Young love

Oh come on, give me a kiss.
Nope.
Please?
Nope.

And then I completely messed up the photo of the actual kiss as I was laughing my ass off.


It's hard to keep my bro from being a total goofball.


We will be having a proper photoshoot soon though.
He did promise.
These were taken on their balcony just after a thunderstorm.
Sweet.

phew

Saara really enjoyed her first french lesson yesterday.
Her name in class is Solange.

Tout est bien.
(I think, it's been a while since my french classes!)

Today is my bro's engagement party.
Here's the card I made.

I'm hoping to get some cool photos.

I'll be short and sweet today.
I'm still feeling a bit under the weather, sore throat, no voice and really tired.
But I won't crash until the party's over lol.

I'll leave you with this shot I took this morning.
And what I'm most proud of-
no photoshop editing.

None.
However it did involve five shots being taken while sitting on the dewy grass in my jammies.
I don't even want to know what the neighbors think.

I'm off to contemplate vacuuming.

Miffed.

Just received this letter in the mail:

Dear Parents of Class 5,
Last spring you and your child made the choice of optional subjects/clubs to be taken in class 5. Unfortunately on the forms German language was incorrectly marked as A2-language, when it should have been a language club. Altogether seven pupils from this year's Class 5 had chosen the German language. The minimum number to start a club/an optional subject is 10 pupils, and for this reason German language is not offered in class 5 this year. The final decision on the optional subjects and clubs to be offered in the academic year 2006/2007 was made in the board meeting in June. We apologize for the fact that we failed to inform you about the situation before the start of the school year.

Did I say miffed? I mean pissed off.
This basically means that even if we'd get a few kids to change their minds, it would be useless. The decision has been made and that's that.

Now how do I get Saara to be enthusiastic about reading french when all she's wanted for the past two years is german classes.
I'm so sad for her.

Yes, it is SO UNFAIR.

Long post, be warned...

I have a lot of things on my mind today.
Stuff that stinks, cute stuff, fun stuff, happy stuff.
So go grab a cup of coffee, quick.
You'll be here for a bit, heh..

This stinks.
Saara started 5th grade on monday. Last May they had been asked if they preferred to study french or german come fall. Saara automatically chose german, no question about that. Monday she came home all confused, there was no german marked on the schedule. So I called her homeroom teacher, he had no idea what had happened. On tuesday the class was told there would be no german group. Yea, WHAT?! Some extremely unhappy and seriously disappointed kids in that class.
This morning I popped by the principal's office (poor guy, he just started) to ask why this happened. Turns out they have 27 kids in the french group and only 9 in the german. On June 15th the school board made a decision that only classes with 10 kids will be taught. And not one person thought of informing us parents. Not cool. Very not cool.
I've just sent an email to all parents in the class for a plea that one kid switch from french to german so they could start classes.
Because 9 kids who couldn't care less about being in french class has to be a teacher's nightmare.
I'm hoping someone will bite.

Isn't she cute?

All excited to start her second school day.
Yup, that's right... I FORGOT to take a photo of her very first day.
How bad is that...
Just hand me the Bad Scrapbooking Mommy award.
(hanging head in shame)

Want to know what I was up to while it rained yesterday?
Just what do you do with small empty pineapple tins, bamboo skewers, some cotton stuff (I really don't know another word for it...it really is the epitomy of stuff) and old candle bits?


You melt the candles and pour into the tins and you get:
ta-daa!

Outdoor candles.
My favorite kind of recycling.
That was my fun bit.

Then for happy stuff.
Goooooood mail day.

The new IKEA catalog.
I'm making a list.
Just remind me not to drive there before payday, ok?
Or I might just get slapped..heheheee...


..mmmm.... my order from AMLT.
I've been in a scrapbooking slump (nothing done in the last 10 days, major slump) but this just might get me out of it. Some very cool stuff.
The one new product I'm really excited over is this:

Transparency frames by My Mind's Eye.
Just look at them!

