Wet Christmas + Letter Update

I worked on Christmas eve and after that we went to get MIL and then we went to the graveyard. The temperature was still below zero that day (but not too cold), so Winter Wonderland was still intact. We lit some candles in front of FIL's graves and MIL brought some leaves to decorate it. Here are some pictures taken in the new cemetery and the old cemetery. There were lots of people and there were already so many candles everywhere. 

 

Christmas Day was really wet. Until today the temperature has been above 0'C, so it's been really slippery and wet out there. What a weird end of the year! So much of the snow has melted away and it gets SO dark outside. If the weather prediction is right, the temperature will be below zero again only after New Year. We shall see about that. This is my first time experiencing December like this (including some watery rain). Usually at this time of the year there's at least as much snow as in the photos above.

Anyway, I had a funny story from work. I had an evening shift on 23rd and before work started, I had told myself to remember saying "Hyvää Joulua" (Merry Christmas) at the end of each transaction. OK, so everything went well for a few hours until one time I was serving a guy and after that I said, "Kiitos (thank you)" but instead of saying Merry Christmas, I said "Hyvää viikonloppua" (Have a good weekend) instead. Yep, I managed to wish someone a good weekend on a MONDAY!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...Well, at least my mistake managed to make the guy and the customer behind him smile. LOL LOL!!! 

Anyway, I had fun again tricking hubby with the Christmas gift. This time I wrapped one of the gifts three times with some wrapping paper (it wasn't a big gift, so I didn't have to use too much paper) and then I wrapped it with some bubble wrap and then I put it inside a bigger box along with the other gift and then I wrapped it with some wrapping paper again. Watching him struggle to be able to see what was inside the gift was WORTH IT! WOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! :-D :-D :-D

In this post I'd also like to say that I've finally written down the letter for my mom. It was bittersweet to write. I ended up writing a 4-page MS Word document (plus one paragraph on the 5th page with font size 12 Times New Roman). I know it's going to be overwhelming for her to read, but I want her to know what we've been through because I hope that she'll take comfort in the knowledge that God has healed our bleeding wounds and dried them up and He has used our pains to comfort others in a similar situation. So PRAISE THE LORD for our infertility!!! 

I haven't heard anything from my mom yet, but I know she needs time to digest everything and calm herself down (bro said that she was crying after reading the letter). Bro helped me explain to her what kind of support I needed from her - bless him! I've sent her a text to let her know that she's appreciated and loved. I hated the fact that I had to send the letter (I thought about it for weeks before finally writing it down), but I feel that it's important for us both that she knows how far we've come. I want her to be released from the burden of thinking and praying for our miracle pregnancy, because that's not what we want anymore. We've buried that dream and I want her to do the same. I want her to be happy for our little family.

3BT: Random Days

1. After a long and crazy day at work, I came home at night in a famished state, but I was sweaty so I had to take a shower first, so I asked hubby to fry an egg for me so that it'd be ready right after my shower. :-D THANK YOU, hubby!!!

2. My bro asked me to give name suggestions for their second baby (along with the meanings). THANK YOU, bro, for involving me. I'm SO touched!!! Bless you!

3. A nice, long, restful sleep in the cabin where I could hear no noise at all where I saw a totally gorgeous sunset. Ahhhhh...what a wonderful world! 

4. Today has been a very sunny day at 22-24'C. I spent time sunbathing in the swing then spent a few hours mopping the floor and cleaning the windows wearing a tank top and shorts!!!! HA HAAAAA...

5. I got stared at by a very cute squirrel in MIL's garden LOL LOL!!!! 

6. My first batch of summer holiday has officially started. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!!!!


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Childhood Memory: Glutinous Rice Balls in Ginger Soup

When we were younger, we used to help Mom prepare some glutinous rice balls. On certain days of the year, she'd try to sell lots of these at the traditional market where she made a living. Making glutinous rice balls in ginger soup itself isn't that hard, but when you're trying to sell at least dozens of bags of them (a bag would consist of 20-25 balls), it can be a tough task, especially for children.

Here's a recipe that I found online: Glutinous Rice Balls in Ginger Soup. The ones we made were without fillings, so they'd be smaller than those in this pic and my Mom would use food colouring to make different types: chocolate (using chocolate powder), white (original colour), pink, and green (using a dash of red and green food colouring). 


Anyway, one day my Mom asked for our help to make hundreds and hundreds of these balls (she never forced us to help, mind you!). Being kids, of course we were so excited to help. Who wouldn't? Even Ken, my bro's son, loves helping out. In fact, today he did make these balls as well - that was what prompted me to write this post hi hi...But now that my Mom has retired, she doesn't have to make too many balls anymore. Just enough for the family and to give out to some relatives. 

Let's zoom back to the past, shall we? Anyway, Mom had separated the four colours in different bowls and she told us to pick which colours we wanted. Being the youngest one in the family, my brother was the slowest one because his hands were smaller than ours. At first he was so excited, but after some time had passed by, after watching how fast the others (me, Dad, and esp. Mom) managed to make the balls, he started comparing how much dough we had left in our own bowls. After realizing that he had the most dough still, he got stressed out and he started crying. He bawled and said, "I'm never going to finish this!!!!!!!!!"

