NYC and hot chocolate...perfect September combo

I'm ending September with flashbacks of NYC, hot chocolate and a very warm blanket.

It sort of drizzled today, stayed foggy-looking all day long, and well my passport picture makes me look like an old sleep deprived lady who's on crack. I meant to change it, but instead of "Yes, please let's take another picture" I said "It's okay". Go figure. So, with that very wonderful picture of mine I get to travel for the next ten years. Just awesome!!! *insert heavy sarcasm please*

And since I can't upload any pictures today...just imagine an awesome picture of New York's fabulous skyline or streets filled with yellow cars and busy-looking people. Oh, and I would put in a cupcake picture, too. But as for right now I can't upload stuff...so yeah. Wait, let's try again!!!

Well at least something came up, thanks to all those pictures I once posted...and are still stored on blogger/picasa/or whatever. ;)

September...it was nice having you!!!!
Hope you ended today with a blast!!!!

xoxo,

♥ Selma ♥

Bye September

 

No matter how I'm feeling...this month is about to end for us and a new one will start. It freaks me out. Seriously. Hasn't it just started?! And why is time running like crazy these days?! Is it because we're older now? I could swear ten years ago time did not run this fast!!! At all. 

I can't tell you how sad I am that this month ends...maybe because it was one of those months I wanted to hold on to and enjoy because it somehow made me believe summer was just around the corner ...and now, tomorrow being October...winter's getting closer and believe me, I'm not a winter person. I'm already freezing just thinking about snow and colder temps. The only thing I'm looking forward to is Christmas (hello?! YES!!), and whatever comes with that season...decoration, presents (yes, I know!), cookies, holiday songs, etc etc. :) Yup!

Today I'm going to do two things...getting a new passport, and then finally finding the right dates for my flight out to my lovely west coast state. :) I hope I still find reasonably priced tickets so I can get one of them and then feel accomplished for once. *I already checked with Amtrak, so I can at least hop from on favorite place to another one...me, being without a car kinda sucks but that's the beauty of it, I get to experience something totally different!!!* As much as I dread the next two weeks I'm also going to embrace the fact that I'm proud of where I come from and that I won't miss or deny my roots (ever!) but will have to find happiness somewhere else. Does that make any sense?!

Have a fantastic last day of September.
Go out and enjoy it as much as you can.

xoxo,

♥ Selma ♥

Blond

I have two confessions to make.

For starters I do not feel as happy and as fulfilled as I wish I would. For the past few weeks I feel empty, lost, invaluable, incredibly weak, starved, exhausted, detached, lonely, vulnerable, and just hopeless. There's no hope for me. I see more negativity than positivity. I'm trying real hard to find peace, happiness, and joy wherever I go. Two days ago I sort of fell apart, and last night it got worse. I'm not lying and I won't pretend. However, I'm trying to write and distract myself these days. My writing may not even show how awful I've been feeling because let's face it we do not want to read about unhappiness. So, either way I'm trying to fake a smile or two and write/answer/comment as positively as even possible.

So, while pushing unhappy thoughts away...my second confession is that I have a huge crush. Yes, I do. Not on a person though. Oh I wish (besides, the way I see it I will never find the one!). I have a huge crush on a dutch brand (so to speak). They sell clothes, greeting cards, plates, kitchenware, etc etc. Their collection's colorful, bright, girlie..and has some fun touch to it. Just looking at everything makes me automatically five years younger!! :) 

I think I'm going for these Christmas cards this year...if I'm still in this area by then!

 

 all pics via google images

Want to look for more?! Click here.

Happy Tuesday!

♥ Selma ♥

Signs...go find them

via tumblr

This is just what I needed to read today.
They are indeed everywhere.
Sometimes we are just too busy to notice them.

Hope you're having an awesome Sunday.
I did have a good day (not the best though)...compliments all day long, a gift certificate in the amount of $170 (from a random person I spoke to on the phone last night, amazing people can be awesome! - and you can bet on that, I'm going to use that one...it's for a facial!), and my raspberry muffin with my favorite drink called vanilla latte. ;)  Since there aren't any pumpkin spice lattes available over here (I need to speak to someone and address this problem immediately) I enjoyed my all year favorite drink.

