Bad News, Good News

Haven't been feeling too well. Not too bad, either...but just a little bit weird. Autumn is coming for sure and flu bugs are everywhere. I asked hubby to coin my back just now and it feels GREAT!!!

Update on my parents' health: Mom seems to be OK now, though she has to be careful with what she eats. Dad went to the lab again for a second check-up and this time my bro took him to an internist instead of a GP. The lab results were all fine (no more protein leaking in the urine, glucose level is OK, blood pressure is OK), BUT the internist said that his left lung's capacity has down gone down to 31% only and his right lung is swollen, so he's on medication and he's told NOT to get too tired.

The good thing is that he's NOT stressed about it. He even said to my family, "Look, all the other results are good, though." However, my bro and wife are worried that my Mom might worry too much about Dad and that might cause her blood pressure to peak again...so I still need your prayers for my parents, THANK YOU!!!

Another piece of bad news is that my camera's flash isn't functioning. When we go to Rovaniemi sometime soon, we're going to try to find a place where I can get it fixed. I browsed online and someone said that we only need to replace something, but it's better if the pros do it. So we'll see about that!

Photo taken from here

Now on some good news...my poster has arrived and I think next time I'll know better, 'coz a little bit of two of the pics are cut off, but other than that I'm pretty pleased about it. However, I think next time I should use Photoshop or something like that to maximize the color contrast - 'coz it's not printed as a photo, so it seems to me that the better the color contrast is, the better the end result would be. We're going to take it soon to my in-laws' place, so we'll see how my MIL likes it. ;-D

Today I got a VERY nice surprise. You see, the other day I was thinking of buying a pot of flowers from my workplace, but I restrained myself from doing so due to my shopping budget. Today when I worked at the cashier, a customer said, "I've got a surprise for you." I was scanning the pot of flowers (the type that I had wanted to buy for myself: Celosia Caracas) and then he said that it was for me, "for my good service" - that's what he said.

I was SO touched (still am)!!! It was really thoughtful of him to do that and said that ON purpose. I TRULY appreciate it. He really makes me feel encouraged to know that at least in his eyes, my service is good enough.

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3BT: Random Days

1. Hubby for being who he is, someone who really dampens out my ability to be angry at him.

2. Grateful for being on the same page with him.

3. Hubby's soft lips. :-D

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4. An old guy asked me today at work if he could return the bras he was going to buy for his sick wife if they turned out to be not suitable for her. It's just heartwarming to see that he takes care of his sick wife.

5. Hubby's smooth cheek and chin after shaving - lots more fun for kissing sessions! ;-D

6. Bought a tiger cake today 'coz I've been craving for some cake HA HA HA HA...



7. Meeting my friends today and practising some Finnish (not just chit-chatting in English).

8. No internal storms.

9. Getting some more compliments about my Finnish and having some time to chat with a few customers when the store wasn't too crowded.

10. Finding a cheap shower curtain with a cute design - I'd been wanting to buy one, but they were all over 10 Euros. The one I bought today was only 5 Euros. YAAAAAYYY!!!!

11. Harvesting my first batch of kang kong and cooking them. They're SO delicious! The first time I'd ever eaten kang kong in Finland he he...THANK YOU, Ting, for the seeds!!!!


12. Taking a nap together with hubby...yummy!!! ;-D

13. Being able to get SMS from my Mom again. Her provider had been wacked for about two weeks, so she couldn't reply my SMSes, but now it's been working fine again. YEEESSS!!!

14. Calling Mom on Skype for 2 hours and hearing her stories about Ken and his development. Boy, that little Hulk has learnt so many things SO FAST!!! ;-D

15. Getting notification from PO that the poster has arrived and tomorrow I'm going to get it after work. Hope it turns out GREAT!!! I'll take a pic of it later on to show you HO HO HO HO HO...

Repeat A Day

One blogger friend posed a question in Facebook: "If you can repeat a day in your life, would you do it? If so, what would it be?"

