36th Birthday Cabin Trip

Yesterday was my birthday and on Friday hubby took a day off so that we could go to the cabin before it got dark. He was afraid that if he worked that day, he may have had to stay longer at work. After all, we only get about 3 hours of daylight now as we move rapidly towards Winter Solstice where the sun doesn't even rise at all. Since there isn't that much snow yet, we could still make it to the cabin by car. It was more convenient this way because then he could bring a lot of firewood.

It has been a cloudy weekend, so we didn't really see any gorgeous sky or starry sky, though I saw some flashes of pink sky during sunset. Usually hubby is the one who ends up doing most of the stuff, but this time I wanted to try making a hole in the ice by myself (we need the water from the lake for sauna, you see). When I stepped on the frozen lake, I was a bit afraid if it would break, but when I started using the ice pick to make the hole, I realized just how thick it was. I stopped lots of time in between picking the ice with the ice pick to take photos of the sky. It was rather fascinating to see just how fast the sky changed in just 10 minutes or so.

The ice was at least 13 cm thick, so it took a lot of time before I could finally get some water. YYYEEEEEEEEESSS!!!! It felt good to be able to do the task HE HE HE HE HE...Hubby had to get more firewood and chop them off into smaller pieces (that also took a while). After that the party began ha ha ha ha...my kind of party. Just listening to music on the radio, going to sauna together, cooking the food in the fireplace, chilling out just the two of us. Bliss! What do I feel about turning 36? Thankful that I'm still given time to be alive. :-)

The temperature was about -1'C, though it probably dropped down a bit to -5'C during the night. It was a bit foggy when we arrived there, but for some reason it made me feel even more secluded from the rest of the world, because I could barely see the row of trees across the lake.

Anyway, here are some pics that I took:

The cabin from the back side:

Lots and lots of candles!

The sky when we first arrived:

The ice pick photo with the same background (about 43 minutes later, when the sky started to open up a little):

More photos of pinkish sky:

Okay, I need to go to bed earlier now (or at least try to). I have an early shift tomorrow. Hope you're all doing fine, people!

35th Birthday

Today is my 35th birthday. When I woke up, I was greeted by the gorgeous pink sky outside as the sun was starting to rise (yeah, I woke up late because today was my free day LOL!!!). 


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Today I just want to be thankful for these things:

- For this breath that I still have. The gift of life. 

- My husband. When I was preparing to marry him, I thought that I was sure that he was the one for me. What I knew then deep down in my heart versus what I know now shows me that my choice was right - my faith in us back then was blind, but now I've seen the proofs and what I see is far more beautiful than what I could have known then. The longer I live with him, the surer I am that he is definitely the one for me and the more thankful I am to have him by my side. Just by being himself, he makes me feel like I'm the best version of myself. He helps me be the best version of myself. And it helps a lot to be accepted and loved just the way I am - even when I'm cranky, even when I make mistakes, even when I'm obsessed with some things, even when I'm having my PMS. 

Honey, marrying you is one of the BEST decisions ever in my entire life. Each day spent with you is a day full of fun, laughter, love, and tenderness. I just hope and pray that God will keep us hand-in-hand and heart-to-heart until death do us part - and I hope that He will give us plenty of time together still on earth because I want to grow old and I want to grow together with you. I cherish you and I still want you even after all these years.

- My parents. For letting me make my own mistakes, for trusting me to make my own decisions, for never nagging me to come visit, for never making me feel guilty for anything (either deliberately or not), for loving me without choking the life out of me, for letting me be my own person and letting me choose my own path.

- My mother-in-law. Thank you for accepting me into the family with such warmth and love, for teaching me things tenderly and patiently, for never criticizing me, for supporting me and for your constant appreciation. I couldn't have asked for a better mother-in-law.

- Friends - old ones, new ones, online friends. I'd especially like to thank my blogger friends and new online friends here. Even though most of us have never met, but you've supported me and showed me your love and compassion and I'm very thankful for that. And all the friends I've met either online or in real life have taught me so many things and inspired me in many different ways.

- My boss and coworkers. Thankful that I'm accepted in the team without being treated differently, that I still have a job despite the tough economy. 

