the week when i was looking for a change // 21

so, friends. i am ready for a change. i’ve got summer fever…. baaaaaad. and that means i’m restless. but, i am so aware of it. i always get this way just before a big change.

you see, as i said last week, summer is coming. soon. now, there are only two more weeks with the students at school. and graduation is this coming friday, so that means that the last week will be even calmer (?!) with the graduates gone.

then there’s this trip to paris that my love and i have planned for a weekend in june (!!!!!).

and, on top of that, our month long trip to the states is looming out there, getting closer every single day.

and since one day feels like spring in sweden, and then the next 5 days feel like winter, i just can’t stop thinking about all of those adventures out there. and the warmth and sunshine and hope of summer.

so, honestly, it’s hard to stay in the present moment right now. or rather, it’s not that hard, but there is just so much other stuff out there waiting that makes me so freaking excited that i can barely sit still.

truthfully, it’s also been so busy lately at work. and stressful. and i am still dealing with that deep yearning to blog and do work on my life coaching business, but i have no energy when i get home.

still, even though i have these things that i love to do that i am not doing right now, i feel calm about it all. i realize more + more what my priorities are. and i’m just letting all of that sit and soak into my soul. i can feel that that is exactly what i should be doing.

hmm… i suppose that i have actually been dealing with change all month long. it just hasn’t been a month of action. (except for the busy-ness at work. hehe).

rather, the energy that i have been feeling has been of a slow awakening. of letting whatever change that are occurring sink in and seep up from within my soul. it’s not been a time for quick, crazy, abrupt change… but, instead, of slow, intentional transformation. perhaps that’s why i didn’t really realize it until now.

but, now that i think about it, the change i am experiencing is one that is deep. it’s one that is evolving and showing me a whole new way of living. i can almost feel the transformations as they occur. i can certainly see, once i look back, how i approach, live, and experience life very differently that i ever have before.

so far, the main priority has been for me to live intentionally. slowly. and mindfully aware. and, it is clear to me, especially after this month, that this is how i live. i don’t have to try to do it, or even practice it. you know… fake it till you make it. i’ve made it. my life has evolved into one that is slow and intentional. grounded.

now, this month, things have been shifting to action. not all in one fell swoop, which is why i didn’t really notice it as it was happening. but, slowly and intentionally. just as it should be. however, the change is my focus.

instead of creating a life that is slow + mindful, it’s time to focus on making shit happen. about living fully out of this life, this foundation, that i have created. the time that i am entering is the yin to my yang. or vice versa. it’s the doing from my being.

get what i am saying?

so, whatever has been growing, germinating is ready to begin to bloom. i have no idea how it looks, or what is in store for me as i enter this next phase, but it feels just perfect. the timing is incredible. i can feel it.

speaking of timing… it’s time to see a few snaps from my week. in the midst of the busy-ness and longing for summer, i made time to live the little things. to enjoy life as it unfolds, seeking out those moments of peace, calm, fun, and meaning. here we go!

i started with week with a sushi picnic lunch with my love by the river. yum yum yum!

sushi sushi picnic lina river

i’ve been riding my bike to work lately, but on this morning, i walked. and it was sooooo worth it. i slowed down and stopped to take pictures of the lilacs all along the way. lilacs are simply the best!

uppsala spring building nature trees flowers lilacs nature trees flowers lilacs

there’s a guy that has a strawberry stand outside my work, and i totally bought three boxes of them. i shared some with my co-workers and then my love + i devoured the rest of them!

strawberries

on tuesdays at work, we have fika (coffee + snacks/dessert) during our staff meeting. we all take turns signing up for bringing the fika, and this week it was my turn. i was a bit stressed about it, to be honest with you. this is a big deal, and it feels like there is a high standard, or pressure put on the fika person for the day. people discuss who is bringing fika and what it will be during lunch for days ahead of the meeting.

i’m no baker, and i don’t care to be. but, i did want to share something american with my co-workers, so i looked at my fika as a chance to share a bit of who i am. after discussing what to serve with my mom, i decided on a chocolate chess pie + lemon chess bars. two southern favorites, and things i specifically remember eating with my grandmothers growing up.

well, i gathered all of the ingredients, and got to work baking monday night. the chocolate chess pie did not work out. i have no idea what happened. but, the lemon chess bars were perfect.

and everyone loved them! score me!

grandmas lemon bars baking

besides the picnic on monday, the weather pretty much sucked all week. cold, gray, rainy. so, this random beautiful sunset happened in a blink of an eye one night between rain storms. thank you, mother nature.

sunset

thursday night, my love and i joined my brother-in-law and his wife at a comedy show. the umbilical brothers, from australia, do a crazy, hilarious hour and a half show together. i have no idea how to describe it. but, i freaking laughed my ass off. what a great night! and to think… we almost skipped out because of being so tired. always listen to you gut. and always do something that will make you laugh!

me lina family comedy comedy umbilical brothers

morning meditation. i drag myself out of bed around 6 every day just to make sure i have this time to myself. the quiet, the focus, the peace… 

meditation candle

even though i ride my bike most days, i am still that person that stops for photos. i was a intsy weentsy bit late for work, but i just had to pick up a lilac bloom from the ground. i decided to decorate my bike with it. (i promise i did not pick it from the tree!)

bike lilac nature trees flowers lilacs

ok, so my work is stressful right now. but, it is still pretty awesome. i mean, i got to meet up with some kids who were doing grocery shopping because they are studying travel + tourism and are going paddling for 3 days next week. i was the money girl, so after my last meeting, i caught up with them and helped them finish their shopping. plus, i  (the school) paid for it all.  i mean, how cool is my job?!

grocery shopping

i got home a little after 3 (i get off at 3 on fridays!) and immediately crawled under a blanket and in bed. and i napped for about 45 minutes. it was freaking heavenly. 

me nap window (1)

after dinner, my love and i did a little netflixing (it was stormy outside still) and then… we got silly with face-swapping. a thing you can do with snapchat. and yes, that means that i now have snapchat. more about what that is and why i caved in another post. for now, look at how freaky we are!

face swap snapchat me lina

while I did stay in my pjs for 3/4ths of the weekend, snuggling with this cutie and working on my website, my love and I did manage to get ourselves together and had a fun Sunday afternoon out + about! 


how was your week, friends?! in fact, how has your may been? and are you as ready for june as i am? lemme know how you are doing! 

xoxo. liz

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