3BT: Random Days

1. Hubby said the other day with a winning smile on his face, "I got a jackpot when I married you." Awwwwwwwwww...I melted right away...;-D

2. Every time I think that my work shift is going to be hellish, I send a little prayer to God for help and He always makes things better for us all who are working that day.

3. Finally had a chance to meet my friend yesterday and we had a nice time chit-chatting about different topics for hours!!! :-D

4. Hot days in between cooler days with some rain in between, so it's not too hellish esp. to sleep at nights.

5. Making progress in doing a puzzle even though in the beginning I got stuck badly (the first big puzzle I've ever done on my own).

6. Finding very cheap summer sandals and also something else for Ken on a HUGE discount. :-D

7. R2 has a week off next week due to his accumulated overtime so we're going to the cabin sometime next week when I don't have any work shifts. YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!! Quality time, people! Can't wait!

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Back from Pori!!!

Hi, guys!

Finally I have time to rest and blog. Arrived at 11 pm on Sunday night and I had to go to bed right away 'coz at 5.45 I had to get up to get ready to work and yesterday I had an evening shift, so I could rest longer on Monday night.

R2 took us to the bus station on Wed morning and the bus was already there. The bus trip went fine and we got off in the train station. The train was waiting for us already, so we found our seats and sat down right away. Then it started raining in Rovaniemi. Along the way from Rovaniemi to Parkano (probably around 800 km), it kept on pouring rain (the train stopped in many stations).

In some parts it rained so hard and when we were nearing Parkano's train station, we got up to get prepared to get off, but then the train stopped before we reached the station. After waiting for 20 minutes, there was an announcement that there had been storms there around the area and there were fallen trees on the train tracks, so they had to get rid of them before we could continue our journey.

So we decide to sit down again 'coz we didn't know how long it was going to take. From the seats, we could see many fallen trees all around us. Yep...my first train journey in Finland and this kind of thing happened. Anyhow, passengers started calling the people who were going to pick them up to let them know about this condition. In the end, the train was 45 minutes late. BIL then took us to their rented cabin in Kihniö. Kihniö is an area in Parkano and Parkano is about 1-1,5 hour drive from Pori. Here let me show you the map from Sodankylä to Pori.


If you want to see the inside of the train, go to this link: Intercity Juna. Scroll down the page a little and then you'll find a picture of the train. We sat in Vaunu 2. Click on it and then scroll down the page again and under the picture, click on "Katso panoraama-kuva". Alataso means 1st floor and ylätaso means the second floor (we sat on the 1st floor). You can also see the other car and restaurant panorama pictures by visiting the first link.

Anyway, BIL told us that the electricity in Parkano had been switched off due to the storm, including in the cabin area. He still had to buy some groceries, but he took us first to the cabin to rest. Then he took off to find an open store near the area. SIL and I then left MIL in the cabin to rest while we went to the outdoor grilling place to cook some chicken. It was our first time to grill anything on our own, but we managed to do it pretty well ha ha ha...

Here are some pics of the cabin:


I slept on this red sofabed. The fireplace next to it can be used to grill sausages. :-D


Here's a pic of the fireplace:



The door on the left is the bedroom. The closed door leads to the toilet, shower, and sauna. Behind the fireplace there's a small kitchenette plus the fridge and a dishwasher.


Here's the view outside from inside the cabin:


That day we had dinner together inside the cabin 'coz there were so many mosquitoes outside. BIL came back right on time to eat. Then we just talked and played cards. Finally at around 11 pm the lights went on again and we could turn on the sauna. After sauna we played cards again until late. I'm gonna share more pics later on. Now I'm going to blog-hop a little.

Lazy Blogger

I've been a lazy blogger lately. I haven't been blogging nor bloghopping much. I just don't feel like it. Anyway, yesterday we had Wii game night with R2's brother. His girlfriend couldn't come due to something, so it was just the three of us, 'coz R2's cousin wasn't feeling well, so he cancelled coming here.