Poor boy...Mom finally let him stop and take a rest and she took the dough that was given to him and continued making the balls efficiently. In the future after this incident, whenever we gathered together to help Mom make more balls, we'd remember it fondly (well, except perhaps my bro who would probably wish everybody else had forgotten about it LOL!!!).

Family Ties

I feel like I've lived in quite a "safe bubble" my entire life. When I was younger, my parents would take me to school and pick me up again from there. I was only allowed to start using the public transit when I was 12 y.o. However, my Dad still insisted on taking us to school before he went to work anyway. When I was in High School Dad bought a secondhand car from his younger sister on installment, so he took us to school by car, though starting in Junior High we could go back home by public transit ourselves.

When I went to university, my Dad still sometimes took me there because at that time he had started working as an insurance agent, so his working hours were pretty flexible. Even the parking guy at the university remembered my Dad's face because he took me there many times over. When my brother started going to the same university (different faculty, though), sometimes he'd give me a ride if our schedule matched. :-)

After graduation, I continued working as a part-time English tutor and then I started having the job as a translator. Then after a while I decided that I was fed up being an English tutor and I wanted to try working in a company. An opportunity came and I was invited for an interview. The factory where I had to have the interview couldn't be reached by public transit, so my Dad took me there - and my Mom and brother went along with me because they wanted to support me and because they were so curious about it all (it was my first job interview ever anyway) HA HA HA HA HA HA...

P.S. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy the job, so I quit after only being there for 7 weeks and from then on I focused my time on translating books instead. 

Maybe it's such an embarrassing thing for some people, but for me, it wasn't embarrassing. Maybe because I'd been having this dream of travelling abroad and even living abroad since I was a child, so I always had this thought in my mind, "They can't keep doing it for me when I'm far away, so I may as well just let them love me this way while we still live together." After all, by then I was already in love with R2 and I was thinking that if our relationship worked out, I would definitely have to leave Indo.  



Anyway, the first time I started teaching in an English course at the university at around 19 y.o., my parents took me there. They just wanted to know where the course was. One of my lecturers recruited me to teach at her English course (the course was open for kids from the age of 5 to 12 y.o.), so she had told me to come there at a certain time and date. When my parents and I arrived there, she wasn't there yet, but the secretary was there. Mind you...I had Demi Moore's hair in Ghost at that time (and I'm only 145 cm)...upon seeing me with my parents, the secretary greeted us and immediately asked, "Oh, are you here to enroll in one of our English courses?" LOL LOL LOL!!!

Imagine her surprise when she found out I was there to TEACH!!!!! ROFL ROFL ROFL...anyway, I'm glad I have so many memories of being with my parents and I'm REALLY thankful for their efforts in spending time with me. My Mom also accompanied me every time I had to go to Jakarta to apply for my visa and when I had to prepare for the paperwork before I could get married with R2 as well as the paperwork after I got married before I could move to Finland. My family's not perfect and my parents aren't big on saying "I love you" or "I'm proud of you" and they're not even big on hugs, but I never doubt their love for me because of the way they lavish us with their time, attention, and support. After all, quality time is my primary love languages.

Ah, my cup is overflowing with gratitude...


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3BT: Random Days

1. Writing this note for hubby (I had an evening shift that day): "Just eat me all up 'coz your wife is going to cook something else tomorrow, OK? Signed: The Slaughtered Lamb. :-D" ---> I had cooked some lamb the day before and there was some left in the fridge, but I knew that he would be worried whether he should eat it all up or leave me a little piece of it, so I stuck the note on top of the box containing the lamb meat. I'm glad to know the note made him smile. :-D Hubby, you INSPIRE me!

2. Had a brilliant idea to trick hubby again on Christmas. ROFL ROFL!!! I'll write about it later on after Christmas if it works!!! I'm just SOOOOO excited!!!



3. Bro told me he woke up earlier specially on my birthday to say a prayer for me. My heart melted!!!

4. My Mom sent me a bday SMS and she also sent prayers. THANKS A LOT, Mom!

5. My closest friends send me birthday greetings and them really touched me deeply and one of them made me laugh by writing down how we first met. :-D More mushy mushy feelings...

6. Watching the frozen snowflakes on my bike saddle and bag when the temperature outside was about -20'C. Amazing artwork!!!


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7. Falling in love with characters in books/stories/movies...ahhhhh...I know they're not real, but there are just so many unreal things that are so adorable he he...

