3BT: Random Days

1. Hubby upgraded my computer and had to change my mouse into a bigger one (the old one had to be taken away 'coz the port behind the CPU had changed, so it didn't fit anymore). I then complained that it was a bit too big for me (I have small hands), so immediately he went online to order a smaller one. BLESS HIM!!!!

2. Hubby's been having some holiday (due to accumulated overtime) and it's been LOVELY to be welcomed back home from work with tight hugs. :-D

3. Got two nice surprises (I'm afraid I can't tell you what they are 'coz it's private, but I just want to cherish them) he he he he he...

4. Peeling onions wearing swimming goggles WORKED!!! I didn't even shed a tear during the whole peeling and chopping process! YAAAAAAAAAAAAYYY!!!!

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5. A customer came by and told me that she had read my blogs and enjoyed them. THANK YOU!!! Your words of encouragement are well appreciated! :-D What a nice surprise!

6. Muscles that are a bit sore after an exercise and a shower. Endorphin rush is awesome! :-D

7. Accidentally finding old songs in youtube that you had forgotten and then being able to enjoy them once more.

8. Watching this fun video clip: 

3BT: Random Days

1. On nights when hubby goes to sleep earlier than me, I LOVE tucking him in bed and kissing him goodnight. :-D

2. Watching this interesting video clip:


3. My boss called me yesterday to tell me that if needed, I may have to work longer on a certain day. How thoughtful of her to call in advance first to warn me about it because that day we'd be visiting my MIL (my boss didn't know this), so I could tell MIL in advance that we may be late.

4. Hearing a funny thing that my nephew said about a certain circumstance. Apparently in the middle of a heated argument somewhere, a woman passed out and my nephew then asked his mom, "Mom, why did she pass out? Was she hit by a car?" LOL LOL LOL!!!!!

5. Listening to this podcast about Living Without Children After Infertility. At one point I even shed some tears. 

6. Had a weird, romantic dream. Even though it was weird, it felt nice to have a romantic dream once in a while. In the dream, two blind people fell in love and the last scene of my dream was when they were holding each other tightly (it seemed that they had been separated or something and that made the meeting all the more sweeter!). :-D


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7. Hubby started chanting "Informer" before we watched a movie and it made me laugh uncontrollably - which in turn made him laugh along with me. LOL LOL!!!

3BT: Random Days

1. Kissing hubby by sucking both his upper and lower lips (and in the process getting tickled by his grown moustache) LOL!!!

2. To sit on the carpet in front of hubby's couch while he was sitting there, then looking up and being able to see his nostrils very clearly from that angle. What a view! :-D

3. Booking a spring trip to Rome. WOOHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOO!!! Can't wait!!!

4. Hearing a small boy (perhaps around 5 years old) babble about money to his mother, which made me and a couple of elderly smile because he just wouldn't shut up.



5. A customer saying, "I'll arrange everything so that the barcodes of each item I bought was facing you so that you don't have to turn them. I don't want you to suffer from de Quervain syndrome." AWWWWWWWW...it was the VERY first time someone had EVER done that!!! So heart-warming! :-D

6. The smell of Indonesian potato croquettes being baked in the oven and then after they were done, the taste was just SO heavenly.

7. Me: (jokingly) STOP drinking coffee!
Hubby: (without missing a beat) STOP eating chili sauce!
Me: UGH! That was a sucker punch!!!!!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HAHHH...

7. Watching this video:

3BT: Random Days

1. Hubby had a pre-Christmas weekend party in Luosto with his online gaming buddies. When I was going to work and he was preparing to go there, I told him, "Have fun, but not too much fun that you won't remember coming home."

He said without missing a beat, "But the fun part is coming home after the party."

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW...my heart melted right away. :-D He's not often verbally romantic, but he does drop "romantic verbal bombs" like these every now and then and it always catches me by surprise. :-D

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2. Reading these words that made me laugh: "You're incapable of being destroyed. Like a cockroach." ROFL ROFL ROFL!!!!!!!!!

3. My appreciative and thoughtful direct superior who is fair in treating us all.

4. Watching snowflake patterns on my bike saddle when I had to run some errands downtown.

5. My first attempt at recreating Zuppa Soup was a success (and I found a cheap ceramics bowl that could be put in the oven). WOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!


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6. I made some oven baked pancake (actually pannukakku) and I'm going to eat it soon with some strawberry jam. The smell is spreading to the other rooms, too...mmmmhhhh...

