A List of Events...

Sorry I haven't had time to blog-hop. I was feeling a bit under the weather so I took a nap every day after coming back from work. The library's closed tomorrow, so tomorrow I'll have some time to blog-hop. Let's do some recap about the things I've been doing, shall we?

1. Last Saturday we went to my in-laws and as I was walking across the field to take pics, I saw a creature moving so fast nearby (approx. 2 metres away from me). Since I knew it was moving too fast for me to take a solid pic, I decided to take a video instead. I still didn't know what it was after I took the video, so I showed it to my MIL, who said that it was a "kärppä". I looked it up in my dictionary and it means an "ermine/stoat".

Here's the video clip:



Here's the link if you want to see it in HD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWxfcg_uqtE

I've taken some pics off the video, but unfortunately they're not too good, but here they are anyway:





I was actually trying to get good pics of these hares when I came across the ermine he he he...As you can see, the mother hare's fur has turned more and more brown as time goes by.



I also took these pics:






2. Went to the birthday party late from my in-laws' place. The birthday girl was so eager to ask me to colour some princesses with me HA HA HA...She also showed us all her gifts and her beautiful dress and she sang a few songs for us! :-D We both got a hug from her, too! SO SWEET!!! :-D

Oh, almost forgot...while we were colouring some princesses, she told me, "You colour the pics very well."
I said, "Why, thank you. You've done a great job, too."

Then she said all of a sudden, "I think you have a beautiful voice."
I was SO surprised to hear that, but I managed to say, "THANK YOU, you have a beautiful voice, too...And face, and hair!"
She nodded. :-D

3. Went to church today for the first time to hear the sermon and I must say that I didn't get the sermon except for some phrases here and there. I understood the songs more than the sermon 'coz I could read the lyrics from the hymn book. I understood the MC better than the priest who gave the sermon 'coz the MC is a woman, so her pronunciation is naturally clearer than the male priest's (if you know how Finnish language sounds like, you'll know that it's harder to listen to a man's voice when speaking rather than a woman's, esp. if the man is using a microphone and you can hear the echo of his voice).

As the church has this program for foreigners, one of the priests had invited us to come to lunch at their camp site after the sermon was done, so four of us went there with them. We had a nice lunch and there the priest also gave us a short sermon (this time I understood the sermon MUCH better 'coz it was a small room and no microphone was used).

Then we were interviewed HA HA HA HA HA HA...The priest asked us some questions and she also encouraged other people to ask us questions. Interesting. It was SO hard for me to try to explain my life in Indonesia, 'coz EVERYTHING is SO different!!! Anyway, we had a good practise to speak Finnish, though he he he he...

OK, I think this is long enough. Time for me to read some Finnish!!!

Question of the Day

Why is it so hard for women (I don't know how it is for men) to accept compliments about our looks, I wonder?

Surely there are good days and bad days for everybody, but why is it so hard to accept that other people's compliments may be really sincere. Plus beauty is subjective, so what some other think as "ordinary" may be deemed as "extraordinary" by other people.

Interesting, don't you think so?

3BT: February 7, 2008

1. One of the BEST things in life: showering with hubby, or to be exact, he went in first, then he rubbed me with soap HUE HE HE HE...We were cuddling under the shower head since it was cold if we weren't under the shower. *grin*

2. Dragging myself out of bed at 6.15 am to exercise. It felt GOOD to jump-start my day for a sleepyhead girl like me. Plus I still keep my New Year's Resolution HE HE HE...

3. Getting FREE books from the course. If you know how much books cost here, you'll know how HAPPY I am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4. Being able to speak up in class. Learning to speak up feels GOOD.

5. The first day on the course, I was tensed whenever the teacher asked me questions, but now I feel that I can begin to be FAR more relaxed. I don't mind too much even if I make mistakes. The most important thing is practising, not trying to be perfect.

6. Receiving some compliments from a cousin about my blog HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...

7. Bringing lunch: rice, chicken, spinach, and imported chili sauce that one of my friends sent me as a Christmas gift. I haven't found any chili sauce THAT tasty here (with a dash of shrimp paste taste), so I was really enjoying every bite of my lunch. YUMMYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

***** This happened last night, but it's SO touching so I HAVE to write it down. I asked my Brit friend MC to vote for me on the Diamond Contest, and she wrote something that made me speechless. It's one of the BEST compliments I've ever received in my life. THANK YOU SO MUCH, MC!!! Olet todella arvokas!!! Olet yhtä kaunis kuin sateenkaari.

glitter-graphics.com

3BT: January 9-10, 2008

1. Meeting MC and having fun at her place.

2. Having a chance to play with her pets.

3. Receiving a BEAUTIFUL card from Crystal. THANK YOUUUUUUUUUU, Buddy!!!!

4. Purplish sky. I've never seen purplish sky before, but I went out just now to buy some milk at Lidl and the sky was SO lovely.

5. Hubby coming to Lidl to pick me up and drop me off at home, but then he had to go somewhere still to work. I called him from Lidl since I realized that I was going to buy heavy stuff and it was snowing pretty heavily outside (it was rather tough to see).