3BT: Random Days

1. Body lotion for dry skin. Very useful and essential for living in a cold place like Sodankylä.

2. Bought hubby and myself a pair of soft, cuddly heart-shaped pillows that change shape according to the pressure given to them (to hug on our separate reclining sofas) and when I asked him what that type of pillow was called (I wanted to know what they were called in Finnish), he immediately said "Amel" (meaning that was the name he'd given the pillow). My heart melted right away. :-D

3. Two days ago, hubby just booked a short trip to Budapest for us for our upcoming winter holiday. WHOOOPPPEEEE!!! Honeymoon (again)! :-D

4. Making hubby laugh by gazing at him tenderly while saying "I love you", then in a split second I push my face as fast as I can as close as I can to his face with my "scary" look (eyes wide open in a horror movie style). That really made him laugh so much last night that I had to keep doing it a few times - and still he kept on laughing so much every time I did it. *tee hee*

5. Hearing news that my parents are probably going to Bali together with my bro, his wife, and Ken (and maybe with my bro's wife's family too). Happy to hear that they can go on a holiday together!

6. Taking pictures of nature:

First pic: tracks on a frozen river.


Unheated buildings...


Look at the frozen windows!

3BT: Random Days

1. Fresh peaches on a hot summer day. When I lived in Indo, I had never eaten fresh peaches - just canned ones (and I LOVE those canned ones too!) But still no canned peaches can beat fresh ones! Yum yum...

2. Feeling surprised when I saw the rose bush in (almost) full bloom today...look at these lovely pics!





3. Watching droplets of rain water on the flowers' petals:




4. Finding discounted DVDs in a supermarket and now that I have some spare time, I can watch them in peace.

5. It's nice to have a part-time job instead of a full-time job 'coz then I have time to tend to my garden, to watch the above DVDs, and do many other things.

6. Hubby's initiative (can't tell you what he did, though) LOL...

7. Finding a new type of flower blooming in the garden. If anyone can tell me the name of the flower, I'd appreciate it!!! The diameter of the flower is about 3.5 cm.


8. Exercising some parts of my muscles that I didn't know existed with my Wii CD. Felt GREAT after I finished my exercise. Can't wait to do more exercise tomorrow (to help me sleep earlier 'coz gotta do a morning shift on Thursday). :-D :-D :-D

9. Both my parents are OK and enjoying life and my brother and his family are OK too.

10. Thankful that summer here isn't THAT hot - we can survive well without air-con or even a fan. All we need to do is open some windows during the day.

11. Mosquito net for the windows! YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

12. Thankful that the first floor of our house is rather cold, so it's comfy to sit inside the house even on such a scorching day outside (it's even cooler than outside on such hot days).

Home, Ex-Home, Future Home?

Chocolate Girl (Livingsword's wife) wants to know how I felt when coming back to Finland after our trip to Indonesia and how I feel about all the snow here.

Well, to be honest, I was HOPING that I'd get to see snow already when I landed in Rovaniemi airport. Why? Because I knew that it would be dark most of the time already and it's only going to get darker and darker (nowadays the sun rises around 8.30 am and sets around 3.15 pm so we have only around 6 hours and 40 minutes of sunshine per day, provided that the sun is shining and it's not cloudy), so having snow around would help A LOT. Thank GOD snow started to fall the day after we arrived in Finland and it kept on snowing and it didn't melt and turn to ice. I have no problem with snow, but I'm VERY afraid of icy snow!

It felt slightly weird coming back to Lapland from a tropical country, since I was used to three weeks of sunshine and heat, but it felt GOOD to be home, to have our own privacy, to be able to do anything we want without having to think of planning our schedule to meet these relatives and those friends, buying these and those, etc.

Home...mentally I've named Indonesia as my ex-home. I LOVE Indonesia, but right now my home is where R2 is. I've learnt to love Finland, but if for example God takes him away now when we have no kids and I don't know yet what kind of job I want to do here, maybe I'll go back to Indonesia since I've got family and friends there and I know what kind of job I want to do and can do there.

Life is unpredictable and I don't want to be too hard-headed in anything. There's no guarantee yet that Finland will be my home forever, but of course everything changes if there are kids already. I'd want to be there for them, at least until they're grown up and they're ready to be on their own.

Yep, these are just my ramblings about hypothetical situations. I sure hope that God gives us PLENTY more healthy years to come, especially since I haven't lived long enough with R2 in the same country or house.

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All in all, I'm not missing Indonesia, except my family and friends and the glorious food. I started crying the day I was supposed to leave Bandung by bus to go to Cengkareng airport since my SIL called me from the hospital to say goodbye. She thanked me for everything and she said sorry for not being able to escort me. I started choking and I couldn't say the words I wanted to say to her for fear of crying so loudly on the phone. I didn't want to make her feel sad.

My brother managed to meet us at the mall where the bus station was to hug me goodbye. My uncle took us there since my parents have no car now, so in the car there were my uncle, my Mom, me, R2, and my Mom's elder sister. My uncle said to my Mom's elder sister that they'd better escort my Mom for fear that she'd cry. One close friend of mine also escorted me there.

When we started hugging one by one, I almost couldn't stop my tears from falling...while waiting for the bus, my SIL called again to say goodbye and I felt choked again. When I got on the bus and sat down, I started crying, though I tried to control myself so that I wouldn't sob loudly. R2 gazed into my eyes and he rubbed my arm and pat my hand. It was impossible for him to hold me due to the seats and the fact that we have backpacks right between our legs, so that was all that he could do.

