Summary of the year and the end of a century

This year has given me so much joy, truly, I quit a horrible desk job (with a psychopath boss), and started at my current one in January being an print operator in wallpaper business. Since then I have healed my stressed gut, gotten to wind down and appreciate life again. Burnt out in 2018 with the whole threat situation and the financial setback that came with it. Not being able to feel safe and to sleep without night terrors - 2019 gave me more peace, wonderful new friends at work and fun activities throughout the year! including an all expenses paid trip to Barcelona with work :)

In April we set out to take our paragliding license - weather wasn’t good enough so one mountain flight in Åre and a few hill glides was all we had time to do on that week.

The summer was awesome in our camper, we drove approx 4000km to spend time in the alps. We started in Chamonix looking skyward to all the paraglider sun the air (we’re not allowed to fly abroad on out student license unfortunately) and then hiked and did via ferrata once we found it! We also turned our camper to the east to see Aosta valley in Italy before driving home through Austria and Germany.

        I didn’t want to wait until the next year to get my paragliding license done so I booked a trip to fly in Öludeniz Turkey - where I also got my mountain license in hand. That trip was one of my very best trips ever! I found so much joy in flying and finding new friends from all over Sweden and a few Turks as well!

As I am writing this I’m in Åre for Christmas and had one last paragliding  mountain flight for the year and also about 65km of cross country skiing over the week. I feel fulfilled and blessed to be able to travel and go after my dreams like I have been able to. A little over 7 hours flying my BGD Magic,  26 takeoffs and 16 mountain flights. Most flights were in Turkey. And I have already booked for September again.

Financially I have had a very good year, my funds have grown both due to the money I put in but also due to the market increases. My portfolio as a whole has increased by almost +65% and with my deposits it has increased by +260% and my dividends now cover one whole month worth of expenses (rent, electric bill and car expenses and such)

Relationship wise I’m soon to be celebrating 10 years with my wonderful partner, he is the light of my life and we do (almost) everything together, we both have our ups and downs but pick each other up and find harmony again. I thought that finding friends that had paragliding and climbing as a hobby was one in a million but in this year I met several awesome women with similar interests as myself so I’m positive that my new connections will bring me joy. I love that I found new friends that has no desire to have kids. It makes finding time for each other much easier and hassle free.

          Training this year was difficult due to a knee injury in March, I twisted my knee on an ice hockey practice and was out for the season. Now I try to keep fit in the gym and I am thinking of maybe doing one final try for fitness competition (don’t hold me to that though) - motivation is mostly to lose some weight and really look into being more healthy all together.

            Upcoming adventures, well we have booked the next trip to Åre already in Easter, we’re taking another class and getting more flights so we can get Pilot 1 certified. The summer has not been decided, either the alps or we might go for a Swedish fjällsemester. And I booked another trip to Turkey to fly some more and see my paraglidinggirls again!

We’ll see what the next century will serve. I would like to wish you all a happy new year and a good new century to come! May your life be filled with new experiences, healthy and wealthy onwards!

Motivational - limitless courage

I get told a lot that I’m strong and “I wish I was as strong as you” the thing is, I’m not strong because I was born that way, I’m strong because I push myself a lot, I’m strong because I’m not afraid to fail.

I had this awakening that my mindset is the root of my success, it’s not talent, it’s not genes, it’s not luck.. it’s me TRYING, my curiosity to see if I CAN. It’s the optimistic mindset that I can LEARN anything I put my mind to, it’s in my CONFIDENCE in me doing my very best. It’s also my way of comparing myself to ME - never to anyone else. It’s in my TRUST in myself to try new things and to subject myself to things I have never done before.

When I was 25 years old I decided to learn how to play ice hockey - although I hadn’t been on scares since I was a child - I ended up playing and scoring in the second highest series. In my 30s I learned to climb - never having used my muscles in that way before. Few years back I entered a figure competition, while overweight, training every day to teach my goal - and ended up top 6 in my class, I didn’t win but I soared and I grew a lot through this process.

 In the latest 3 years I learned to invest in the stock market - exposing my capital for risk - and I’m reaping the benefits.

This year I set off to learn how to fly a paraglider - never ever had I tried anything like that before, not even a tandem flight nor a bunny jump or a sky dive. I signed up for the classes and flew on my own.

It’s not that I’m different in any way, I fail, I get discouraged, I cry, I scream and swear - sometimes I quit.. and sometimes I’m afraid - but I have too much integrity to stop living and to sit on my ass for the rest of my life. I don’t give in to fear, fear is not danger. Fear is a feeling, it’s anticipation of danger but seldom there is true danger. Fear is the thing holding you from success, fear is you brain trying to protect you from failure - but failure is not failing, failure is the path to success. To win you need to move through failure and keep going.