- My kind customers. I've talked to some people about this and they all confirmed that there are so many nice and kind customers here in this village and I'm thankful for that. When I first started work, I made so many mistakes, but none of them said anything harsh to me. They reminded me of my mistakes tenderly and over time they've forgiven my other mistakes and they have also shown appreciation towards me and I'm forever grateful for that. 

- Infertility. Infertility has taught me so many things that I wouldn't have learned otherwise and it has also allowed me to meet so many lovely ladies that I wouldn't have met otherwise. I'm thankful for the many lessons and the gift of new friends that infertility brings. 


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OK, now I've finished the list, so it's time to enjoy my mud cake topped with berries. :-D 

Birthday Cabin Trip: Crunchy Snow

I asked for the whole weekend off so that we could spend time at the cabin. Fortunately for us, for the past few days the temperature had dropped down a lot compared to the days before. That meant that it was easier to walk along the snowy path towards the lake he he...because the snow had frozen quite well so that our feet stayed on top of the snow quite well.

We arrived at the cabin at around 5 pm and it was already so dark. There was a beautiful orange full moon hanging low above the horizon and it was a starry night as well! The temperature was -18'C. Funnily enough, the inside of the cabin was only about -6'C he he he...

Here's a pic of R2 trying to get some water from the frozen lake for the sauna. We were afraid it'd be so hard to get the water again, but thankfully the ice layer wasn't too thick. I remember one time it took maybe half an hour for him to use the tools before we could get some water (we almost gave up and R2 was sweating so much after all the hard work!!!):

 
By the time we got the cabin ready, I saw a halo around the moon, but it was SO hard to get good pics of it. One of the reasons was that when it got that cold, it was hard to press the button of the camera after a while. My fingers were freeeeezzzziiinnngggg after taking lots of pics (some of them were failures!). Here are some pics anyway...

Can you see the stars in the next pic? My monitor's setting is a bit darker than normal, so I'm not sure if it's still too dark or not...hmmmmhhh...

Woke up at around 10.30 am the next day. The sun had just started rising by then and it was gorgeous. Here are a few sunrise pics I took.

And we left the cabin at around 13.30 (around the time when the sun was just about to set). Here is a pic of the lovely pinkish sky at sunset:

Oh yeah, on Friday morning I made some cupcakes from a cupcake mix (with sourcream topping plus brown sugar sprinkles). Easy to make and yummy enough for us ha ha...here's the pic!

And here are some pics of tilhi/waxwings. I stood only a few steps away from them, can you believe it? One of the perks of living in Lapland ha ha ha ha...Aren't they SO cute and round??? :-D It got so dark already by then so I had to fix the pics a little...Hope you enjoy the pics! :-D

P.S. As you probably notice, there's not that much snow left 'coz until a few weeks ago the temperature got really warm, so most of the snow had melted! However, yesterday in southern Finland there was snowstorm in many places that brought so much snow (as much as 35 cm or so in Helsinki if I remember correctly). 

 

34th Year On Earth

This year for some reason I feel so overwhelmed with emotions. So many blessings...unexpected ones...so many blessings each day...His grace is new every day. His peace beyond understanding is just out of this world. His perfect timing even makes me feel at awe at His grand designs. You know how life makes more sense when you look back on the past? And you get to see things more clearly? That's how I feel today even more acutely than ever...

PRAISE THE LORD for everything good that comes my way...
THANK YOU for your love, 
THANK YOU for the closed doors...
THANK YOU for the open doors that I never even expected to be open...
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU...

And for you, dear readers, enjoy this lovely video clip...Kim Yunaaaaaaa on ice!!!! :-D

Busy Bee

Yesterday was a busy day for me. R2 and I went to Kelujärvi to spend time with the family 'coz his eldest bro came from the south to spend time with us. It was his birthday as well as FIL's 80th birthday, so after we had lunch together there with the big family, we headed out to visit FIL and brought him a cake. Unfortunately he wasn't in a good enough condition to open his eyes. He did, though, eat the cake and drink the coffee that MIL fed him - with closed eyes. 

