3BT: Random Days

1. Getting positive feedback from a French couple who came to the tourist info office to ask for some information. I felt SO useful back then HE HE HE HE HE...And I'm SO grateful for people who are very encouraging, since it's very essential, especially for someone who's doubting her abilities he he he...

2. Meeting a nice Finnish lady who was VERY interested in getting to know me. She asked me about so many things, which isn't "so Finnish" at all he he he...

3. Meeting another squirrel nearby (he was only about a metre away from me). SO CUTE!!! Too bad he was too fast, so I didn't have time to snap a pic with my mobile he he...

4. People who don't care about perfection and frills, esp. when it comes to my in-laws and hubby's family HE HE HE HE...No matter how bad or screwed up my baking is (last year there were some failed efforts in baking), they still eat it and they still say it tastes good HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...

5. Receiving a package I've been waiting for. I can't tell whom it is for, but I'm SOOOOOO excited about it HO HO HO HO HE HE HE HE HE HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...

6. Feeling that this second week of training is MUCH MUCH better than the first week. I've gotten to know more things, even though I still daren't pick up the phone as the callers are always Finnish and they speak Finnish he he he...

7. People who smile. I must say that it's ABSOLUTELY nice to receive a smile without any specific reason. :-)))) Plus it's also SO nice to get a smile back when you're smiling at someone he he he...

8. Finding some cute baby stuff for my brother's baby again at the Finnish auction site. I hope I'll win the bids HO HO HO HO HO HO HO...

9. Not experiencing too hot days here in Sodankylä, since we have no fans or air conditioner, so it's gonna be hell if it ever gets too hot he he...

10. Getting back in shape by doing Tae-bo regularly again. YEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS!!! It feels great, babbyyyyyy!!!! (esp. after too much eating during the car trip and my trousers were getting tight HA HA HA...)

11. Two of my best friends visited my Mom even though I'm not living in Bandung anymore. I LOVE the fact that they love visiting my Mom despite my absence he he he...THANK YOU, GIRLS!!!

12. Receiving SO MUCH support, kind words, and encouragement from my friends and blogger friends when I was down. What else do I need on earth? I'm such a BLESSED woman!!! So here's my wish for you:

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Surveys: About Me + HammeRuler Redesign

Busy Weekend

I had wanted to blog-hop on Saturday and Sunday, but then hubby told me on Saturday morning that we'd spend a night at my in-laws, so we packed our things and went there. Friday night hubby went to the bars with his brothers and his second brother's girlfriend. I didn't go as I was so tired already. I baked a cake for my FIL's belated b-day he he he...

In case you wanna know, I tried making this yogurt cake. My first yogurt cake ever!!! And it turned out fine. I made some slight changes to the recipe since I only had frozen strawberries. I also added a layer of blackcurrant jam as the topping prior to baking. However, I decided not to spread some strawberries in the middle of the batter (as the recipe said) since I was afraid that my cake would get wet (I tried doing such a thing before and it didn't work well).

Here are two pics of my cake:


Don't wonder why the frosting is that way, though. It was the first time I tried doing it this way, so it was really messy HI HI HI HI...But it doesn't really matter since we all managed to eat the WHOLE cake (I used a baking pan with a 25 cm diameter) in two days (my FIL, MIL, me, hubby, his two brothers, and the youngest son of his first brother). :-D


We played Mölkky again on Saturday evening, though it had got slightly colder by then. At night my MIL, me, hubby, and his two brothers played Unno until 2 am ha ha ha ha ha...Sunday afternoon I was SO tired that I took a nap for a few hours when hubby and his brothers had to something with my FIL.

I also took some pics when I was there.

First pic: The flagpole fell down, so they tried to tear away the rest of the pole, though it was hard to do, since it was deep and there were rocks around the bottom of the pole. Good thing was that it didn't fall over my MIL's and our cars. Otherwise it'd have done severe damage to our cars!!! Phew!!!