I also realized that life's too short and I should be doing what I need to be doing. I should try to make myself happy and not others. It's my life, and not theirs. If they're happy just because I get a new job or new position or whatever...good for them. But in the end, does it make me happy?! If so, even better. If not, I need to stay selfish or at least become selfish and go for whatever I wanna do. Ok, this may not make any sense to you but it does to me. I want to wake up again and look forward to whatever the day has in store for me. I need that daily push...I used to get excited about cleaning, washing the car, just going out for a walk in the neighborhood, going grocery shopping, just walking along the beach or go out and get a coffee. I miss that. I miss all of it. I need to find that happiness again. :)

In other news...I'm going to have hot chocolate now...and then head to bed early.
I started yesterday and I'm going to continue looking for signs...all over...and I know I already saw some...should I follow them?! I think I should.

xoxo,

♥ Selma ♥

Friday Funny

Ok, it's been a while I shared some fun stuff I came across during one week. You'd think a week's long (and yes it is if you look at it - in seven days so much can happen and so much can change your life!) but sometimes I just failed to notice the fun parts in my daily mundane life. This week though I somewhat tried to look at it from a different perspective. I had three days off, all in one row and just knowing I would have this made my whole body and mind smile. Sounds weird but is true. So, anyways...on my way to a different city (so I could go shopping and eating and having a day off away from this town!) I read the newspaper and came across something I just knew I had to share. 

Before I show it to you please keep an open mind and don't judge. This is not shown or done to offend anyone at all. It's mainly for pure pleasure and some occasional laughs. Trust me, I had to laugh, because some things are so true and some are slightly true but could be and just made sense. Very funny, and just very unique. Wish there were more of these...

Right now I live in the land called BANK. ;)

And the following is how Europe looks like or is divided according to the US:

all pictures *and more* by Yanko Tsvetkov

Again, this was not meant to offend anyone. I just thought it was funny...there are lots of other maps on his site and one made me laugh so hard I almost peed my pants. Ha, yes. Then again, it may only make sense to me or some others that know some details about other European countries...but it just made my day. :)

And yes, can you believe it's already Friday?! Impossible.

Time sure flies.

A year ago I was in Istanbul celebrating...two of my friends getting married and I had the best time ever with family and friends. Time does fly and it doesn't wait for us to make our moves it just does its own moves.

So, with a year having passed by and me trying to find ways to smile...here's a pic of me on my friend's wedding day. Look at my hair!!!!!! How awful is that?! I didn't want that, but the hairdresser thought it was oh-so-chic. Yeah right. I look like 20 years older!!! 

I tried to make it look better but it's still blurry...then I used my cousin's pic and it's all weirdly stretched...oh well. At least you get the picture! Ha!

And this is what my day today, thanks to Krystal. She mentioned this link and I had to watch *yes I did* and it made me smile. :) Thanks girl.

Have a fabulous Friday.
I'm going to look for another job, find a school so I can continue my constant urge to learn more (even at my age!), find a cheap flight to Los Angeles, ways to make New Year's Eve 2010 amazing, and well...basically, if all fails I'm gonna watch TV and be a real couch potato. Besides, two books are waiting to get finished this weekend so I need to hurry up. My eyes already hurt just by knowing they'll be used quite a lot today!

xoxo,

♥ Selma ♥

Missing It

 we ♥ it

Today while walking along the lake and making sure a fountain-picture-collection is being worked at, a sudden heartache occurred. Nothing serious of course, but out of nowhere I was daydreaming or something similar to that...and seeing myself landing at LAX again, and being in that area again. It's been now a year and a half and it feels like sooooo long ago. Been checking flights and prices, slowly trying to let people know I may be visiting...but so far I haven't booked a thing. This is the most sucky moment...as much as I love traveling just hitting the button and booking a flight is something so definite. It cannot be undone. Of course it can but I won't allow that to happen. Just hitting that button may change my life forever, or make it worse. Ha! So, I totally suck at this. And this is something I'm sure I can't change ever in my life.