6. The joy of living in a small village. It only took a few minutes for hubby to pick me up, drop me off, and go somewhere, so it wasn't really a hassle after all. But I still APPRECIATE what he did VERY much. :-))))

7. Splurging on a frozen duck. MC told me about this and since I LOVE ducks, I couldn't resist. So I splurge on 1.5 kg of frozen duck, costing me €9.99. Well, I won't die just because I overspend my grocery budget once in a blue moon, right? HE HE HE HE HE...I can't wait until I get to bake the duck, but I'm going to wait a while. We still have plenty of food to eat right now. *drool*

8. Not having a nose that's too sensitive, yet it still works well enough to make me a foodie HE HE HE HE HE...It's just that my hubby has a very sensitive nose, so he can smell bad things SO easily. I'm glad I'm not THAT sensitive!!!!

Additional beautiful things I've forgotten to write down:

*** Vi complimented me. Twice. She said that I looked younger than my age and she thought I was smart HE HE HE HE HE HE...

Random Thoughts

1. On Compliments.

How important is the role of a compliment in our lives, I wonder?

In Indonesia, people are supposed to be "falsely humble" when they receive a compliment. For example, if someone admires your house and compliments it, you're "supposed to" say something like this, "Ahhhh...not really. This's just a regular kind of house." After moving here, I feel the cultural shift. People are more open to giving and receiving compliments just like that.

Another thing I want to point out is: how well do we receive compliments? Sometimes we feel we aren't entitled to some kind of compliment so that we shrug if off instead of sincerely receiving it.

Another funny thing about a compliment is that if someone that has a higher rank than yourself gives you a compliment that you feel you don't deserve (yet), you may feel the pressure to prove yourself to that person (especially if it happens in a working environment). Or you may feel afraid that you'd disappoint them.

I have to say that there were times I felt some people valued me too highly and it made me feel awkward. I began to feel afraid I would disappoint them and I began to feel tensed whenever I talked to them. I know they meant well by giving me compliments, yet it became like a big burden on my back. Ironic, isn't it? Because I think we DO need compliments.

It feels WONDERFUL to know that someone out there appreciates us, appreciates what we've been doing. We need compliments to validate how good we've been playing our roles on earth. On the other hand, if we don't feel that we're entitled to get the compliments, then the effect of the compliment may be nullified.

2. On Blogging.

One thing I find SO relieving and awesome about the blogosphere is the degree of open-mindedness of fellow bloggers. Back in Indo, you're "expected" to hide all the taboo things (that's if you don't want to be judged). Here in the blogosphere, I find that they don't judge you for being humans. I know that there are some stories of my life that I'll probably never write in my blog since I'm afraid that Indo people might read them and then judge me. I know it's silly, but it's hard to get that out of my system. I know what Indo people are capable of doing (I'm not saying that ALL Indo are like this, OK? But the mindset of many Indo people are STILL like that), so I prefer to stay safe.

Back to the topic. The other day I told my closest friends how HAPPY I was with blogging. I told them that it was enough for me to have blog friends and I couldn't understand why some people were worried about my lifestyle (read: my being a bit of a loner). One of them said, "I can understand how SATISFYING it is to have a blogging community. However, lots of outgoing people who've never tried blogging will think that you're missing A LOT from life by spending lots of time alone or in the blogosphere. They don't understand that you find the lot that they think you're missing IN AND FROM the blogosphere."

I nodded when I read those words. SO true!!! I guess not everybody understands how therapeutic and rewarding blogging is and they thought that I was missing A LOT from life. Ahhhh...the joy of understanding something new from another point of view he he he he...

OK, enough babbling. Time to enjoy the sun again. I'm going to try to make brownies tomorrow, I think. *crossing my fingers*

3BT: Weekend Wrap

1. Receiving unexpected compliments. Boy, they just made my day!!! ;-D

2. Being able to fart when you've got lots of gas inside your tummy. Don't you just HATE it when you can't fart?

3. Watching dragonflies and CUTE CUTE bees having fun in the sun and the breeze. YIIIIIIPPPPPPPPPIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!!

4. Having pancakes as my dinner (hubby made them again for us HO HO HO). What a treat!!! ;-D

5. Having my hubby home MUCH early from work due to some computer system failure or something.

6. Dreaming about wedding gowns. I had to put on a wedding gown and there were lots of other girls around me wearing different kinds of wedding gowns. (I'm SO glad my mother talked me into wearing a formal wedding gown)

A Smile A Day: Interactive Time #2!

Today I just want to think about the most touching compliments we've ever received in our lifetime. It can be anything. Just something that makes us feel good and something that makes us feel that we have done something right every now and then (hopefully more often than that he he).

Well, I'd love to start today with those thoughts in mind...so here's my list:

1. When I was told that I had made someone become a better man.
2. When I was told that I brought luck into someone's life.
3. When my Mom said that she was proud of my cooking "expertise" now. (I'm no expert yet, I'm telling you, but it meant A LOT to receive those words just due to the fact that my Mom's a HELL of a cook who encouraged me to keep on enjoying my cooking experiments!!!)
4. When I was told that I made someone believe in dreams and made that person believe that he/she could reach them.
5. When I was told that my emails made someone could not help but to reply me ASAP.
6. When I was told that I looked pretty and sexy (from the look of his eyes) even though I just woke up and I hadn't brushed my teeth.
7. When I was told that I was the link that connected some people with one another.

I guess that's all I can remember so far. Now I'm hungry so it's time for me to eat!!! So, what are the most remembered or most touching compliments you've received in your life?