3BT: Random Days

1. Hubby found himself in an old video (he only appeared for a few seconds), but it was great fun for me to watch his younger self (thinner with more hair LOL!) in the video he he...

2. My period finally arrived before my summer holiday officially started, so that means I'll be period-free on my summer holiday. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYY!!!!

3. I didn't have to cook today as hubby had promised to buy some pizza. :-D

4. Went to a bookstore on a (rare) sunny day, found an acquaintance from Indo visiting this place, had a nice chit-chat with him, then I found a very interesting book on a discount (only €2).

5. I was looking for some dance songs to do some exercise at home and then I found this. And yes, I did follow the movements and had a blast HA HA HA HA HA HA...



6. And yes, you've guessed correctly! I did try out the other videos as well (some can be pretty tough for me, but still I had fun trying them out and I got really sweaty LOL!!!). These videos are great for a change compared to other exercise videos he he...

7. Watching funniest moments in Family Feud show in youtube. Some of the answers are hilarious! 

3BT: Random Days

1. Having a BBQ party at a coworker's place. It was so much fun. I laughed until my cheeks got sore LOL!!! And it was the perfect timing for the BBQ because the weather was good (the weather went downhill the next day until now). 

2. My homemade pork satay (on the left side of the photo below) was a hit at the BBQ party. :-D Photo courtesy of my coworker HL:

3. I had a couple of guests coming today and we had fun, too. I cooked some rice, chicken panini and popped in some spring rolls and chicken nuggets in the oven and prepared some salad. It was enough for everybody (there's only a little leftover).

4. Surviving tough shifts at work this week. My body felt very sore after coming back home because of the pace and everything (summer busy weeks have started and a coworker has been sick for a while, so we're all swamped).

5. Playing hide the doll and hide-and-seek with my friend's daughter. :-D I managed to accidentally spook her once by hiding in a dark toilet ha ha...

6. The cheap huggable pillow I bought from our trip to Haparanda. It's been very useful to hug during the nights. In Finland the product will cost more than that (I was too used to sleeping with a bolster in Indo).


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7. A coworker told me a funny story. Upon seeing me from the back at work, her 4-year-old asked her, "Mommy, mommy, is there a child working here?" ROFL ROFL ROFL...Yes, I was thought of as a child because I'm short ha ha ha ha ha ha...very funny! :-D :-D :-D

8. These words from the movie "Frozen" (yeah, we just saw it last night because we waited until the 3D disc came out): "Some people are just worth melting for." I thought it was such a brilliant line because it also showed how Olaf started to melt! :-D

9. Cheap new panties bought from Haparanda. Very comfy! :-D And hubby loves the tiny blings on them ha ha ha...

10. Coming home to hubby's homemade pizza. Yum! And I didn't even have to do a thing! :-D 

3BT: Random Days

1. The other day at work a grandma gave me a bar of chocolate!!! :-D For no reason whatsoever! BLESS YOU, mummo!

2. Another grandma said to me, "You don't need to dye your hair at all 'coz you've got a really nice natural colour already."

3. Starting over a new blog to help me discipline myself in practising written Finnish 'coz I'm getting really rusty in that area. And R2 has promised to help me edit my texts. :-D

4. Slices of reindeer meat beef hanging in one corner of the house - which will then turn into yummy kuivaliha (dried reindeer meat). Can't wait to eat it!!! :-D



5. A customer thanking me on how I handled an incident that had happened in the past involving her and me - I had forgotten about her already, but she remembered me.

6. Spending a few blissful days at home together with hubby (he'd done lots of overtime, so he took some time off).

7. Delicious pizza that hubby bought on his birthday. Plus I didn't need to cook ha ha ha...

3BT: Random Days

1. An old woman looking so happily surprised to see me at work. She said, "Oh, I haven't seen you in a long time. I'm GLAD you're still working!" ---> Honestly I don't even remember her, but I'm HAPPY to hear that she's SO happy to know that I'm still working in the same place. :-D

2. Free youtube exercise video clips. They really help me in doing different types of exercises when I'm bored with the exercise routines I've been doing.

