{kiva paiva so far}

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Mitka ihanuudet Sienna teki lounaan jalkeen.

Ihan ite. Miten tiesikin etta aitsy tykkaa taplataiteesta.

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I received this fun book and cards from Helen Dardik/Orange You Lucky. I won one of her giveaways. :)

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The book is totally different than what I thought. I thought it was a book you read. Well, you still read it but not like a novel. There are fun quotes about weight/dieting. There's also space where you can write down your weight and food you eat each day.
Mun pitaa aloittaa vahasokerinen dieetti kun aloitan sen fibromyalgia hoidon. Ehka tama auttaa mua tsemppaamaan sitten syomisissa. Syominen on mun heikkous.
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Went to a playground today with Sienna. From snow to a lovely, sunny day. That's Canada for ya. :)
My toes are so funny. I could climb trees with them. :D
Happy Friday everyone!
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{where would you live if...}

(images via google image search)
The gypsy in me is very active tonight. At the back of my mind lately has been the question where would I want to live. When Jay is finished with school, we're thinking of moving somewhere. It could be just to another house in Edmonton. But it could be somewhere totally different. Jay has dual citizenship as he was born in Utah, which means we could even move to the States.

I know - he hasn't even started school yet. :) Which means we won't move atleast for another three years. But those who know me know that I've always been a restless soul and I'm always up for change (we've moved 13 times since we've been married, some of the moves have been huge ones).

I am somewhat slowing down as I'd like to put roots down somewhere. Edmonton feels like home to me. But after this year's winter and spring I'm having second thoughts about staying here. A bit milder climate would be nice. I've been somewhat spoiled in Edmonton though. It doesn't rain much here. I don't know if I could handle lots of rain again.

Oregon has always been at the back of our minds as a possibility. But the rain...

I love Vancouver but it is so expensive there plus the rain thing again...

Calgary would only be an hour away from the Rocky Mountains but is Calgary too windy...

See what my mind has been up to lately? :)

Today I'm seriously thinking about Kelowna, British Columbia. BC is the next province west from us. Right on the west coast of Canada. Kelowna is about 400km inland from Vancouver, and pretty much at about the same level as Vancouver (which means much more south than us!). I've been to Kelowna. It's very pretty there. There are lakes and the Okanagan Lake is huge, over 100km long. It would almost feel like living by the ocean. But I don't think it rains lots in Kelowna. Winters are shorter and milder. Summers are hot. Check it out:

The climate in Kelowna is relatively mild throughout the year, although winters can be cold with snow falling between November and February. (Heavy snowfall in the nearby mountains makes for great wintertime skiing.) Average low temperatures in the winter are around -5°C to -10°C (in the upper teens to low 20s Fahrenheit), and average high temperatures in the winter hover near zero. (In Fahrenheit, they range in the low to upper 30s). Summers are quite hot; daytime highs are usually in the high 20's ( low 80s in Fahrenheit), with many days in the 30's (mid 90s), and some days almost reach 40°C (105°F). Average summer overnight lows are from 7°C to 12°C (mid 40s to low 50s).

Awesome skiing opportunities in the winter as it's right beside mountains. Awesome biking trails. Peach, apple & cherry orchards. Produce farms. Fresh stuff to eat! Wineries (doesn't interest me as I don't drink alcohol but it tells you something about the climate). Awesome beaches. Boating. Doesn't it sound perfect?

But there must be some minuses about living in Kelowna. One I can think of is that there are only 107,000 people there. Would there be enough amenities to make it feel like you're in a big city? I like what big cities offer. Then again, do you need all that city stuff when the weather is nice and you can be outdoors lots?

Would there be enough clients for Jay if he had his practice there?

It would also suck to be away from Jay's family again.

I can't get this out of my head.

What place will I think of next?

How will we ever decide?
Three more years of this to go... :)

I'm going to go nuts. :)
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Yey, So You Think You Can Dance starts again tonight. That'll take my mind off this topic for atleast couple of hours. :)

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{whatever}

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If you have to work outside your home, this would be the office to do it at. Lovely!

