the week that was like the raging sea // 7

hello! and happy monday!

obviously i didn’t get my weekly review done yesterday. but, my excuse is that i was still in recovery mode from the cruise i went on over the weekend, so i let it slide. more about the cruise in a few days. how do you like that suspense, huh? for now, though, here’s a little recap of the entire week that has just passed.

oh lordy, last week was a doozy. so much happened. so much so that there were moments that i was not functioning as a human being. i would start a sentence (in english or swedish, it didn’t matter) and literally just stop talking because i had no idea how to express myself or what i was trying to say. i mean, i didn’t forget what i was trying to say, i just couldn’t form words or sentences and get it out. i think it was pure exhaustion.

i can’t really tell you what’s been going on lately yet. but, i think you will get an update about it all pretty soon.

for now, just know that my love + i have been on a roller coaster ride together. we juggled work, home, and business like crazy people. we went to bed early. had trouble sleeping. woke exhausted. filled our days with regular everyday shit + crazy, new experiences shit all that the same time. and then did it all over again and again. i meditated my way through it all. and “escaped” by going to a job that i love. my love spent her time at the hospital, talking through things and staying focused + balanced.

you know, all of this insanity last week got me thinking all about the ebb + flow nature of life.

this week was like a raging river with a few moments of stillness. it was a week of extremes. perhaps it’s even better to describe it as being out on the sea. for a while we are safely in the harbor. resting. refueling. just being still. letting things settle. and then we set sail. we cruise out into the ocean. moving at a good clip. working with the gentle, rolling waves. feeling like everything is flowing just as it should. but, inevitably, we always encounter some big waves. raging waves that toss us about. that freak us out. that make us uncomfortable + have us questioning our safety. soon, or eventually, however, we find calm waters again. and, eventually, a moment to slow down completely in a safe harbor again.

once docked in a harbor, we realize that we are not the same. we have been changed by the journey. we have grown, learned more, experienced more, and discovered, once again, that we are stronger than we ever realized.

yes. that’s exactly how this week was.

4 photos

// a sunset while house-hunting. it’s these things that keep me going: slowing down + noticing the beauty.

// a winter’s sunrise on my way to work. it’s soooooo much lighter now!

// the moon rising from my kitchen window.

// uppsala skies (taken from my apartment building).

3 good things // or what got me through this week

// that’s right. whiskey. sometimes you just have to indulge. lucky for me, i’ve got some amazing irish whiskey direct from ireland which hit the spot. (caution: this is not  AT ALL a recommendation for solving life’s problems with alcohol. and it’s not something that i do. but, a tiny bit of whiskey on a cold february night was a cozy way to end my day).

// wednesday lunch meditations in the cathedral. the most peaceful moment of the week. 

// sharing this wild ride with my wife, the love of my life. there is nothing better.

2 previous posts

from one year ago: ten things i learned during my first three weeks in uppsala

from last week: a song for our journey on the long dark road

1 thing that inspired me

i’m not that girlie of a girl. but, i’m not a tomboy at all either. i’m just who i am. and i’m a chick who digs perfume. since we found ourselves on a boat sailing in international waters this weekend, it was the perfect opportunity to buy a little perfume for spring. 

now, i don’t really have a favorite, as i change perfumes almost every single time i buy one. and i truly do not care about brands and such. so, i’m pretty low maintenance when it comes to this (remember, i am not super girlie). but, i do like something that smells flowery and light. not sweet. but clean and fresh. so, as i walked through tax free on the ship, i sprayed about 6 different perfumes all over my hands, wrists, and arms + went around having my wife + my sister-in-law smelling them. lina, my wife, said she liked one best, so i got it.

i can definitely recommend marc jacobs daisy blush. it’s gonna be the perfect spring smell for me. of course, i’m a cheater + i’m already using it now. channeling springy vibes. it’s only sold for a limited time, so if you are interested, get on it! 

i so wish i could push the smell through my keyboard so you could get a whiff of its gentle, soft deliciousness. 

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well, that’s it, friends. my past week in a nutshell. stay tuned for an update on all the stuff that i mentioned but didn’t talk about (hehe) + a big post with lots of photos from our weekend cruise!

just so you know… just as last week my life was a bit like the raging sea, this week i can feel that i am very slowly, but surely, coming home to harbor.

hope you had a good week  – and hopefully it was not as topsy turvy as mine. wink wink.

xoxo. liz.

i’m gathering all of these sunday posts in a series called “the everyday sacred”, which you can find in a direct link in the right column —>> . you can see my previous weekly posts from 2015 here as well.