3. Fast and reliable internet access that enables me to watch those said youtube video clips.

4. Receiving this lovely homemade Christmas decoration present from a friend.



5. More snowwwww!!! And the weekly temperature forecast showing below 0'C even during the day! :-D

6. Watching two squirrels playing in and around the branches of a tree.

7. Cleaning up the snow from the yard. There's something so serene about doing that in the middle of Winter Wonderland.



8. Lovely lovemaking - plus the fact that hubby just knows what to do TENDERLY! :-D

9. Watching "While You Were Sleeping" again that made me feel mushy mushy inside. :-D

10. Hubby buying pizza so that I didn't have to cook he he he he...It's nice not having to cook sometimes. :-D

11. Putting up Christmas lights. (Yep, the picture below #7 is the close-up look of the Christmas lights below)

Beautiful Weekend

Friday was the epitome of many wonderful things wrapped in one whole day. First of all, I got to end my shift earlier 'coz we had some extra help from young students/trainees who are getting to know different work environments, so I didn't have anything much to do. Thus they allowed me to go back home earlier. I mean, why would they want to keep me there and pay me extra for doing nothing, anyway?

The day just got better and better 'coz I then received my paycheck and I noticed online that I had indeed got the amount in my bank account, so I moved some of it right away to our savings account. Then I baked very delicious Mexican pizzas for us (bought the frozen ones from my workplace and they turned out to be the best frozen pizzas I've ever tasted). After that we took a nap together and after that I could catch up with some TV series I had not had time to watch earlier.

Then I got news from my Mom that it seemed that my Dad would definitely be back home again the next day (Saturday morning Indo time), so my heart got more and more relaxed. Then at around midnight, I got an SMS from a friend, telling me that Northern Lights were outside. I ran outside as quickly as possible 'coz I didn't want to miss the show (I had been told that the show wouldn't last too long). Nothing. A few years ago my other friend told me about this, but when I got out, I saw nothing, so Friday was the FIRST time EVER for me to see Northern Lights here (FYI, I've lived here for almost 4 years now).

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Anyway, I waited and waited...still nothing...I ran back inside to the second floor to look outside from the bedroom windows, but I saw nothing much except a little light from the horizon, but I couldn't see it clearly 'coz there are so many tall trees around me and also some houses, so I ran back outside and waited.

About a minute or two later, the show started. I was expecting green lights, but they were actually whitish. I wasn't sure at first if what I saw were Northern Lights or clouds, but they couldn't have been clouds 'coz the form kept on changing (not moving the way clouds did, mind you). It was right on top of my head, so my neck got very sore after a while ha ha...The Northern Lights kept on dancing around, moving forms among the stars. There were SO many stars that night in the sky.

One time I saw this HUGE birdlike form that stayed that way for at least 15 seconds before it changed form again...and just as it was changing form, I saw a SHOOTING STAR!!! WOAAAHHH!!! It was just MY DAY!!!

I stayed for a while, admiring the dance of the Northern Lights, but I just couldn't stand like that too long anymore in the cold 'coz I wasn't really properly dressed when I ran out. Suffice it to say that I enjoyed God's work or art again: the starts, the Northern Lights, the shooting star. What more could I expect to end my already beautiful day? Nothing.

Then on Saturday I got an SMS from Mom again, telling me that my Dad has indeed got back home. They went to a nutritionist first to make sure that THE EXPERT told Dad on what NOT to eat and what to eat, 'coz whenever he hears my family try to remind him NOT to eat some things, he'd get angry/upset. BUT he is more obedient if a doctor tells him what NOT to eat. So my Mom felt it was worth it to pay the nutritionist to get an advice (they paid about 20 Euros). So now Dad's recuperating at home and yesterday we spent time with my in-laws and as usual we played cards and I won twice out of 4 games - the last game I won, I got the highest score of all time!!!! :-D :-D :-D :-D

Now here I am, starting a new week with a smile...Sorry I haven't been blog-hopping so much 'coz I've had a busy week at work. I may blog-hop properly only tomorrow 'coz I have a free day tomorrow.

3BT: Random Days

1. Hubby asked me if I still wanted any chocolate pancake before he ate them 'coz there were only 2 or 3 left (just in case I wanted some, too). I'm grateful for his thoughtfulness.

2. Hubby wanted some homemade pizza, so I made it today (took me 2 hours in total 'coz I had to make the dough myself) and called hubby when it was done and I was SO happy to see his delighted face when he hurried home to eat the still-hot pizza.

3. Living in a small village means that hubby could go back home for lunch without having to spend too much time on the road.