Besides, I'm trying to figure out what to do around New Year's.
Do all of you already know what you are gonna do?!
If so, fill me in, or give me hints on what I should be looking for in order to have some fun that night. I won't allow myself to go through the same ordeal I went through last year. Nope. Not going to happen.

With all that being said.
I hope you're having a fabulous Thursday...wherever you are!!! ;)

xoxo,
♥ Selma ♥

Sleep Tight

Today I love bedrooms.
There's something unique and serene about them.
A clean bedroom with or without too much deco can be a safe haven.
Sometimes we all need something like that.

My bedroom isn't as gorgeous or spacious as the ones I'm about to share with you, but they sure inspire me. 

The above bedroom is one of my favorites. Love its fireplace and ceiling!!!

The color just caught my attention.

But when it comes to cozy...I wouldn't say no to this last bed(room). 

I wouldn't mind having this in my summer house or something...once I end up having one. ;)
Just imagine outside it's scorching hot, and inside you can relax with a book or good background music while lying in bed trying to ignore the heat! Nice. This sort of brings the hippie out in me. ;) haha!

Have a fabulous Wednesday.

Going shopping today.
Haven't done this in so long.
 I'm more than just excited!!!

♥ Selma ♥

Things I Learned

we ♥ it

We all know life can be weird. If it wasn't it would be rather boring.
Life here in this part of the world can be just very weird and very expensive.
So here's what I've learned over the years (again!) :

Movie tickets go up in price on a Friday.
Luckily I had a gift certificate so technically I didn't pay anything...but I went to see a movie for the second time (hardly happens, but I loved the movie), and wow...didn't I pay less last time?! Yes, I'm sure I did. Going home I found my old ticket (yes, sometimes I keep them) and checked and yes, it was cheaper last time I went. Holy cow!!! Why?!

Swiss people are conceited and rude.
They have no respect whatsoever. *I had a customer push himself through people (and they were talking to me) and he pushed them aside and out of nowhere talked to me - of course I told him he needed to wait because a) I was talking to other people, b) it was obvious he had to wait and c) he wasn't blind, nor in danger or had a life threatening emergency that needed to be taken care of - he got pissed and said something like "those stupid ... can wait now. I'm more important, and stupid ... should move their fat ... aside because they don't know shit!"* funny how I could write shit but not write the rest he said... ;)
I'm 1/4 Swiss, so this does not apply to me. It so doesn't. I'd be appalled if it did.

Obviously, I also learned to watch my language.

A whole day at a hospitality industry fair is an amazing thing, especially when you don't have to pay  anything. Entry fee would have been CHF 25 which basically is $25 more or less, so yeah, I would never pay this much for a industry fair. Luckily I didn't have to, so I took advantage of all the fun things to drink, eat, drink, and eat...and drink. ;)

I have also learned that Saturdays suck big time even after being back for a few years now. I can't help but notice how disappointed people get when I have to tell them that stores close at 4pm on Saturdays and then reopen on Monday again. I won't get used to that. Ever.

Books are heaven. They open a new world of possibilities, opportunities and such...books inspire, change, and brighten people's days. Books are a great way to forget everything else. They are magical. A great way to escape craziness and find peace and tranquility.

I've also learned that no matter how awful my day was the sun itself is a warm gift. No matter how my day went, walking home and feeling the sun on my skin is a total blessing. :)

Most importantly I've learned that life's way too precious and beautiful to ruin it every single day with ridiculousness and absolute nonsense. It's not worth it. No matter how pathetic certain things are and how awful I'm being treated I'm trying real hard to find happiness in every single thing and moment that comes along. Today, it is the sun and songs and the possibility for me to start from scratch...somewhere, somehow!

I've learned that we need to embrace life.
Every single second!
It could be over in a second, too.

I've come to understand that friendships can last, no matter where we are and how long we've known each other. It's hard to find new friends though, and who said it would be easy anyways?!

And well, that's about it for today.
I've also learned I'm not 20 anymore and can't deal with stress, or odd working hours and not enough sleep. I need my beauty sleep of at least seven wonderfully calm hours. Hardly happens but once it does I'm super happy.