Everybody has this power within.

To find this limitless power within, go further, keep evolving, read books, listen to successful people, try, be bold, be brave, work on your feelings, keep going!! Lift heavier, try harder, take the step out in the unknown.

learning to fly

In my earlier years I had a lot of insecurities, I was too short, to bulky, my nose wasn’t the nose of a magazine supermodel. My insecurities was not by far as deep as some of my peers but I had them for sure. Now I passed my thirty fifth birthday I’m getting into my real core, the essence of my being. And no where in there is a need for outer validation. Those who know me know that I have never been a validation kind of gal, but even less now. Beauty industry is always trying to get you to create a new habit, a way for you to keep consuming their products.

It used to be nail polish, hairspray and lipgloss, but has warped into fillers, nail and hair extensions and so on. For me I’d like to be defined not by the exterior makeup or clothes, but for my actions, my bravery and my skills. Men more often gets complimented by these traits and I want to claim that for myself, and all women who strive to be more than just a nice thing to look at.

Here’s to the women who go on adventures, who risk not having a good angle on the camera - but she has fun instead of worrying how it looks. Here’s to the women who learn a new trade, goes on a trek in the middle of nowhere or climbs a mountain.

My adventures have been learning to climb, ice hockey at 25,  learning at 30 years old how to cross country ski, took open water divers certificate and now have a paraglider student license.

Paragliding was so much more than I expected and once I tasted the sky I was hooked!
We did our class in Åre with Lars @ Skysport - very good teacher and safety awareness was on point. For the future we will collect flights to get mountain license and also Pilot 1 to get to go more off grid and fly higher. We also plan to book a trip with Skysport to be able to get some experience flying (also it’s so cool to get to the best places and to fly with other pilots - the people who are in this sport are so awesome!!)

#paragliding #skysportåre

Beauty economics

The world we live today is a harsh world, we have to be successful, we want a big house, a nice car and a fancy title, but perhaps the most important thing right now is beauty. You get judged for your appearance in work interviews, you have your social media telling you that beauty is more important than your brains. The people around you is always telling you (especially if you’re a woman) how good you look - never how smart or witty you are. You even can’t walk by a mirror without checking your reflection cuz your crush (or maybe an ex) might walk by.

So I have been thinking -how does this affect your economy? Let’s get down to it!

Disclaimer if you do nails, extensions, salon waxings and continuously enhance your lips, lashes and brows - you’re in for a bit of a rough ride... 

I’ll try my best to get a fair view over prices and I’ll do this one in SEK (cuz I’m Swedish) if you want to want to translate it to what ever currency you use I use the free app Currency Converter Plus (for Iphone)

So the most common beauty treatments in my opinion are

Eyebrow shaping and color - refreshed every 3-4 weeks
Eyelash lift - also 3-4 weeks
Lip fillers -
Haircut and coloring - every 3 months
Botox - varies from 3 months to 6 months
3D brows - refreshed within 6 months to a year
Nails gel/acrylic - refreshed within 3-4 weeks
Hair extensions - varies but I will calculate 6 months

Not counting various expenses for hair products, makeup, body creams and anti aging treatments.

Not judging anyone I will try to calculate a “normal” beauty regime for one year using mid-range salon prices.

Individual one, let’s call her Sally does her nails, cuts and colors her hair on a regular basis, she goes to the salon for either lash lift or brow shaping and coloring (this example uses brow shaping and coloring) lots of people has this level of grooming and this is nothing out of the ordinary.

Sally goes to refresh her nails every three weeks (adds up to 17 times a year) and she pays in SEK 550kr each time, also her eyebrows gets a treatment with three weeks apart for 330kr. Sally cuts and colors her hair according to the trend and pays 1590kr 4 times a year.

Nails 17 X 550kr = 9350kr
Brows 17 X 330kr = 5610kr
Hair 4 X 1590kr = 6360kr

21320kr is the grand total Sally spends a year on normal treatments. This adds up to 1776kr per month, an amount most Swedes does not put in their savings account each month, nor for pension savings.

Individual two, I named her Bella she’s more of a beauty icon with a job in fashion and more pressure to look a specific way. Her beauty regime is hair extensions full set with hair purchase and moving them up quarterly, Botox every six months, nails (same as Sally), lip injections three times a year. She also does lash extensions with refills when one falls out (price is a calculated from an average new set plus the occasional repair and redoing once more from scratch) Bella tries 3D brows one time this year as well.

Hair 13450kr
Nails 9350kr
Botox 6000kr
Lashes 2000kr
Lip fillers 10500kr
3D brows 4000kr

This adds up to 45300kr which is 3775kr/month - Bella is perhaps not the ordinary person, I used her for reference to point out the yearly costs for the most common beauty treatments.

