{to be funny... *sigh*}

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Camels are so cute and funny looking. Love them.

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Llamas are cute too.

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And it's time for a new poll. Let me know what job you'd like the most if you had the skill for it. It could be anything. Vote and then leave a comment and share details about why you'd like that job.
Everyone knows about my desire to be either an artist or a teacher. I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned that I would love to be a comedian if someone would just bestow that funnyness gift for me. I think it would be so awesome to be able to make people laugh. I'd be a Cirque du Soleil clown (they're the best!) or I'd make squeeky clean family comedies that would make you laugh non stop. I'd visit childrens' hospitals and bring laughter for the suffering kids. Man that would be awesome! But unfortunately I can't even tell a joke well enough to make people laugh. Bummer.
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Wouldn't it be great to be really good at something?
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I really like this painting:

a painting by amy huddleston

And this:

a painting by ivy jacobsen (see painting #11)

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ps. Why can't chocolate pudding be healthy for you. Full of vitamins. It would help you loose weight, not gain it. The more you ate, the healthier you'd get. In my dreams... *sigh*

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{love is in the air}

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Puut ovat aivan upeita tanaan. Ihanan huurteisia. Voi etta mua harmittaa etten voi menna ulos napsimaan kuvia. Menisin mutta on kylma paiva ja Siennan nuha ja yska jatkuu edelleen (ehka on vahan paranemaan pain kuitenkin). Tama kuva (ikkunan lapi otettu naapurin puusta) ei tee oikeutta miten kaunista on tanaan.

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Lahestyvan valentiinin paivan kunniaksi tanne muutama juttu. Jotenkin sode simppeli sydan kaulakoru. En ole mikaan koruihminen mutta tata ehka tulisi pidettya joskus.

junedesigns etsy com
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aliciabock etsy com
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allisonostertag etsy com
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goagainstthegrain etsy com
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Eraat meidan ystavat adoptoivat juuri tyttovauvan meidan esimerkin kannustamana. Olivat olleet jopa synnytyksessa mukana. Kymmenen paivan "muuttaako biologinen aiti mielensa" on ohi. Vauva on nyt laillisesti heidan. Mua harmittaa kun en ole edes nahnyt pikkusta viela kun olen ollut kipea. En todellakaan mene popojani tartuttamaan pikkuseen. Odottelen innolla vauvasuihkua. Hassu sana tuo vauvasuihku. :)

Mitakohan sita keksis tanaan ajan kuluksi ja viihdykkeeksi. Kaikenlaista olisi tietty jota voisi tehda (esim ne Siennan verhot) mutta energia kun ei vielakaan ole oikeen normaalia. Eilen kavaisin meidan kirkon kirjakaupassa sentaan nopeasti ja sain luettavaa. Kirja miten tulla paremmaksi opettajaksi. Vinkkeja ja nikseja.

Mulla on ajatuksissa pyorinyt eras bisnesidea kun Sienna menee kouluun ja voisi olla ihan kivakin tyoskennella edes osa-aikaisesti (tai sitten ei, en ole paattanyt viela). Siihen liittyy opettaminen. Mutta se on viela ihan pelkka ajatuksen alkio vaan paassa. Enemman siita sitten jos nyt paatan lahtea sille tielle.
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{beautiful}

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I have always liked these two paintings by Albert Edelfelt (he's a beloved Finnish painter).
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And it's been a while since I've raved about Alicia Bock's photography. I love her stuff. You'll find the link in my favorite artists list.

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{not fair}

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I had to organize the fridge a bit after seeing the previous pictures. Got rid of some of the old stuff. I didn't add anything new yet though. Except that I typed out a new "info for a babysitter" thing (the yellow circle).

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Right next to my computer desk is this support post and Sienna started posting her art on it. Just got some tape and said "now daddy will see it when he gets home". I think it's time to organize our tv room wall into Sienna's art gallery.
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Yesterday Jay brought home some more hot chocolate and the mail. I finally got the magazine I've been waiting for. I kept hoping it would come and cheer me up when I was sick. I had seen it in stores couple of weeks ago already. Every day I waited and waited and no magazine. It drives me nuts that when you subscribe to magazines you tend to get them much later than if you bought them. Not fair! *stomping my feet* :D
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I had planned leftover pasta for supper (no energy to cook much yet) and the weirdest thing happened. I couldn't find Sienna's pasta anywhere. I always make Sienna's pasta separate due to her wheat allergy. So I had nothing else that would be fast to make for her. We ended up going out for supper. I got a Subway tuna sandwich and met J & S at MacDonald's (Robin has swimming on Mondays). We were given new strawberry pies for free. They were yummy! Afterwards Sienna played in the play area for a long time. She was the only kid there so she had the whole climbing thing to herself. She loved the fast twirly slide and did it at least 10 times. She was pretty tired when we got home. At night Sienna wakes up coughing still and last night her nose was bleeding too. Needless to say we're all very tired. I keep wondering if we should have let her do all that climbing. But it was so nice for her to get a little break from being stuck at home so we had to let her play.
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{kaj stenvall}

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I realized I've forgotten to add Kaj Stenvall to my favorite artists list. His duck paintings are so fun!