After I could control myself a bit, I stood up from inside the bus to give them one last wave of goodbye...I feel SO LOVED...my whole trip in Indonesia was showered with LOVE...I'm GRATEFUL to God who've given me SO MANY loving, caring, attentive, and understanding people. I'm GRATEFUL for my relatives who care SO much for my Mom that they're always trying to make things easier for her. I LOVE THEM ALL!!!!

OK, let me stop here as I'm getting more and more emotional...

Home...let's just see where God takes me to...I'll do my best to make the most of everything He's entrusted to me this moment...

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Taken Young

During my university years, I had plenty of friends. One of them had a brother who was around 5 years younger than her. On the second year at the university, she decided that she wanted to move to Australia to further her studies there. She was already preparing for the student visa and everything. Her mother had a friend who had an Australian citizenship and the friend lived there, so she was ready to help my friend.

While preparing for the papers, her brother got sick. At first they thought that he had sprained his ankle or something since the pain started to come right after he played basketball. He was an active boy and back then he was in Junior High School. They took him to a Shinshe (traditional Chinese medicine man) to have a therapeutic massage and the Shinshe also gave him some medicine (herbal concoction or something).



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The pain didn't dissipate. The massage was painful and he was always crying during the tough ordeal. After all, the boy was only about 14 or 15 years old. His condition didn't get any better. After a while, he even had to use walking sticks to help him walk. The family decided to take him to a doctor and what they found out was really shocking.

He suffered from BONE CANCER!!! X-ray photos showed that the cancer had already eaten parts of his hip bone...no amount of massage therapies could help. He was treated in a hospital for a while and the family fasted and prayed for a miracle. My friend lost A LOT of weight during these agonizing months.

As her friends, my friends and I visited her brother at the hospital, but we didn't even know what to say!!! We knew the condition was already so bad, so we knew it was hopeless unless God decided to give him a miraculous healing. When we were there, we didn't stay long since the brother was crying due to the pain. We almost couldn't bear to see him like that.

My friend's plan to move to Australia was postponed...and in the end it was cancelled when her brother died. Her parents didn't want her to leave, since she was all they've got left. It all happened so fast...I think in less than a year God took him away. Maybe it was for the best so that he didn't suffer too long.

We went to the mortuary to give our condolences and it was such a sad affair. The room was SO full of people: relatives, teachers, school friends. His classmates sang his fave song: "Rain and Tears". He loved playing that song with his guitar, so they said goodbye to him that way. I felt choked with tears...he was taken so young...

We'll never know when God takes away our loved ones...remember not to take them for granted. Life is SO precious...

P.S. Now my friend's gotten married in Indo and she's just given birth to a healthy baby boy. :-))))) One life taken, another life springs forth...the cycle of life...

Fried Ice Cream

Last night all of a sudden I remembered one time when my brother took me to eat fried ice cream in a resto in Indo. He had been telling me about this a while before as his friends took him there. Back then he had his own motorcycle already (but no girlfriend yet), so he decided to bring me there to eat it. He said it was SO tasty!!!

We went to the resto and I was surprised since it was so small and nobody was there. I got an even bigger surprise when the waiter served our fried ice cream, since he lit a match and "burnt" it (FYI, the fried ice cream looked like a big banana fritter or "pisang goreng", but the inside was ice cream). Apparently there was plenty of rum on top of the fried ice cream to set a fire with and the result of the "burning" process was that it smelled REALLY good. So the ice cream tasted warm on the outside and cold on the inside. Quite a combination!!!

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Unfortunately the resto has been closed, I think. We've never been there again after that occasion, but I'll NEVER forget it. It's VERY touching for me to know that my brother wants to share beautiful things (or delicious food) with me.

Even though we're brother and sister (not brother and brother), we've always been close. I was always his escort when he needed to buy a new pair of jeans or shoes before he had a girlfriend. I LOVE him and I LOVE being his elder sister!!! I couldn't have asked for a better "not-so-little-anymore" brother!

I MISSSSSSSSSSSSS HIIIIIIIIIIIIMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!

3BT: Random Days

1. Beautiful white dandruff from heaven he he he he...Yes, today it's snowing again and the flakes are pretty big, so it feels like pure, white dandruff from heaven...mmmmm...

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2. Helping the trainee at our course pronounce words in English he he he he...That was SUPERBLY FUN! ;-D

3. Hubby saving some snack for me since he thought I'd want some. THANK YOU, Bonbonhoneypie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4. Hubby scraping my back again when I felt out of sorts. He's getting better and better at it HO HO HO HO HO HO...And he's calling me a masochist HA HA HA HA HA HA...

5. Calling my Mom again and having fun talking to her. She's SO supportive. She doesn't mind if we go to Singapore later in October if we can do it, even though that means that my time with them will be reduced.

6. Mom told me that the other day she had a talk with my brother and his wife about how many kids they wanted to have. My brother said three and his wife and my Mom was curious why he said that. These days everything's so expensive, so many people opt to have maximum two kids. What he said made me wanna cry and hug him SO tightly in my arms!!! He said, "Look at me! I only have one big sis and now she's living FAR away from me and I'm all alone now."