It was SO MUCH FUN!!! However, I must PROTEST 'coz when we played tennis, I had to be ALONE (playing two characters at once), whereas R2 and his brother could play in pair. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR...Of course I lost in the end, but it wasn't too embarrassing 'coz I won 2 games out of 5 he he he...

Then we played Rayman Raving Rabbids and we tried 3 dance games there. It was SO funny when we tried to follow the directions on screen HUI HI HI HI HI HI HI HI...

We spent 5 hours playing Tiger Woods golf game as we decided to play 18 holes he he he...I came second and R2 lost. Poor R2 he he he he he he...

On Friday we went to the cabin to spend a lovely night there. The sun was shining so brightly when we got up. It was hard to get back to sleep since the windows had no dark curtains. I made a short video clip to show you the "road" from the cabin to my in-laws' place just so you know how close it is. Here goes:



If you watch the video clip, you'll notice piles of snow on both sides of the "road" from the cabin towards the house. R2's second brother had to clear up the "road" a few days before so that we could go to the cabin by car, because otherwise we couldn't have gone to the cabin.

This week is my last week in the Finnish classes as they have run out of budget to support me and my friends who aren't really students in the school. So starting next week I've got no more homework. :-(((( But my friends and I MAY organize some kind of study group on our own. We'll see about that.

Meanwhile, it's been pretty warm these days. Saturday it was around 5'C, so I decided to make a snowman albeit without face and arms ha ha ha ha...Here's a pic of my snowman. Can you believe making a snowman in APRIL?!?!?!?! It can only happen here in northern Finland hi hi hi hi hi hi...Anyway, if you wonder about my outfit, it's because I just came out of sauna, so I was feeling SO hot. I didn't need any jacket he he he...


And here is a pic that I took at around 8.10 pm on Saturday. Look how bright it is!!! Midnight Sun is coming SOON he he he he...


And when I looked at this, I felt GLAD I had my camera with me, so I took it out as quickly as possible HUE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...


OK, so there goes my weekend. Now I need to read my grammar book for tomorrow. I've got some homework!!!! :-D I'll blog-hop later today.

3BT: Random Days

1. I got cranky the other day (yes, again!) and my super patient hubby really knew how to make me smile. He took the initiative to wash the pile of dishes in the kitchen hi hi hi hi...That made me un-cranky! ;-D

2. Again hubby did something for me that he knew I'd need, even though it didn't even cross my mind. THANK YOU SO MUCH for thinking of MY needs, Honey!!!

3. We DID go to the cabin to spend a WONDERFUL night underneath a VERY STARRY sky (along with a beautiful golden crescent). SPLENDID!!! Oh, and did I mention that the cabin is the place where he proposed me? That's why that place will ALWAYS be memorable for me.

4. I laughed like crazy until tears came out of my eyes and I couldn't even stop to speak. Yes, that kind of laughter! It's been a while since I laughed like that, so it felt SO SO SO SO SO good!

5. My MIL told me about her mother's life story. I'm going to write about this later. I LOVE hearing stories as my Mom always tells me stories and my MIL really reminds me of my own mother. :-)))

6. Seeing a group of waxwings (or tilhi in Finnish) flying over me (about 1,5 metres ahead of me). It was quite a moment! I'd NEVER have been able to experience it had I stayed in Indo he he he...

7. My mind isn't so full of questions, pressures, and self-accusations anymore. I don't know how long this will last and when I get my answers, but I'm going to take it E-A-S-Y!

8. My brother sent me some family pics, including Ken's. He looks fatter now hi hi hi hi...Here he is:

The Good and The Bad

Well, I guess I'd better spill the bad news first, right? Found out last Friday that our flight from Rovaniemi to Helsinki in October wasn't confirmed. In fact, that particular airline no longer had flights on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (I guess because there aren't too many people having holidays to Lapland by then). We contacted the travel agent and today we got info that we could either cancel everything and get the full refund or we could be get the refund for the flight from Rovaniemi to Helsinki and they'd find us an alternative. The alternative flight means that we have to add €300.