Then more pics of her garden he he he...



Yeah, yeah, I was just playing around with my digital camera hi hi hi...



Time to blog-hop now before I have to make some buns. I'm waiting for the dough to rise for the time being HE HE HE HE HE...;-D

P.S. On Saturday I managed to talk A LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTT with my MIL about many things, including diapers and cultural differences between Indo and Finland. I think it was the longest talk I had ever had with her and I'm going to continue this habit hi hi hi...After all, she seems very interested in getting to know Indonesian cultures, as well.

My kind-hearted MIL also asked me to think about what gift or souvenir she should buy for my Mom before I go to Indo in October. BLESS HERRRRRRRR!!! I'm SO BLESSED for having such a MIL. I hope she lives long and healthily so that she can see our kid(s) he he he...

Thin Threads of "Glories"

These days I'm on fragile ground again. I didn't even realize how fragile it was until one of my best friends made me realize it accidentally. As one of the main things in life is to find life's purposes...to feel that your existence has value...so the sense of self-value is, in a way, fragile.

Upon moving to Finland, I have had to learn to be like a kid again. Learning Finnish in the full-time course made me temporarily forget how fragile my sense of value was, since I felt that I had done pretty well in that department.

Reality check came loud and hard when it was time for me to do my trainings. Even though my Finnish is MUCH better than last year, but still doing something totally new that involves speaking (giving proper information) and listening in Finnish is altogether different from learning Finnish in a classroom.

These two types of trainings have shaken my sense of value (well, this training does that more than the first one). I've never had any work experiences in these two types of training places, so I really have to learn everything from zero. I feel incompetent and useless from time to time and as you know, that's not one of the best feelings in the world.

Every day I have to hold on to thin threads of "glories" whenever I feel that I've done just ONE thing right, whenever I feel that I've done just ONE thing well enough. I have to learn to hold on to those moments and let go of all those "failures" (and I have to keep on kicking their asses whenever they want to show up their faces again he he). Otherwise I'd want to crumble and not even try to do my best.

I talked about this with my best friends and their responses really encouraged me. I feel that I'm not so alone anymore, since they've also experienced the same thing, not only once, but over and over and over again. :-))))

Now I've set up my mind to learn to walk like a small kid...taking small, somewhat agitated, fearful, doubtful steps, hoping that someday I can walk as well as the "adults" and then over time I can learn to run...and run fast!!! Boy, it must be GOOD to feel the wind in my face then...but I must be patient and HOPEFUL.

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I'm again learning to embrace myself every single day and tell myself that I'm okay even though I make mistakes, even though I'm not THAT good yet, but I'm going to do MY BEST with whatever I can do well (even if it means I'm only good at cleaning shelves or mopping the floor!). I'm NOT going to let myself be stuck in a rut. Even if it's only a millimeter away, I should count that as an improvement and I should try to get there with all my might. I'm trying to learn to walk with enthusiasm even when I stumble here and there, not with discouragement. The journey's gonna be rough, but this is what it means to grow. This is the price I have to pay for moving to Finland. :-)))

I don't know yet what I want to do in the future (job-wise), but I know that I'm in VERY GOOD HANDS. After all, I've got everything I need (and MUCH MORE) ever since I moved to Finland: all those MIRACLES and open doors of opportunities. :-)))))

In the meantime, all I can do is just keep on learning, keep on "stretching" as best as I can, keep on doing the best that I can with what I can give, know that it is enough, and wait for His open doors...

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Love Talk

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The man was gaming and the woman saw that he had won a round, so she came over to sit on his lap and said, "Ohhhhh...you are victorious. My hero...Aren't you proud of yourself?"

He replied while kissing her, "Of course."

She asked, "What are you proud of? Tell me."

He said, "I'm proud of myself because I have you."

She replied, "GOOD answer. That was the one I was waiting for."

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...then they were lost in kisses...