Well, I hope that his life will be more fun with the birth of his baby later on in October he he he...

7. The smell of menthol body balm from Indonesia. Mmmmmmmm...

8. Opening up the front door for the old man on the first floor. He talked to me a bit, but I could only understand half of what he was saying hi hi hi...but at least I did talk to him a bit, so that was a good practise, right? *GRIN*

9. The possibility of going on another trip together with my friends next Monday or Tuesday and maybe we can grill some sausages in a park or something. I HOPE SOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! ;-D

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3BT: Random Days Again

Note: I've been busy again, so I'll only blog-hop during the weekend, OK? But I may still write short posts so that my blog isn't too outdated he he he...Take GOOD care of yourself and love yourself, everybody!!!

1. Getting student money = I can buy fruit more often HI HI HI HI HI HI HI...

2. Talking to my sis-in-law and Mom over the phone. Glad to hear they're all fine and that my sis-in-law's pregnancy is still going fine. :-D

3. Hearing news that my brother got quite a nice amount of bonus from work. YAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

4. My mom-in-law's thoughtfulness. She always looks out for me without interfering. I LOVE the way she loves me and I hope she knows that I love her, too. :-))))

5. Snow truck guys working so hard today since it's been SO wet today ---> it was raining water today!!! THANK YOU, guys!!!

6. Not falling off while walking on icy snow. Phew!!! I'm SO glad he he he...

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7. Still feeling so much passion for my hubby. Passion fluctuates, yet when it comes out strongly, it's still SO strong that it would like to burst out of my chest. I hope that I can keep this up until one of us dies.

8. Kissessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss. I LOVE kisses!!!

9. Buying something for someone today, but I can't tell what it is or for whom since that person may read this post HUA HA HA HA HA HA HA...*wink*

10. Being able to curb my appetite to buy chips and instead I use the money to buy apples HE HE HE HE HE...

Possibility: October Trip

Hi again, everybody! I was SO glad that I woke up feeling MUCH better than last night. Arttu coined me again (he's becoming an expert in it HA HA HA) and I skipped my Taebo session in order to sleep more.

Remember I told you that our teacher had a headache yesterday? Right after lunch today, she looked awful. At around 1.30 pm, she told us that she needed to go to the doctor, so she told us to go home. It's unsure yet whether she can make it tomorrow or not, but she'll let one of us know via SMS and that person will spread the message to us.

Last night I asked Arttu to check on the cheapest tickets available for us. I told him that I found cheap tickets in October and November. At first he wanted to go earlier than that, but I said that I could only find very expensive tickets if we went to Indonesia for example in August. I don't want to go to Indo in September since it's the fasting month in Indonesia and there'll be traffic jam here and there. Plus Arttu will probably be confused when he hears people banging on some drums and walking around the neighbourhood at around 3.30 or 4 am to wake other people up to eat before they start their long fasting days.

Then he'll have to contact his boss to find out whether he can take some time off in October or not, because he's supposed to get his 3 weeks' holiday sometime this summer. We'll see how it goes, then.

Today I received an SMS from my brother. He said that Shen was currently 7 weeks' pregnant. That means that if there's no change in my arrival and departure dates, I'll be in Indonesia when she's 38-40 weeks' pregnant. That means there's a BIG chance that I'll be there for her delivery or to see the newborn baby he he he...I hope the baby won't linger too long inside her belly so that I can see him/her. My brother wants a daughter, but Shen doesn't mind whether it's a boy or a girl as long as the baby's perfectly healthy. ;-D

Well, my mother-in-law's birthday is also coming up (3 days before Arttu's b-day on March 20th). I haven't found her anything yet, but since there's a long holiday starting on the 21st, I'm planning to bake something for the two of them on March 20th, as we'll probably go to Kelujärvi on March 21st he he he...We'll see about that.

OK, now I'm going to blog-hop a bit and cook since I have no homework. But I'm going to study a bit afterward he he he...

"Let us rise up and be thankful; for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful."

Buddha

Read this story earlier and I'd love to share it with you:

Living Proof - Miracles Do Happen

My Parents' 30th Wedding Anniversary + Books

I'm baaaaccckkkkk already!!! Couldn't get a haircut since it was fully booked already. They only had one spot open for next Tuesday at 1 pm. YARGH!!! I can't possibly do it then since my course starts next Monday, so I said I'd give it a thought. I feel like cutting my hair myself later, but we'll see if I dare do it or not HE HE HE HE HE HE...

Anyway, after I got back home, I felt the urge to call my parents. It was weird since I had called them already 8 days ago, yet the urge felt SO strong. Well, I thought to myself, "Well, why not call them again since starting next Monday I'll be busy anyway?"

And what did I find out when I called my parents? It's their 30th wedding anniversary!!! Yeah, I had forgotten about it ha ha ha ha ha...but somehow my subconscious mind must have remembered it. That was probably why I felt the urge to call them in the first place!

