Mom

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there – enjoy your day, because you are wonderful.

I have a very close relationship with my mom, she really is like a best friend to me.

We were always very close and did a lot of things together. And yes, that is still the case, even though I’m 27 years old. We go shopping together, get drinks and talk. I can tell her everything and I’m very grateful for that. Shopping with mom is so much fun, because we have the same taste and we get tired of walking at the same time.

We like the same things, have the same taste, have the same humour and much more. It’s through her I discovered my love for singing and musicals. After high school I joined her choir and theatre group and I’m still there. Some of you might say that I do a lot with her, even part of my hobbies, but I enjoy it and it’s actually great to share the stage with her.

Every year we do a girl’s trip together, most of the time it’s a city. We go to London together a lot, because it’s fab for musicals and shopping, but we have also done other cities like Stockholm, Riga or Salzburg. Two years ago we went to Florida together and this year Teneriffe. I do this and then I also have my trips without mom.

There are moments she annoys me or moments where we don’t agree, but that’s normal. She raised me and helped me to be the person I am today.

THANK YOU MOM …

… for your rules and consequences when I was younger

… for your advice and our talks

… for introducing me to musicals and singing

… for introducing me to London and other fabulous places

… for your honesty

… for all the great moments in my life

… for the fun we always have

…

I could go on and on here, mom is the best! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

I do everything with my mom and I’m not ashamed of it, she definitely is my best friend. 

The Twelve Words of Christmas - Family by Ananda

Family

by Ananda

Might seem very obvious and predictable, but my Christmas word is definitely FAMILY. Every time I think of Christmas, I imagine my two boys running around the Christmas tree, barefoot and without even washing their faces excited to see what Santa brought them this year. Their anticipation and happiness is so contagious, and of course there’s a lot of screaming once they open up their presents and see they got exactly what they’ve wanted. As all boys at their age (Nikola is 10, Luka is 3) they like toys, video games and loads of chocolate. After they’ve opened up each present and finally calmed down a bit, we go to visit their grandparents… which means more presents (for them) and time for me and hubby to take a breath and sit down to have something to eat (and there’s always so much food on the table) while grandparents play with them. At night, bellies and hearts full, we go back home and have just about the time for a hot bath and a story or two before boys dozed off. But the Christmas madness continues the next day when we usually have relatives and friends over, or we go out for lunch and a stroll through the city, enjoying the snow (usually have snow for Christmas) and the beautifully decorated street and buildings. Christmas is definitely one of the happiest times in our family, though to be completely honest with you, every day feels like Christmas with my three boys around me. Happiness comes from within and I’m blessed to love with all my heart and be loved. As for all of you, family has been and will be always my rock. Thank you, dear Simona for inviting me to your gorgeous blog and Merry Christmas to you and all your blog readers!  

Ananda on Twitter: @ThisChickReads

Ananda's Blog: http://thischickreads.com

What Inspires Me...

The kids at school: Working with kids everyday is fascinating. They are full of energy, passion and creativity. I can talk to everything about them. Children are honest and so much fun. When I came back from my holidays in Florida, I told them about the hockey game I saw and I ended up teaching them about the NHL and ice hockey in general. Of course I didn’t mention Tyler Seguin, just talked about talented players ;) The children have interesting hobbies and when they talk about their favourite things, they are so passionate. It gives me great ideas and I love seeing the world from their point of view.

Family and Friends: Talking to my family and friends always opens up new angles and directions. We talk about personal things and there is a lot of gossip included as well. There are a few people I’d like to mention here: my mum, Aven Ellis, Maryline, Jenny Marston, the Beta Baes and my ladies from da club. It’s always so much fun with you ladies and I’m inspired by you everyday.

Books: Well, I’m a bookblogger and I love books and the unique and special stories in books introduce me to new people, cultures and more. Authors are talented and brilliant and give me a lot of ideas and creativity. Their stories make my reflect on the world and certain topics…

Traveling: Traveling to countries all over the world introduces you to new cultures, people and ways of living. Sightseeing, talking to locals and trying different food, it’s all part of discovering something new and making it part of your life in a way.






Home: The village I live in is not that big, but it's surrounded by wonderful nature,

mountains and a lake. The closest city is called Zug and there we have a lake as well. Going for walks or just walking around in the city opens up so many things. It allows me to relax and forget about everything for a while. It's kind of like clearing my mind and then I'm ready to let things in again, things that give me inspiration and ideas. The sunsets here are so beautiful, I could look at them all the time, it always reminds me, of how lucky I am to live here. 

Music: Songs and melodies can have a great impact. They have an intense effect on people’s feelings, covering funny, heart breaking and touching topics. The way artists interpret the songs and make a story out of it plays an important role in it. Music definitely opens up creative little ideas in my head.

Fashion: Colours, patterns, material, cutes… Fashion has so many different angles and there is something for everyone. I like the elegant casual combination. I love to combine pieces of clothing and be experimental.

Dreams: I don’t remember my dreams that often, but the always give me great ideas about stories. Funnily enough, I remembered a lot of them, when I was traveling in Florida ;) I have beginnings for books or short stories, based on some of my dreams. I had the beginning of a story and then I kind of came up with the rest. One day, when I worked as a teacher for a few years, I definitely plan on writing a book. 
Dreams can also have a different meaning of course ;) It's the dreams you have for your own life and speaking for myself I can say that they give me inspiration, motivation and strength every day.