Car Trip #3: Pori + Jazz Festival

Where were we the last time? Oh yeah, we were on our way to Pori. I took some pics on the way to Pori. Here they are:



Finally we arrived at my BIL's and SIL's place. Arttu was left home since he was tired, so my SIL and I went SHOPPPINNNNGGGGG!!! She took me downtown, but only to the cheap(er) stores. There are HUGE discounts everywhere, since summer is soon over and autumn/winter fashion will be out again. Below is a pic of downtown Pori:


Here's a pic of my beloved SIL and our HUGE salad dinner. We didn't manage to eat the entire plate since it was such a HUGE portion he he he he he...


And after we got back to her place, I took pics of her beautiful flowers:







The next day my BIL and SIL still had to work, so in the morning Arttu and I went to Yyteri beach. Unfortunately it was SO windy and cold there, but there were still some people SWIMMING!!! I can't believe it!!! Look at my outfit HE HE HE HE HE...After a while, my ears got so painful that I had to put on my hood!!!



Near that beach there's this observation tower, so we went there to view Pori from above.


Here's one of the pictures. Yep, it was a cloudy day then he he he...


After that we had lunch in one of the restaurants at the beach and then we headed downtown again. Boy, it was HARD to find a parking place. We finally found one farther away from downtown, so we walked there. After we were finished, we got lost HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...Glad we had our GPS with us, so we sat on this bench to find our way back to the parking lot where we parked our car.

Psst...we parked it in the parking lot of an empty school HI HI HI HI...It's empty 'coz everybody's on summer holiday ha ha ha ha ha...



When we got back to BIL's and SIL's place, I took a shower since I felt dirty and sticky and then got prepared to go to the free concert that featured all the local musicians. The day before I bought this hat, what do you think? Guess how much it cost?!?!?!?! Only 2 € HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...

Anyway, I was confused on what to wear since it was an outdoor area and the weather prediction was bad (cloudy and cold). So I decided to put on my thin long john pants underneath my trousers and I also put on a tank top underneath the blue T-shirt and I brought TWO jackets with me!!!


And look at the weather now! It was SO HOTTTTTTTTTTTT!!! Maybe there were so many people praying for good weather so that it became like this! I couldn't bear it he he he he...

We had to walk from the parking lot to the park and there were SO many people thereeeeeeeeeeee...We had to cross a bridge in order to get to the park where the concert was held. Here are some pics I took:



And here's the stage:


Look what he's trying to rent! HA HA HA HA HA HA...


More and more and more people came in after us...We arrived there already at around 5 pm even though the concert only started at 6 pm, but there were so many people already!


Since the weather turned out to be so hot, even before the concert started, I went to the toilet to take off my long john and I immediately took off my T-shirt he he he he...Now I felt MUCH better!!! ;-D


Here are some more views around the area:



This is the church that you can also see from the above picture:


After the concert was over at around 9.40 pm (by that time I was GLAD I brought two jackets with me since it got cooler and cooler as time went by), we walked back to the parking lot and again I took some pics:


This picture is the continuation of the first one:


If I remember correctly, this is the City Hall or something ha ha ha ha...


I don't know what building this is, but it looks interesting enough for me (the design, that is):


Okay, I'm going to blog-hop only tomorrow. I'm pretty tired right now and I need to relax. I'm going to continue later with the trip to Helsinki, OK? ;-D

Supplies for Diabetics

My Dad has had diabetes since he was around 40 years old. Ever since then, he has to be careful about his food intake and he also has to use blood glucose test strips to make sure that his glucose level isn't too high. If you also suffer from diabetes, I've found a website that offers free blood glucose meter if you buy some of their blood glucose test strips.

Other than that, they also provide different types of diabetic supplies, including diabetic skin care, diabetic snacks, etc. They also give out some important comparison charts on glucose meter and urine strip.