I also heard good news about my brother. He had a raise!!! ;-D Thus he treated my parents today by ordering some delicious food from the restaurant where I got married (Queen's Restaurant). They have VERY delicious food and right now I'm DROOLING all over the place as I WANT to eat those food (yang cheow rice - I don't know how to spell it - and beef steak)!!!! ARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHH he he he he...

I had a chance to talk to my parents and also to my brother and his wife. ;-D So it was fun for me!!! As usual, my brother was teasing me on the phone he he he he...I told him that if he had ever had enough money to visit me, then he should definitely come. ;-D

Other than that, today I received one of the books I won in eBay (Secrets of the Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg) and also a book from Fish. Fish and I made a book exchange deal a while ago, so I'm EXCITED to read the book she recommended (One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson) he he he he he...THANK YOU SO MUCH, Fish!!! I hope you enjoy the book I sent you!!!

Hmmm...Maybe I'd better read her book fast this week before I get too busy next week HE HE HE HE HE HE...

To my parents, I hope they grow gentler and more loving towards each other and they let God break down all their insecurities and their past issues and their internal wounds so that they can enjoy a fulfilling marriage until their last breath...May God's love run through their hearts and minds and souls forever...Love you bothhhhhhh...

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Blah Blahs Again

1. One thing I like about exercising with Billy Blanks Taebo CDs is the fact that in one CD, there's this huge banner on one of the walls: "Walk by Faith, Not by Sight". Each time I exercise using that CD, I'll always read that banner and remember to walk by faith, not by sight.

2. We've all heard this adage "Life is what you make it", but I think in marriage life, "Love is what you make it" applies.

3. This evening's class is cancelled again since the teacher's still sick. I sure do hope she'll get well enough for next Tuesday's class. After all, we'll only get 22 lessons and we've already lost 2 of them.

4. "Tai" in Finnish means "or", whereas "hai" in Finnish means "shark".

5. My orders have arrived at the local PO today (the condoms for my brother and for us), so I should burn the DVD for my brother and a CD for a friend of mine this evening. Busy, busy, busy...then tomorrow morning I should get up early to send the package to my friend in Germany. I sure do hope the package will arrive soon in her office (she says that packages have arrived late in her office recently) so that she can bring it to Indonesia next March. *crossing my fingers* I think I'm going to send it using priority mail he he he he he he...

My Conversation with Mom

The other day when I talked to my Mom via Skype, as usual we talked about so many things. Among others, she told me about the newlyweds and how life's been going on after the new bride moved into the house.

Apparently after the wedding, my brother and his wife go to their offices together in the morning by motorcycle. So my brother drops her off first, then he goes to his own workplace. Then in the evenings, since my brother's wife gets home earlier, her Dad picks her up and takes her to her grandma's place. Even before they got married, she and her family oftentimes spend the afternoons or evenings in their grandma's place before they go home. Then when it's time for my brother to go home from work (about an hour later), he'll pick her up at her grandma's house. Sometimes when it's raining, her Dad would drop her off at my parents' place by car. That way my brother's wife's parents get to meet her every day, so they won't miss her too much. ;-D

I just found out, as well, that prior to the wedding, my brother's wife was thinking of starting her own business. Well, as some of you know, my Mom sells food in a traditional market, so does my brother's wife's mother. However, my Mom knows how lame the economical situation has been in the market, so she said this to her, "I hope you'll reconsider your decision. I'm not trying to control your life or anything, but think about it this way: considering the economical situation these days, if I were you, I wouldn't stop working full-time. After all, by doing so, you'll get a steady stream of income every month. Plus you've worked for this company for years, so your salary rate is pretty good already. Moreover, if you want to give money to your parents, you'll have more freedom. And by all means, do give them some money."

Mom knows that her younger brother's still studying at the university, so her parents still need to gather lots of money to fund his education.

Then Mom said that right after the newlyweds came back home from their honeymoon in Bali, my brother's wife mopped the floor right away. Then when her parents came to visit her, Mom said in front of them to my brother's wife, "If you're tired and you don't feel like mopping the floor, you don't have to do it. In this house, I don't mop the floor every single day, so you don't have to do it. I don't mind. Do it only when you have time and when you feel like it."

My brother's wife tried to wash her own clothes and my brother's clothes separately a few times, but then a few times my Mom washed all the clothes together and ironed them. Then my brother's wife said, "Oh, Mom, you don't have to do that!"

My Mom replied, "Well, I'll only do it when I have the energy and the mood. If I feel tired and I don't feel like it, I won't do it, so don't worry about it, okay?"

Mom also tells me that these days she sleeps earlier, at around 7.30 pm, along with my Dad. That way she hopes that the newlyweds will get more "privacy" he he he he he...Well, after all, my Mom has to wake up at around 3.30 or 4 am every morning to start preparing the food to sell. :-))) And Dad usually wakes up at around 5 am to help out. Well, I'm glad that it seems they're adjusting to life with their daughter-in-law smoothly. ;-D

Random Musings and Babblings

1. The more I learn from and about others, the more I realize that I don't know anything much.

2. I have an unteachable heart, especially when I get unsolicited advice. This has been one of my problems ever since I was young. I have a rebellious heart and for that, I hope God will help me change it. I don't want to have an unteachable heart anymore. Plus I also don't want to have pride growing inside me. Sometimes the tall weeds of pride grow pretty quickly in my heart and I feel smug, even though a part of me abhors it. Heaven help me! I'm pretty helpless in these departments!

