3BT: Random Days

1. I bought a new blanket, but it was way too big and puffy to bring with me by bike, so I called hubby to take it with him in the car. Tried calling his mobile, but didn't pick up, so I ended up having to call his work phone. When he picked up, I immediately asked in English, "Hey, are you at the office?"

A second of hesitation later, he replied in English, "No."

Then I started explaining what I had done and I knew that he was at the office because I could see his car outside (the shop was near his office) and then he finally realized it was me.

Then I asked, "Why on earth did you say no at first?"

He replied, "I didn't recognize your voice at first, so I was confused." HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...obviously he didn't have my number on his work phone, so he didn't know who it was and then I started babbling in English ha ha ha ha ha...funny!

2. When he got out of the office, my first thought was, "Damn, he's HOT!!!!"

It feels nice to feel this way still about him he he he...He's always SO patient with me, so I'm thankful for that.

3. Seeing two squirrels at the yard, right under the bird feeder. So cute!


4. Tomorrow is a holiday, so the store is closed and tonight I'll have a pre-Christmas party with my coworkers. YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSS!!!

5. Finding cheap offers on meat and fish. They're now safely in the freezer for future use.

6. Frost. Beautiful glittery thin layer of frost everywhere. They're sparkly in the sun and under the street light.



7. Finally getting the hang of a new type of friendship that has evolved from an old type of friendship. It feels nice to be able to let go and finally adjust my expectations.

8. Ordering an early birthday present for myself (1 of the books in my wishlist) because Bookdepository gave me a 5% discount that would expire this weekend. Can't waiiiiiittttt!!!!! WOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

9. Almost forgot that Monday is our 8th wedding anniversary (FB reminded me of that LOL!!!). I just want to say I'm thankful that we've been given these years to spend together and I hope we will have many more to come. I still believe he's the one for me and he's becoming even more dear to me as time goes by.

10. Been trying to lose some weight by eating a plateful of salad at least 5 times a week. It's amazing how light my body feels after trying out this practice (haven't really weighed myself yet because I've just started sometime last week, but my body feels different than eating meat all the time). 


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Seminar + 3BT

I've just booked a place for an entrepreneur seminar in this village. Funny thing is that the other day there was a rather slow day at work and during a break I managed to browse through a local newspaper and found the advertisement for this seminar. It's for free and it'll be held for two days on October 23rd and 24th. It's for anyone who's interested in opening their own businesses or who is thinking of opening one.

They will tell us what kind of businesses there are in Finland and all the basic info about opening your own business, funding, pricing, etc. Sounds good, right? :-))) We'll see how it goes then. :-)))) I feel like I'm about to step into another dimension or something, you know? In a way it's good to be able to find out these things before I go to Indo so that I can think of what to bring to Finland to try to sell here (or if they're worth selling here).

And now let me share my 3BT post here too:

1. Finding a generous sum of tips in one bedroom at the hotel HO HO HO HO HO...Remember that guests here don't normally give any tips, so if they give some, it's already more than good. But today I found one who gave a generous sum. WOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!! :-D

2. Used the money to buy salad, tomatoes, cucumber, and a bag of chips (new flavour).

3. Tasted the new-flavoured chips (sour cream and pepper) and LOVED it! ;-D

4. Almost forgot this one: The government has reduced the taxes for food by 5% (it was 17% and now it's 12%) until July 2010. It really helps me A LOT in cutting down my grocery budget. YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!

5. SUPER delicious chocolate pudding at the hotel. I'm drooling while thinking of the taste...simply superb...wish I could ask for the recipe hi hi...

6. Why, tomorrow is Friday and it's a cause for celebration 'coz then weekend is coming SOON and then I have only one day of work left (Monday) HO HO HO HO HO...

7. Found some CHEAP CHEAP reddish mangoes from Brazil in Lidl (at only €0.99 per kg - usually it's over €2/kg). OH YEAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!

8. The winter boots I bought on a discount last spring (that I only start wearing now) are REALLY REALLY soft and comfy. LOVE 'em!!! ;-D

glitter-graphics.com

Car Trip #3: Pori + Jazz Festival

Where were we the last time? Oh yeah, we were on our way to Pori. I took some pics on the way to Pori. Here they are:



Finally we arrived at my BIL's and SIL's place. Arttu was left home since he was tired, so my SIL and I went SHOPPPINNNNGGGGG!!! She took me downtown, but only to the cheap(er) stores. There are HUGE discounts everywhere, since summer is soon over and autumn/winter fashion will be out again. Below is a pic of downtown Pori:


Here's a pic of my beloved SIL and our HUGE salad dinner. We didn't manage to eat the entire plate since it was such a HUGE portion he he he he he...