4. Snow on electric cables (a few centimetres thick) - it looked like some kind of decoration for the cables.

5. A close friend of mine said that I'm rich in detecting my feelings and mapping them out.

6. A close friend asked me how I'd like to be supported during my battle with IF and for me that's one of the best things that someone can say to me when I pour out my heart about our IF battle.

7. Laughter and card games with MIL, hubby, BIL and his girlfriend. LOVE the friendly atmosphere filled with jokes. Never felt any tension whenever I'm with my Finnish family.



8. I've just finished writing a submission for a writing contest (R2 still needs to correct my grammar and spelling). It's the experience that counts - plus it means I've succeeded in forcing myself to write in Finnish about a certain topic for public again (well, at least for the judges).

9. The process of moving to our own house has been going well.

10. Free online scanlations of Japanese comics (with English text) to read. YYYEEEAAAAHHHH!!!!

11. Anticipating for our potluck lunch at a friend's house next Monday - three expats in Sodankylä will meet and babble HUA HA HA HA HA HA HA...

12. Made strawberry pie without a proper recipe, but it turned out that hubby LOVVEEEEDDD it so much ha ha ha...


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3BT: Random Days

1. The other day R2 not only cooked pizza for us (he made the dough, the mince meat/tomato pureed topping), he also did ALL the dishes after we ate (we have no dishwasher!!!). I only helped spread the toppings he he he he...THANK YOU, Babyyyy!!!

2. This morning I saw TWO little squirrels in the trees (they kept on moving about and chasing each other) in front of our apt. building.

3. I also saw a big type of bird I'd never seen before. It flew down and sat on top of one of the tree tops. Mmmmm...I feel like living near wilderness he he he...

4. Being forgiven!!!

5. Being able to send SMSes to my Mom. My brother bought her a mobile phone and now she's learning to send SMSes to me. The first SMS she sent me was a BLANK LOL LOL LOL!!! The second one, she only wrote one word. After that she could send me "proper" SMSes, though she writes without a dot or a comma HA HA HA HA HA HA...At least it's now easier for me to contact my Mom in another way than just using Skype.

6. Heard from my Mom that my brother and Shen (his wife) are going to buy a car on a loan. Since my bro works in a bank, he can get a loan with a lower interest rate. So next year they're going to have a car. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYY!!! I'm SO happy for them!

7. EXCITEMENT to start my training next Monday. Gimme lots of job to do, please HE HE HE HE HE HE...

8. Dreaming of owning our own place (apartment or small house). GLAD that R2 and I are on the same page. Though we don't know when we can make it come true, still it's nice to daydream hi hi hi hi...

9. The other week R2 visited his cousin's place from work. When he was there, his cousin's daughter (I think she's 4 years old) was asking about me. This time she remembered my name HI HI HI HI...I think that's SO SWEET!!!

Abundance This Weekend

As I've said in my other post, last Friday we went to my in-laws. That same day in the morning I weighed myself and realized that I had GAINED WEIGHT!!! ARRRGGGHHH!!!! I didn't even know that I weighed that much now as it didn't feel too much. I'm back to my highest weight now and I need to do some diet (cut off some snack, esp. if it's late snacking!) before I go back to Indo, since I KNOW I'll gain weight there.

Yeah, I know I'm fussy right now about this weight thingie since I'd made a commitment to myself prior to moving to Finland that I'd stay in a certain range of weight he he he...I don't want to be too skinny, but I also don't want to be too heavy as it's hard to lose weight (but don't worry, I still love myself HA HA HA HA). But why do I talk about this topic here? Because it's related to "abundance" LOL LOL LOL!!!

And here's one joke for you HI HI HI HI HI HI...

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Anyhow, after going back from the mine, for some reason I was SO tired that I took a nap. I think it only took me less than 2-3 minutes to fall into dreamland. At around 4 pm Arttu went home and I woke up. He had initially thought that I would've been ready to leave right away, but I just woke up and I was still sleepy hi hi hi...

