lotsa pictures

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Sienna likes Ikea's blueberry soup as well.

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Sienna has been dressing herself in tutus, crowns and ballerina skirts lately.
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:-D
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Jay brought Sienna chocolate lollipops & two artprints from the Calgary Toy Show. Doesn't this one totally look like Sienna? Robin got cool cards (Darth Vader stuff) and a Star Trek visor glasses. I guess the show was really awesome. Tons of people dressed in amazing costumes, celebrities, artists... Way better than the Edmonton show, I guess. Everyone was asking Jay to open a store in Calgary as there really isn't a good collectible toy store there. The gypsy in me immediately started to think "hmm, Calgary would be fun... Better weather... mountains only an hour away...". Then Jay reminded me how much more expensive housing is in Calgary and I guess we don't want to move away from family & friends again.

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Play foam can go anywhere...

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:-D

Jay's mom brought these Minnie Mouse ears with wedding veil to Sienna from her last Los Angeles trip. Sienna doesn't seem to wear them (atleast not yet) but doesn't Robin look so cute? :)

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Can you tell I'm just-a-little-bit addicted to the white edges in photos at the moment? (roll eyes). :)

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Nothing else earth shattering is going on in our lives. Getting Robin's passport application ready to go (he'll be going to Disneyworld, Florida, with Jay's parents and the other foster guys this summer, he's so excited), went to see the geese at the pond for the first time this year, enjoyed couple of +20C days, this morning it snowed big wet snowflakes but then it turned into rain, no snow on the ground thank goodness, taydellisesti unohdin etta on vappu (mun pitaisi todellakin tehda aina jotain erikoista Suomen juhlapaivien kunniaksi, idiksia tanne pain muilta ulkosuomalaisilta tai kenelta vaan tietty), realized that I have been giving Sienna wheat almost every day (I thought I checked the ingredients in granola bars but totally missed the many wheat ingredients in them for some reason) so maybe she doesn't have other allergies after all, I still made an appointment with Dr So so she can get tested on everything this time (just to be sure, he does needleless testing that really works), have done tons of scrapbooking trying to finish my secret project on time, I'm getting there...

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Didn't really care for American Idol this week. David Cook's second song was ok, as well as Brooke White's second song. David Archuleta sang great but the songs didn't really do anything for me this time. It's fun to see all the screaming teenage girls yelling "I love you" though... :-D

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There you go.

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Tiedan etta mun pitaisi kirjoittaa suomeksi myos mutten jaksa usein molemmilla kielilla ja kun taalla kay mun enkun kielisia ystaviakin niin monesti tulee nyt enkuksi vaan. En kylla taysin unohda suomen kielta. Mita milloinkin. :)

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ps. The world is so crazy. Disgusting things in the news lately. Grrh.

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let's turbo my life!

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:-D

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What a day this is turning out to be. Lots has happened already and it's only 1.45pm. Last night Jay got back from the Calgary toy show. I'll tell you more about it later. It's nice to be able to sleep again. This morning I excitedly showed Jay the scrapbooking I've been doing while he was gone (not that he cares about it but... :-D). Jay noticed a typo on one of my pages. Arrgh! I had used rub on letters and do you think they actually come off? Nope. Lovely. I tried scraping the letters off but of course that messed up the paper underneath. Then I had to try to white out the mess and use a black pen to draw little flowers back that I had scraped off. The result: disgusting! I am some sort of perfectionist I guess even though you wouldn't think of it when you come to my often-not-even-close-to-sparkling house. I have to redo the whole thing. I can't look at it and not think "grrh".

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Then my day got better as I checked to see who had won this month's goodie box challenge (see www.thegoodiebox.blogspot.com). It was the first time I had ever participated in a scrapbooking challenge. I WON!!!!!!!!!!! With my very first scrapbooking page! It cheered me up after all that grrh earlier in the morning. Yey! :-D And they (Talia & Kim, the most talented super duo running the goodie box) even chose the prize for me that I wanted (there were three prizes to be won). Yey, yey, yey. :-D