It was not a particularly warm day, but every now and then when the sun came out from behind the clouds, we felt warm despite the rather cool wind. Daytime temperature was only about 15'C, but at least it wasn't raining. It did rain in the early morning, though. 

We all got to our place to eat and play cards until around 2.30 am ha ha ha ha...We played Uno and laughed so much that my cheeks started to hurt LOL!!! People can be so funny after they get tipsy hi hi hi hi...some of us had trouble following the game after a few drinks hi hi hi...I drank a little bit of orange cider, but mostly I had water, so I was fine until the end ha ha...R2 was the one calculating the points and after several rounds of game, he started making mistakes in counting our points, so we had to recheck the numbers. 

Anyway, I took some pics of a busy bee in Kelujärvi garden as well as a pic of the cake we bought for FIL. I'd never seen such a cake before ha ha ha ha...mostly 'coz I usually buy frozen ones instead of this type. It's called "Käpykakku". Käpy means pine cone and the inside of the cake is very interesting 'coz it's not like a regular cake. I forgot to take a pic of it, though, but I know that I'm gonna be looking for this cake again later on when we have something to celebrate 'coz I love it!!! :-D 

OK, without further ado, let me just share the pics...

Birthday Treat

Today is my bro's birthday and it reminded me of birthday treats (esp. for those over 18 years old). In Indo, it's common for the birthday boy/girl to treat others on their special day. I remember that when I was at the uni (I had been tutoring kids in my spare time so I had some savings), I asked some of my close friends to go to Pizza Hut to eat together on my birthday. My treat. 


FYI: For younger kids, it's common for the parents to pay for everything. I remember when I was in Junior High School (my allowance wasn't enough to treat my friends at a resto), I invited a few friends to our house and my Mom cooked all the food and ordered a cake and we just had fun eating and talking there. :-D



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One close friend then moved to USA and she started working there. On her birthday, she brought a cake to her workplace. Her boss said to her, "Poor you! Why did you bring a cake on YOUR birthday? We're the ones who're supposed to treat you on your special day."

She was stunned. She had no idea that it's not common for people there to treat others on their birthdays. In fact, it's very common for your friends to chip in some money and pay for your dinner at your fave restaurant. 

Another friend moved to USA, but he wants to keep the Indonesian birthday treat tradition, so the American friends were so happy to be treated by this guy on his last birthday ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...

What's the custom like in your country when it comes to birthday treats?

P.S. I'm not really big on birthdays. With my family, usually we just either dined out in a restaurant or ordered some food to eat together at home and we'd also order a cake from a deli. :-D Here in Finland oftentimes MIL buys me a cake and we'd eat it together. :-D 

MIL's Birthday

Yesterday after work went straight to MIL's house (R2 picked me up, so I walked to work with my spikes 'coz it's been getting slippery here in Sodankylä). MIL's friends had just left the place when we arrived. I wanted to go buy flowers, but alas the florist was already closed by the time I finished work. Doh!

But anyway, we did bring her a gift he he he he...it's a suitcase! She doesn't have any good, big enough suitcase and she's planning to travel with some friends later in autumn, so we decided to buy her a suitcase (I couldn't think of anything else that she may need). She was shocked to see the big cardboard box that we brought to her place ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...but she was happy to get it. I hope the trip won't be cancelled - she's booked a trip for next month with her friends, but it's cancelled 'coz of lack of participants.

Anyway, MIL had received plenty of flowers anyway...it was nice to see so many flowers in her apartment he he...we had lunch then she made coffee and took out a cake. Yum yum...here are some pictures I took.

Under The Weather

Been feeling under the weather for some time (esp. after my trip to my friend's wedding), but this week it got worse. Finally went to the doc and got signed off for 3 days. I'm tired of feeling weird on the head - it's like a light-headedness/light headache that comes and goes as it pleases. However, tomorrow I have work but fortunately I can rest after that 'coz the next time I have work again is on Monday. If this light-headedness continues, though, I'm gonna go to the doc again.

At least I've stopped feeling cold (no fever, though - I haven't had a fever for the past 4 years no matter how unwell I feel). For a few days I had been feeling cold most of the time even though indoor temperature is never cold. I had to put on a few sweaters and three pairs of socks even. Last night I kicked another blanket that had kept me warm the previous nights.