I was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO angry when I heard that. Imagine what we can use with €300!!! I wanted to kill somebody...or sue somebody. Yeah, all the devils in Amel have reared their ugly heads and all I wanted to do was S-C-R-E-A-M-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR...I was amazed that hubby was so calm, though...As usual, his calmness was like a firefighter that doused my "flames of anger". I feel sad 'coz hubby has to pay extra for our trip, but then again it's better to do it than to cancel the whole trip.

We did try to find a cheaper alternative to go to Helsinki, but there's no other option. We can go to Helsinki by train, but it's not too much cheaper. Plus it takes a long time to go there, so it's still not a better option in many ways.

Okay, now I've let out some steam. Time for the good things in life he he he he...Our cabin trip turned out to be a HONEYMOOOONNN HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...In every way! *wink wink*

First of all, though, we had to work hard, or Arttu had to work hard he he he...My in-laws have decided to change the two single beds in the cabin with a sofa-bed in their living-room. That means they'll buy a new sofa-bed for their living room. R2 went there by tractor with his Dad while my MIL and I walked there. Then we started taking out the two single beds plus the mattresses. Then Arttu took the sofa-bed inside and after that my MIL and FIL went back to their house.

Arttu still had to rearrange the furniture and he had to chop some firewood and heat up the sauna. We had this joke while he was chopping up some wood that had some blue paint on.

Amel : Do you think it'll be burnt well, since there's still a coat of paint there?
Arttu: It can be poisonous, so I'd better burn it now so that we can leave the place and wait until it's heated up before we go in.
Amel : Poisonous? Really?
Arttu: I don't know.
Amel : Hmmm...well, if it IS poisonous, at least we're going to die together. How romantic!
Arttu: Indeeeeedddddddd!

HUE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...After that we got back to my in-laws' for a while, then we finally got back to the cabin once the sauna was warm enough. Arttu went skinny dipping (literally he was just dipping himself for about 10 seconds since the water was COOOOLLLDDD). I didn't go since I couldn't handle it he he he he he...

Then Arttu lit up the fireplace inside the cabin and we had to wait before we could grill the sausages and hamburgers there. Since we were SO hungry already, we were munching on the chips we brought there hi hi hi hi...Munch, munch, munch...uuuuhhh so hungry!!! And finally we could eat the hamburgers and sausages. VERY delicious!!!

I won't tell the details about the rest of the night, though HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...Let's just say that it was beyond my expectation since I didn't expected anything like honeymoon HA HA HA HA HA HA...Here are some pics of the cabin:




Okay, time to blog-hop a little bit later. I'll blog-hop more tomorrow, OK? Mondays are always busy since I have to buy grocery, exercise, and cook when I finish work he he...

First Wedding Anniversary: Starry, Starry Night!

Venue: My parents-in-laws' cabin. No electricity. We lit the fireplace, some candles, and an oil lamp. Dates: November 2nd - 3rd, 2007. Occasion: First Wedding Anniversary.

Food: Hamburger and sausages, cooked in the fireplace.

Drinks: Cold cider and plain water.

Music: Anything the radio played that night.

Temperature: Around -5'C to -9'C. (I got out a few times to pee in the outdoor toilet)

Bonuses: A box of Praline chocolate, a VERY starry night sky, and a crescent.

Note: It was an AWESOME sight! The cabin was located far away from city lights so the stars were prominent in the sky. I didn't know that the stars could be seen even very low above the horizon. There were literally tens of thousands or probably a million stars that I could see everywhere I turned!!! Gosh!!! I almost wanted to throw a sleeping bag on the ground and just camp there under the stars he he he...