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Then I gave Sienna a bath and put her down for a nap. I turned the tv on while I had a late brunch. I got "stuck" watching a tv commercial for Turbo Jam exercise program. I have been gaining weight "like crazy" in the last couple of years especially. I'm not huge or anything but I do have a pouch now and feel like I'm all blubbery. I have never in my life exercised regularly. In Finland I used to go for 2 hour walks by the sea. This has been something I have totally wanted to change in my life but so far haven't been able to. Lately this has been on my mind a lot. I've been so frustrated with myself for being lazy in this area of my life. I don't feel healthy and I definately don't feel fit. I have been trying to figure out how I can start an exercise program that I'll actually do. I know I wouldn't go to a gym to exercise. Just because it takes time to go there and I also like to shower (at home) after a workout. I have wanted to find something I could do in the morning at home. I have NEVER bought anything "from tv" before but I just got off the phone after ordering the Turbo Jam workout kit. I still can't believe it to be totally honest. I hope I won't regret this later. But I felt that for $140 I can atleast try. It's cheaper than buying an exercise bike for instance (something I had contemplated on doing). This exercise will work all my muscles. It'll take about 2 weeks to get the order (I hate paying for shipping so I didn't pay for a faster delivery) and I'll let you know how it goes from there. I'm hoping and praying that this will be "it" for me and that it'll motivate me enough to get off my butt and start getting fit. The exercises on the program looked like the kind of thing I tend to do on my own. About five times a year (literally) I get the urge to exercise and I turn on some fast music and go at it. I just do whatever to get my heart rate up and to feel like Im working my muscles. Well, turns out I was doing "good stuff" according to this Turbo Jam program. So I figured that if that's the kind of thing I actually enjoy doing every once in awhile, then maybe I'll end up sticking with this thing in the long run. Will you all PLEASE send lots of positive vibes this way to help me change this part of my life. Bug me about it if you hear me forgetting about the whole thing. PHLEEEASE. :) I'm so scared that I won't stick with this program and that I'll forever hate myself for not getting fit.

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Well, gotta go. We'll see what else this day will bring. So far, pretty good, I think. I can even handle redoing the scrapbooking thing, I guess. :)

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girlie stuff

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www.tuscanrose.com

I just checked this website again and noticed they now have nude collages there too. Grrh. Just when I did this posting. Can't avoid inappropriate stuff even in "seemingly clean" web sites. Well, they do have cute stuff too so it's up to you (of course) to decide if you want to visit the site or not.

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I'm sure you've all seen Blythe dolls. I think they are so cute. The collector in me wants to start collecting them and taking fun pictures with them in nature or in fun places. :) Who wants to start a Blythe club? :-D As if I'd have time. But sometimes I think it would be fun to do silly stuff like this.

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who wants to go?

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This is a fun thing many Finnish people like to do, sometimes even couple of times a year. Take a cruise to Stockholm. The cruise ships are awesome. There's restaurants, shopping, movies, night clubs, swimming pools & saunas, entertainment, smorgasboards, video games and other entertainment for children... The ships are gigantic, usually about 15 stories high. You get to shop tax free. Some people load up on booze (*roll eyes*) but I always looked forward to buying tons of chocolate and candy (*roll eyes* :-D ). The coasts of Finland and Sweden are beautiful. Tons of islands. The cruise ships go by one of the islands I used to live on as a child.

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Stockholm is a beautiful city. It's built on many islands. Very modern.
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...But also, in typical European fashion, there is "gamla stad" which means old city. Narrow gobble stone streets, cute little shops (lots of crafty/artsy stuff), fun little restaurants, the king's castle (everyone goes there to see the fancy guard exchange), amazing architecture... Gamla Stan is one of my favorite places.
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Some of the buildings in Gamla Stan.
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You can also take a quick cruise to Tallinn, Estonia. If I remember right, the cruise only lasts less than two hours. You go on hover craft ships. Tallinn has an amazing Old Town as well. It's surrounded by these big stone walls and castle like setting. I LOVED going there last time I went to Finland. Again, cute shops, fun restaurants... You get the idea.
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So beautiful!
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Gotta love the old buildings and the athmosphere there! This is the main square. Don't you just love all the colors? Tons of amazing picture taking opportunities. :)

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The place is gorgeous even in the winter.

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So... Who wants to go? :)

I sure get Europe sick in the summer.

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Talk about going... Jay left to Calgary tonight. He went to do another toy show. Lots of long work days for Jay lately. No days off. I sure miss him tons when he's gone. I can't sleep when he's not home. I stay up until I'm just about ready to pass out. I just can't get myself to go to bed by myself. I usually don't fall asleep until about 2-3am. Crazy but true. It totally feels like half of myself is gone. I feel lost without my Jay. Y

A bit pathetic, I know. But also so romantic. :)

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Sienna is a bit sick. Not bad (atleast not yet). Runny nose, slight fever, coughing at nightime only. Hope it won't get any worse.

