3BT: Random Days

1. My yearly work evaluation went much better than last year. Got better marks than last year and positive feedback plus I got to tell my boss what I wanted to learn in my job.

2. Prior to my yearly work evaluation, in the morning out of the blue a customer told me something that really made me stunned. I can't believe how much warmth I've received from many customers!!! SO grateful for that!

3. Making plans for our summer holiday - and spotting a chance to experience an air balloon ride (though must save money first for that 'coz it's not cheap, but the possibility is really exciting!!!) WOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!


4. Almost all the snow has gone now and soon it'll be time to work out in the yard - raking the dead leaves we didn't have a chance to rake last autumn.

5. Being able to ride my bike in full speed is quite a feeling (compared with riding my bike in the dead of winter when there's snow and the temperature is so cold). Especially when the sun is shining! :-D

6. The food I cooked for Mother's Day for MIL was a success - as well as my flower picks and the gift. :-D

7. Finished reading "Baby Jane" by Sofi Oksanen (in Finnish).

8. Being able to save money this month (just got my paycheck) though I wasn't sure I could due to some things - but thankful for getting some extra hours last month.




9. After some time off translating the book my customer gave me, I've started continuing it again. Bit by bit. Phew! :-D


10. Talking about old crushes and silly memories via emails with my closest friends and having a laugh with them. Boy oh boy...


11. Customers who say "No need to hurry" whenever I try to half-run to the till from other spots in the store. THANK YOU, thoughtful customers! 


12. People who are just like sun rays whenever I meet them - all bright and sunny and cheering up my whole being with their radiant smiles (not just pasted on smiles on the lips, but smiles that come from within).

3BT: Random Days

1. Yesterday I finally got confirmation from HQ that I could take an extended summer holiday to go back to Indo. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYY!!! Now I can really jump up and down and tell my family that I'm DEFINITELY coming home. :-D

2. Two friends and the mother of one of them are DEFINITELY coming to visit us in June. They've booked the flights to come here, so it's gonna be SO MUCH FUN 'coz I haven't met them in years!!! YIIIHHHAAA!!!!

3. One grandmother told me that she was happy to see my joyful face whenever she visits the store. It was a nice surprise to hear something like that - makes me wanna do even better to improve my service quality. :-D

4. On the same day, another guy gave me such a nice compliment about my work performance. :-D

5. Finding cheap curtains in a local auction store.

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6. Finding a cheap Finnish novel in a local bookstore. (As usual can't resist buying a cheap novel, though I don't know yet when to read it HA HA...)

7. Fresh strawberries cut into slices and eaten with nutella pudding. VERY VERY delicious!

8. Sunny days where I could sit on the swing and read a book. :-D

3BT: Random Days

1. Being back home, doing our usual routine again after a nice holiday.

2. Getting free accommodation for a week after we got news that all the flights to Finland were cancelled and we could also move all the flights to another date without any problem.

3. Hubby for helping me with the dishes and laundry.

4. One kid jumped into my arms (actually climbed into my arms) and kissed my cheek a few times and on a different day, he licked both my cheeks!!! :-D And we had fun when I twirled around a few times with him in my arms. :-D

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5. Another one wanted to jump into my arms, too, so I let her. :-D What a joy to be able to hold a child in your arms! :-D

6. Reading a book for one kid yesterday and we had small chit-chats in between.

7. Being able to go to my in-laws again and spend a nice day with them.

8. Seeing the kids in their different costumes yesterday on Labour Day at the daycare. They were all SO CUTE!!! :-D Some had wings, some dressed like princesses, etc.

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9. Finding cheap socks on a discount in Crete, so I bought 5 pairs 'coz I KNOW I'm going to use them all here in Finland. Each pair cost only 1 Euro and they are cute! :-D

10. Buying three novels during my holiday (two in English, one in Finnish) HUA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...

11. Wii game night with bro-in-law and girlfriend yesterday. We played golf for a few hours and only went to sleep at around 3.30 am HA HA HA HA HA...

12. Wii eve with hubby on Thursday and then having a sauna afterwards - we laughed a lot while gaming together. We hope to continue this habit 'coz we both want to lose some weight.

13. The kids seemed to be happy playing with the sea shells I bought from Crete as a souvenir for them. :-D

14. Found yam in the supermarket and now I'm trying out my Mom's dessert recipe using yam. Hope it turns out well! ;-D

Ups and Downs

I'm not talking about my mood here, but the challenges at the daycare he he he...These past two weeks even the teacher said that there've been quite challenging kids. I mean, those kids who didn't use to give any trouble have now been acting out. I guess it's just a phase in their development. I'm still having trouble trying to control them, so THANK GOD the teacher is always ready to help out in disciplining them. My brain and mouth coordination is still rather slow, so I have to learn from watching her discipline them and try to remember so that next time something similar happens, I can act more quickly.