Hope you're all having a fabulous Tuesday!

xoxo,

♥ Selma ♥

Fall

 we ♥ it

The new season definitely started. Fall got this beauty to it I can't even put into words. Its obvious cold winds, and foggy mornings are as beautiful as its sunny and warm afternoons. When it rains it's just pure ugly. We can't change the rain but we can change our attitude towards the nicer, warmer, and sunnier weather we're having right about now. New fall shoes that can only be worn when it's dry outside do the trick, too. I have to admit though that walking to work in the morning and seeing my breath already shocked me. To me this shouldn't happen at all up until maybe November. It happened last week though. Let's hope next week won't be as cold. It's that time of year again when you're not sure what to wear and how much to wear. In the morning it's so cold you want to bundle up. And in the afternoon after work it's warm and sunny (and almost hot in the sun!) and your jacket and shoes make it all so very uncomfortable. So, what do you do?! Yes, you try hard to still bundle up in the morning with a thick scarf, a thinner jacket and cute shoes...maybe freeze a little while walking to work, but then in the afternoon you know why you went through all of this. It feels a lot better not to carry your jacket now, or to have a second pair of shoes with you. Trust me, I've been carrying a lot around lately as if I went shopping every day. Too bad I didn't. ;)

If you were wondering why I walk to work...I'm a green girl. :) I love to walk. I don't have my driver's license anymore therefore I don't drive. Over here I have driven a car once or twice but it never really made sense. Besides, streets are way too narrow over here - even after these few years being back I get a bit claustrophobic when it comes to these streets and highways. Way too narrow for my taste! *yes, I'm the eight-lane-freeway girl* Going back to my walking...I never had a car here and if I stay here I think I won't ever get close to getting one. Public transportation is incredibly good and well-organized so there is no need for an extra vehicle. Besides, I save a ton of money on gas, insurance, maintenance, you name it. So, I'm kinda glad I decided to do this. Plus yes, if you haven't noticed I care a lot about the environment. I hardly (or ever) talk about it but I simply car. I reuse, recycle (and that can be a whole other story), safe energy, water, and do a lot more to protect this beautiful planet. I'm sure not even my mom or friends are aware of how much I do. I never felt to write about it, and even now I don't feel like doing so but thought I'd mention it slightly.  

And yes, let me walk to work again today...and then read a book during my 30-minute break. Yes, I get a break. It's all new. The downside to it though is that this specific break starts an hour after my arrival. Whoever came up with this ridiculous idea is a total moron. Sorry but true. Then again, what do I care?! Only one more month and I am free (and I will be incredibly relieved, sad, and terrified at once!). So, let me grab my book and head onto work. :)

Happy Sunday everyone.

♥ Selma ♥

P.s. I'm so glad my internet is working again. Not sure what the deal was...but I'm back. And yes, I'm kinda addicted to twitter now. Whoops! But I had to share my mom wanting to go to NYC. How amazing is this?!

Fill in the blank Friday

Happy Friday everyone!
It's been a long week...and it's not going to end soon...but in the meantime and to make it look shorter here's some fun stuff:

1.   When I get a day to myself I like to   sleep in, lounge around, and watch tv. While watching tv I would pamper myself with some mani/pedi or something like that, drink hot tea or just enjoy a quiet moment all to myself. The phone's turned off and no one can bother me. Best feeling ever.

2.  High school was....   meh. Yes, not my favorite time. If there's ever going to be a reunion you can bet on it I'm not going.  I went to a all girls' high school. Do I need to say more?! Girls can be extremely mean!!!

3.  A little dream I have is   visit Australia. It's not a good dream or so, but it's one. I wonder why I haven't done this yet, then again I don't want to do this major trip all by myself. I know, silly.

4.  A big dream I have is   to have my own little family...husband, kids, maybe dogs living in a great house somewhere. Too much?! I don't think so.

5.  If I could drive any car my pick would be   any sorta good-looking SUV hybrid that drives smoothly and brings me to A to Z. Like this one. And I would never turn down a Lexus hybrid. :) I'm a Lexus girl. Sue me.

6.  A time that I felt really and truly beautiful was   ...I think I can't say/share anything on this one. I mean, I'm not married (yet) so it can't be my wedding day, and I haven't felt truly beautiful in a while...not even my birthday!!! But wait...I think there was once this time when I landed at LAX after a long flight and for some reason looked stunning. Don't ask me how that happened but my aunt asked me if I had time to change or do my make-up?! Hmmm...I think I felt great just being there which made me look radiant!