Woke up with a very sore throat and R2's been infected, as well. Oh well...hopefully the bugs will soon go away and that R2 won't feel worse 'coz soon it'll be his birthday (next week). It'll suck if he gets sick on his birthday, esp. after he managed to get a day off that day!

While riding my bike back from the clinic, though, I ran into my neighbour - the gentleman (an old guy) smiled, took off his hat, and greeted me while kicking his kicksled. That was SO sweet! :-)))

Speaking of birthday, I had either chickenpox or mumps when I turned 8 and I had to rest in bed for over a week (or was it close to two weeks?). Anyway, I was really bored and I felt crappy 'coz I had to be sick on my birthday. At that time my uncle (Dad's youngest brother) came for a visit and he brought a gift for me. I was SO surprised and touched that I cried my eyes out, you know? My uncle was totally confused he he he he...

Anyway, I'm gonna go rest some more. My brain still can't cope with anything too heavy, though I do have plenty of other topics to talk about, but they shall wait. Have a healthy, safe, and wonderful weekend, people!

Say What You Want

Back when I was young, I used to think that if people cared enough about me, they should have known what I expected/wished for even when I didn't say a word about it. Boy I was in for a lot of disappointment hi hi...

Since the moment I realized how big of a mistake that was, I've learnt to say out right what I want. It's a long journey, but as time goes by it gets easier and easier to do so. Before my last birthday, I had told R2 that I wanted him to write me a love letter. He grumbled and didn't seem interested at all, but he surprised me by writing me a love email on my birthday anyway (which made me cry tears of joy and I printed).

Now I'm a firm believer of saying what I want in order to create a win-win situation. Some people may think it's "not fun" to do in a relationship, but for me it's the other way around. I don't want R2 to have to guess what I want and then after spending money and thoughts on getting the gift, he'll still have to deal with my disappointment. Life is already filled with problems, so why make life even harder?

I'm not saying that I don't appreciate or need or give surprises (and I'm not saying that R2 never gives me surprises). That's not it. But for important things that I want or need, I'd rather just tell the other person rather than wishing for it secretly.

Anyhow, let me translate his love letter (it's written in Finnish) just because I'm feeling nostalgic...

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Happy birthday, my love!

We've been together now for almost 5 years and our 5th wedding anniversary is behind us. I can honestly say that I have never regretted our decision to lead a life together.

If I had to live my life all over again after knowing what I know now, I wouldn't change anything, because if I changed something then I may not end up living with you. Even though there are things in my life that I'd want to change, choices that I wouldn't have chosen otherwise, I would still choose the same things to make sure that I end up with you anyway, because I don't want to be anywhere else but beside you even at this very moment.

I love you. Maybe I don't show it as often as I should and maybe at times I grumble at you, but you're not the reason why I grumble. The biggest reason I grumble is stress from work. Work always gets in the way of enjoying my spare time. That is why I always want to get as far away from here as possible whenever I have longer holidays. I want to forget everything about work issues so that I can focus more on being with you.

The thought of a life without you makes me feel terribly sad. Life won't be life anymore. Home won't be a home anymore, because you're my home and I always miss you whenever I'm somewhere else. I miss you when you're at work and I'm at home alone. Even watching TV is boring without you next to me.

Thank you for being the biggest part of my life.
Thank you for being you.
I love you from the bottom of my heart.

Eternally yours,

Arttu

Early Birthday Cabin Trip

Last Friday we went to the cabin again 'coz this weekend R2 has to go to the city to have pre-Christmas office party. What was great about last Friday was that in the morning it was really gloomy and SUPER dark 'coz almost all the snow had melted. However, starting at around 2 pm it started snowing hard and it was rather windy, as well. A bit like a small snowstorm. It was great, though!!! The temperature's still very mild compared to previous years...

By the time we arrived at the cabin at around 4 pm, it was already Winter Wonderland. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY!!! It was too dark to take pics then, though, so I only took some pics on Saturday morning. Here goes...


Question: How many ladders would it take to go up on the roof of the sauna?
Answer: Apparently four!!! HA HA HA HA HA HA...