And after we got back to her place, I took pics of her beautiful flowers:







The next day my BIL and SIL still had to work, so in the morning Arttu and I went to Yyteri beach. Unfortunately it was SO windy and cold there, but there were still some people SWIMMING!!! I can't believe it!!! Look at my outfit HE HE HE HE HE...After a while, my ears got so painful that I had to put on my hood!!!



Near that beach there's this observation tower, so we went there to view Pori from above.


Here's one of the pictures. Yep, it was a cloudy day then he he he...


After that we had lunch in one of the restaurants at the beach and then we headed downtown again. Boy, it was HARD to find a parking place. We finally found one farther away from downtown, so we walked there. After we were finished, we got lost HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...Glad we had our GPS with us, so we sat on this bench to find our way back to the parking lot where we parked our car.

Psst...we parked it in the parking lot of an empty school HI HI HI HI...It's empty 'coz everybody's on summer holiday ha ha ha ha ha...



When we got back to BIL's and SIL's place, I took a shower since I felt dirty and sticky and then got prepared to go to the free concert that featured all the local musicians. The day before I bought this hat, what do you think? Guess how much it cost?!?!?!?! Only 2 € HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...

Anyway, I was confused on what to wear since it was an outdoor area and the weather prediction was bad (cloudy and cold). So I decided to put on my thin long john pants underneath my trousers and I also put on a tank top underneath the blue T-shirt and I brought TWO jackets with me!!!


And look at the weather now! It was SO HOTTTTTTTTTTTT!!! Maybe there were so many people praying for good weather so that it became like this! I couldn't bear it he he he he...

We had to walk from the parking lot to the park and there were SO many people thereeeeeeeeeeee...We had to cross a bridge in order to get to the park where the concert was held. Here are some pics I took:



And here's the stage:


Look what he's trying to rent! HA HA HA HA HA HA...


More and more and more people came in after us...We arrived there already at around 5 pm even though the concert only started at 6 pm, but there were so many people already!


Since the weather turned out to be so hot, even before the concert started, I went to the toilet to take off my long john and I immediately took off my T-shirt he he he he...Now I felt MUCH better!!! ;-D


Here are some more views around the area:



This is the church that you can also see from the above picture:


After the concert was over at around 9.40 pm (by that time I was GLAD I brought two jackets with me since it got cooler and cooler as time went by), we walked back to the parking lot and again I took some pics:


This picture is the continuation of the first one:


If I remember correctly, this is the City Hall or something ha ha ha ha...


I don't know what building this is, but it looks interesting enough for me (the design, that is):


Okay, I'm going to blog-hop only tomorrow. I'm pretty tired right now and I need to relax. I'm going to continue later with the trip to Helsinki, OK? ;-D

A Foodie's Website!

By now most of you probably know that I'm a foodie. I love browsing for recipes online and trying out new recipes. Unfortunately I haven't had enough time to try out more recipes lately, but I've found another good recipe site for you to try in case you love cooking and baking. And if you're also fond of sharing your own recipe, you can become a member of this site and put up your recipes there.

What I love about this foodie's website are these:

1. They provide complete nutritional facts for every recipe. Thus if you're truly health-conscious, you can search for the most suitable recipes for your needs here. Plus if you want to know the nutritional values of a recipe for FREE, then you can submit it to this website.

2. A very practical glossary. The words are highlighted, so if you're a newbie in cooking and baking, you don't have to search high and low for explanations.

3. Readers can submit their own reviews. I've always loved this about a food website. After all, even though people have different tastes, but if more people mark the recipe as a great one, then I'll be more liable to try it he he he...

4. They have ALL KINDS of recipes on their site, starting from appetizers, salad, sandwich, diabetic recipes, vegetarian recipes, etc.

5. Becoming a member is FREE!!!

Even if you're already an expert in cooking and baking (like my Mom), sometimes you want to try other people's recipes, right? Then this is the right website for you to go to, especially if you're planning to have a party and you want to try making or baking something different. You can also discuss ideas to make new recipes and cooking and baking techniques with fellow members.

Ahhh...on my free days later on, I'll make sure I drop by this site again to try something out. Why don't you visit this site, too? ;-D

Dinner Party Meme: Come and Join Me! ;-D

Choc Mint Girl has tagged me to do this meme. Since I can pretend that I'm the best cook in the world in this meme, I can do anything I want to do HI HI HI...*grin*

The rules as set out by Graham (the originator of this meme) are as follows:-

The idea is to work your way through the eight phases of the dinner party, answering all of the questions on the way - being as honest and creative as you wish. Once your homework has been completed, please nominate any bloggers who's "virtual" dinner party you would love to hear about.


1) The Dinner Party Theme: You have decided to hold a dinner party. When writing the invites you clearly state that fancy dress must be worn. Assuming that cost is no issue, who or what would you dress up as, and why?

