{fun for halloween}

what a fun costume idea! :D

www.familyfun.com
if you haven't checked out family fun yet, you should. they always have fun stuff for kids.

siennalla edelleen nuhaa ja kotona siis vaan lorvitaan edelleen. alkaa kayda jo vahan kuivaksi mutta eikohan me jotain keksita ajankuluksi. sienna jo "meikkasi" minut ja mina sen. :)

mulla on hyva olo silla pystyin auttamaan kahta ystavaa viimeisen parin paivan aikana.

nyt kun viela kekkaisin miten auttaa jayta jolla on menossa kova stressi opiskelun kanssa. liikaa opiskeltavaa ja ei tarpeeksi aikaa. miten pystya venyttamaan paivat pidemmiksi?

{this is amazing!!!!}

ps. nyt vasta huomasin tuolta vanhan kommentin jossa kysyttiin minkalaista kameraa/linsseja kaytan. mulla on pikkuruinen, nappara kamera joka minusta ottaa tosi hyvanlaatuisia kuvia. panasonic dmc-zs3, lumix. en kayta mitaan erikoisia linsseja. simppeli. mahtuu helposti mukaan. isosiskollani on iso "upea" kamera ja minusta mun kamera otti ihan yhta hyvalaatuisia kuvia kuin sen kamera. kun vertailin siis kesalla meidan lomakuvia. ilman salamaa sisalla otetut kuvat ei aina onnistu taysin. riippuu kuinka paljon valoa. mun kamera ottaa myos videoita.

sitten usein kaytan vaan photoscapen bloom actionia joka tuo ihanan "valon" kuviin. (www.photoscape.com, ilmainen ohjelma!)

i noticed a comment asking about my camera. my camera is panasonic dmc-zs3, lumix. it's small but takes really good quality pictures. videos as well. i don't use special lenses. sometimes i like to take pictures through my sunglasses. :) i also use a program called photoscape (www.photoscape, it's free!) and use it's "bloom" action. it gives a nice glow to the pictures.

{my favorite cookies}

3/4 cup (175ml) butter (softened) or margarine

3/4 cup (175ml) brown sugar

1/2 cup (125ml) sugar

1 egg

2 TBSP (30ml) water

2 tsp (10ml) vanilla

3/4 cup (175ml) flour

3/4 tsp (3ml) baking soda

1 tsp (5ml) cinnamon

3 cups (7,5 dl) oats

1 1/2 cups (375ml) raisins or 1 cup (2,5 dl) chocolate chips

1. cream together the first six ingredients. use an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.

2. add dry ingredients (use a sieve with the flour to prevent lumps).

3. stir in raisins or chocolate chips.

4. put parchment paper on two baking sheets.

5. drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet. leave space between each cookie.

6. press flat for crisp cookies, leave mounded for chewy cookies.

7. bake at 350F (180C) for 12-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. don't overbake.

{the help}

i read many books but only recommend the ones i really, really enjoy and have no garbage in them. this book has some mild bad language in it and quite a bit of taking God's name in vain. yet i still have to recommend it. i loved this book (minus the stuff i mentioned). i do cringe a bit while recommending it due to some of the language in it but i still have to tell people about this book. wonderfully written and a most interesting topic. i can't believe some people think they're better than others because of the color of their skin. there's still so much racism out there. books like these are poignant reminders of how things should not be. even though the topic is racism - this is not a depressing book to read. just so you know. ;)

this is kathryn stockett's first novel. she grew up in mississippi and her family has experience of "the help".

{mun kunniaksi}

just because
i am NOT allowed to buy house of brussels' hedgehogs from costco.

i am NOT allowed to buy house of brussels' hedgehogs from costco.

i am NOT allowed to buy house of brussels' hedgehogs from costco.

i am NOT allowed to buy house of brussels' hedgehogs from costco.

i am NOT allowed to...
and i'm NOT telling you how many of these i've eaten lately. oy oy oy!
needless to say these are my favorites.
tykkaan jopa enemman kuin fasun sinisesta! tuliko nyt sanottua jotain ihan kamalaa? jotain mita ei koskaan saisi kuulua suomalaisen suusta. :)

villa kanervaan paljon, paljon positiivista energiaa ja haleja. tanja lahetti mulle nain ihanan PIF:n ja viela extra kirjankin. nyt spice saa pitaa mulle seuraa kun lueskelen. Y
minun syntymavuoden kunniaksi :) tapahtui muun muuassa seuraavaa:
makkaratalo valmistui hesaan.

sibeliusmonumentti paljastettiin.
ruotsi vaihtoi oikeanpuoleiseen liikenteeseen.

ensimmaiset pankkiautomaatit asennettiin englannissa.

the beatles lauloi all you need is love.

nicole kidman ja julia roberts paattivat syntya samana vuonna kuin mina.
:)

{noel 1v}

{pumpkins, pumpkins and more pumpkins}

you don't have to carve pumpkins.

you can glitter them.

www.marthastewart.com

or glue stuff on them.
www.ivillage.com

or paint them.

www.bhg.com

www.countryliving.com

www.goodhousekeeping.com

www.kellypurkey.typepad.com

www.parents.com

i'd like these last ones better with cuter faces instead of ghost faces. no scary stuff in our house allowed. one very sensitive little girl lives here.

so many options. how can i choose what to do with our pumpkin this year? :)

{s-w-e-e-t}

it's been awhile so needless to say i totally enjoyed scrapbooking last night.

i found the poem online. author is unknown.

{eye candy}

so here are the rest of today's pictures. the romantic colored ones are the ones i took using my sunglasses. fun. :)

what was fun too was the water spray park they are building next to the pond. it'll be a fun place to go to next summer. yey! :)



this picture doesn't do any justice to this tree. i see these trees all over the place and i think they're my favorite ones. they look gorgeous.
same picture taken with my sunglasses as a filter.

gotta love days like today Y

{gotta love fog}

today's been awesome! it's not very often we get fog here (too dry of a climate). today was one of those rare days. i absolutely love fog so of course i was very camera happy today.
late this morning we headed to downtown to pick up my new permanent resident card.
canada place is actually right on the outskirts of downtown, close to a yucky rundown area. jay and i used to deliver newspapers to newspaper machines in this area plus in downtown when we first got married. we saw all sorts of "interesting" things in this area. i'm glad we did that though as downtown doesn't intimitate me at all. i know all the streets and know where to go.
after i got my card, sienna and i rode the elevator again. it's a must when we go to canada place. the elevator is very fast and goes to the 16th floor. up and down we went many times. it's fun because one wall is a window so you can see out.
after that we went for a walk outside (away from the yucky area i might add) since i had paid for the parking for an hour. first we saw this big inushuk.
this pink building is the canada place. it's where i usually have to go if i go downtown.

a colorful art installation. it wasn't amazing but it was fun enough. the colorful wooden slats spelled "dream".

ex-president george w. bush is in edmonton and will be speaking at this conference center to all the rich people who can afford the tickets. i'd love to be there but i'd never pay the crazy amount of money for a ticket. it would just be interesting to hear what he has to say. why do people pay so much money to hear him speak, you know.

there were a bunch of kayakers on the river.

the rundown part of downtown includes the chinatown.
lots of eye candy today due to the fog. i even enjoyed the fall trees as i was wearing my sunglasses and everything was cute brown in color.
we stopped at our nearby pond on the way home. took more pictures so more to come. like i said, i was camera happy today. :)

ps. as usual, click on the pictures to see them bigger.