Magical Moments:

1. Hubby gazed at me for a LONG time as though he was looking at me for the first time, with lovey-dovey eyes. Mmmmm...*drool*

2. Se on salaisuus. It's a secret. *wink* Too personal to tell here HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...

3. Having enough quality time with my hubby. We talked about our rough plans for the future. I just wanted to make sure that we were on the same track. We also talked about the past, about last year's wedding and honeymoon. We both agree that this year is DEFINITELY MUCH better than last year. ;-D

4. Gazing at the stars whenever I came out to pee in the outdoor toilet. Mmmmh...I kept on turning my head round and round and round and there was no spot in the sky that wasn't covered by the stars. Amazing!!! Then when I came out the second time, I saw a crescent in the sky along with the stars. My, my, my!!!

5. My mother-in-law has already planned to give me something for my upcoming birthday on November 29th. BLESS HER HEART!!!! How can I not love that woman? ;-D She was going to give me some money for a haircut he he he...Hubby helped me explain to her that I wasn't planning on cutting my hair yet as I wanted long hair to help warm up my ears during winter. ;-D

6. Receiving so many anniversary well-wishes from family, friends, blogger friends. ;-D

Here are some pics:

We arrived at the cabin at around 9 pm. We arrived in Kelujärvi already at 6 pm, but then Arttu had to go to the cabin first to warm it up. He got back after a while and then we played some cards after drinking coffee and eating some buns (we = me, Arttu, and my mother-in-law). The sky DID look GORGEOUS like that in the morning (I took the first pic at around 7.20 am).


The below pic was taken right when we arrived at the cabin. It was pitch dark already by then.


Ta-daaaa....here I am eating sausage ha ha ha ha ha ha...


The below pic was taken at around 7 am. It was so foggy.


This crescent pic isn't too clear. Next time I'd better bring my tripod 'coz there are just some things I can't capture well without it.


The sun was shining brightly at around 10 am. We were preparing to leave the cabin to go back to my in-laws' place to enjoy breakfast there.


Me posing in front of the semi-frozen lake in front of the cabin he he...


This is the inside of the cabin. Yes, we had to cram ourselves by sleeping on that single bed he he he he he...Right on to the right side is a long table, then you can see the two single beds, and two fireplaces on the left side. The open fireplace is no longer used.




The below pic was taken in summer. I posted it here so you can see the other side of the cabin. Yeah, as you can see, one of my most fave spots on earth is Arttu's lap he he he he he he...


Arttu had to scrape ice layer from our car windows. Our car was covered by a thin layer of ice.


This below video isn't too clear, but you can at least see what we did with the burger steaks ha ha ha ha ha...

3BT: October 30, 2007

1. Feeling RICH BEYOND BELIEF. I just can't believe I have SO MANY BLOGGER friends right now whom I can consider TRUE friends. Plus I get to learn A LOT from each and every one of them and I get all the support and encouragement that I need. I LOVE this life! My cup runneth overrrrrr...he he he he he he he he he he...

2. Seeing a cute bird landing on our balcony he he he he...

3. Listening to Choc Mint Girl's Christmas music choices...SO SERENE and PEACEFUL!

4. Hubby saying VERY VERY sweet words to me. (He doesn't do it too often, which surprises me whenever he's in the mood of saying such things)...I felt like flying to heaven already when he said those words to me and my eyes got a bit wet HE HE HE HE...YIIIIPPPIIIIIIEEEEE!!!!! ;-D

****** Just to remind myself of his words...when he smiled so happily as he went home for lunch today, I told him that it was as though he had won a lottery or something 'coz he looked THAT happy. He said, "Of course I did. I married you. You make me happy."

5. The anticipation I feel to go to the cabin. YEEEEEEEEESSSS!!! We're gonna bring some drinks and hamburger and sausage and cook them in the fireplace. Plus we can put the drinks outside to make them cool he he he he...Natural fridge!!! Prediction: it's gonna be around 0'C this Saturday he he he he...