I didn't even have to think twice. I wrote the answer, "YES! I want to repeat my wedding day!" LOL!!!

It was such a beautiful day and everything went out so smoothly. The other day I was browsing through my wedding album and honeymoon album again and I felt a wave of sentimental feelings washing over me...mmmmm...

I still remember it like it was yesterday, when we exchanged wedding vows in front of my priest and my family and friends. Those moments everybody else seemed to disappear, like in the movies when the camera zooms into the couple and other people's voices and the music faded out in the background...nothing else mattered except the promise we made between me and him...

I remember how handsome R2 looked like - he still is!!! But that day was special 'coz there was this twinkle in his eyes and he was wearing a suit and a tie...so dashing!!! I remember feeling especially pretty despite the "wound" on my toe...

OK, now I'm rambling...my point is that I'd like to ask you the same question, my friends...what would your answer be? ;-D

Weekend Work + New Apartment

Had work shifts this weekend and then yesterday went to my in-laws. We helped them move some stuff to their new apartment after we had sauna there. Not sure yet when they're officially moving to the new apartment, but they're not really in a hurry. At least now they can move things up to the new apartment bit by bit.

When we got there, I liked the place already. It looks cozy and it's located in a peaceful area. It's not too big nor too small for the both of them. My MIL wants to buy a new sofa to spruce things up, so the living room is still empty except for the carpets and a small TV table and an old armchair that she had kept for years. She wants to bring their rocking chairs there, but I think the living room would be too small for them, esp. 'coz she wants her computer and her computer table there as well as the new sofa.

Let me show you the pictures of the living room and the bedroom. The apartment is about 55 sqm and it has a small sauna (just like what they want 'coz they love going to the sauna just like most Finns). I think they're going to enjoy living there in winter (esp. 'coz they don't have to clean up the snow from the yard nor take the firewood back and forth from the shed to the house) he he...I sure DO hope they're gonna enjoy living there.




The kitchen area is big enough to put a rectangle dining table for 4 people - you can also put a fifth table on the other side of it. MIL has also brought two pots of flowers there to make the place look more inhabited and soon she's going to test-drive the place, I guess. I mean, she's going to try to sleep there one night to see how it feels like. Of course first she needs to fill up the place with enough utensils and food and other stuff, too he he he...

I can't wait for my poster (the photo collage) to arrive. It should be sent to us tomorrow, so I hope the postal acts quickly in sending me the notification 'coz I want to bring it to her already this Saturday if possible. :-D :-D :-D

3BT: Random Days

1. Hubby insisted on cooking today 'coz he wanted to cook the food the way he liked it - not the way I liked it. It's NICE to have him take charge in the kitchen once in a while.

2. Hubby made pancakes on Sunday. Though I can make them myself, it's again nice to be able to just sit down and eat without having to do anything else beforehand ha ha...

3. Buying face mask 'coz I still have some leftover budget for this week's grocery budget HO HO HO HO...

4. The other week after I received my paycheck, I decided to pamper myself by buying Bailey's and Kissanminttu (Cream Mint alcoholic drink) and they didn't even ask for my ID this time HA HA HA...

5. When I got back home with two bottles of alcoholic drinks as a treat, I found out that hubby had bought some chips and dip HUA HA HA HA...so that day was our party dayyyy at home!!!

6. Having some troubling questions and getting the answer. THANK YOU, God, for your answer!!!

7. Getting some opps to write. ;-D

8. Trying to recreate the kind of food that my Mom used to cook and I managed to do it. It tasted HEAVENLY!!! :-D

9. Just created another 2011 Calendar filled with flowery images from Lapland. Here goes:

Lapland Flowery Images Calendar 2011 by ailema4ever
Design a photo calendar online at Zazzle

Lost Brain

Do you ever feel like someone just sapped away all the words out of your mouth? Or in a blogger's case, your brain? I don't know why but it feels that way lately...maybe 'coz I've been trying to do something else that requires another part of my brain and that's been exhausting, though FUN at the same time.

