[125]

Swallow’s Nest castle. Yalta, Ukraine.

[tänään]

Jos vaikka kuulumisia Suomeksi vaihteenvuoksi…

Aamulla autoin Siennan luokkaa tekemään upeita eläinnaamioita. Tuskin maltan odottaa kun näen Siennan linnun valmiina! Iski heti tietty inspis tehdä niitä kotonakin. Kunhan ennättää.

Hain keskustasta muuttolaatikoita tutun sarjisliikkeestä. Ne on puhtaita ja kaikki laatikot kahta samaa kokoa. Pikku hiljaa pakkailen jo vaikka muutto ei ole vasta kuin helmikuussa.

Banana Beach smoothie Booster Juicestä lounaaksi.

Kotona iski kamala päänsärky. Syynä niiden naamioiden teko (hartiat jumissa). ”Ihanaa” kun on fibromyalgia ja aina tuntuu ettei mitään oikeen voi tehdä saamatta kipuja.

Sienna soitti koulusta että oli kipeä. Hain tytön kotiin. Lievä vatsatauti. Paljon kaikenmaailman pöpöjä liikkeellä tähän aikaa vuodesta.

Illalla pitäisi jaksaa mennä klinikan joulujuhlaan teatteriravintolaan. Ei huvittaisi mutta uskon kun sinne pääsee niin on ihan hauska juttu.

[gotta love love!]

Loved, loved, loved this book! Did I mention I loved this book?

My romantic heart sighs it’s so happy.

[gingerbread men]

Sienna and I had fun making gingerbread men out of brown paper. I have a feeling we’ll be making many more of these.

Happy Monday everyone!

[124]

The coolest sea creature ever! A sea slug a.k.a. a nudibranch.

 Photo by Antonio Martin. 

See more of his amazing under the sea photos here.

[mietiskelyä]

Yksi asia jota kaipaan tosi paljon Suomesta on Hesan keskusta. Vanha arkkitehtuuri, katukahvilat, Espa, Stocka, Akateeminen, rautatieaseman lamppu dudes, raitiovaunut...

Meillähän keskusta on ihan erilainen. Tykkään korkeista rakennuksista ja kaupungintalosta, jokilaakson näköalasta, silloista, pyramidikasvihuoneista, jne.

Mutta silti kaipaan Hesan keskustaan. Joskus jopa näen unta että olen bussilla tai metrolla menossa keskustaan.

Jos olisin sinkku, niin asuisin jonkun rauhallisen kadun kerrostalossa, ihan keskustan vieressä. Nauttisin keskustan energiasta ihmisvilinöineen.

En oikeastaan ole omakotitaloihminen vaikka meillä sellainen onkin. Tietty tykkään ettei ole naapureiden meteliä ja voi olla omalla pihalla. Mutta toisaalta mulle kelpaisi täysin kiva kerrostaloasunto isoine parvekkeineen. Puisto vieressä joka olisi sitten se piha. Ei tarvitsisi tehdä pihatöitä mutta saa nauttia luonnosta. Kuntosali samassa rakennuksessa ja kellarikerroksessa parkkipaikka. Eläkesuunnitelma kai sitten...

[art therapy]

Needed it today.

[123]

Cool sculptural glass art by Shayna Leib. 

[122]

Love these paintings by Lynn Basa.

[ :) ]

Shopped at a grocery store I normally don’t go to. These signs were in the parking lot. J There were others that said “Reserved for those with a sweet tooth” or “Reserved for those who like broccoli”, etc. Love it when people bring a little humor to every day life. 

Another way to use my Project Life journaling cards. 

Yes, I'm trying to be done with Christmas shopping early so that I can just enjoy December.

[free printable - photo Christmas card]

I designed our family’s Christmas card today and thought I’d share a blank version of it with you. I designed it so that it can be printed as a 4” x 6” photo. You will just need to add a 3” x 4” photo of your family on the right side. 

Happy almost Monday everyone! J

[I was in Twilight heaven today]

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

[free printable]

[121]

Just in case a millionaire happens to read my blog:

Please feel free to purchase any of these Aarikka products and send them to me for Christmas. J

Love, love, love the Keisarinna series by Aarikka. With love from Finland.

[wow!]

Wow is all I can say about this day.

I’ve been in Canada for over 21 years now. My mom finally got a computer and this morning we spoke face-to-face on Skype. What a blessing technology is to someone who lives far away from loved ones! ♥

Then we got news that my husband passed his Denturist exam after taking it for the second time. He should have passed it the first time he took it (a long story) and it’s been frustrating for him to feel that he wasn’t fully done with school.

Now he can add DD to his name and I’m seriously thinking of calling him my Diddy. J

We have also been struggling to find a new home. My heart was set on two things: I wanted a brand new home with all the finishes I wanted to select. We also wanted a great view. I also didn't want to have to do any renovating. 

At one point I was going to forget about the new thing as an old house was on sale with an amazing view of a beautiful lake. Turns out we didn’t get that house (they accepted the first offer they got) and my heart was a bit broken.

Anyways, we’ve been checking out so many houses, new and old, for months now. It has been so frustrating because nothing was working. We never felt good about any of the houses even though especially the brand new option was exactly what I wanted.

I honestly believe that some things in life are just meant to be. So it is with the house we bought today. It was built in 1978 (a brand new house indeed!) and needs renovating big time to make it “ours”. But something kept telling us in our hearts that this was to be our home and so it is. I feel total peace about it. Like I said, some things in life are just meant to be. 

What a day!

ps. The video has nothing to do with any of this. It's just plain old hilarious! The part "I don't know who's taking care of them. Are they ok?" is still cracking me up! J

[more Christmas stuff]

New item in my Etsy shop.

Some of the cards are previously listed. Some are new.

Circle number tags are great for making an advent calendar.

Happy Friday everyone! J

[120]

Lately I've been dreaming about a hedgehog as a pet. 

Love these cute little guys!

[photo via google image search]

[splash of color]

[s-n-o-w!]

We are getting TON of wet, heavy snow today. The kids are in snow heaven, I think. Sienna built a snow cave for bunnies on our yard. Put some carrots in there and everything. It already melted but this morning she was so excited that she can rebuild it. Oh the joy if she saw some bunny prints there one day… Bunnies, come for a visit, please. J

Snowmen always remind me of little Calvin and all his creative snow creations. Today would be a great day to stay in bed and read all my Calvin & Hobbes books. 

Gotta love Calvin!

[new Etsy shop item]

New item added to my Etsy shop.

For decorating your Christmas gifts or can be used in scrapbooking.