6. Going to another Finnish class today. After taking a break for two weeks (last week the teacher got sick), I can't wait to have my classes again. Plus I get to meet my friends HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO...

Operation Speak Up

Karen wrote Silence is Golden in her blog. I told her that in my life, I have to learn the other way around, especially here in Finland. I'm always afraid of trying to practise my Finnish. So the creative Karen has made me a button to launch Operation Speak Up.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for this button, buddy!!! ;-D

This operation is for everyone who's shy, who's afraid of making mistakes when practising a new language, who's afraid of speaking up their thoughts in general. This operation is to challenge anyone to move outside their comfort zone and to take risks by speaking up their minds.

I have promised Karen that I'd try to speak to my mother-in-law yesterday before I launched this operation. Turned out that I didn't have to do anything much as she was the one who initiated the conversation. Arttu was taking a nap after lunch, and since I wasn't sleepy, I got back to the living room where my mother-in-law was cooking. I thought even if we couldn't talk, I'd be able to help out if she wanted to. However, she was almost done already, so she didn't ask for my help. While waiting for the food to be cooked in the oven, she then tried to talk to me.

First of all, she said this slowly: "How old...(then she spoke some words in Finnish)?" I thought she wanted to know the age difference of my parents, so I held up four fingers. She realized I didn't get it hi hi hi...so she took a Post-It note and wrote down her own age on it. Then I realized that she wanted to ask my parents' age. So I told her and she said, "Ahhh...nuori, nuori." (nuori = young)

Then she started asking about other stuff, as well. It was a pretty funny conversation 'coz sometimes she repeated her question several times just to make sure I understood. My problem was that sometimes I understood her question, but it took me a long time to find the words in Finnish and to create a sentence using the words, so she thought I didn't understand, so she repeated the question. Next time I should find out the words for: "Let me think." He he he he he...

Then at one point we had a hard time understanding each other, so she went to her room, took out her pocket English dictionary, and tried to find words to help her explain to me what she wanted to know. I TRULY appreciated her effort in trying to converse with me. I've gotta tell you that I was sweating during the first 5-10 minutes 'coz I knew I was all alone (Arttu couldn't help me) and I had no dictionary with me. But it turned out to be better than expected. Why? Because she was so determined in talking to me with her very limited English, it encouraged me to talk to her with my very limited Finnish. Plus we got to laugh in between when we had a hard time trying to say something in those languages he he he he he...

At another point, we had another difficult time in understanding each other. Gladly by then Arttu had woken up, so he helped me a little. He refused to help me a lot, dang him! Yeah, I know it's good for me to practise, but sometimes I hope he'd help me more by giving his mother a more detailed answer (I can only give simple answers) he he he...

I've gotta tell you that with very limited knowledge, one has gotta be a good guesser, too ha ha ha...One time she asked me about my parents' jobs. I didn't know the Finnish word for "retired", so I told her that my Dad stopped working last year. She then tried to look up the word in her pocket dictionary and showed it to me, and I said YES!!! It felt GOOD to be able to understand each other he he he...

I also told her that my brother was going to get married this December. Then she said, "Oh, but you're here, so you can't go to his wedding, right?" I said that he'd send me pictures of his wedding via email he he he...Then she asked about taxes system in Indonesia (at this point Arttu was our translator 'coz it was too hard for me to explain) and about Christmas celebration he he he...

Anyway, when we got back home, Arttu joked, "I should leave you alone in my parents' place for a few weeks." GRRRRRRR he he he he...

But all in all, I felt SO HAPPY 'coz yesterday I spoke the most Finnish ever since I moved here! I'm gonna try to practise my Finnish with them again next time I see them. It seems that they're eager to ask questions about my country and family he he he...

WHOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPEEEE!!!

I feel like jumping up and down the place (and I stopped sweating after those 10-15 minutes had passed) HA HA HA HA HA...

