favorite bath salts and then an acid peel followed by a multi vitamin mask, both from the amazing Dermalogica....fabulous and soooooo relaxing.
Marshmallow topped hot chocolate....yummy!!!
Enjoying: A cup of hot chocolate with Marshmallows! Love this time of year!!
Disappointed about: I have been running 5k, two days in a row and both times, I felt horribly out of shape. Almost every step was hard. I'm disappointed how quickly you can turn from feeling in great shape into THAT....sigh! It's only for the past three weeks that I haven't been able to do sports more than maybe 2 times per week...which still isn't bad, right? Normally, I do sports maybe 3-4 times per week....anyway, I'm sure it will come back soon ;)
Looking forward to: Christmas in our new home=p I am such a christmas junkie, so naturally, having a new place to decorate for Christmas is GREAT!! Am also starting to ponder upon what Christmas gifts to buy.....
A little snapshot from our fondue yesterday =)
Listening to: Many great songs in the background on one of our Spotify playlists. Current favorites are: Crash by the Primitives (an oldie, but a goldie ;)), Desolate by Full of Keys, Paperdoll by Rosie Thomas and I also can't stop listening to the Weepies...in general....but if I were to choose a song right now, it's be "Be my thrill"! Thinking about: The amazingly yummy cheese fondue we had yesterday eve! OMG. Divine..... We had cheese for 3 ppl and we ate it all....without any issues ;)
Hoping: I'm traveling to Italy tomorrow and I'm hoping that the meeting we have planned this week goes well and that I will also find time in the evenings to go to the gym as I'm staying there until Wednesday.
Wondering: What I should get for my niece for Christmas.....she is 1.5 yrs old and has almost everything. Suggestions? Anyone?
Planning: The details of next weekend as we will be going back to Schaffhausen.
Sad about: Some of my friends who are really suffering from a situation at work that is so unfair that I can not even mention it without becoming ragingly angry =(((
Wanting: Desperately wanting a pair of True religion Tara's in black.... Santa Clause, if you're listening, a soft package of this kind would make me a very happy camper this year =))
Feeling: That life is amazing.....
Wishing you all an amazing finish of the weekend and a great start of the new week!! xox
What you see in the photos: Black duffel coat from Burberry Brit (bought at Boutique Annabelle on Rue de Bourg in Lausanne.... I don't think it's available online.) "Original tall Navy" Wellingtons from Hunter "Stella" Jeans from True Religion
Oh and if anyone else has any requests related to blog topics, general feedbacks or questions - send them to me here: http://www.formspring.me/anderssonlinda I"m normally quite fast in replying ;))