Hey, come to think of it, I've been more tired than usual these past few days. Must be PMS he he he he...;-D

Well, back to the story: we packed our bag and brought everything we needed. We had decided to make some pizza there, so we had bought all the necessary ingredients. Arttu also bought some hamburgers since he thought we could eat them on Friday night and we could make the pizza only on Saturday. It was a nice sunny day to start with and we left home at around 5 pm. ;-D

When we arrived in my in-laws, we found a note written by my mom-in-law. She gave us instructions on which house plants to give water to and how much water we should give. They're still inside now since it's still too cold for them to grow outside. After all, they're still so tiny he he he he...but she's going to take them all out in summer. ;-D

She also said thank you for our willingness to spend the night there. Hey, it's MY pleasure he he he he...She had actually bought PLENTY of food for US!!! Dear goodness...you should've seen how much food she had in her fridge. She bought a WHOLE roasted chicken and also two slices of uncooked steak and as usual, she had plenty of milk, bread, cheese, and other stuff.

Amazing woman!!! I haven't actually told you this before, but twice Arttu was making coffee in her house and twice he forgot to put the coffee pot below the coffee maker. The result was of course obvious. Coffee trickling all over the counter and at one time it even trickled down to the cupboard below the counter so he had to take out all the stuff from that counter and cleaned it.

But what was her reaction? She just laughed!!! Can you believe it? Another amazing thing about her is what she wrote in the note. She said that later on it would be her turn to help us out "if" and "when" we had kids HE HE HE HE HE...

She actually wrote down "if" and "when" just like that and I TRULY appreciate that. She had never told us that she would love to have more grandkids (she only told me that after I had told her that I would want to try having a kid at the end of this year). I'm SO SO SO LUCKY to have such a grand mom-in-law HE HE HE HE HE HE...

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Back to the topic hi hi hi...Arttu and I brought a big box of game we bought at Lidl some time ago. There are many different types of games in that box, including chess and backgammon. We played different types of games during the night and then he introduced me to Mikado. Does anyone else know what kind of game Mikado is? I had NEVER heard or seen it before, but it was VERY interesting hi hi hi hi...

Just click on the link to read about it. We were giggling and laughing while playing it. We had to really concentrate on picking up the stick one by one without moving the others he he he he...We went to bed at around midnight. My mom-in-law had prepared clean sheets and pillows for us to use on their big bed HE HE HE HE HE...

Arttu watched Jackie Chan's Tuxedo on TV for a while (their TV is in their bedroom). I couldn't bring myself to watch it till the end, though, since I was SO SO SO tired. Zzzzzz....

In the morning we woke up late HO HO HO HO...BLISS, BLISS, BLISS!!! Arttu made some coffee and we drank it. Then since around the yard there was still plenty of snow, I played potkukelkka (kicksled) for a while...sliding around the VAST yard here and there while Arttu changed the car tyre hoods.

It was 10'C and the sun was shining, so I had to put on my sunglasses while playing with my mom-in-law's potkukelkka. YIPPPIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! After a while I got sweaty hi hi hi hi hi hi...Then he had to bring in more firewood to the living room. After that we started making pizza together. FUN, FUN, FUN!!! ;-D

After eating pizza, he watched TV for a while as I read some magazines. We only got back home at around 7 pm. At home I watched "P.S. I Love You". I think the movie's OK. I had some teary moments in the movie he he he...

I like the fact that at the end of the movie, the writer doesn't "force" the main character to have a relationship with anyone in particular. I like the fact that it's so clear how one needs time to grieve and let go. One good thing about the movie is that it reminds me to cherish every little moment with my hubby and that I shouldn't sweat the small stuff in love.

One of my fave quotes from the movie is this:

"We're so arrogant, aren't we? We're so afraid of age, we do everything we can to prevent it. We don't realize what a privilege it is to grow old with someone...Someone who doesn't drive you to commit murder. Or doesn't humiliate you beyond repair."

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Note to Self: The other day Arttu had a car accident. He had to leave to a certain place very early, so he got a bit sleepy while driving to that other city. He crashed into a pole and broke the right rear-view mirror. I was SO SHOCKED when I heard about that. I'm VERY thankful that he's okay. I hugged him SO tightly after he told me about that. Phew!!! I hope God will let us grow old togetherrrrrr...and hopefully grow wiser.

Busy Monday

ARRRGGHHH!!! Haven't had time to do anything with my blog until now. Haven't had time to blog-hop, either, but I'm gonna do it soon after I publish this post.

First of all, I had to exercise today (in keeping with my New Year's Resolution, plus it always makes me feel good afterwards, especially when I see my thighs getting firmer and firmer HA HA HA HA HA...), then I cleaned up the house and the toilet, then I cooked pizza after having lunch. As you all know, I'm a slow cook, so it took some time for me to do so.

