3BT: Random Days

1. I finally succumbed to the temptation after having resisted it for at least three years. I bought myself a body pillow as an early birthday present for myself. You see, Indonesians use a kind of round body pillows all their lives and over here they've finally started selling body pillows (though they're longer and not in a round shape). Funnily enough, the first night I used it, I had a bit trouble adjusting myself as I hadn't been using it ever since I moved to Finland, but I'm getting more used to it now and I love it. :-D

2. Watching this video made me laugh.


3. This month it started snowing and just as I liked it, the temperature didn't go up too much, so there was no ice at all. The fresh snow may be a little slippery, but not as dangerous as the ice. Winter Wonderland, I love you! 

4. I ordered something for a Christmas gift and about a month later I realized that the price had gone up quite a lot. Feeling lucky that I got to pay the cheaper price! :-D

5. Experiencing a clarifying moment after having had a muddled brain for many days. 

6. I've been taking time away from FB for a while and it feels GREAT to have an FB vacation. :-) 

3BT: Random Days

1. I bought a new blanket, but it was way too big and puffy to bring with me by bike, so I called hubby to take it with him in the car. Tried calling his mobile, but didn't pick up, so I ended up having to call his work phone. When he picked up, I immediately asked in English, "Hey, are you at the office?"

A second of hesitation later, he replied in English, "No."

Then I started explaining what I had done and I knew that he was at the office because I could see his car outside (the shop was near his office) and then he finally realized it was me.

Then I asked, "Why on earth did you say no at first?"

He replied, "I didn't recognize your voice at first, so I was confused." HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...obviously he didn't have my number on his work phone, so he didn't know who it was and then I started babbling in English ha ha ha ha ha...funny!

2. When he got out of the office, my first thought was, "Damn, he's HOT!!!!"

It feels nice to feel this way still about him he he he...He's always SO patient with me, so I'm thankful for that.

3. Seeing two squirrels at the yard, right under the bird feeder. So cute!


4. Tomorrow is a holiday, so the store is closed and tonight I'll have a pre-Christmas party with my coworkers. YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSS!!!

5. Finding cheap offers on meat and fish. They're now safely in the freezer for future use.

6. Frost. Beautiful glittery thin layer of frost everywhere. They're sparkly in the sun and under the street light.



7. Finally getting the hang of a new type of friendship that has evolved from an old type of friendship. It feels nice to be able to let go and finally adjust my expectations.

8. Ordering an early birthday present for myself (1 of the books in my wishlist) because Bookdepository gave me a 5% discount that would expire this weekend. Can't waiiiiiittttt!!!!! WOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

9. Almost forgot that Monday is our 8th wedding anniversary (FB reminded me of that LOL!!!). I just want to say I'm thankful that we've been given these years to spend together and I hope we will have many more to come. I still believe he's the one for me and he's becoming even more dear to me as time goes by.

10. Been trying to lose some weight by eating a plateful of salad at least 5 times a week. It's amazing how light my body feels after trying out this practice (haven't really weighed myself yet because I've just started sometime last week, but my body feels different than eating meat all the time). 


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3BT: Random Days

1. This year I've finally managed to return the favor to someone who generously helped me years back. It feels good to finally have a chance to show my appreciation to that person. WOOOOOOOHOOOOO!!!!

2. Receiving these lovely belated birthday gifts from MIL. I was SOOOOOO touched when I got them yesterday. The one written in Finnish means: "Thank you for listening and caring, for giving and sharing, and for being always near." And she especially chose the blue angel because she knows that blue is my fave colour. BLESS HER!!! She's an angel herself!

3. The excitement of waiting for some Christmas gifts to arrive. I've ordered myself a book ha ha ha a ha...Who says you can only give somebody else a gift? LOL!!!

4. Coming back home from work at night and realizing that hubby had put up some Christmas lights here and there (no Christmas tree, just the lights). It certainly created a more festive atmosphere amidst the whiteness of the snow and the darkness of winter! LOVE it! :-D

5. In the beginning MIL was supposed to be away during Christmas, but the plan was cancelled. I feel bad that the plan was cancelled, but I'm glad that we'll have MIL with us again on Christmas. Christmas without her feels weird. 