7.  Tomorrow I will....   be working 9 hours from 6.30am on, and it's not something I fancy doing on a Saturday but someone's gotta do it. Good things is I can go home later and make brownies so I can bring these to work the next day and give it to my nice co-worker :) Yes, I do have nice ones too. And yes, I do give brownies away because, ya know, I don't like chocolate!  

If you want to play along or read more answers visit Lauren's blog and join the fun.

Hope you're all having a fabulous Friday.
It's my mom's birthday today, my day off and I just know it's going to be a lovely day (with or without the current rain - boooooh!!!!).


xoxo,


♥ Selma ♥

And the award goes to...

...voila...yes, oui, si...me. I think I drank way too much coffee today so I'm a bit tipsy (can that even come from coffee?!) and slightly disorganized but I'm having a good moment right now...because yes, I got a blog award from one of my favorite bloggers over at  Welcome to the Jungle. Thanks Jen!!!! :) I'm blessed!

1. Thank the blogger who gave it to you.
2. Sum up your blogging philosophy, motivation, and experience using five (5) words.
3. Pass it on to 10 other blogs which you feel have real substance.

To sum it all up using five words is not easy but I'd say...

Blogging is an intriguing, life-changing, freeing writing and reading adventure.
Ok, not just five, but close enough.

I love opening up my google reader and reading all of what you had to share and say.
Reading what you go through or found online or did, makes me believe that life can be fun (again),  can be a lot more dramatic, and a lot more horrible.

Sharing what is going on and what we all go through can be and sort of is a liberating experience. I always say "writing helps" and I do believe in what I say!

Writing and reading are two amazing things, so closely connected they're almost just one thing! Both do help us keep our minds occupied... :)

And yes, this whole blogging thing is pure excitement...every single time I go online.

Great ladies deserve this...and since I can't name all of my favorites...here are a few.  If you haven't checked them out yet, go ahead!!! :)

The Married Couple

The Pursuit of Happiness

Keeping Up With Kelly & Co.

Elle Sees

Village

Life is Beautiful

In the meantime I got another award...but I'll work on it later on... ;) Promised.

Hope you're all doing fabulous.

I'm super exhausted...work, and laundry kept me crazy...and a short while ago I somehow managed to hit my foot and it hurts like hell. Dang it! How did that happen?! Don't ask. I don't even know.

xoxo,

♥ Selma ♥

It's Your Turn To Pee Now

Yes, you read right.

I don't know where to begin. I don't think there's a way to start this entry properly. It's just weird. It's just outrageously ridiculous. I won't get into details, because I believe details won't make it better (or worse for that matter). Details just make this matter resurface again, and it's not what I want. It's not what anyone wants. So to elaborate on my title today...yes, the time arrived now. We're officially *almost* told when the time's right to use the bathroom! Welcome to my world.

 via

It's so time for me to change things.
And one thing is sure I'm going to the bathroom when I need to go and not when I'm told to.

Hope your day is fabulous.

I'm heading to bed now...so need to rest my mind.

xoxo,
♥ Selma ♥

Please Don't

Do you remember my "please don't" post a while back?

I mainly listed things people should not do while traveling abroad...things that may bother more than just one soul on this planet dealing with tourists and such. Since I could write books about such very annoying and entertaining (yes I admit it's also quite entertaining) behavior I thought I'd share some more. Again, please be aware of the fact that not everyone's like that, and that things like the ones I mention may or may not happen every day. Everything I'm writing down has happened and will happen again. Everything I'm writing down is not intended to hurt or offend anyone. It's intended for my own pleasure (so I can finally vent and get it all out), or basically for entertainment/information. Isn't it nice to know a thing or two about how people see you and what you should try to avoid once you enter a different continent or country, or state for that matter?!