This week is my LAST week when I can get up late in the mornings, so I'm going to ENJOY it thoroughly HI HI HI HI HI HI HI...Tomorrow I'm going to go to the unemployment office to report myself and then to KELA to submit the form that states that I'm going on the full-time course so that I can get some student money at the end of next month.

I'll also probably go to a beauty salon to get a haircut. It's been bothering me for a while. I asked Arttu to cut it, but he refused. He said that he would ruin it. I begged, but he wouldn't budge. In the end he just said that he'd pay for my haircut, which would be €26. YIKES!!! At first I was planning on going to the beauty salon, but now that it seems I'm going to Indonesia near the end of this year, I just don't want to waste that much money when I can get a proper haircut by only paying around €4-5 in Bandung. That was why I asked Arttu to help me cut my hair he he he he he...Oh well...since he's paying, then I'll just go to the beauty salon. After all, I'm curious whether or not they can handle my Asian hair HA HA HA HA HA HA...

So if tomorrow I'm MIA again, don't wonder why, OK? I choose tomorrow since the weather prediction for this week says that it's gonna be the "warmest" tomorrow (around -5'C). Last night the temperature dropped down to -22.5'C during the night. Still hasn't reached -30'C yet he he he he...I wonder when it'll happen!!!

Ummm...what else? Oh yeah, some nights ago I talked to Arttu about the possibility of going to Indonesia. I was thinking of going to Indonesia alone, considering the cheapest ticket I could find was €1200 (a two way ticket from Rovaniemi to Jakarta), but then he said, "So you want to go there alone?" He didn't want me to go there alone!!! Well, come to think of it, there are several good points of going back to Indo with him:

1. I don't have to go through the LONG trip alone, so I have someone to talk to. As you probably know, I'm not someone who likes chatting up with other passengers on a plane unless I really have to HA HA HA HA HA HA...For example: when I need him/her to get up since I have to go to the toilet hi hi hi...
2. I can bring MANY more things to Finland since we'll have two big suitcases. I left many unread novels back in Indo.
3. All the Indo people won't ask me, "Where's your husband? Why is he not coming with you?" so I don't have to explain to different people again and again and again.
4. He can help me with the luggage HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...

However, another point we should consider is whether or not he can come with me. I was first planning on going to Indo for a month, but then he said that it would be too long. He thought I'd only go to Indo for 2 weeks!!! TWO WEEKS?!?!?!?! The trip from Sodankylä to Bandung takes at least 24 hours PER trip...so it takes 48 hours to go back and forth...that means we're losing 2 days already!!!

Well, he said that I should let him know when we're planning to go to Indo so that he can arrange his holiday. He'll get his one month summer holiday this year and I DO NOT know if he can move it to a much later date. I sure HOPE so!!! The bottom line is that once I find out how much student money I can get per month during the course, I'll calculate it first and if I'm sure it's enough to buy me a plane ticket to Indo, then I'll decide when to go already. Only then Arttu can talk to his boss about it.

I've been researching the prices of plane tickets to Indo this year and it seems that the cheapest ones would be around October. I've already been thinking of the things I'll bring there (canned reindeer, etc.) and the things I want to buy in Indo to bring to Finland (HOT chili sauce, etc.) HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...

Okaaayyy...enough daydreaming...time to fall back to the real world!!!

A Not So Ordinary Sunday

Yesterday I was busy since right after I woke up, hubby urged me to eat as we were going to visit my father-in-law in the health centre. He's OK. It's just that my mother-in-law needed enough sleep so that she could heal her ankle well, but when he was home, he walked around the house during the night, so she couldn't sleep well. My mother-in-law spent some nights in her elder sister's house so that she wouldn't be alone in hers. She asked us to bring my father-in-law's mobile phone to the hospital so that they could contact each other.

It was the first time to go to that section in the health centre. Visitors are allowed to come starting from 1 pm to 7 pm. The place didn't smell like medicine like the most hospitals in Indonesia. I can't really describe the smell of the hospitals in Indo, but they have this distinct smell he he he he...Anyway, after asking where our father-in-law was to one of the nurses, we found him.