6. Today I managed to spook hubby when he came back home from work. Because it was so dark outside already, it was easy for me to hide behind the front door (actually I crouched next to it) and then jumped at him BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHH...:-D

7. Reading this inspiring list: 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do.   

8. Watching this video clip below:

Funny November + 3BT: Random Days

I've been busy and have been getting a bit of a cold again, so haven't been writing here nor have I had a chance to blog-hop. This year is a funny November. Usually October is the yuckiest month of winter when the temperature still gets a little bit over and under zero, so the accumulated snow melts and refreeze and then there's new snow coming in and then it melts again, but this year this all happened in November. However, now it seems that it's gonna be much colder this week. So overall this November has been very warm compared to the previous years.

A week ago it was really dangerous 'coz the thick snow melted and even our yard became like a skating rink. My customers had been saying to me how slippery it was outside. Some got really sad 'coz almost all the snow melted by then and there was brownish, yucky, wet snow on the side of the streets. Those who loved White Christmas just groaned in sight of all those yuckiness he he he...Thankfully the other day it snowed again. It wasn't too much, but enough to cover up all the dirt he he...Now that the weather has gotten much colder all of a sudden, it's actually better this way. If we had lost all the snow, it'd been SO dark here, especially next month.


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Work is going to get busy again next month because one coworker has resigned and another one is currently sick. Dunno how hectic it's gonna be, but there will sure be changes to all of our work schedules. We shall see.

Yesterday R2 came back home from work in a very agitated state, asking me if there was a package for him. I said no. He had been waiting for the package already the day before. Then he found out that it had arrived already, so he went back to the PO to get it. I got a hunch that it must've been my bday present hi hi hi hi...so when he got back home, I asked him, "Is the package THAT important that you just had to get back out to get it right away?"

He said yes with a huge grin, then told me NOT to touch the package at all. And he proceeded in wrapping it up in another room HA HA HA HA HA HA...Can't wait to open it!!! :-D

Here is my 3BT list:

1. Last night I told hubby, "You're the best gift God's ever given to me." And he squeezed me tightly in response. :-D

2. A customer said, "My cat loves Gotler ham so much so that it wouldn't eat anything else but that." LOL!!! Never heard of such a thing before! She made me laugh!

3. Still a few customers said, "Where have you been? I haven't seen you in a long time." It's good to be missed hi hi...

4. The machine got jammed at one point, so had to wait for a few minutes and there were a few people in line already (but they were all old people). One of them kept on joking with me during the whole wait, making the wait much more bearable. :-D THANK GOD for patient people who do have a good sense of humour! :-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.

3BT: Random Days

1. Hearing a female customer said, "Look! Your fave sweets are on sale!" to her hubby. And the hubby bought 12 packs of them. :-D What made me think it was beautiful was the fact that the wife was focused on what the hubby liked.

2. We've just booked a short trip to Vienna for our upcoming spring holiday (and after bargaining at work, I've finally gotten the permission to have the 6 days off).

3. Planning, browsing through the internet to find out what kind of fun things we can do there and daydreaming. WOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

4. Seeing an icicle hanging from the roof - plus funny-shaped snow.


5. Watching the lazy snow falling slowly from inside our kitchen window...the world felt hush hush and so serene...

6. Have been craving for KFC chicken for a while now and finally today I had time and energy to make some. They came out VERY VERY delicious. Yum...

7. Finding out already what hubby needs (to be his March birthday gift) and ordering it already while there're still winter sales ('coz what needs is a winter sweater). Plus finding a good deal on the sweater! :-D

8. Stealing hubby's warmth under the blanket at nights by putting my cold feet on his warm thigh. Ah, to feel the warmth of his body at night is just pure bliss...

9. Indonesian ear cleaning tool is THE BEST!!!

3BT: Random Days

1. Getting the best bday present ever from hubby: A LOVE LETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or to be exact a love email he he...which I printed and reread. It made me cry today when I woke up and checked my mailbox he he...It was everything I could have hoped for in a love letter - and more! Oh, and it's in Finnish! :-D

2. A friend dropped by and brought a doughnut and a small candle and we had a nice chat over coffee and doughnuts. And she brought me a homemade gift and card as well! BLESS HER!!! What a perfect day!

3. A customer who had the initiative to take out somebody else's shopping cart that had been left inside the store to the place where it belonged.