So you probably wonder what I've been doing, eh? Well, I've been trying to create a collage of summer photos for my in-laws. At first I was thinking whether it would be best to print it out on canvas or as a poster, but after asking for ideas from some friends and asking R2's opinion, last night I sent the picture through an online photo service in Finland and ordered a BIG poster (70X50 cm) along with the frame - 'coz it's hard to find big frames here in this small village. I'm going to give it to my in-laws as a gift for their new apartment.

I just want them to have some summery photos in their new place and I also included a picture of their house there just in case they miss it. (Yeah, they've paid for the new apartment and they'll probably move there before winter comes) The photo should arrive within 10 days, so we'll see.

It's really tiring to create a collage 'coz I had never done it before - so after HOURS of hard work, when we tried uploading it to the site's online uploading system, turned out the size wasn't right...ARRRRGGGHHHH...so I had to redo it...after redoing it, the height of my collage was still a little bit over the required size, so this time R2 came to the rescue 'coz by that time, I was already too frustrated to do anymore editing work ha ha ha ha ha...

What made the process so long was that there were hundreds of pictures to choose from...ugh...it was tough just to decide which ones to be included in the collage...then arranging the pictures and resizing them also took time he he he he...by now you've probably felt bored reading all these details and you just want to see the result, eh? HA HA HA HA HA...

OK, here goesss...the result of half a day's work (at least it took that long):


I had to add the last row of photos at the bottom due to my stupid mistake (creating the wrong photo size in the first place). I know this collage looks really "crowded", but we hope that if we print it LARGE, it won't look too crowded anymore and they can see the details in the smaller pictures. I'll let you know when the framed poster arrives, OK?

Now I have some movies to watch he he he he...yep, I still don't have to work today, so I'm gonna relax. It's been COLD during the nights these days (below 5'C), so autumn is definitely in motion. I'll blog-hop later on...

Web Hosting Reviews

Found this web hosting site that offers reviews on best hosting sites available as well as web hosting news and the latest trends in the web hosting industry. To those of you who are considering web hosting for their blogs or new business, you can also read beneficial articles from the site before you decide on anything. For example, they've provided tips for website language translation creators as well as an article on shared web hosting vs eCommerce websites that might interest you.

The site has also provided an easy link to read in-depth reviews of the best hosting sites by experienced webmasters - plus the link is alphabetically ordered for your own convenience. On the sidebar of the site, you can also find the top 10 web hosting list as well as their popular web host reviews, such as iPage review, InMotion review, FatCow review, and many more.

On the other hand, if you're an expert webmaster, they're also looking for guest bloggers for their site. You can click the link for further information. So, whether you're a newbie who's looking for more information on web hosting or a webmaster who wants to share information with readers, this site is worth visiting, don't you think?

Evolution of Dance Video

Not going to write anything today, but hope you enjoyed this video as much as I did he he he..."Evolution of Dance" by Judson Laipply.

To those who can't view the video in this blog, click here to go straight to youtube to watch it.

Boundaries

A friend of mine told me about her current problem in life. She met this woman at her son's school, but this woman clings to her like a magnet. She calls my friend over 15 times A DAY and sends her plenty of messages. She wants to be with my friend as much as possible, though she herself has a husband and a child. My friend becomes a bit spooked by this, so she tries to avoid her as much as she can BUT she can't help feeling that she's such a cruel person.

I told her that the woman had overstepped my friend's boundaries. I then asked if this woman's messages were important or urgent and my friend said no. I then said this, "If she's not in dire need for help and the message isn't all that important or urgent, then it's fine to ignore it or just reply later." After all, it costs money to reply to SMSes and if she sends my friend so many SMSes a day, then it's just crazy. Plus a housewife like my friend who also needs to take care of her parents' store as well as help take care of her sick father doesn't have time to answer every time that woman calls her.