As a closing point to this blog post I really hope women can in the future be equal to men in the light of savings, to see the big differences in men’s costs and women’s costs - even if our salaries would be 100% equal - our beauty obsession is costing us in the long run. I too have considered some treatments to make my melasma less visible. If Sally instead invested 1770kr monthly in a diverse portfolio the interest effect would over 25 years accumulate to almost 1,7 million kronor.

Efter 25 år, med ränta på ränta, är värdet 1 693 851kr. 

2018 in summary

The blog has been on hold for a few months, moving, changing jobs and managing the ice hockey team took a lot from me, almost to the point of exhaustion - but I’m not here to cry about things.

Recap, I started to look for other work in October, the web shop had grown and my work schedule was too much for me, I wanted a better pay and better opportunities to grow and advance. I got a few interviews and some sounded great but did not offer the pay I was looking for. Finally an opening at a big car brand in after sales came up and the hiring was property quick. Resigning from the web shop was incredibly hard since we worked very closely and we parted with loving words both ways.

The new job came with lots of new things to learn and at times stressful but also better office hours, higher pay and bonus and terms. I hope to advance in the company and my gut get the opportunity in the next few years.

The hockey team is evolving and we are now a good sized team with women of all ranges that enjoy the sport, I took a step back in managing and is now assisting in whatever they might need help in, but I’d rather focus on training and getting my stress levels down (meaning less weight on my shoulders)

The fitness goals I had last year is not relevant anymore, it’s pushing me in a way that is not creating more quality of life. For me the goal is to be strong, healthy and up for any challenge, don’t get me wrong I still work out but more for recreation and building the physique I need to do my favorite sports and hobbies. We had a great summer in Sweden due to a surprise visit from Australia and we took her around the entire southern part of Sweden. Hiking, climbing and sightseeing a lot, with that visit I realized that I want to do more things like this, Mt Kilimanjaro is still relevant and maybe Renee wants to do this with me :) also we are planning to take next summer vaycay abroad and visit the alps to do climbing and Via Ferrata.

One dream of mine is to learn how to freedive, we did a try-out when we last went to Thailand and I now plan to save up to pay to do a proper freediving course.

Financially I’m getting better, the portfolio is really starting to show some good results and the small amount of dividends I receive is being placed in stocks. No I’m not a millionaire yet, but someday I hope to be financially stable to live the life I know I was created for.

Hockey, new house, fitness and a trip to Africas highest peak!

Yes, 2017 is indeed an exiting year! We're moving to our new home in July, we're taking a trip in our mobile home this summer, I'm also planning out the autumn and coming adventures to come! 

I started playing ice hockey again, I missed it so much and reached out to my peers and we got together to start up a girls team once more! It feels really good, I'm the one arranging and administrating the whole thing, and we hope to get enough players to play games this fall!

In April we get to step in to our apartment which is built and has walls and a roof as of now, but no interior yet, they are starting to raise walls and setting tiles in the bathroom and starting to install kitchen in the months to come. 

Soon after we move in the vacation time is upon us and we are mapping out where to go this year, maybe down towards France, maybe Italy.. we're not sure yet. 

The big news is that I decided to aim for competition this fall, I'm so exited to start training for this and to see progress in my physique. Right now I'm fighting strep throat so I can't lift weights - so I plan out my competition prep and choose my bikini and shoes for the occasion. The suit is already found and I will order it in June or so (its so beautiful I could cry) shoes I'm going a different route than the classic clear fitness shoe. I'm aiming for either a black or a tan shoe that I can use for more than just competitions. 

As soon as I'm free of my loan I'm buying stocks and ETFs for my pension plan that I'm going to fall back on when it's time to stop working. I started my portfolio and you can font it on Shareville if you are interested to follow me there (username Petitezzer of course)

While I work out and work hard on the job this year I'm aiming to get debt free in the time frame of one year from now, this means a lot for my stress levels and after that I have an adventure I want to take my brother on. I want to climb Kilimanjaro in 2019 and I'm taking my brother on the journey, to get finances and enough training in we are planning to do this in two years from now so we both can enjoy and have the greatest time ever! 

Picture borrowed from https://www.kandooadventures.com/climb-kilimanjaro/

På svenska:

Ja det är ett nytt spännande år 2017! Vi flyttar till vårt nya hem i Juli, vi planerar en tripp med husbilen, samtidigt som jag planerar hösten och kommande äventyr!

Jag har börjat spela ishockey igen, saknaden var allt för stor så jag sträckte ut en hand och fick hjälp av gamla lagkamrater att starta upp ett lag igen! Det känns riktigt bra, jag är den som sköter kallelser och administrering av lagsidan och så har jag hjälp med träningar av en tjej som har lite mer erfarenhet under bältet! Vi hoppas kunna dra igång seriespel om vi lyckas få ihop tillräckligt med spelare!