I've also had a little talk with the teacher when the kids were outside. She asked me if I had problems and I mentioned to her about how some of them didn't seem to obey my words. She said that it was normal 'coz they were all in the phase where they loved challenging adults to find out their boundaries. I just had to continue trying to discipline them and never give in. She also gave me some tips on how to deal with them. COOL!!!

Other than that, though, today I got a nice surprise 'coz when I first arrived, one boy ran towards me and hug me! What's surprising was that I had always felt that he was the toughest one to get close to. The first few times we were together there, it seemed that he was rather "cold" to me - not really cold, but keeping some distance. So I wasn't really expecting a hug from him, though I wouldn't be surprised getting hugs from some other kids.

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I'm looking forward to this week's long weekend 'coz then I have time to complete my small project. I've been browsing for some homemade games that I can bring to the classroom and I haven't had enough time or energy to complete it 'coz it's been snowing a lot and I cleaned up the snow on Sunday and also yesterday.

Funny thing was that time flies SO fast when I'm busy outside. On Sunday I was outside for almost 2 hours!!! I guess in a way it didn't feel like a long time 'coz it was cold, so I didn't feel that I was sweating, though in actuality I did sweat a lot. That's also one reason why I haven't been doing any Taebo or Zumba lately. I've had enough exercise already he he he he...It's good in a way that I can eat more without worrying about any weight gain HO HO HO HO HO...I'm a food lover, so you know how happy I am to be able to eat more! :-D

I'll blog-hop later. Right now I need to eat and then cook and continue reading a Finnish chicklit (my third novel!!!).

3BT: Random Days

1. Hearing this conversation between a 4-year-old and a 5-year-old while they were flipping over the pages of a toy brochure:

5yo: "I want this kind of toy."
4yo: "Me too! I also want it, too."
5yo: "But I said it first!"
4yo: "But anyone can buy it from the store."
5yo went silent after that...

LOLLLLL!!! GREAT argument, 4-year-old! :-D

2. Having a one-on-one conversation with a 5,5-year-old boy and we had great fun. It was great that he responded to me well and he even gave me elaborated answers and he showed me the kinds of things he could do.


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3. R2's birthday present is ready - actually several small, inexpensive gifts and today I found the rest of them while browsing in a store. All I need to do now is wrap them in one package and put it somewhere where R2 can see so that he'll be CURIOUS HA HA...(P.S. His bday is March 20th).

4. We've booked the final plane tickets and a hotel for our 7-day trip to Crete next month and I've also told my boss and the unemployment office about this, so all we need to do is pack and leave next month HO HO HO HO HO...

5. Planning to eat some cappuccino ice-cream later this evening - after I cleaned up some snow from the yard (yes, it snowed again today for a while) and I also did some Taebo, though not too rigorously.



6. Enjoying my training and being with the kids and getting to know them.

7. I've been pretty successful in battling negative, criticizing thoughts and being my own best friend and life couldn't be better! :-D

8. I've finished reading the third Finnish novel and now I have to choose another book to read. WHOOOPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

9. I still have a stack of Finnish novels/books to read 'coz weeks ago I found cheap ones at the library and also at the flea market HO HO HO HO HO...LOVELY!!!

10. Having a hubby whom I can give a massage to after he cleared up plenty of snow from the roof and he was experiencing some back pain.



11. Having wonderful coworkers who guide me gently and who set good examples for me to copy ('coz sometimes I don't know how to handle a situation).

12. Having a smart, thoughtful, and loving MIL. She gave me some baking tips and then she said, "I hope you're not angry that I'm giving you tips. I'm sure you'll be an excellent cook/baker after you do lots of experiments."

13. A bottle of pine tree smell for sauna that I bought. I LOVE its smell while we have sauna. :-D

3BT: Random Days

1. Giving two surprises for my MIL on Mother's Day: a printer and a poster-sized photo version of them while she hugged my FIL he he he...And in return, I got two HUGE hugs from her HE HE HE HE HE HE...

2. Though it's been raining quite much and the weather's been so unpredictable these days, I got a chance to see double rainbow the other day. My first rainbow in Finland. Here it is:


3. Looking at the rainbow scene reminded me of one lovely church song, which if translated to English would be something like this:

"Life doesn't always look like dark clouds. God's promise is real, you just need to wait for His perfect timing. Even though you can't see the sky 'coz of the thick, dark clouds, beyond it there's God's loving rainbow."

4. I've finished reading one children's novel in Finnish and now I'm trying to read a Finnish chicklit that I bought a while ago on a discount. It's gonna be tougher and slower 'coz it's much thicker than the children's book and I try to look up every word I don't know in the dictionary he he...but I'm NOT giving up!!! :-D Cheers to determination!!! :-D

5. Finally able to take such a LONG sleep today after having had restless nights for a few days (dunno why 'coz I'm usually a sleepyhead!).