In the beginning she did answer every one of her calls, though after a while she realized that it just wouldn't do, so she began to ignore her calls. It's kinda hard to make someone like this woman to understand that there are certain boundaries that she should know. Maybe she doesn't have any other friends and that's sad, but that doesn't mean she can bombard my friend like that. She even wants to spend a night at my friend's house, can you believe it? I mean, she's got her own house, her own husband, and her own child!!! And it's not as though my friend ASKED her to spend a night at her place...that woman just said to my friend that she wanted to do so!

Anyway...have you ever encountered someone like that - someone who oversteps your boundaries? What did you tell him/her then? Or did you just try to avoid that person as much as you can 'coz telling that person the truth would sound too cruel?

I remember when I first moved to Indo, I also overstepped my friends' boundaries by clinging onto them too much. At that time I didn't have friends here yet, so I bombarded my friends with emails - LONG, frequent emails and one of them had enough guts to tell me about it ('coz in a way it also made her feel guilty for not being able to reply to my many emails). It hurt me at that time, but it was the right thing to do and I TOTALLY appreciate her openness to me 'coz it made me realize I couldn't "put my eggs in one basket" so to speak. I needed to widen my sphere of friendship and blogging has helped me A LOT in that department. Without you all my blogging friends, I wouldn't have made it. So, CHEERS for you all, my beloved blogging friends! ;-D


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3BT: Random Days

1. Hanging out with friends and having fun talking and laughing and eating ha ha ha...

2. Blogger's automatic spam detection 'coz I've been getting lots of that lately in my comment box and spam is REALLY annoying!

3. Sending an overdue thank you note to someone who really deserved it and knowing that the person appreciated it.

4. Chatting for a LONG time with a friend with whom I hadn't chat in a LONG while.

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5. Meeting my MIL in my workplace and having time to give her a proper hug 'coz there weren't too many customers at that time.

6. Orange jelly pudding - I could make it using the powder sent by a friend who just got back from Indo. THANKS SO MUCH, Hen!!! Other than that, she also sent me some other food stuff. YUM YUM...

7. Getting a full-month paycheck today (though I only work part-time) and knowing that they've sorted out the problem with my tax card, so this time my salary didn't get cut 60%. PHEW!!! It felt GREAT getting a full-month part-time salary for the FIRST time ever!!! ;-D

8. Going to save some of the money right away 'coz I need it to apply for Finnish citizenship next year - feels GREAT to know I have the money already for that purpose stashed in my bank account he he he he...

9. Being tucked on the sofa by hubby when I was about to take a nap a few days ago - and I did NOT ask for him to do that, mind you!

10. Tucking hubby on the sofa before his naps - but mostly what I enjoy even more is watching the smile on his face when I do that. It's a special kind of smile...



11. Haven't met any rude customers despite the fact that I do make mistakes sometimes.

12. Nice, proper sleep...long sleep...What a bliss to be able to sleep well at nights without experiencing trouble to fall asleep!

13. Sore muscles from boxing with Wii - AND having hubby scratch my back for me 'coz it was too sore for me to reach my arms back to scratch the itch away by myself.

14. Talking to my family in Indo via Skype and webcam and even voice chat.

15. Chili. THANK GOD for chili and for making it even more enjoyable to eat food he he he he he...

16. Watching beautiful clouds spreading across the great blue sky...

Parent's Choice New Look

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of PBM Products. All opinions are 100% mine.

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For more information, please drop by at ParentsChoiceFormula.com or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Parents-Choice-Infant-Formula/31916575476.

The Beauty of Technology

Have so many stories to tell, but haven't been in the mood to blog or blog-hop. Yesterday my brother was online at night in Indo and then we tried using the "call" feature in Yahoo Messenger. He was using his laptop without any headset, whereas I had to use my headset to speak. We also both used our webcams. Fortunately I could hear their voices even though their internet connection wasn't that great - the voice quality wasn't that great, but it was OK enough for me to hear as long as I wasn't talking at the same time as they were saying something to me.