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Good news is that next Saturday's our first wedding anniversary. It doesn't feel that way 'coz we've only been together in real life for about 7 months now. The other day I asked Arttu when we'd spend a night at the cabin again, and yesterday he told his mother that we MAY go there next weekend. YIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPIIIIIIIIIIEEEE!!! I LOVE going to the cabin 'coz there's no computer or TV to bother us. Just the radio, us, and nature!!! ;-D Plenty of quality time. YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!

P.S. Next time I'll remember my pocket Finnish dictionary so that I can talk more with my mother-in-law HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...

Cabin Trip

Well, as I've told you, my husband and I went to the cabin yesterday. To his parents' cabin, that is. It was around 14'C when we got there at around 7 pm and we went straight to sauna. YEEEEESSSSS!!!!

Then we went to the cabin after drinking coffee. We brought a deck of cards (well, actually my kind-hearted mother-in-law told us to bring theirs he he) and a radio. It was SO lovely there. The first time I spent the night at the cabin was a little over 3 years ago. Back then it was still winter, so this time everything was TOTALLY different. While Arttu tried to light up the fireplace, I decided to sunbathe near the lake as it was still COLD inside the cabin and took some pics. Here're two of them.




Finally I thought summer would definitely come. We spent some time near the edge of the lake, sitting down and basking in the sun. I told Arttu then, "It's SO nice to be here. You don't have to be anything. You don't have to prove anything to anybody. You simply exist." It was EXQUISITE! The birds were chirping happily, other birds were communicating with one another by squawking while flying over the lake. The sun was really warming us up. We didn't have to talk about anything at all. Here's a pic of us. :-)))


Here are two pics taken at around midnight.



After the wind began picking up, we came inside the warm cabin and started to cook our hamburger and sausages in the fireplace. YUM YUM YUM!!!!!!!

After that we just enjoyed our time together. Arttu said that it brought back so many memories. Yep, in the cabin he "informally" proposed to me over 3 years ago. Yet our path wasn't that easy. Only now we're together again. Sweet, sweet, sweet!!! One thing I ABSOLUTELY love about the cabin is that there's NO distraction. No TV, no computer. We can TOTALLY enjoy quality time together! YEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS!!! My cup runneth over he he he...Then we started playing cards.

The one thing that I dislike about the cabin is the fact that the toilet is located outside the cabin, attached to a barn or something. So if I need to go, I have to put on my jacket and shoes and I have to walk out. Plus there's no sprayer there he he...Yep, most Finnish toilets, even public toilets, have sprayers and I LOVE them!!!

If you want to know what the cabin toilet looks like, here's the picture.




However, I'm not going to complain. I just want you to know how it is like there in the cabin. When we finally went to bed at around midnight, it was a bit dark but not too dark still. Here's a picture of me at around midnight.


Then at around 3 am my bladder was screaming for help, so reluctantly I went out. The sun was then shining so brightly again. What a funny feeling indeed, waking up at 3 am and being welcomed by the sun!!! LOL!

Oh yeah, I also spotted a hare running out from the forest when I was taking a walk to the lake again today (we spent this morning and afternoon in my in-laws' after we woke up). Too bad the hare saw me, so it ran back to the forest to hide just as I was taking out my camera to take a pic of it. Drat!!! >_______________________<>

My mother-in-law left a note on the kitchen table for me. She was in a hurry today as she had to help cook for her niece's son's graduation party, so she didn't have time to water the plants in the greenhouse. So I went there and did it (hopefully I did it right!!!). Here're two pics of her flowers. :-))))




On the way home, we spotted a few reindeer on a field, so Arttu stopped the car this time to let me take a pic of them because he knew how DESPERATE I was he he...So here goes...my FIRST reindeer pic. YYIIIIIIPPPIIIIEEEE!!!!


Okay, I'm SO tired now, so I'm gonna post this and relax. :-))) Hope you had a MAGICAL weekend!!! Mine was SO magical and RELAXING. It was TOTALLY worth it!!!