6. A few weeks ago when it was icy, the guy who rarely smiled whenever he came to the library to bring packages saw me ride my bike and told me to be careful. That's SO nice of him to do that! :-D

7. Having a peaceful mind. Some days a while ago I had such a noisy inner mind and that drove me crazy!!!

8. When I was questioning some things that made me feel sad, I read something in Our Daily Bread that really answered them.

9. Having fun during our Finnish study group with the girls. :-D

10. The flower plants in my MIL's house seem to be growing well. Now they don't need to be covered by plastic anymore. Here they are:




11. When we were about to go back home from my MIL's place, I saw two hares in a distance. I managed to get closer enough to take this pic. As you can see, now the fur is turning brownish in some parts!!! :-D

3BT: Random Days

1. The concerned look on the postman's face as he gave me the big package. He was worried that I might not be able to carry it all the way to the library (or maybe he thought I was going to take it home). Such a thoughtful postman!!!

2. I decided to get the daily Helsinki newspaper from the PO by bike and it was an ABSOLUTELY GREAT decision as I had to bring that big package with me. I'm GLAD I bought two ropes for my bike, so I could just put the package behind me safely with the ropes.


3. I groaned to hubby, "Honnneeeeyyyy...I want some pancakes, but I'm too lazy to make them." A few hours later after our naps, he went to the kitchen to make them HO HO HO HO...I'm a LUCKY SPOILED GIRL!!!




4. There's a gathering for foreigners and their families in Sodankylä this Sunday in one of the churches and they offer free lunch. The idea is to make the foreigners feel at home here and also to make them meet the locals. I've called the woman in charge to book my place already. We'll see how it goes!!! This is the first time I've ever known such a gathering. WOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!


5. I'm halfway done a children's novel (Finnish novel) that I bought in Rovaniemi. 




6. I fell off my bike the other day because I went too fast (with gear 3) on a snowy stretch of road, but I didn't hurt myself badly. Phew!!! And nobody saw me HI HI HI HI HI HI...so I was saved from any embarrassment!!! 

Tasks, Finnish Novel, X-mas Party

My boss is SO nice. Yesterday she asked me if I got bored with my daily routine, but I told her that it was fine. I LOVE routine ha ha ha...She then said that she'd try to find me something else to do to make sure I'd get to do something else for a change.

Today they had a meeting for hours while I arranged books on the shelves. Then she gave me a new task: to make 25 X-mas cards for the library to send to some people or offices or wherever they want to. I'm not sure I'm the best person to do this kind of thing, but I'll do my best anyway. I'm not too fond of doing handicraft and I'm not the most creative person in that area he he he he...but as long as she trusts me to do it, I'll do it then.

I also have another task this Sunday. On Monday the library will offer free buns and coffee to everybody who comes, so every one who works there has to bake the buns at home to bring there on Monday. Of course we don't have to buy the ingredients ourselves. We just need to make them and bake them.

One other thing I forgot to say here is that last week my boss told me about a book she'd just finished reading. It's a Finnish novel, written by a Chinese girl who's lived in Finland for 10 years (the first novel written by a Chinese girl in the Finnish language). She asked me if I wanted to borrow the book, but I declined. I just didn't want to bother borrowing the book from the library and feel the pressure of having to return it in one month. So I searched the book online and bought it hi hi hi hi...At least this way I have PLENTY of time to read it.

It's VERY inspiring for me, though. In just 10 years she can write a novel in FINNISH?!?!?!?!?! Maybe I can do that too in 10 years he he he he he...I'd definitely be jumping to moon if my Finnish is THAT good in 10 years (good enough to write a novel, I mean). ;-D

I've finished packing all the X-mas gifts and also the gift for tomorrow night's exchange. I'll be busy this weekend. Tomorrow morning we'll go to my in-laws and then we have to leave early as I'll have the X-mas party with my friends in the evening and on Sunday I have to bake the buns, so if I don't have time to blog-hop this weekend, I'll do it only during the week, OK?

Oh yeah...almost forgot...today the manager also asked me how I felt about the training since my one month period is almost over (meaning she wanted to know if I wanted to continue or not). I said that I'd want to continue IF there were still tasks for me, but if they don't need me then I don't want to be there since I'd be useless. She says that it's all up to me and there will always be tasks for me, though probably my tasks will still be the same as my daily routine. I said that I wouldn't mind, since after all I had nothing else to do at home.

I've checked out the courses page and job opening page every day, but until now I haven't found anything interesting, so there's no harm done if I continue this training until the maximum period allowed, which is 3 months. :-))))

OK, have a BLESSED weekend, everybody! Take care and see youuuuu...