At that time, Ken was still awake, so I could hear him sing and count from one to 10 - I was AMAZED 'coz he said the numbers VERY quickly (as though he knew them by heart already). He'll be 2 years old in two months and he knows his ABCs already and he can sing many songs from start to end. Of course his pronunciation is still cutish in some parts (for example he calls me Aunty Ameh instead of Amel), but I could still understand many things he said he he he...

One time my bro and wife asked him to sing a song and then Ken sang it and after that he clapped his hands HA HA HA HA HA...It's just AMAZING to be able to see his progress in learning many things. I was SO happy 'coz I could hear his voice AND see him in action through the webcam (though the webcam picture streaming wasn't too smooth and there was a delay but it was OK). I realized even more how precious it was to be able to communicate this way with my family in Bandung. THANK GOD for technology!!!

Yesterday's phone and chat conference made me want to go back to Indo again so badly. Can't wait for next year - hope next year there won't be any obstacle for BOTH of us to go back to Indo. I want to play with Ken and I bet next year he'll be even MORE chattier than now he he he he he...

Anyway, here's a pic of Ken with my Mom taken at least a few months ago...

Two Beds and a Coffee Machine

I watched Precious the other day and I was surprised to see Mariah Carey in the movie he he...at first I didn't recognize her. I was doubtful if it was her 'coz she had dark hair and she didn't look "bling bling", but after a while I knew it was her 'coz I recognized her voice. The movie is serious, but I enjoyed it as well as the hopeful ending. I loved the fact that she managed to break through...

Anyway, here's a song that's related to the issue of child abuse by one of my fave bands, Savage Garden...it's called "Two Beds and a Coffee Machine":

Fun Moments at Work #2

Just finished talking to Mom via Skype. Talked to Dad also for a little while, mostly just reminding him to take good care of himself ha ha ha ha...Had fun talking to Mom as usual. She sounds well and not stressed out, so it's good.

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Anyway, as promised, here's a list of some fun/touching moments at work. These days I TRULY appreciate the elderly even more 'coz more often than not (or actually always) they're the ones who take time to talk to me at work. I TRULY appreciate their effort/interest in talking to me.

1. An old lady asked me how I felt about living in a foreign country. I answered, "Because I've lived here for about 3 years now, I feel at home here now."

Upon hearing that, she said, "Well, I just want you to pull through." ---> it's hard to translate it from Finnish, but it's just TOUCHING for me to know that she wants to make sure that I not only "survive" here in this foreign country, but am also able to manage living here and or working here well.

Due to my PMS and the thoughtfulness of this lady, I had wet eyes after she went away...he he he he...

2. An old guy said to me with a smile right after paying, "Arigato. Is that the right way to say it?"

I said, "It's Japanese!"

He, who probably realized that I wasn't Japanese that very moment, asked, "Where do you come from?"

I replied, "Indonesia."

LOL LOL!!! I guess he just assumed I was Japanese based on my looks ha ha ha...

3. One old lady who's ever met me a few times at the store said this while gathering her stuff, "Did you ever work here prior to now?"

I replied, "No."

She said, "Really? You work so fast that I thought you're experienced already."

I smiled and said, "Well, thank you for your compliment." :-D

See? See??? The elderly are REALLY nice people he he he...

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4. While I was scanning some stuff for a couple of elderly, the guy said, "Hey, can I ask what your name is?"

I then pointed to my name tag and said my name, but he said, "Oh, but I can't read it." Obviously the name tag is too small for his eyes to read, so I said my name again.

Then he said, "Nice to meet you! My name is ...." ---> This was the FIRST time a customer had EVER told me his/her name he he he...

I smiled and replied, "Nice to meet you too." We didn't shake hands, though, 'coz I was busy scanning stuff for them.

Then he started babbling about what he did for a living and I listened and replied appropriately he he he he...