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• Please don't assume anyone crossing your way (in a hotel, on the street, in the lobby of a building, or at the tourist information center, etc) is your technician. If your laptop/computer/iPhone/iPad/etc doesn't work we can't fix it for you. As much as we like you to keep in touch with family and friends back home, we are no technicians. Heck, I can't even fix my own at home, so why should I try to fix yours?! Please go to some store that may actually help you with that. Thank you.
• Don't be upset when you want to pay in another currency and people don't accept it. When you travel to a different country, that specific new country may or may not have the same currency as you are used to. Deal with it. Inform yourself beforehand, change it too, or have some with you when you enter that country. Don't be upset when people tell you you can't pay in your currency, or if so, the exchange rate is incredibly ridiculous and you would loose lots of money. Hotels and restaurants aren't banks. Shops aren't banks either. So if you want a good deal on your "foreign" money go to a bank, compare the rates and then change to the local currency. It's that simple.
• Inform yourself whether or not hotels charge extra for calls made from the rooms...local calls aren't free in most places, so make sure. And don't yell at the person telling you you spent $1.20 on a local call. It's not worth it. You called, you pay. Plus, come on!!! $1.20 is not $147!!!
• Smile! Even if you're tired from your trip, or mad at your spouse for not finding something or having booked something wrong don't blame it on the first person you see. Don't blame it on me. I'm sorry for all the trouble but you need to work this out with your friend, spouse, father, mother, etc. Not with me. Thank you. So please don't yell at me because I'm not your enemy. And please smile!!! Life may suck right at this second...but there's no need to yell and call names. It's not going to be better that way. Just smile!
• Speaking of language...don't swear in front of me. Don't swear at all. I don't care if you do it, because heck I know I do it, too...but there are certain places you just should watch what you're saying because it's just very inappropriate. So yeah, watch your language. 
• Smile!! Yes, again. Even if your day is crappy - smile. In college, first class in my field of expertise, I was told that when you work with people you gotta smile and stay positive towards others even though your day is one of the worst possible ones. It doesn't matter if you just broke up with someone, went to a funeral or so or just have a bad day. No one's supposed to see this - just you. Your attitude towards others determines what echoes back to you. 
• A/C's aren't used in every place and even though you may have it on full time all summer long back home get used to the fact that your travel destination may not even have air-conditioning. Inform yourself beforehand, and then stop complaining. You had plenty of time to read if air-conditioning is available or not. If you failed to do so, your problem. Not mine.
• Don't ask the first person you come across with what you could do in a specific city/town/area. You are holding a guide in your hand, so open that one and read. You bought that guide, and brought it with you so why not open it up and read (preferably before you start your trip!). There's nothing worse than asking anyone what you could do/see/experience in a city when you first get in. It just puts a stamp on your forehead staying "I'm a dumb tourist!!".
• It's okay to ask for a good restaurant though, like where locals do love to go eat or have a drink. This is absolutely fine. Sometimes you get directed to the best places ever, those not mentioned in a travel book. Wish we had NFT's over here!!!
• Get used that certain countries and cities don't have the same standard you're used to. If you have a gigantic bedroom in one city, you may not get the same sized room in another hotel. Same goes for temperatures...if you had brilliant weather in New York, traveled to Berlin and were lucky enough to get lots of sunshine and warm temps...don't get mad at the first person on your next stop because the weather's not the same. And don't start sentences with "this place sucks, because it's wet!".
• Use the bathroom in your room. Don't pee on the street. Enough said.
• Don't release gas in front of strangers either...especially when it can be heard and well, smelled.
  You are welcome for the last two visuals!!!

Ready to travel and annoy people?
I sure am.

Not so sure where to go though...and when and all but somehow I feel this very strong urge to get down to the basement, get my suitcase and pack some essentials and go...will I do it?! Maybe. Just not now...maybe in October or November!!!! Or December before Christmas?!

I can feel the travel bug got to me...again.

♥ Selma ♥

Fall Color

When you think of fall, what colors come to your mind?!
Orange, red, brown, maybe green?! Or something just very warm?!

Yes, same here.
However, there are other colors that still make fall look pretty...and one of them is one of my favorite ones!

All following pictures via tumblr! :)

I could go on but I don't want to bore you.
This color makes me happy. What's the one that makes you happy?!

Happy Fall everyone.

xoxo,
♥ Selma ♥