3. The last time I talked to Mom on the phone (via Skype), she said something interesting to me. She's been preparing my brother's lunch for years now, but when his wife started living in their house, she told her, "I'm going to keep on preparing my son's lunch, but you can prepare your own lunch. That way you can grab anything you want."

You see, my Mom knows already what my brother likes and dislikes, but she doesn't know yet what my brother's wife likes and dislikes, so she wants to give her freedom. And Mom wants to keep on preparing for my brother's lunch since she knows already how much rice there should be, etc. She said to me that if my brother's wife wanted to take over that task later on (after finding out how much the portion should be for my brother), then that's fine for her.

I find that...INSPIRING!!! :-D

4. You know when you start getting to know someone, but you don't really share any personal stories yet, and then it comes one point when you say to yourself, "OK, this is it. I'm going to risk myself by sharing this and that, and if he/she reacts positively, then I know that I can begin to form a closer friendship with him/her"?

Well, that was what happened to me and my Brit friend yesterday and it felt GREAT!!! ;-D She's also EXCITED about our plan to start trying to have a baby at the end of this year and she gives me some advice. Since her own sons are teenagers now and she used to be a nurse, I can call her if I ever need help with my own kids HE HE HE HE HE...After all, my own Mom is far away from me now.

5. Yesterday Arttu's second brother sent him an email. Apparently he'd been reading my blog, so he knew what had happened to Arttu after the birthday party. JARPPPPAAAAAA, if you're reading this post, why don't you write me some comments every now and then, eh? HE HE HE HE HE...

Anyway, Arttu was confused why his brother knew about all of that, so he asked, "Did you write about everything in your blog?" I said yes, and upon hearing that, he said, "Nice going! Now the whole world knows that I'm an a**h***!"

I explained to him that I had been writing so much positive stuff about him and if I kept on doing that, nobody would believe me since he would be "too perfect" HE HE HE HE HE HE...He just smiled and shook his head in disbelief when he heard my explanation HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...

Memories From the Past: Schooldays

Let's reminisce again, shall we? I have a funny story to tell about my brother. I'm glad he doesn't read this blog 'coz I think he might kill me if he reads this one ha ha ha ha ha...But first, let me tell you about me.

The other day my closest friends and I talked about our first crushes. One of them had a "boyfriend" when she was as young as 6 years old. I told them that my first crush was probably when I was around 7 or 8 years old. I was still in Elementary School back then and we had two 10-minute breaks during the day or one 20-minute break (they changed the system during the time I was there). As usual, kids would play and run around the school yard. When I had a crush on that boy, I used to suggest playing cops and bandits. I LOVED playing as a cop since I ran pretty fast and then I could catch the bandit (the boy I had a crush on) by hugging him HI HI HI HI HI HI HI HI...Ahem!!!

It was an innocent hugggggggggggg!!! And of course he didn't mind it since it was a game and the cops were supposed to catch the bandits by hugging them, OKAY? That's the rule HI HI HI HI HI HI...Doh! Who am I trying to convince here? LOL!!!

Anyway, do you remember your VERY first crush? How old were you back then? Do you remember his/her name? I still remember the boy's name and his face, though he's probably changed A LOT now that over 20 years have passed by he he he...

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Now on to my brother...unlike schools in America, in Indonesia the teachers come to our classrooms, so we stayed in the same assigned classroom all through the school year (except for university students). Most teachers disliked it when the students asked to go to the toilet, since it bothered them, I guess. Usually they only allowed one student or two to go to the toilet, but no more. One time my brother's teacher was unhappy since one student after another asked for permission to go to the toilet. Then she stated in front of the class, "I will NOT allow anyone to go to the toilet during MY lessons. Period."

Being an obedient student, my brother obeyed her. However, one day during the teacher's lesson, a girl sitting next to my brother yelled at the teacher, "Teacher, teacher, he peed on the floor!" while pointing to my brother.

The teacher was shocked, but then she came closer to inspect the situation. She immediately asked my brother to tell my Mom that she had to go to school to have a meeting with her hi hi hi hi hi hi...

You know what she said to my Mom? She said that when she went to inspect my brother's desk, she realized that my brother's pants were dry, yet the floor WAS wet HA HA HA HA HA...And she said that she was sorry for having told them that she wouldn't allow anyone to go to the toilet during her lessons. Oh dear...Actually, my brother had done the act more than once already, simply to obey the teacher hi hi hi hi hi...Ain't he something? LOL!!!

Now I hope after publishing this post, this blog will still be considered family-friendly HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...