4. Understanding and thoughtful parents and in-laws that don't ask or push us about giving them any grandkids once I explained to them our decision that two is a complete family and that we don't wish to try any treatment or anything else. They respect our decision fully.

5. Patient people that come along my way (including dear hubby).

6. People that don't take me to any unnecessary guilt trips about any topics at all (including parents, in-laws, and hubby).

7. My family have been enjoying their trip to Bali with SIL's family.

8. My Mom and Ken got sick "at the right time", so they were fine already before they were supposed to fly to Bali. That way they got to enjoy the trip fully.

9. Gorgeous pink sky.

3BT: Random Days

1. Hubby warming up my side of the bed before I got to bed (usually he goes up first before me), so even though it's cold outside (-20 or even colder during the night), my side of the bed is blissfully WARM the first time I lay my body there. MMMMMHHHHH...And he has to endure the cold side of the bed once I go to my side of the bed, so THANKS SO MUCH for that, Bunny! HIGHLY appreciate your thoughtfulness!!!

2. Getting a surprise early gift bag for my birthday he he he he...You know who you are. THANKS SO SO SO MUCH!!!

3. Getting another package from a friend who has too much extra Indo stuff (spices, snacks). REALLY thankful for this!!! :-D

4. Listening to this beautiful duet...



5. Sleeping for 11 hours HA HA HA HA HA...

6. A customer telling me that I fit this kind of job I'm doing and that she likes me. THANKS for the encouragement - 'coz there are times I wonder if I really fit for this kind of job or not.

7. Someone told me about the mistake I'd made at work and I'm THANKFUL for that. Can't undo my mistakes, but I can always learn to do better. :-D

8. Hot tea with honey on cold days. Mmmmhhhh...

9. Pink sky always cheers me up. :-D

10. Frozen trees. For some reason when it's SO cold, they seem to be frozen solid - they have a different consistency of coldness than when it's been snowing all day, for example. It's hard to describe, but there's this kind of lovely undisturbed hush that permeates the air...mmmm...

It'll Be Published!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just wanna share my JOY JOY JOY...or EUPHORIA? HE HE HE HE...

Today while working I got a phone call from a Finnish number that I didn't know. When she told me her name and her company, I didn't recognize them at all. Then she asked, "You sent us an article a while ago."

Then it hit me. It was the themed article that I sent in the beginning of this month!!! So she must be working for the magazine. She said it was a very good story and they'd love to publish it.

HURRRRRAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

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I couldn't believe my ears!!! She thanked me for participating and explained to me that I'd get a form which I had to sign and also I needed to write my bank account there so that they could send me the reward. And also that I'd get a copy of the exact edition where my article will be published. And guess when it'll be published? NOVEMBER! My birth month!!!

Is that a coincidence or what? It's like I'm getting an early BEAAAAUUUTIIIFFFUUULLL birthday gift HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...

Anyway, I didn't really have a high hope for it to be published, 'coz I knew that my Finnish was still so basic, but I figured, "I have a story to tell and I think it may make people smile. Even if the people working for the magazine are the only ones who smile while reading the story, I'm happy enough."

'Coz I'm having my PMS now, I just couldn't control my emotion after I hung up the phone (after thanking her, of course). I cried for a few minutes and just couldn't continue working. I just couldn't believe it!!! ;-D

I was in a daze, thinking of how many people would read the story and that I HOPE the story brought them smiles. :-))))

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I'm kinda busy right now (cooking and baking), but I just can't wait to write this post. I'm gonna blog-hop again this weekend, OK? THANKS for everybody who's been supporting me!!!! :-D Also MANY THANKS to hubby who's corrected my grammar mistakes in the article.

Saturday, the First Day of December 2007

Can't believe that it's December already. Yesterday I even "forgot" that it was already the first day of December he he he...Anyway, when we arrived at my in-laws, my mother-in-law hugged me right away and then she served coffee and my strawberry-cream birthday cake.

We had a little talk while Arttu and Dad were busy fixing the car. For some reason our car's heater didn't work well, so they were tinkering with it. I told my mother-in-law that my mother send regards to all of them. She looked happy and she sent regards back to my Mom he he he he...Then I got to ask her about her rashes. You see, ever since last summer, there were rashes all over her arms. At first she said it was due to allergy, but even after she applied some medication all over it, they were still there. The rashes looked like mosquito bites...red and itchy.