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I have been busy scrapbooking. Even though I can't print my pictures, I still finish pages to the point where I only have to add the pictures later on. I'm sure loving scrapbooking. :)

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me lovey

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Me lovey these chairs by Leif.designpark (via re-nest.com).

Especially the second from the left.

I'd love a kitchen table & chairs like these. *sigh* :)

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me likey

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Porvoo, Finland

by "chango" at flickr
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Marimekko dress by Mika Piirainen

www.marimekko.fi
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antelope ground squirrel

by "peter_r" at flickr
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How cute is this? Y

by "siilikala" at flickr

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pusuja & haleja nida sopoliinille

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pusuja, pusuja ja lisaa pusuja!

haleja, haleja ja lisaa haleja!

Y Y Y

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VOI ETTA kun OTTAA PAAHAN etta asun niin kaukana!!!

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me likey & me NOT likey!

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Ok, it's official - this "snow-storm-can't-go-anywhere-kind-of-weather" has made me a little cookoo. I decided to take pictures of some of my favorite food items for you all to see. How crazy is this? I've reached a new low in my blogging. :-D

I love prunes. Always have. They take me back to my childhood. My favorite Christmas baking is prune jam filled star thingys - luumutorttu (made with puff pastry kind of dough).

Tim Horton's apple cinnamon herbal tea is so yummy with honey. Warms you nicely on a cold day. I need to go make some after I finish this posting. :(

E.D.Smith's jams are my favorite if I can't get homemade jam. This tastes so good on warm pannukakku (oven pancake, kind of like Yorkshire pudding but Finns eat it as a dessert with jam). Pannariakin voisi tehda tanaan. Comfort food.

Love these huge spice bottles from Costco. I like lots of spice in my food. The roasted pepper & garlic is yummy on nachos. First I fry hamburger & red pepper and add a bit of water & taco seasoning in it. I layer tortilla chips, hamburger mixture and melted Cheese Whiz. Then I sprinkle the roasted pepper & garlic spice on and add some TexMex shredded cheese. Repeat layers and bake it in the oven. Eat with salsa. Mmmm!! Tonight's supper?

The cajun spice is the secret ingredient in my yummy chicken quesadillas. I also use it for hash brown potatoes (paistetut perunat).

Blueberry soup from Ikea. First thing in the morning. Takes me back to childhood late summers when we'd go pick wild blueberries in the forest. Good for your tummy. Antioxidants and stuff. :)

Renee's poppy seed salad dressing. New find. Brandy made a salad with it and I had to go buy some. Great on almost any kind of salad. Spinach leaves, mandarin orange slices, red pepper, almond slivers...

Yep, food on my mind today. Talleenhan ne ylimaaraiset kilot tippuu oikeen hyvin. :)

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This is what happens when I'm on my computer = I usually wait when Sienna is either eating or sleeping to get on the computer.

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Sienna was washing giraffe's hair with bubbly shampoo this morning (play foam). :)

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My camera is driving me nuts. I shouldn't complain. I should be "happy with what I have", content. But look at these pictures. Every time I try to snap a picture without the flash, they don't turn out sharp. Time to read the manual, perhaps? Maybe there's a trick to this. Our camera is not that bad, I'm sure. I never have patience to read through manuals but I guess it would be a good idea.

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I can't believe our lovely spring weather here. It's NASTY outside. Me NOT likey! :(

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latest pictures

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Robin made a cardboard keyboard for himself. :-)

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not much

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Crochet art by Emily Barletta.

www.emily-b.net

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I love this wedding cake! I don't have a clue who did it as the blog I found it from didn't mention the source. Beautiful!

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Not much happening here. Sienna is sick & napping, Jay & Robin are selling stuff at a toy show, tons of snow and still more coming down, the printer isn't co-operating so can't really do any scrapbooking... This leaves me with... reading! I'm off to find a good book. I finished reading Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights recently and must say that is one dark book. Gloomy is probably a better word. Didn't really enjoy it that much but just kept on reading.
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where should we fly?

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Last Sunday we went to Jay's parents for a barbeque and to celebrate Jay's and two of Sienna's cousins' birthdays. Max and Linda had just come back from Spokane and they bought this fun airplane teeter-totter for the kids to play in. I hope it'll take adults' weight as well - I'm looking forward to trying it myself. :) The kids had fun. The wind was cold though. It was really hard to get Sienna off the plane. Can you blame her? :)

(I swiped this picture from Brandy's blog. Of course I had forgotten my camera at home.)