Back to my Dad...he's been doing pretty well for someone with diabetes. When he was first diagnosed with it, he was crushed! He had to undergo a strict diet since his glucose level was VERY VERY high at that time. However, I'm glad that he's managed to take good care of his health by continuing the diet scheme and not eating too much sweet stuff. Boy, he used to LOVE eating sweet stuff so much!!! Anyway, I hope my Dad will continue enjoying his health until the day he dies...

3BT: Random Days

1. My beloved SIL gave me some old clothes that still look SO pretty. THANK YOU SO MUCH, SIL!!! I'm SO blessed HE HE HE HE HE HE...

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2. Hubby woke me up this morning since he didn't hear my mobile ringing. I had forgotten to set the alarm. During our car trip, I turned the alarm off and apparently I had only set it up for Monday, not for Mondays to Fridays. THANK GOD for hubby!!!

3. SHOPPING while there's huge sale everywhere (again BIG THANKS to my SIL for taking me to the cheap places in Pori) and having enough money to buy all the things I want to buy and still save some money in my bank account HE HE HE HE HE...

4. Missing my MIL and FIL. I miss visiting them, even though I haven't been there only for one week. I can't wait for Saturday to comeeeeee!!!

5. A blissful holiday with hubby. PLUS it was VERY unexpected. PLUS we had enough money to do it. Praise the Lord!!! :-))))

6. Hubby's thoughtfulness in going to two Chinese restaurants with me even though I knew he'd prefer going somewhere else. THANK YOU, Bonbonsugarpie!!! ;-D UR DA BEST!!!

7. Loving the way hubby touches me...he's such a TENDER, GENTLE person. I LOVE the way he scratches my back, I LOVE the way he tickles my feet, I LOVE the way he kisses me, I LOVE the way he holds my hand...I LOVE touching him, too, of course he he he...I just wanna embrace this feeling fully 'coz we'll never know how long we're going to live on earth...mmmm...You're SO yummy, my beloved hubby!!!

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8. Knowing that my parents get along VERY well with my bro's wife and their family. On my bro's birthday, they went out together to have dinner somewhere. I can feel relieved, knowing that they're fine and enjoying their time together. No stress whatsoever!!! :-)))) Plus I know that they're healthy, so that's also a HUGE relief!

9. Finding cheap books in two second hand bookstores in Pori. I bought a novel and a Finnish Bible (Lazy Me have yet to read the Bible, but I'm going to force myself to do it bit by bit!!! It's gonna be TOUGH!!!). I wanna thank Frasypoo for giving me this advice to buy a Finnish Bible to help me learn more Finnish.

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10. Being back at home and I truly feel that this is my HOME. :-)))) I know I've felt this way for a long time, but then again it's nice to have this confirmation after leaving this place for a week. ;-D

Fish Out of Water

Just a short update on the training. As usual, there are lapses of time when no tourist comes into the office, so that can be pretty boring. Moving to a place where I have to learn to speak a different language makes me feel like a fish out of water. I'm merely stating this as a fact, mind you. I'm not complaining or anything. I'm writing this down so that I'll always remember this. Plus maybe somebody else who's reading this and experiencing the same thing will feel not so alone he he he he he...

During my Finnish class, I didn't feel this way since we were together in the same pond or lake or ocean (us students), the same . But when the training started and now another one started, the feeling came back. I "almost" forgot that feeling he he he he...

There's something soothing about being inside your safety zone. The real challenge about being outside of your safety zone is being able to accept yourself no matter what and being able to be kind to yourself, even when you feel the least competent or able to do anything much.

You've gotta learn to be like a kid again, to embrace the unknown with enthusiasm, not with discouragement, cynicism, and self-reproach. And what's most vital is that you shouldn't give up mentally!!! And you've gotta learn to stop comparing yourself with others 'coz everybody grows at different paces, just like kids do.

Enough rambling! Time for me to take a nap. I'll blog-hop later he he he...