He was sitting in the common room, watching TV with the other patients. They were mostly elderly. His eyes lit up in recognition when he saw us he he he he...then we went to his room to talk as there were not enough seats for us in the common room. After all, it was a small health centre, not a full-fledged hospital. Even so, the place is so clean and everything looks new (unlike some hospitals in Indo where everything looks old).

We talked for a while...or should I say, Arttu talked to his Dad as I was trying to practice my listening skill HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...After about half an hour, we said goodbye to him and while walking out of his room, I was SO happy to see my mother-in-law coming towards us with her elder sister and husband. Thank GOODNESS her elder sister's husband is healthy and he can drive her around! ;-D My mother-in-law walked using one walking stick and then she and her elder sister hugged me.

I think my father-in-law's coming home either today or tomorrow. He said it was boring in the hospital and the food was lousy. Porridge, porridge, and porridge. I can imagine how bad it was. After all, at home he always enjoys his wife's delicious food he he he he...

Then as usual, my bladder was full, so I went to the toilet first as we were going to the supermarket afterwards. I was trying to find the light switch inside the HUGE toilet, but then it turned out the light was on automatically when I stepped into the room. COOL!!!! I've never seen that before he he he he...

Then before going to the supermarket (we were running out of milk), I asked Arttu to escort me to an ATM. Believe it or not, I've NEVER used an ATM before in this country. After all, I can almost always pay everything with my debit card (I have no credit card here as I have no income), except when I go to the flea markets or open markets. Funny thing is that the post office's card reader wouldn't read my card, so that was why I needed to get some cash. I'm going to send a package to my friend in Germany as she's coming to Indonesia in March. The package is for my family he he he he he...

Well, you know what? Turned out that when I inserted my debit card, the instruction came out in ENGLISH!!!! HURRAHHHHHH!!! I was SO HAPPY hi hi hi hi hi hi...I think when I first opened my account in the bank, I was grouped as an "international customer". VERY VERY COOL!!! Now if I ever need cash, I wouldn't feel afraid going to an ATM alone HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...

Anyway, on Saturday I also had a short conversation with my mother-in-law as Arttu was shovelling snow out in the yard. First of all she asked me if my brother had sent his wedding pics, and I said not yet. It was hard for me to explain to her that my brother used a professional photographer service, so the CD wasn't done yet. So I didn't even try to explain since I didn't know how to do it. Then I told her that he had sent me the honeymoon pics he he he he he...

Then she asked me if I had to go back to Indonesia. I misunderstood her at first. There is this one word in Finnish that can either mean "like" or "have to" and I thought she asked me if I would like to go back to Indonesia. So I replied that I would love to, but it would be expensive. Then she tried asking me the question again using a different word, and right then it dawned on me completely what she wanted to know HA HA HA HA HA HA...

Ahem...so I told her that I'd soon have to go to the police station to renew my residence permit (well, actually I said visa, but that didn't matter as she understood it). I guess she was worried that I would have to go back to Indonesia to do my paperwork he he he he...I could tell that she was glad that I could do it here in Sodankylä.

Oh yeah, almost forgot...after buying milk at the supermarket yesterday, Arttu said that he was craving for kebab...so we went to a nearby kebab resto to buy some. I was craving for pizza instead, so I ordered one. YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY!!! My pizza had kebab meat, pineapple, cheese, and reindeer toppings. Plus I added jalapeno chili at home. VERY VERY delicious HE HE HE HE HE HE...

Okie dokie, now I'm going to eat my pizza first before blog-hopping he he he...I'm STARVING after exercising he he he he...

Pre-Christmas Party

Venue: Pizza Paikka Ala Riesto, 6-9 pm

Cast of Characters:

1. Me!!!
2. MC = my Brit friend who's the organizer of the party
3. NA = my Russian friend who just gave birth early December
4. SU = another Brit friend who's due to give birth today
5. IN = another Russian friend who's 7 months' pregnant
6. HL = our Finnish class teacher

MC, the organizer of the party, told each of us to bring a little gift (not more than €5) and each of us had to write a name of an animal on top of the gift. Turned out that she had created fun games for us HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...She also brought some Christmas decorations for our table (as you can see later in the pics) and some Christmas crackers (cardboard cylinders covered with decorative papers and pop when the ends are pulled) imported from England.