I april kommer vi få gå in i vår lägenhet för första gången i vår nya lägenhet, än så länge består den av väggar ich tak men ingen inredning ännu. Inom kort reser de innerväggar och börjar kakla och montera köket så småningom. 

Inte långt efter vi flyttar in åker jag och sambon på husbilstripp, vart beror lite på hurdan semester vi får men Frankrike, kanske Italien.. vem vet?

En större nyhet är att jag bestämt mig för att tävla i år! Jag känner mig redo att ta mig an och gå i mål på ännu en tävlingsdiet. Jag är sjukt taggad att börja träna och se framsteg i min fysik! Men just nu är jag hemma med halsfluss och äter antibiotika så jag får lägga min energi på planera inköp och lägga upp min strategi. Bikinin jag ska köpa är så sjukt snygg och skor tänkte jag göra lite annorlunda i år ich köpa svarta eller  beige istället för de klassiska genomskinliga fitness skorna, för att ha mer användning för skorna än bara tävling. 

Så snart jag amorterat klart mitt lån så ska den summan läggas på inköp av aktier och ETFer till min portfölj som jag håller på att bygga upp. Den ska jag kunna luta mig tillbaka på när det är dags för pension, om man vill följa mina framgångar ekonomiskt kan man göra detta i Shareville (mitt nick är självklart Petitezzer)

Medans jag tränar för tävling, jobbar på för att driva företaget framåt så är planen att bli skuldfri inom ett år mycket mer tydlig och jag ser ljust på framtiden! Det innebär mindre stress och mer möjligheter . Jag tänkte släpa med min bror på ett äventyr!! Jag tänkte sikta på att bestiga Kilimanjaro 2019 och brorsan ska med! För att hinna planera, spara pengar och träna ordentligt så lägger jag det två år framåt så vi har god tid på oss för att resan ska bli så bra den kan bli!

Peace out!

Kefir and kombucha baby!

So my brother called and told me he had a present for me, nothing less than a ready to go Kombucha baby! Kombucha is cooled sweet tea that is fermented over approx 10 days and gets a fizzy and sour taste, then mixed with different flavoring to be enjoyed on a daily basis. This drink is a probiotic wonder and is said to help the body's immune system. I made mine last Sunday and it has been in a jar with green tea and honey for 6 days now. I tasted it today and I must say I like it! My plan is to wait until 10 days has passed and sift it and put it in a glass jar with ginger and orange peel (my brothers tip).

https://draxe.com/7-reasons-drink-kombucha-everyday/


I also this week received a packet of kefirgrains from a friendly stranger on facebook who was kind enough to send me her excess grains. This process is similar to the Kombucha but is much faster 24-48 hours and you will get a yoghurt like consistency, this too is a probiotic food with well documented health benefits. All you need is milk and kefirgrains and the bacteria will feed on the milks lactose. I had mine fermenting in room temperature for 48 hours and I was confused at first but after conversations with the facebook group I know now how to sift and handle my kefir. Tonight I had a small batch in a bowl with frozen mango and granola #yummy

https://draxe.com/kefir-benefits/


På svenska!

Så min bror ringde och sa att han hade en present till mig, inget mindre än en kombuchabäbis! Kombucha är sötat te som fermenteras över en period på ca 10 dagar för att få en syrlig nästan kolsyrad karaktär, som sedan smaksätts på olika sätt för att avnjutas dagligen. Denna dryck har goda bakterier och sägs hjälpa immunsystemet på flera sätt. Jag "satte" min Kombucha i söndags med honung och grönt te som nu gottat sig i 6 dagar. Jag smakade av den idag och jag måste säga att jag gillar smaken, spännande! Tänkte vänta tills 10 dagar har gått sedan silar jag av den och häller upp den i glasflaskor med ingefära och apelsinskal (brorsans recept)

Jag har också precis fått mina kefirgryn som jag förvärvat genom en Facebook grupp som man delar med sig av grynen (för de växer och blir fler ganska fort). Processen liknar kombuchans men går mycket fortare (24-48 timmar) så får du en fil/yoghurtliknande konsistens, även denna är probiotika och har många dokumenterade hälsofördelar! Allt man behöver är mjölk och kefirgrynen, bakterierna äter sedan laktosen i mjölken och det gör att kefiren "skär sig" och tjocknar. Detta var lite förvirrande till en början men i facebookgruppen fick jag god hjälp med min första batch. Jag vet hur jag ska göra nästa gång, ikväll blev det ganska lite kefir men jag käkade med lite frusen mango och granola å det var rolig smaskens!

Kul att experimentera!