Then about two weeks ago she finally went to the doctor and the doctor took a bit of sample from the rashes to find out what it was. Yesterday I got a chance to ask her what the doctor said. She said that it was because of stress. I began to wonder what made her stressed. Arttu said that it must've been because of Dad. You see, a few weeks after I moved here, Arttu's Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. I thought he was still doing fine even though sometimes he seemed disoriented. Turned out that nowadays he grows restless during the night, so he walks around the house and urinates in weird places. Yesterday he urinated in a bucket. Gladly the bucket was empty.

I feel sad for my mother-in-law. The love of his life is now deteriorating mentally and she must be worried whenever he gets up during the night while she's sleeping. I remember Arttu telling me their story. They met when she was 19 and he was 31 and even from the first meeting, she knew she'd marry him. And they did get married!!! They'll have been married for 45 years on December 26th. Unfortunately, I don't know what to do to help. All I know is that I'll remember their situation more specifically in my prayers, especially since her rashes aren't getting any better yet.

Talk about stress...turns out my brother's girlfriend's mother is also in stress. She's also suffered from rashes or itch over the past few weeks. It seems that she's stressed over the "upcoming loss" of her daughter. My mother's told her that she can come and visit anytime she wants to. Gladly their house is near my parents' house so they can definitely come every day (literally) if they want to.

One thing that makes me SO RELIEVED...is that my Mom is able to let go of me. Yes, she did cry, of course, but she didn't get stressed out about me. At least not that I know of he he he he...

OK, now on to a lighter topic then...here are some pictures I took yesterday while walking to the frozen lake. I also took a video clip of downtown but I still have to edit it to make it more presentable.

First pic: my birthday gift from my BELOVED mother-in-law. Since I've never had plants before, I asked her how many times I should water it he he he he he...Hey, I just realized last night that this is my first "pot" of FLOWERS!!! Nobody'd EVER given me flowers before in my life HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...YIIIPPPIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! ;-D



Second pic: Pic of the lake again. It was around -9'C when we went to Kelujärvi, but when I walked to the lake, it was already down to -12'C. Then when we were about to go home, it dropped to -20'C. It's again -19'C today he he he...BRRRR!!!!!!!!












Yeah, tried to make footsteps on the snow picture he he he...Hope you like it! I also wanted you to know how thick the snow was. Actually on the left side (the huge field), the snow was MUCH thicker, but I didn't want to walk there, thank you very much ha ha ha ha ha ha...


This last pic was taken from inside the car. This is the view of the river in Sodankylä. I just want you to see how thick the snow is at the side of the road since the snow truck comes every day and moves the snow from the road to the sides of the road he he he...There are MOUNTAINS of snow here and there (I'll take more pics later on, OK?)



I just uploaded this video of the frozen lake, so it might take some time before it loads. If it doesn't show yet, try again in a few hours, OK? He he he he he...

Sharing My Bday Gift from Max

Hi, everybody!

Just wanna share my bday gift from Max he he he...She said when she heard this song, she knew I'd love it. And I DID!!!! ;-D

THANK YOU SO MUCCCCCCCCCCCHHHH, Max, for this gift and for introducing me to another LOVELY song he he he...Enjoy iiiiitttttt!!!! ;-D

Our Own Pikkujoulu!!!!!!!!!!

Today in our Finnish class, our teacher suggested us to meet sometime in a cafe prior to Christmas. It's going to be LOVELY!!!

I got my homework correction today and the teacher said I had done well for someone who'd only been here for 8 months. I was SO glad to hear it, 'coz I felt as though my progress had been too slow he he he he he...What's really crystal clear now is that I haven't really practiced speaking much. Since I don't meet too many people, I don't use much Finnish even though I probably know more Finnish grammar than some of my classmates. One thing for sure is that I'm going to force myself to practice more speaking. Maybe I should start it with my own hubby. Actually lately I've been trying to say some short sentences in Finnish. I should keep on doing that so that I don't need too much time to formulate those words in my head and that it'll become some sort of an automatic response. Yeah, worth trying! ;-D

I can't wait for the pikkujoulu party (a small pre-Christmas celebration). My Brit friend is the one who's going to organize it. I sure hope everybody can make it, though I'm not sure the boys are going to come with us (boys = my Brit friend's husband and eldest son). I guess it's going to be an all ladies eve he he he he...We haven't decided on a date yet, but it should be before December 17th since one of our Russian friends is going to visit her hometown again that day.