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Robin got himself a ride to a friend's place yesterday without telling us. He spent the night there. I thought Jay had arranged a ride for him and Jay thought I did. We figured it out later. That turkey! He's in big trouble when he gets home. He definetly needs to let us know if he's going somewhere.

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I was going nuts yesterday with my printer. It wouldn't print sepia pictures. They kept turning out green all the time no matter how many times I cleaned it. I wasted so much ink trying to get it to work. Time for a new printer!! I should find out about the Kodak printer featured in Celebrity Apprentice show. After all, the ink is supposed to be so cheap. :-D The companies featured on that show sure get good advertising.

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A friend of mine started a photography business here in Edmonton.

Check it out:

www.urbanalli.blogspot.com

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special day today

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From CB2 catalog.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY INCREDIBLE HUNK!!

I LOVE YOU LOTS & LOTS & LOTS & LOTS & LOTS........

YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

eee

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I just want to quickly share couple of things from a book I've been reading lately.

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"So many things about our lives we cannot choose, but we can decide where our minds travel."

(Maurine Jensen Proctor)

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"Sometimes you come around an aisle in the grocery store and see somebody just standing there, looking back, waiting. It usually turns out that this person isn't doing this for fun. No, when you take a closer look you see they are waiting for a dawdling little child. Now, one kind of parent will be waiting there patiently, maybe even with a bit of a smile on her face. She might explain things this way: "I might as well be patient. I might as well relax while I wait, because this child of mine doesn't move fast, at least not when I want him to. Everything is fascinating and novel to him. He is absorbing it all, or trying to. This is his job as a child, and his job takes time. He's just doing his job. I brought him into this big interesting place. I knew very well what would happen. So I'm not surprised or offended if I have to wait in the aisles." And the mother might even add this: "Besides, my child is still on some sort of schedule he brought from heaven. I guess up there they don't care much about clocks or even calendars."

Or, on the other hand, we might find another kind of parent waiting in the aisle, the kind that stands there fuming, rolling his or her eyes, getting kind of crazy with impatience, saying those familiar words, "Can't you just hurry up?"

(Wayne Brickey)

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Please don't give yourself a guilt trip if you are sometimes the mother #2. I think we mothers tend to feel guilty about everything. I just loved that quote because it made me think how in each situation we can decide how we react. We can always choose "where our minds will travel". I'm sure we could all improve in patience. I know I sure could! Sometimes it's easier than on other days. But if we are conscious about our thoughts and how we can direct them in various directions, then we can do better than if we don't even give it a thought.

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Took Robin to the dentist yesterday. He has to go to the University Hospital dental clinic because if he needs any work done, they need to give him laughing gas. Long time ago, Robin restled his dentist to the ground (knocking a big plant down and everything) when he tried to give him a needle. :-D No cavities this time. His teeth are pretty nasty as he still has his first teeth (maitohampaat). They've had to remove many of them.

I had made a lunch for Sienna as we had to leave right after her nap. Guess who forgot it at home? Figures. :)

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Later... I guess some of Robin's teeth are permanent ones and many of them were still baby teeth and had to be pulled out as they had gone so yucky. Basically he hasn't got all his permanent teeth and probably won't get some of them.

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lemonade, where are you again?

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Katja from Skimbaco (please see the link on the right, I just don't have the time to do link stuff at the moment) challenged me to this awesome meme. I love it so I thought I'd do it quickly even though it's late.

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LIFE GAVE ME SOME LEMONS -

IT'S OK, I MADE DELICIOUS LEMONADE - MEME

Rules:

* Copy and paste these rules to your blog post.

* Link back to person who tagged you.

* Write about an incident in your life you first thought was really bad, but ended up being a blessing.

* Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.

* Let each person you tagged know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

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A few years ago, Jay and I were still selling toys and collectibles on eBay. We worked together from our home. Pluses: lots of time together, no commute to work, flexible hours. Minuses: a really messy home with shelves full of merchandise in our tv room and our basement was packed as well, got tired of taking packages to the post office all the time. Our home business was doing great. We were making good money. American dollar was really strong compared to Canadian dollar. It was great as all our sales were paid with US dollars. It got to the point where we felt like we had to move the business out of our home. Just for sanity's sake. I just couldn't stand having merchandise everywhere. We decided to look for an industrial business location. We weren't interested in opening a retail store so we just wanted a space where to put all the stuff and keep on doing eBay business. We were so excited. We started looking. And looking. And looking. And looking. And looking. We literally looked at any space available, yet found NOTHING suitable for us. We felt like we were jumping against a brick wall. It was terrible. We started to get pretty down about it. Eventually (after TONS of looking) we decided to open a retail store instead. As soon as we decided to do that, things started to go so smoothly and everything seemed to fall into place so quickly and without trouble. We were a bit reluctant to open another store again but felt that it was the only thing to do. A little later, the US dollar started going downhill and down went our income. Oops, it was actually at this point we decided we had to open a store, not before. Our income was dwindling away. We realized that us not finding an industrial location was a HUGE blessing. We would have been bankrupt if we had done so. eBay business just wasn't worth it anymore. We were making hardly any money anymore.