7. Dark Belgian chocolate that just melts in the mouth. I've never had anything like that before. Today I bought a few more packages of the same chocolate for Christmas gifts (and for us as well LOL!). HEAVENLY!!!!

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. Getting the best bday present ever from hubby: A LOVE LETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or to be exact a love email he he...which I printed and reread. It made me cry today when I woke up and checked my mailbox he he...It was everything I could have hoped for in a love letter - and more! Oh, and it's in Finnish! :-D

2. A friend dropped by and brought a doughnut and a small candle and we had a nice chat over coffee and doughnuts. And she brought me a homemade gift and card as well! BLESS HER!!! What a perfect day!

3. A customer who had the initiative to take out somebody else's shopping cart that had been left inside the store to the place where it belonged.

4. Understanding and thoughtful parents and in-laws that don't ask or push us about giving them any grandkids once I explained to them our decision that two is a complete family and that we don't wish to try any treatment or anything else. They respect our decision fully.

5. Patient people that come along my way (including dear hubby).

6. People that don't take me to any unnecessary guilt trips about any topics at all (including parents, in-laws, and hubby).

7. My family have been enjoying their trip to Bali with SIL's family.

8. My Mom and Ken got sick "at the right time", so they were fine already before they were supposed to fly to Bali. That way they got to enjoy the trip fully.

9. Gorgeous pink sky.

3BT: Random Days

1. Hubby lighting up the porch light for me whenever I have an evening shift so that it's easy for me to see in the dark when I get back home ('coz we get less and less daylight here).

2. SNOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!! It arrived very late this year, but I'm SO happy to see it anyhow.


3. Snowy trees looking so hush hush when the temperature gets colder than -10'C. They look so beautiful. :-D

4. Saying something to two ladies that made them laugh - and in turn their laughter made me laugh, too!

5. Watching a funny JibJab video clip and then creating a similar one with our photos in it and laughing so much 'coz of it.

6. Plenty of belly laughs for no really funny reasons - the kind of laugh that makes your belly muscles ache and your belly fat jiggles up and down ---> Note: Sometimes when I'm really tired, I don't get cranky - but any little thing can make me laugh hysterically like that. :-D

7. Riding my bike in Winter Wonderland is quite a feeling.


8. Getting a little exercise by shoveling the snow in the yard. There's not too much yet, but I just need to clear up some snow to make it safer for me to ride my bike home at nights.

9. Waving to a customer who was in his car when I went past him by bike and he waved back at me with such a huge smile on his face. It's kinda weirdly nice to be friendly to people whose names I don't even know!!! But it doesn't really matter 'coz what matters most is that they're smiling back at me! :-D

3BT: Random Days

1. Hubby warming up my side of the bed before I got to bed (usually he goes up first before me), so even though it's cold outside (-20 or even colder during the night), my side of the bed is blissfully WARM the first time I lay my body there. MMMMMHHHHH...And he has to endure the cold side of the bed once I go to my side of the bed, so THANKS SO MUCH for that, Bunny! HIGHLY appreciate your thoughtfulness!!!

2. Getting a surprise early gift bag for my birthday he he he he...You know who you are. THANKS SO SO SO MUCH!!!

3. Getting another package from a friend who has too much extra Indo stuff (spices, snacks). REALLY thankful for this!!! :-D

4. Listening to this beautiful duet...



5. Sleeping for 11 hours HA HA HA HA HA...

6. A customer telling me that I fit this kind of job I'm doing and that she likes me. THANKS for the encouragement - 'coz there are times I wonder if I really fit for this kind of job or not.

7. Someone told me about the mistake I'd made at work and I'm THANKFUL for that. Can't undo my mistakes, but I can always learn to do better. :-D

8. Hot tea with honey on cold days. Mmmmhhhh...

9. Pink sky always cheers me up. :-D

10. Frozen trees. For some reason when it's SO cold, they seem to be frozen solid - they have a different consistency of coldness than when it's been snowing all day, for example. It's hard to describe, but there's this kind of lovely undisturbed hush that permeates the air...mmmm...

3BT: Random Days

1. Hubby for having changed many cables in the house and having rearranged many things neatly and added new light switches to make my life easier. LOVE to have a thoughtful hubby.