Gave my teacher a Christmas gift and she was SO happy to get it HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...She said she'd only open it on Christmas Eve (the habit here is to open gifts on Christmas Eve). I also gave something for my Brit friend, who totally didn't expect it. WA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...I LOVE IT when I can surprise people in a nice way!!! *big grin* Those gifts weren't expensive, but it's the thought that counts, right????? RIGHT? You MUST agree with me. LOL LOL!!!

Ahem...when I got back home from my Finnish class, I noticed that hubby had wrapped my birthday present nicely. It's now sitting on top of our scanner/printer. I've decided not to touch it or go near it he he he he...

See, Fish, I can still control myself HE HE HE HE HE...I want to be surprised tomorrow. I don't wanna touch it and then wonder what it is and obsess over it during the night he he he he he...

Okie dokie...now let me spend some quality time with hubby he he he...Enjoy the rest of your day, everybodyyyyy!!! I'll surely enjoy mine THOROUGHLY, knowing that tomorrow I can open that mysterrriiouuussss package ha ha ha ha ha...

By the way, I had a funny conversation with my hubby earlier when he got back home from work.

Me : "Everybody's now DYING to know what's inside that box."
R2 : "Everybody? What do you mean by everybody?"
Me : "I told my blogger friends about your mysterious package, so now they're also dying to know what's inside of it."
R2 : (laughing) "Oh boyyyyyyyy..."

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Marital Bliss

Last night I had the best "nighttime rendezvous" than EVER before!!! It just kept on getting better and better and last night topped it all off. I never thought it could get any better than that! I think my mood was set right by some reasons.

1. Hubby warned me last night, "If you receive a package in the mail tomorrow, don't open it, OK?" HE HE HE HE HE HE...It must be my BIRTHDAY gift!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYY!!! At first I teased him by saying that I'd open it (I have a habit of opening everything that comes to our mailbox, except personal letters), but then I promised not to do it. I CAN'T WAIT to see what it is HUE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...*big grin*

2. I had a talk with my Estonian friend prior to our Finnish lesson. I asked her if her hubby was Finnish and she said that her hubby had died already. Ugh...I felt SO bad asking about it. With broken English (her Finnish is WAY better than her English), she told me that it had been hard on them (she has three sons) at first, but since it happened 8 years ago, it wasn't so painful anymore. Then I asked her what happened. She said it was an accident. She said that whenever she thought about it, she felt sad, but she tried not to think about it so often nowadays. Her youngest son is only about 8 years old, so I imagine that he must've been just a baby when the accident happened! Goodness!!!

That conversation made me feel SO grateful that I'm still given another day with my hubby. I'm SO LUCKY to be able to love him and be loved by him another day. That really helped me set the mood for last night. I want to make the best out of my time with him. I don't want to regret not having given my best when the time's up. Tick tock tick tock...nobody knows when their time's up.

So far my marriage's started off pretty well. We haven't had any fights yet (differences, yes, but no arguments - bantering? Definitely! We love joking with each other!) I hope it's still going to be like this all the time until the end of it when one of us dies (or perhaps both of us die at the same time, who knows?). All in all, I never thought that being married could be THIS MAGICAL! There's just something amazing in serving each other equally and getting our love tanks filled up to the brim. My cup's still runneth over. I couldn't have expected a better life than this. THANK YOU, Lord, for having given me today to be spent with him!!! I've been SO blessed!!! ;-D

Today when I woke up, this song kept on repeating in my head...here let me share with you the lyrics of a song that I've always loved he he he he...Our English teacher in High School made us listen to this song and write down the blanks in the lyrics that she had photocopied for us, then she made us sing this song together he he he...I'll ALWAYS remember that lesson! ;-D

God Will Make a Way
Don Moen


God will make a way,
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way, He will make a way.

By a roadway in the wilderness,
He'll lead me
And rivers in the desert will I see
Heaven and earth will fade
But His Word will still remain
He will do something new today.

Image taken from www.heartlight.org