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So, here we are. We now own three retail stores (two with a partner). Now we are getting a bit tired of retail work. Anyone who has been in retail business knows that it takes forever to build your business and to see a good income from it. So here we are not doing great financially. We're doing ok but we sure don't have much extra money. We see light at the end of the tunnel but wonder how long until that end of the tunnel comes. We are getting up there in age (we are!) and don't have the patience to build a business it seems. We are getting a bit antsy about our business again and wonder if we want to keep doing it still. Things are up in the air for us once again. We are still hanging in there but for how long... ?? Now I'm looking forward to seeing how the current lemons will turn into lemonade. Can't wait! :)

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I HATE trying to decide who to challenge. Not everyone wants to do these things and I also hate leaving someone out. So, once again I'm just challenging anyone who is interested to do this. This is a meme that has real meaning and we can all receive strength from each other's experiences.

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doilies aren't bad after all

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I used to love crocheting doilies but I've never liked them in my house. Until now, that is. I love this idea of doilies on a duvet cover. I'd do black doilies on antique beige colored linen. Neat-o! :)
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I just had to come and tell everyone who I liked in American Idol tonight. I missed David Archuleta's performance so I can't say much about that. But I loved these three: David Cook, Christy Lee Cook and Jason Castro.

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I'll also give everyone a hint what my secret project is about: it involves TONS of scrapbooking. But that's all I'm going to say for a month or two.

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Sienna is going through one of her "I ain't sleeping" periods. She has a hard time going to sleep and then wakes up with nightmares. I've been bringing her in our bed couple of times which means hardly any sleep for Jay and I. We need a king size bed for these tough nights! Poor girl! I just don't think it's fair that a little girl has nightmares. Last night she kept saying there was an ant in her bed. Bugs scare her. I've been trying to get her used to them. We look at ants outside, check out what the ladybugs are doing, etc. It's so hard to see your little girl suffer in any way yet I know she'll she'll have lots of trials in her life just like the rest of us. They're such a big part of this life. *sigh*

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ps. I have quite enjoyed waking up to Sienna by my side in the morning. Good cuddles. Y

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worm bath & alien pie

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Tulen varmaankin kirjoittelemaan vahemman tanne noin kuukauden verran. Minulla on menossa "salainen projekti" joka vie suurimman osan vapaata aikaani. Mutta alkaa unohtako mua sentaan - kylla tulen postaamaan aina kun vaan ennatan. Tiedattehan mut. :)

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I'm probably going to be writing a bit less than normal here for the next month or so. I started "a secret project" that is taking a big chunk of any free time I might have. But don't forget me totally - I will post stuff still. You know me... :)

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I was getting Sienna ready for her bath the other day and she said:

"I wanna have a nice worm bath."

(worm = warm, that's how she says the word warm) :)

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Sienna once again gave me some pretend pie (she sure likes to feed her mommy). When I asked her what kind of pie it was, she said:

"It's alien pie."

Mmm... Yum-my again. :)

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mellow yellow

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All these pictures are for Elisa who needed some yellow to brighten her gray day. First ten pictures are from our home. So here we go: an ode to yellow.

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Yep, I love smiley faces. :)

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Jay just happened to bring some yellow flowers for me yesterday. Y***

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Notice the daisy hubcaps. What a fun car this would be!

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Gatorade for marathon runners.

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From Metropolitan Home.

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Kit & Lili onesie.

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Ceramics by Marie Torbensdatter Hermann.

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Wildflowers (weeds as Jay would call them) in Suomenlinna, Finland.

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Midsummer bonfire in Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland. To celebrate the longest day of the year.

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Toivottavasti tama auttoi. Kaksi viimeista varsinkin muistuttaa etta kylla se kesa sitten aina tulee. Tule meille kaymaan. Meilla on keltaiset seinat. :-D

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