Anyway, when I came to the restaurant, HL (our teacher) was there and SU and NA had just arrived. We started talking to each other and not long after that, MC (our organizer) came. Then I took this picture (I have written down their initials there) ---> MC is the one on the left, then NA (who had a baby early Dec) sitting next to her, and SU (who's due to give birth today) sitting next to her, and on the right is our teacher.


As you can see, it's not a fancy restaurant, but the thing I like about this village is that you don't have to queue and there aren't any crowded places anywhere ha ha ha ha ha ha...No need to book, thank you very much hi hi hi hi...

Since IN still hadn't showed up and we were getting hungry, we ordered food first. IN finally came over at around 7 pm. Here's a pic of me with IN (7 months pregnant) and the Santa decoration that MC brought to make our table more festive HE HE HE HE HE...


Anyway, we started eating right away and then we stopped for a while to play our first game. MC had prepared a text to read. We were told to hold our own gifts in hand and we had to be ready to pass it along to the left or right according to the text she read. If we heard "left" on the text, we had to pass it along to the left. If we heard "right", we had to pass it to the right. It was FUN he he he he he...

I got MC's gift and SU got my gift. Funny thing is that I wrapped my gift in a box of Kebab frozen package and SU didn't open it even though everybody else was busy opening their gifts right away. I got two fridge magnets from MC and the others got different stuff. At first I thought that SU wanted to save the best for later, but then I got suspicious that she probably thought I had given her some KEBAB meat for real!!!! I even got more worried since MC said to SU, "Hey, shouldn't you put it in the fridge?" LOL LOL!!!

I tried to give a hint to SU by saying, "Please don't bang the package, SU!" (since there was a fragile angel decoration inside the package though I had wrapped it safely). Before the end of the party, I was thinking to myself, "Uhhhh...what if she really thinks it's kebab meat and then she puts it in the fridge for future use and then when she decides she wants to cook kebab, she opens it and gets the surprise of her life? No can do! I have to tell her now!"

So I finally said, "By the way, SU, you didn't think it was kebab inside, did you?" To be honest, I actually saw her face looking a bit disappointed when she opened my gift wrapper and found the kebab meat package inside HI HI HI HI HI HI HI...She was stunned when she heard me say that and then she took out the package from her bag. She said, "I thought it was REALLY kebab inside. I just thought that in Indonesia maybe Father Christmas gave food as gifts." MC couldn't help laughing like crazy since she also thought that it was kebab. LOL LOL LOL!!! She was laughing really hard for a few minutes HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...

SU opened the gift and she was happy to find the angel decoration. I think she was happy to get the decoration since she also bought a different angel decoration as a gift (our teacher HL got it) HE HE HE HE HE...Then she gave me a hug HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...MC said, "Oh, Amel, that was brilliant!" Well, I didn't actually plan to mislead anyone by putting my gift inside the kebab box. It didn't even cross my mind that someone might think that I actually gave frozen kebab meat as a X-mas gift hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi...but SU said while opening it, "It was packed really neatly as if the box had never been opened yet!" HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...

OK, enough laughing hi hi hi...anyway, unfortunately our teacher HL couldn't stay longer 'coz her hubby had picked her up at 8 pm, but the rest of us stayed there until it was close to 9 pm.

These are some things I found out through our conversation:

1. Christmas in Russia is celebrated on January 6th.
2. Nobody can give birth in Sodankylä's health centre, so if I need to give birth later on, my hubby has to drive me to Rovaniemi (1.5 hours away from here). YIKES!!! However, I also found out from NA who just gave birth in Rovaniemi that the service there was EXCELLENT! YES!!! At least I'll be in good care there he he he he...
3. In England these days they try to "kick" women out of the hospital as fast as they can once they give birth (as long as they're healthy and there's no problem after the delivery then they go home in 6 hours or just one day), whereas in Finland for the first born, usually they keep the mother in the hospital for 4 days.
4. Moscow is like a different country, separated from other parts of Russia. Even the people there are different and everything's different. Moscow people are colder and they look down on people from other countries or even different areas of Russia.
5. Christmas Eve is a really big tradition for Finnish (gather with their family and open gifts, eat pork ham and stuff). This is my first Christmas Eve here, so I'll report on the food later on he he he he he...

Anyway, back to the party. Then we pulled our Christmas crackers and we found crowns inside, so we put it on our heads HA HA HA HA HA HA...We were officially queens then HE HE HE HE HE...