(images via www.cribcandy.com)

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So, Kris won American Idol. I thought I didn't care who wins but I was really disappointed with the result. It's like a mouse won over a lion. When it comes to personalities/performance level at least. Adam was so entertaining to watch. And the songs I liked from him, I really liked. I think there was only one song of Kris' that I really liked. I can see his appeal to teenage girls though and can understand why he won. Oh well. Whatever. :)

I loved Adam's performance right before he sang with KISS. The outfit and all. :) In my mind, he's the real American Idol.

But like I said, whatever. :) So it goes.

The right person won the Survivor at least. :)
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I finally finished this little accordion album that I've made million years ago (I NEVER exaggerate :)). I'm sending it as a gift to someone.
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{THE bike for moms}

Me lovey this bike!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

{yllatys, yllatys}

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ISOT lumihiutaleet yllattivat mut tanaan...

Aamulla siis maassa oli vahan lunta kun herattiin. Olin tosi vasy aamulla huonosti ja liian vahan nukutun yon jalkeen. Eli eka ajatus lumen nahdessa oli VOI EI!

Mutta... Tanaan Jayn ei tarvinnut tehda toita ja yhdessa mentiin out and about. Oli jotenkin kiva paiva. Mentiin yhdessa vaiheessa Whyte Avenuen kirjakauppaan ja nama ISOT lumihiutaleet jostain syysta olivatkin sitten niin ihania. Piristivat mut ihan. Hoh. Mika on mussa vialla? :D

ps. Lumet on sulaneet jo. Luonto sai paljon kaivattua vetta. Huomisen jalkeen on taas luvattu lamminta ilmaa.
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Tassa yksi Whyte Avenuen sahkokaapeista. Whyte Avenuella on paljon seinamaalauksia ja eri taiteilijat ovat maalanneet kunkin sahkokaapin.

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Oikeastaan koko paiva on yllattanyt mut tanaan. Luulin etta tasta tulee plaah paiva kun olin niin vasy ja reidet edelleen kiljuu kivusta. Mutta ei - tanaan on ollut hyva paiva. Ihana kun paiva meneekin paremmin kuin mita on odottanut. Me likey. :)
Kirjakaupassa tein ihania loytoja. Niiiiiiin halvalla loysin Siennalle uusia kirjoja. Taidan saastaa nama synttariksi kuitenkin. No, katsotaan maltanko odottaa niin kauan. Itse innostun lasten kirjoista varmaan jopa enemman kuin Sienna. Khm. :) Aina saa olla lapsenmielinen, saahan...
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Lastenkirjat jotka on pakko ostaa omistavat tietyt kriteerit (ei riita pelkastaan etta halvalla saa, isosta ale valikoimasta vain nama kolme hyvaksyin ostettavaksi):

1. Hauska tarina. Ihana tarina. Sootti tarina. Olisi miten kivat kuvat vaan niin tarina se on joka on tarkeinta.

2. Kirjoissa ei saa olla mitaan pelottavaa. Sienna on tosi herkka. Ei noitia tai morrimoykkyja meille, kiitos.

3. Kuvitus pitaa olla kiva. Joissakin kuvitukset on taiteellisia mutta ei sellaisia etta lapset niista tykkaisi. On kylla pakko myontaa etta joskus olen ostanut kirjan jossa kuvitus vaan on upea. Itselleni.

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Super sootti kirja haleista.
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Taman kirjan taidan saastaa paljon myohemmalle. Kun Sienna on koulussa. Se on tavallaan kuin vauvakirja mutta isommalle lapselle. Eli kaikkea kivaa tietoa lapsesta. Lapsi itse saa piirtaa sinne ja kirjoitella. Tuskin maltan odottaa etta saadaan Siennan kanssa vasailla tallaista.

Mietin etta tallaiset kirjat olisi ihan helppo kylla tehda itsekin. Lapset voivat piirtaa kivoja kuvia. Erilaisia haastatteluja lapsista.

Idiksia mita voi kirjaan laittaa:

*sukupuu kuvineen

*infoa perheen lemmikkielaimesta

*pituus, paino jne

*taidot ja harrastukset

*lempi vaatteet

*milta koti nayttaa

*kuva huoneesta

*mita perhe tykkaa tehda yhdessa

*ystavien nimet ja kuvat

*kaikki lempijutut

*rarportti synttareista

*raportti koulusta (opettaja, kaverit, lempiaiheet...)