2. First day at work went TOO fast that it was blurry - I had no time to think nor be too anxious 'coz I spent half of my working hours there to be in the cashier. Made mistakes and made the line of people wait a couple of times when I had to call my senior to get help, but at least most of the customers were patient enough to bear with me, the newbie. A few were curious enough to find out where I came from and they were really nice to me: one of them even said, "Hey, it's nice to see a new cashier! 'Coz we live nearby, we're going to meet often as this is the closest store to our place". :-D

My MIL also dropped by as promise to find out how I was doing and I met another familiar face who always smiles at me whenever we meet. They brightened up my day! :-D

3. The fast-paced working environment meant that time flew and before I knew it, I had finished my shift HA HA HA HA...

4. Seeing lots more yellow wild flowers blooming in our own yard (they hadn't popped out before)...simply GORGEOUS!!!

5. The "exercise trick" on Sunday worked 'coz I could fall asleep earlier at night to make sure I had enough rest before starting my work shift at 7 am on Monday.

6. They've added another work shift this week, so I'm gonna work every day for a few hours (at first I didn't have any shift on Wed). This is good, esp. 'coz R2's leaving to Helsinki today to do some kind of computer training and he'll only be back on Sat afternoon. That means I will have plenty of things to do while he's away - plus the more hours I get, the more money I can get HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...

7. Eating this zesty, minty rice at my friend's place. Rich of flavour!


8. Making my own Wedang Ronde and they taste SO good!!!!


9. Being surrounded by dandelions in the HUGE field in my in-laws' place. On the second half of the video, you can see the strawberry field (covered with net) and the dandelions were still asleep 'coz it was rather cloudy. I took the video from the second floor in my in-laws' place 'coz that was where we spent the night.



10. Almost killed a pot of flowers given by an aunt when I moved them to a bigger pot and added fertilizer. However, noticed that they got dried and and the flowers started to die one by one, so I changed the soil again and this time I didn't add any fertilizer and now they start blooming again bit by bit. So they just didn't like fertilizer!!! ;-D

3BT: Random Days

1. A very friendly and thoughtful person at the pharmacy. She spoke VERY slowly and clearly in Finnish to make sure that I'd understand her. :-D

2. Picking around 7 litres of strawberries from MIL's strawberry field and packing most of them in the freezer for future use.


3. Surviving another week at work.

4. Being short, 'coz it has its advantages...just take a look at this pic below. Isn't it nice to be able to stretch yourself fully?


5. Eating the sweetest cucumber EVER in my entire life...fresh from my MIL's tree. Wanna see how HUGE they are? (Yeah, I know I'm a small woman, but still they're huge, aren't they?)



6. Having a thoughtful bro-in-law and sis-in-law. How blessed am I!

7. Dipping myself in this lake when it was around 28'C outside and looking at this gorgeous sky. What a splendid summer!



8. Having tapioca flour means that I can make "batagor" tomorrow (click on the link to read the recipe), though I'll use salmon fillet as the main ingredient. WOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!! It feels GREAT to be able to recreate some of the food I've been missing.

9. Having an option that I can't write about here yet, but still I'm thankful for it. :-D

10. Daydreaming about all the glorious food I can eat again in Indo and knowing that soon I can enjoy them HUA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...

11. Having more than enough of everything. :-D

12. Not obsessing on baby making program or my test results.

Here's to Friendship!

Today I got an SMS from Mom, saying that two of my best friends had just visited my parents. One of them is a doctor (click the link to read her blog) and her husband is also a doctor. All three of them came to visit my parents 'coz they knew my Dad had just had that little accident. My friend's husband told my parents that if something happened, they could call him to get some advice or help.

I can't describe how touched I am having such great, thoughtful, caring friends (the kind of friends I trust with my life). There were never any back stabbing among us...though of course sometimes a misunderstanding happens, but still we've been sharing all the good and bad times together for years and years...I don't know what I'll become without them.

So today, in honour of my wonderful friends, I'd love to say CHEERS TO FRIENDSHIP!!! :-D :-D :-D

I've also met so many thoughtful, supportive, positive blogger friends who have been there for me through my good and bad times. Life is much more beautiful when you're surrounded by friends, especially those you can trust.

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Here's a classic friendship song that I'm sure everybody knows...

Out of Breath

Why out of breath? Today after work I decided to ride my bike to the school I'd go to next week when my Finnish classes start 'coz I wanted to know how long it took me to cycle there from work. There was a part of the road that was slightly uphill and I was running out of breath. I'm telling you that cycling is NOT easy, especially when there's snow (I guess it's kinda like biking on sand) and the road is uphill. Plus I hadn't been riding a bike in a VERY long time before I bought this bike he he he...So my stamina is ONE (not zero, but one) HE HE HE HE...