Proud of My Brother

Update on my rashes: Earlier Arttu called the health center, but then it was already full, so the nurse told him that if I could wait till tomorrow, then I should go there tomorrow. She also asked if I had taken any antihistamine or not. I didn't know that we could buy antihistamine without prescription in the pharmacy. I don't really know how the system works here, but since it was still 5.30 pm, we managed to go to the pharmacy (it closes at 6 pm on weekdays) and the pharmacist wanted to see my rashes and she suggested some antihistamine tablets for us. There were so many different kinds, including Zyrtec that Trinity told me about. THANKS for telling me about that, Trinity! Zyrtec cost thrice this type of table that we bought. I sure do hope that this tablet works for me. If the condition doesn't get any better tomorrow, I'll DEFINITELY go to the doctor he he he...

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Anyway, this morning I called my parents again since it was my Dad's birthday. I just said happy birthday to him and wished him good health. We didn't talk long, but I talked for a LONG time with my Mom he he he he he...It's always SO MUCH FUN talking to my Mom!

I told her that the other day in the sauna, I asked hubby, "Would it be too fast if we try having a baby at the end of next year?" and he said no.

I want to make sure we're both ready, 'coz I'm FAR away from my own Mom and even though my in-laws are GREAT and KIND people, they also live 25 min. away from us and my father-in-law's got Alzheimer, so I don't wanna burden them. That means that hubby and I have to be totally ready to help each other when the baby comes he he he...

Upon hearing that, my Mom said, "It's fine with me. Just do what you think is right." YEEEEEEEEESSSSSS!!! BRAVO for my Mom he he he he...I just feel GLAD that she's ALWAYS so supportive!!! ;-D Even when Arttu still hadn't got a permanent job yet, she still encouraged me to marry him as long as I knew he'd make me happy. I only wish I could be a great Mom like her when the time comes. ;-D

Anyway, I'm also PROUD of my brother. He's started paying for the electric and phone and water bills ever since my Dad stopped working. Then now he's started giving Mom some food money monthly. What makes me proud of him was the fact that he said this to Mom when he started giving her food money, "Mom, I'm going to start giving you food money every month, but PLEASE don't get it wrong. I'm not asking you to cook for us or anything. I just want to give you some food money every month."

The fact that he took into account my mother's feelings about getting that money was what made me feel SO proud of him. ;-D He knows that the business situation in Indonesia has been pretty bad and that my Mom can barely save any money from selling food in the traditional market, though she still has enough to buy food for everybody, but still he wants to make sure that my Mom doesn't need to worry about money.

Mom told me that she'd save the money if she didn't need to use it and that she would still be cooking for the four of them, but she wouldn't be angry if they (my brother and wife) chose not to eat what she cooked and instead ordered food from a resto. Bravo for Mom, as well!!! ;-D

It seems to me that my brother and wife have brought sunshine to my mother's life, as well. Things haven't been really well with my Dad lately. He starts getting angry again if Mom reminds him to eat or to take his medication. Sometimes even when Mom says something INNOCENT, he'd get upset and snap, "You don't appreciate me anymore since I no longer work, but I am STILL the head of the family." Oh dear...how can you tell a man that it's his broken ego that's the problem, not what other people say about him?

Prayers for my Dad, please. I hope God will heal his mental wounds so that he would stop thinking that whatever other people say is meant to hurt him and his pride. He's attached his self-value in his work so much so that now that he's retired, it's getting tough for him to accept the situation, even though he told me that he was okay with it already.

I also wrote him an email for my brother to print-out for my Dad...hoping that it could nudge him into the realization that the problem is inside his own head, not what my Mom says or does.

Oh well...it's long enough, I guess. I'll write about the Second Part of the Christmas party soon then he he he he...I still feel some itch here and there, but not as strongly as Christmas Eve.

Take care, everybody, and hopefully you'll all stay well!!!!

3BT: December 20, 2007

1. Seeing hubby adding some ribbons to one of my gifts to make it look nicer. *grin*

2. Talking to Mom via Skype. Now that I'm getting some income, I can buy Skype credit myself = I can call my parents more often. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!!!

3. Writing "I love you and I miss you" SMS to my brother and getting the same reply HUE He HE HE HE HE HE HE...*Cheshire cat grin*

4. Buying some frozen pastry 'coz I plan on making some luumu torttu (plum pastry) today. The anticipation is killing me HUA HA HA HA HA HA HA...

5. Something funny happened this afternoon. Hubby came home for lunch break at around 2 pm, then I asked him to give me a ride to a supermarket. He did so, then while I was on the check-out counter and I was about to go home, I spotted a VERY familiar jacket and I realized it was HUBBY!!! Since it's a very small village, he went to the office and then he had to go back to that same supermarket to fix something there HA HA HA HA HA HA...It was SO funny!!! ;-D

6. Hubby calling me not long after that, asking me where I was since I was first planning on going to Lidl afterward. I guess he was done fixing something in the supermarket and so he wanted to give me a lift to Lidl since I had many things to carry already. Bless him!!!

7. It's a very small village here, so it only takes him one minute or two to get to his office from our apt. And since the supermarkets are located downtown, it takes only the same amount of time to drop me off in one of them since there aren't any traffic jams here. I'm GRATEFUL for this, since a friend of mine who works in Jakarta spends at least a total of 3 hours each day on the road to go to her office and back home.