I decided to play with the pic below so that it looked like I was going to go to the Gate of Light ha ha ha ha ha ha...



Last pic: Baby's POV hi hi hi...


I took the pics of me using my beloved tripod:


It's very light and handy, so it's easy to bring anywhere. I mostly just bent and wrapped the legs around a tree bark or branch he he he...

A "New" Language Problem

When I first started doing this part-time job, many people who came wondered about how well my Finnish could be, so they would speak to me slowly and clearly and they would even use body language as well. However, now that I've been there for at least half a year and most of them now assume that I can understand many things (though they don't know how much I know), they have started talking to me about different topics in a faster speed if the store's not too busy. That in itself is actually nice - having conversations with people in Finnish is nice.

The problem is that sometimes I only understand the gist of what they're saying without understanding EVERY SINGLE WORD, so I'd attempt to mimic their body language and facial features as best as I can, as fast as I can in response to what they're telling me.

Other times I have no problem understanding every word or almost every word, but there are times when I wonder if what I'm guessing is right or not 'coz Finnish words have many different meanings so it depends on the context and 'coz I still don't know all the meanings of the words, there may be some misunderstanding.

Anyhow, the thing is that many times when I only understand the gist, I don't have time to ask the person if what I think he/she means is right or not 'coz usually there are other people whom I need to serve next or I need to do something else quickly. All in all fortunately there has NOT been any BIG problem when it comes to this new problem. It's just something that I've just realized recently and I just want to write this in this blog. I guess I just need to keep on building my vocabulary then. :-D

P.S. Found a birthday gift for MIL which I gave to her already today (unfortunately the size was a little too small but she can exchange the size tomorrow - YAY!!!!) and I've ordered one for R2 (their birthdays are only 3 days apart). Tasks done!!! Went to visit MIL today and she said that it seems that her back is getting better, though she's not sure how OK it is 'coz she's been taking painkillers he he...I sure HOPE it's getting better even though it may take some time to heal. :-D

Bittersweet Birthday

Had a lovely birthday even though I had work that day. What made it sad was 'coz on Sunday my MIL went to visit FIL at the hospital and he didn't remember her anymore. He did, though, say that her voice was familiar. Other than that, FIL became upset at everything easily - probably 'coz he can't remember anything much, so he's probably so scared and confused. Ugh...So prayers please...

It's hard to see your loved one like that and it makes me think of serious stuff on my birthday, such as how fleeting life is and if I ever live long enough to experience mind degeneration, I hope that everything I've done beforehand could "make up for it". It seems that the doctor has told MIL that she doesn't have to burn herself out and that he can stay in the hospital, but she wants to be with him as long as possible. So hopefully FIL's mood gets better so that MIL doesn't have an even harder task to take care of him.


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Anyway, on a positive note, I got the birthday present that I wanted - 'coz I kept on insisting that R2 bought it for me HA HA HA HA...I mean, rather than "expecting" him to buy it for me, it'd just nicer to tell him straight away what I want so that in the end, we're both happy.

What did I want? A new wedding ring that fits my left ring finger perfectly. The one I have is now on a necklace 'coz it's a bit loose (even though I've gained 6 kgs ever since I moved to Finland, but my finger size stays the same). Wanna see the ring? Here goes...




We asked the jeweller's to engrave Arttu's name and our wedding date, but she said that for a wedding ring, we should put both our names, whereas for an engagement ring, you'd just put your future spouse's name and the engagement date. Interesting!!! We didn't even know it!

Anyway, I think the most important lesson of all that I've been getting over and over again so far is letting go and letting God (and finding out when to let go and to let God instead of keep forging the battle on my own). However, lately I feel that I should learn to say "no", to stand up for myself, and also to set boundaries for myself. I was actually thinking of writing a serious birthday post, but things have been hectic at work and it's going to get even more hectic 'coz Christmas and New Year are coming soon, so I may not get much free time until after New Year. So maybe the serious post can wait until then he he...

I haven't had time to blog-hop, either, but I have a free day tomorrow (AT LAST!!!), so we'll see. Take care, everybody!!!