Imagine me on my bike, out of breath...with my mouth open to help me breathe...and then my nose started to run, so I had to stop since it was going uphill so that I could take out my tissue and blow my nose he he he he he...

Oh almost forgot...how long did the trip last? One way it took about 9 minutes (though it could have been faster had I not stopped a few times HA HA HA...). I feel challenged to beat my record and to cycle faster and to gain more stamina. :-D

If my butt and legs aren't getting any sexier after 3 months riding a bike to school, I'm going to sue somebody LOL LOL LOL!!! Kidding!!! ;-D

Anyway, I was sweating so much by the time I got back home (my shirt and tank top were damp) and I felt SO SO SO tired that I had to take a nap right away (I fell asleep in just a few seconds).

Here's my 3BT list today:

1. I was going to buy one Finnish book today that the library was selling cheap, but the manager told me that it was a gift for me for being a helper there. WOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!

2. The manager suggested me to lend some audio CDs for me to help listen to more Finnish, so I did today. Unfortunately I haven't had the time to listen to them yet 'coz I had to cook today after my nap.

3. I've been writing short emails to my MIL and when we were there the other day, I also helped guide her to do things. She says that since she lost the internet connection for almost a week due to cable problem, she hadn't been able to practise much, so she forgot and she wanted me to tell her how to do things again. I told her that she didn't need to hurry and she'll remember it eventually, 'coz I've also been learning Finnish SLOWLY, STEP BY STEP, so I understand her feelings. :-))))

I LOVE feeling useful and being able to help her! :-D

4. R2 has been very understanding and thoughtful, just like always. He has NEVER yelled at me. We bought a key house (I'll take a pic of it sometime later) and he asked me first where he should put it since he wanted me to be able to grab them easily considering our heights. :-)))) THANK YOU SO MUCH, Bonbon, for being just the way you are!!!

I'll blog-hop in the weekend or tomorrow, OK?

3BT: Weekend Wrap

1a. Enjoying my fave songs from this band, Mr. Big. Here's one KEWL video, To Be With You. I LOVE Eric Martin's voice!!! MMMMMMMMMMMM...



1b. Watching a perfectly cloudless, starry sky and a crescent from our apt. window. SUCH a lovely, lovely night!

2. Watching thick fog in the early morning. It was breathtaking!!!

3. Having a chance to pick lingonberries on such a SUNNY day!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYY!!!

4. My mother-in-law's thoughtfulness. She asked me if I got tired after berry picking and then she offered us food. Again!

5. My mother-in-law's delicious chicken curry. VERY spicy!!! YUM!!!

6. My mother-in-law gave us a KILO of reindeer/moose meat. It's marinaded already, so I don't have to slice up the meat or process it. Plus we can't really afford buying that much reindeer meat, so I TRULY appreciate it!!! HALLELUJAH for wonderful mother-in-laws!!! God bless her!

7. Saw two MOST BEAUTIFUL deer in the forest right after we finished picking up the berries. I'd seen other deer before, but those two made me feel like I was in a Fairy Tale land. As if I were Snow White who went to the forest to pick berries and play with the deer. I LOVE this lifeeeeeeeee!!! ^____________________________^

8. Receiving SMS from my future sister-in-law he he he he...

9. Having a chance to chat with two of my closest friends today via YM. YEEEESSSSSSSSSS!!!

10. Hubby drove me to the supermarket today to buy food plus ICE-CREAM!!! I'm going to eat it later tonight. And being grateful that there's a regular un-pricey supermarket which is open every Sundays in this little village. YIIIPPPPPPPPPPIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!!! ;-D

WHOOPS!!! Almost forgot this one...

11. Hubby downloaded a movie I had wanted to download, so I could watch it already on Friday. That day was his gaming day at his cousin's house, but he spent a minute to send me a very sweet SMS. I LOVE that guy!!! ;-D

Quiz: What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

Your Dominant Intelligence is Intrapersonal Intelligence

Reflective and thoughtful, you enjoy spending time alone. You are good at analyzing yourself - and knowing your true feelings. Totally self aware, you are in tune with your dreams and desires. A spiritual and philopsophical person, your inner calmness inspires and helps others. You would make a great philosopher, researcher, or theorist.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?