First pic: MC and NA. And yes, we all ordered pizza HA HA HA HA HA...We couldn't eat the whole portion ourselves, so we brought the rest home. YAAAAAYYYY!!!! ;-D


Next pic: SU is holding the rest of the Christmas cracker he he he he...


Next pic: Queen Amel and Queen IN HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...My face looks SO oily since I put on lots of lotion and olive oil hi hi hi hi...but I feel good no matter what since I have my crown HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...


Oh, almost forgot to tell you the second game. The second game was related to the animals written on our gifts. Since I got MC's gift with "pig" on it, then I had to sound like one. The game is Animal Bingo. Each of us had to write down 5 numbers (any number from 1 to 25), then MC would pick each of the number out of the bag she's prepared (she brought a gift especially for this game) and if the number she mentioned was written on my piece of paper, I had to snort like a pig and cross the number out HE HE HE HE HE...The other animals were cow, cat, dog, sheep, and rooster he he he he he...

In the end, the cat (IN) won the game. The winner had to stand up and make the animal sound three times HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...so she meowed three times while standing up LOL LOL!!!! MC is REALLY creative, isn't she?????

Anyway...I'd LOVE to do this again sometime hi hi hi hi hi...girls' night out is ALWAYS the best, don't you think so? *wink*

3BT: October 1, 2007

1. Today I was SOOO ecstatic 'coz when I was walking home from the supermarket, I spotted a cute squirrel trying to find some food near my apt. building, so I stopped and tried to approach it slowly, very slowly, then I stopped when it was about 1 metre away from me.

It kept on moving up and down nimbly and then after a while it moved to a tree on my direction. At first it jolted to see me, but since I didn't even move once inch, it MADE EYE CONTACT WITH ME! WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I was only about 40 cm away from the squirrel. It felt SO GREAT!!! ;-D The first time a squirrel made eye contact with me!!! YIIIHHHAAAAA!!!!! I wish I had had my camera with me so that I could have had it on tape he he he...Oh well...

This is a pic of a Finnish squirrel that stole a Kinder egg he he he he...Found it in the below site:

Pic taken from this site: Caffeine Overdose

2. Making my own pizza from scratch and then it tasted SOOOOO GOOD hi hi hi hi...Topping: mince meat (of course cooked with garlic and tomatoes), reindeer meat, salami, mushroom (only on my side of the pizza), pineapple (only on his side of the pizza), jalapeno chili, and cheese. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...Yeah, I'm a foodie he he he he...

3. Hubby hiding behind the door when I went home from the supermarket and spooked me (he was home for lunch). DARN him he he he he he...

3BT: September 27 and 28, 2007

1. Hubby came home and brought some pizza (I had been craving for some!!!! LUCKY ME!!!).

2. Receiving two SMSes from my future sister-in-law (brother's girlfriend), asking about my Finnish classes. She's SO attentive! ;-D

3. Saw a touching scene while watching X-Men 3: the last duel between Wolverine versus Jean Grey.

Jean: "So you'd die for them?"
Wolverine: "No, not for them. For you. For you."

Then Jean's eyes suddenly looked tender and she said, "Save me." Then Wolverine said "I love you" and killed her.

AAAUUUGGGHHHH...it was such a ROMANTIC and TRAGIC scene hi hi hi...

4. I made strawberry-banana pie (my first attempt) and it seemed to be pretty good. I haven't tasted it yet, but my hubby can't wait to taste it HO HO HO HO HO...I can't wait to bring some for my in-laws tomorrow he he he he he...

5. I borrowed another Finnish children's book from the library and I'm SO HAPPY 'coz I understood four long sentences on the first page without having to use any dictionary. YAAAAAAAAAAYYY!!! It feels like some darkness is lifted from my mind hi hi hi hi hi...

6. Having an opportunity to encourage someone. ;-D

3BT: August 13, 2007

1. Laughing so hard till my jaws hurt yet I continued laughing while holding my cheeks. Oh, it felt HEAVENLY!!! ;-D

2. Finally I could see GORGEOUS Max via webcam. YIIIPPPIIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!!! ;-D

3. Arttu saying "thank you" after eating the homemade pizza (with jalapeno chili YAAAYYY!!!) I made from scratch. (Funny thing is that HE was the one who taught me how to make the pizza HA HA HA HA HA HA)

4. Feeling Arttu's fingers caressing my hair. MMMMMMMMMMMM...