Then the also very friendly wife smiled and said, "You're so small. Look at your fingers! Your fingers are even smaller than mine!" (at that point she reached out her hand and hold it next to mine)

I laughed and said, "Yes, that's true."

Then they asked me where I came from and after the wife finished paying and all the goods were packed, the guy kept on standing in front of me and talking about this and that until the wife laughed and grabbed his arm and said, "Come on, let's go. Those are not our stuff. There's already a line of people behind the cashier now. Time for us to go."

The guy seemed a bit surprised and said, "Oh, really? These aren't our stuff?" and he was still talking while his wife dragged him away, laughing at her talkative hubby hi hi hi hi hi hi...

5. Yesterday a couple came by and then the guy said to the wife, "This woman (meaning me) is our neighbour."

I was surprised, so I stated my street name and he told me their house number on that street. Funnily enough, that was the first time a customer had ever said "woman" to me - other times they always refer to me as "girl" and many times I hear them ask me whether I'm studying here he he he...Do I look like a student? HA HA...

6. A UK tourist said to me after he paid, "Thanks so much, darling. Jesus loves you." That was the FIRST time someone has EVER said those words "Jesus loves you" to me after I moved to Finland, and it was quite a touching moment for me and I also had wet eyes after hearing those words. :-D

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Bla Bla Post

Been busy with work and haven't had time to do anything much. Yesterday managed to write short paragraphs, but didn't have time to complete a blog post, so now I'm just going to combine them all in this bla bla post ha ha ha...

1. In Indonesian language there are two words for the English word "love". One is called "cinta", which means eros. The other one is called "kasih", which mean universal love - it can be love towards strangers, God's love towards us, a mother's love, any other kind of love that is not eros.

And funnily enough, the Indonesian version of "thank you", which is "terima kasih", is comprised of the word "terima" = accept and "kasih" = universal love.

And whenever somebody says thank you to you in Indonesian, you should answer "kembali", which is the short version of "terima kasih kembali" - it can be loosely translated as "I return your acceptance of universal love".

2. Just got news that MIL and FIL have found an empty rental apartment near downtown (far away from the house they live in), so it SEEMS that they're going to take it. Yesterday BIL took them there to see the place. If everything works out well and the owner decides to let them have it, next month will be a busy month 'coz we're going to help them to move there.

I actually feel a bit sad that this winter they're not going to live in the house anymore. The house they've lived in for so many years...the house with the strawberry field and the HUGE field and the sauna near a lake...sigh...but life goes on. I just hope my FIL who has Alzheimer's can adapt well to the new place and won't be too disoriented when it's time for them to move.

On the bright side, though, once they move, it's going to be easier for them during winter 'coz they don't have to burn any firewood anymore nor do any yard work. Plus when MIL needs to go downtown, it takes only a few minutes by car. And it's going to be easier for me to visit them by bike or on foot.

3. I'm TRULY thankful for God's creations 'coz then I can cook delicious food by using so many different ingredients...spices, veggies, meat. Yeah, yeah, I'm a foodie, what can I say? ;-D

4. My friend who has PCOS had just given birth to a healthy baby girl and I couldn't feel anything but PURE JOY for her (she's been trying for at least 3 years before she got pregnant with this one - the first pregnancy ended up in an early miscarriage). It's AMAZINGLY nice to feel only pure joy towards someone else's WONDERFUL news (as opposed to feeling a mixture of joy plus envy and/or bitterness and/or questioning God). THANK YOU, God, for helping me get through my infertility issues!!! :-D

5. I have some more fun/touching moments with the customers at work, but I'm going to share them in another post later on. Tomorrow I have an 8-hour-shift, but then I'll have some free days afterwards, so I'll have time to write more later. Now I need to catch up on you people and then I have to watch my taped series from last night, which I didn't get to watch 'coz I was chatting with a close friend ha ha...Busy, busy, busy!!!

Here are pics of some roses (maybe different types) in my MIL's garden...Starting from now I should take as many pics of their place and surroundings as possible before my in-laws move out from there...