Ha! Since I currently live in Finland, I'll dress up as Santa's wife hi hi hi...since nobody's ever seen Santa's wife, then I'll choose my own costume: velvety long red gown with white cuffs like Santa's and white lining at the hem and around my neck (it's gonna be V-necked 'coz I wanna be a sexy Santa's wife HI HI HI...)


2) The Invitations: This dinner party is for 6 people (including yourself), you are allowed to invite any 5 other people (either past, present, real or fictional), who would you invite and why?

Only six? NOOOOOO!!!!! I have too many blogger friends to invite and I wanna invite 'em all and I wanna invite my WHOLE family too (Mom, Dad, My Bro, my Bro's Future Wife) and my close friends. >___________________________<

But OK, let's pretend that I can invite all of them secretly and invite only 5 people officially? That's REALLY tough...hmmm...let me think...Okay, here goes...

1. Beethoven (NOT the dog LOL!) simply 'coz I'm amazed at his talent.
2. Mother Teresa ---> esp. since I'm curious about her crisis of faith.
3. Jostein Gaarder ----> I LOVE his books Sophie's World and The Solitaire Mystery.
4. Donald Duck to make the party more fun HI HI...
5. One of my ancestors, whoever he or she is he he he...I'm afraid I don't know much about my granddads and I don't know much about my grandparents' elders, either.

OK, phew...that was tough, but now it's over and I can POST THIS he he he he...YIIIHHHAAAAA!!! *jumping up and down the place*


3) The Starter: You are preparing the menu, which dish(es) would you choose as the starter, and why?

Since this is Finland, I'll introduce reindeer meat cream soup. It's VERY delicious, especially when you eat it when the weather's cold. YUMMY!!!


4) The Main Course: Okay, now for the main course? and what drink would you serve with it?

I'm gonna prepare East Meets West food types, so those who're interested in tasting Asian food can enjoy it and those who aren't adventurous enough would be able to eat still.

Eastern food: Nasi Tumpeng!!!

This pic is taken from this site: http://www.geocities.com/omimachifuri/food4.htm

The above website described this meal this way:

The trademark of tumpeng is its cone shape. By long usage, since 1970's whenever someone say 'tumpeng' it started to mean the entire ritual dishes: the conic rice (symbolizing the nearest mountain -- this is an animist characteristic of the Javanese that's still intact), chicken, steamed veggies with grated coconut seasoning, finely sliced or chopped omelette, spiced fried potato cake, and so on.

A tumpeng is a communal meal. So, though tumpeng comes in a variety of sizes (imagine the variety of heights and diameter of European wedding cakes), it's usually still a big 'mountain' of rice, lavishly decorated all over with the steamed veggies that would get eaten with it later (such communal gatherings in Java and Indonesia in general are always long processes of speeches and prayers and such).

This photo is taken from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gigih/341828775/

I also inserted the second pic so that you can see the difference in the size and the decoration and the side dishes. Since there are already so many side dishes, I'm not going to add anything.

Western food: I'm gonna prepare some mashed potatoes plus Grilled Salmon with Sun-Dried Tomato, Olive, Caper, and Parsley Relish plus some salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, corn) and sour salad dressing.

This photo is taken from: http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2007/09/grilled-salmon-with-sun-dried-tomato.html

Drinks: I'm gonna prepare some coffee, tea, fresh water plus some light cider.


5) The Sweet: Finally, the sweet. Which would you choose, and why?

Blueberry sauce 'coz it's very rich in vitamins and 'coz I bet everybody loves berries he he he...

The picture is taken from: http://www.joyofbaking.com/BlueberrySauce.html

6) The Entertainment: The dinner party has gone swimmingly, everybody has had fun, conversation and drinks have been flowing all evening. At the end of the meal you announce that everybody should perform their 'party piece' (no matter how strange or pointless). What party piece would you perform?

Hmmm...this is tough. Maybe I'll ask them to mime for me and everybody else can guess the meaning, but first the mime has to give the key word to us, for example: Movie Title or something like that. ;-D


7) The End Of The Evening: The party is over, everybody has gone home, the house suddenly feels empty and quiet. Your eyes fix on the hi-fi in the corner of the room. You search though your CD collection to put on some music as you want to listen to one more track before your retire to bed. Which track would you play?

Right now I'm in the mood to listen to "Truly Madly Deeply" by Savage Garden he he he...And I'll sing it while looking deeply into my hubby's eyes since this is a love song ho ho ho ho ho...*wink*






8) The Dinner Party Nightmares: Okay, so the "virtual" dinner party is over. Now for the real thing. Have you ever been to or hosted a dinner party during which something has gone wrong (either with the food, a guest or something else)?

Gladly no. :-D

Now I'd love to tag Michelle, Mother Hen, Blur Ting, Amber and Karen (Water Learner) he he he he...I'd love to tag more people but I know that some of them are SO busy right now, so if any one of you who reads this is interested in doing this meme, go ahead, OK?