*kaj stenvall

Kaykaapa ihmeessa Kaj:n taidegalleriassa jos ootte Helsingissa:

Bulevardi 5 on osoite.

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{what's on your fridge?}

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How many people can say they own a book about outhouses. :D

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I'm counting my blessings that I'm living now and not way back then when you had to use an outhouse. But I do have memories of using an outhouse as my grandma's summer cottage never had power or running water. Using an outhouse wasn't that bad in the summer but can you imagine doing it in the winter? Brrrrr. The one thing I hated about going to the outhouse was the spiders but thank goodness they always stayed in their webs.
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Someone made their outhouse door this pretty.

Of course you also had to have magazines in there and pictures and comics on the walls. :)
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I don't think I've ever posted about this cross-stitch that I made million years ago. It's not my style anymore but I can't help but keep it on the wall. It would look so cute in a summer cottage.
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The yarn I used was called Antique Silver. I always prefer to cross-stitch on linen.
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What's on your fridge?

I realized when I took this photo that it's time to update what's on our fridge. Simplify. If I had one of those new metal fridges I wouldn't put anything on that but our old white fridge looks better covered with stuff. Pictures of friends/family, funky magnets that we used to sell in our store...
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The side of the fridge is covered too. I realized I have tons of pictures of my niece and none of Sienna. :) Kaj Stenvall's art card, art made by my childhood friend, a funny spiritual bookmark I bought in Ireland million years ago... Yep, time for an update.

I like to go to people's homes and look at what's on their fridge.

I'm totally into the minimal look nowadays but you sure wouldn't guess that by looking at our home. Ideally I'd have one room (my art/crafts room) that would have one wall full of stuff like this but all the rest of the house would look minimal (but cozy). Why don't I put more effort into making my home now look a bit more like that? Who knows. I guess I spend too much time blogging. :D

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{kajaanin linna}

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I hated Finnish history in school. I thought it was the most boring subject ever. Nowadays I find this same subject so interesting. Why? Family history. Ever since I started being interested in family history, I also started to want to know more of the history of Finland so that I could understand how my ancestors lived. When I lived in Finland, it would have been so easy for me to do family history research. Now I live million miles away and it's not that easy anymore. I'm grateful that our church has tons of family history resources. That and the Internet make it still possible to research about my ancestors. But how I wish that I would have been into family history while still living in Finland. I could have interviewed my grandmother about her life, childhood, about her parents, grandparents, etc. I could have found books about the areas where my ancestors lived. I could have copied family photos and documents. Could have. Should have. I have been in Finland three times since I've been living in Canada. But I hadn't caught the family history bug even then. Well, during my last visit I had started to but not enough to really do anything about it. Stupid, stupid me. Now I can't wait to go to Finland and dig into my family history. But it's too late to interview my grandma. She has Alzheimers. I am so mad at myself for not doing it last time I was there. She did have Alzheimers then too but it wasn't as bad as it's now. She might have remembered stuff. People with Alzheimers usually remember old things still even though they can't remember what happened five minutes ago. So people, learn from me. It is so fascinating to learn about your family's history. Truly fascinating. Start this amazing hobby by interviewing the oldest members of your family first. Nowadays it's so easy to do that with the help of videos and recorders. Afterwards you can type the interview into a little booklet even. Give them as gifts for other family members. Everyone loves to learn more about their families and ancestors. Start writing down birth and other dates. Any interesting facts you can find out. Start from your parents and then their parents and go from there.

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I was born in Kajaani (but lived in Helsinki) and I spent most of my summers and Christmases there with my grandma and uncles, aunts & my three cousins. So Kajaani is always dear to my heart. Many fond memories. Today I was inspired to find some photos of the ruins of the Kajaani castle. I've been reading a novel about Medieval times and castles are on my mind I guess. There aren't that many castles in Finland but there are a few. As a kid, my uncle would take us to the ruins of the small Kajaani castle. I remember being a bit scared as the river's current looked dangerous. But it was so fun climbing on the ruins. In the winter, I'd walk with my grandma through the bridge and near the river and admired the gorgeous snow and frost covered trees that line the river. As a child, I played in the park next to the castle ruins. Maybe one of my ancestors where there to build the castle way back when. I'm itching to know. One of my ancestors helped build the Suomenlinna fortress (which is one of my favorite places to go to) as a soldier.
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I found out that there's this book about the Kajaani castle. I'm itching to get it in my hands to learn more. Me, who used to hate having to learn anything about Finnish history. This is what happens once you catch the family history bug.

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I have a picture I've taken that looks exactly like this. The tar boats make me curious too as I've learned that one of my ancestors was a tar master. I guess it required great skills to make tar. Somehow I think it's so cool to know that one of my ancestors was a tar master. I don't know why but it is.
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I just can't talk enough about family history research. What a fun hobby it is! Once you start, you get totally addicted. You've been warned. :) But do learn from me and get started when you still have old relatives living and you can interview them. It's fun to even write your own history. What an awesome gift for your kids!
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http://www.kajaaninyliopistokeskus.oulu.fi/omasto/rheikkin/Kajaanin_linna29112006.htm (Kajaanin linnan historia)

www.familysearch.org

Lessons on how to do family history (including tips on how to do a personal history):

family history lesson series
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