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Merkkareitakin kaytiin ostamassa. Kippo taas taynna. :)

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{lunta, kipua, vahemman toita}

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www.dwell.com

affordable modern house plans

Olisi kiva jos tallaisia taloja edes olisi taalla meilla pain. Ei loydy kuin traditionaalisia.

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Joo, meilla on lunta maassa. Ihan vahan mutta lisaa on ehka tulossa. Tama talvi on ollut tosi pitka ja tuntuu etta suurin osa kevaasta on ollut talven jatkoa. Joskus nainkin kai sitten. On monia talvia kun meilla ei ole tuskin yhtaan lunta (yhtena vuonna eka lumi tuli vasta tammikuussa ja olipa ihanan mieto talvi). Se kai riippuu mista se roikkuu. Huomisen jalkeen on taas luvattu lampimat ilmat sentaan.

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En pystynyt nukkumaan viime yona. Vasy olin kuten aina mutta uni ei vaan tullut. Silloin talloin mulla on tuollaisia oita. Yleensa simahdan heti kun paa painuu tyynyyn. Viime yona reidat taas olivat niin kipeat etta. On tama mun fibromyalgia tosi pahana taas. Kipu kai se oli mika piti hereilla. Vahva kipulaakekaan ei auttanut taysin.

Aloitin lukemaan kirjaa fibromyalgiasta ja tajusin etta on tama paljon monimutkaisempi sairaus kuin mita ensin tajusin. Ovat tutkineet etta fibromyalgiasta karsivilla soluissa on paljon vahemman energiaa kuin muilla. Solut elavat energia kateessa. Ei ihme etta aina vasyttaa. Kirjassa mainitaan myos termi "fibrofog" eli on kuin aivot olisi sumussa koko ajan vasymyksen ja energian puutoksen takia. Nappiin osuu tuo termi. Muisti huono, aivot on kuin horkassa... No, kirjoitan fibromyalgiasta taas oman erillisen postauksen kunhan luen tuon kirjan ensin. Kerron sitten myos mika kirja se on jne.

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Jay aloitti tana aamuna boot camp jumppa luokan. Menee kuudelta keskustaan jossa ulkona heita kuritetaan oikeen kunnolla. Halusi tottua aikaisin heraamiseen ennen kuin opiskelu alkaa syksylla. Olen ollut tosi ylpea Jaysta kun se on jaksanut tsemppailla. Herannyt aamuisin juoksemaan.

Saa nahda saako Jay tarpeeksi tyota talle kesalle. Talous kun on mita on niin nayttaa silta etta monet jattavat aitojen rakentamiset myohemmalle ajalle kun rahatilanne on parempi. Viime kesana tahan mennessa Jaylla oli jo kaikki sopimukset valmiina ja tyo ahkerassa alussa. Paljon hissunkissumpi kesa kai tulossa tyon suhteen. Niin se joidenkin huono rahatilanne vaikuttaa sitten muihin myos.
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Lately:

- Can't sleep as my fibromyalgia is acting up more than usual and the pain in my legs especially is really bad right now.

- Jay started Boot Camp exercise class. He's in downtown at six in the morning exercising his heart out. I'm proud of him.

- Slow start for the fence business this year. The effects of poor economy shows in the lack of work.

- We have some snow on the ground. Yikes!

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{what it's all about}

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Our tv room shelves - a work in progress. Slowly filling up with magazines and books. Sienna's toys are everywhere in our family room. Just like it's supposed to be. :) We waited a LONG time to have children. I LOVE seeing toys everywhere.

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I promised someone I'd share couple of pictures from my new scrapbooking book. It's called SCRAP simple - Using Minimal Design to Create Beautiful Scrapbook Pages. Written by Hillary Heidelberg. Great book but I'd go even more minimalistic in some of it's layouts. :)

I chose these three layouts as they feature my favorite shape: the circle.

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Check out this cute boy! The joy on his face - too precious!
One reason why I love buying scrapbooking magazines and books is that they show how much people love their families. That's what it's all about in the end. Families. Y
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ps. Go watch this funny video:

mother of the year video :)

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