Go get yourself some.
Yes, feel free to blame me.

And finally:

THANK YOU CHRISTINE! YOU ROCK!
I picked these up at Devery's hotel today.
I'll be slipping pages into these tonight :o)

You can now return back to your regularly scheduled programming.
I'm going outside to hang laundry, seeing as it isn't raining today.

Bring it on!

IT'S RAINING!

I feel like I should go jump in the puddles for joy.
But I have to wait until it has rained enough to create puddles, heh.

Remember when I said it was the dryest summer in 45 years?
Wrooooong.
Make that a century.
Yeppers, one hundred years.

I'm hoping it'll rain all this week.
Then I'd have a good excuse to run our and buy a pair of these:

(about $32)
Aren't they cool?

Happy happy happy

This is the 'engaged' section of sunday's paper.


Here's a close-up.

My dear brother finally wised up.

The wedding will be next summer sometime.
Who knows, my kids could get a cousin within a couple years!
Yes, we are excited.

Happy wishes to the both of them!

Smoke stinks. yuck. Make that YUCK!

Literally.

Why oh why are we having easterly winds?
All frigging week.

To give you an idea-
This morning I went outside to get the newspaper from the mailbox.
Stepped outside, took one breath..
..and had a cough attack that would've made a chainsmoker jealous.
This blue haze of smoke in the air, the smell is something awful.
My eyes were itching from it.

When the wind dies down for the night (seawinds do that) the smoke settles.
I wake up in the night to close the window because it seeps indoors.
Ick ick ick ick ick.

See what I mean?
This is facing the city from the sea, taken this weekend.

And apparently the Russian authorities are in no hurry.
Read more here.
Hmmpphh.

OK, so while I was trying to find that picture online I came across a few fun pages I thought you guys might enjoy.

Ever wonder what Finnish sounds like?
Want to learn some?
This page claims to teach you some in just three minutes.
With audio examples no less.
Are you game?

And then I found this page with fun photos from around the town.
Click on each tiny picture for a pop up big version.
And DO read the captions.
My personal favorite (and I so can relate) is the umbrella one.
I got the giggles.

Ooohhh... and major blog comment slacking on my part.
Bad bad me.

Adri: The playmobils are usually just housed in big plastic tubs. Except for the houses, those I store whole on top of the bookshelf. Then when it is time to play, I take those down and haul out the tubs and the girls set up playmobil land.

Nadine: a few crafty blog links. And following all the links from these will send you down a dangerous and neverending blog road to oblivion from the real world.
Believe me on this one.
mollychicken
thimble
tiny happy
wee wonderfuls

Heli: Jesssssssssssssssss! She was the lucky number 10 000!
I need to think up something fun for her. Hmmm.....

Susie: I promised to make a 10 000 hat? Naaahhh... I didn't, did I? Have I mentioned my mind is a sieve. A 37 year old sieve... I won't stand in the way if you want to sew one though heheheeee. I could try making one for my 1st blog anniversary, but I don't really wear hats (unless the Helsinki winter calls for one. If you haven't checked out that umbrella pic yet, now's the time). How about we just play good music and party down on the 23rd?

But now I'll party on down to dreamland.
First day of fifth (YES I SAID FIFTH) grade for Saara tomorrow.
I have to go to the school for Niina's orientation (no kids allowed...they should have just called it PARENTS' orientation day ha!).
So I better go get my beauty sleep.
And maybe just maybe I can dream that the smoke I smell is really the smoky hot George or Johnny. Clooney and Depp that is.
Think that would work?
I girl can hope, yes?
Off to dream.

Srrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

That's my old Singer sewing machine (bought it with the money I got from my very first summer job) you're hearing.
Yesterday morning I was reading some blogs, ventured to the links page on one and was lost for the next hour browsing some fabulous crafty blogs.

I came across this shoulder bag tutorial on the tiny happy blog.

I knew instantly this was why I had been hanging onto this awesome cotton bedspread of my grandmother's from the 50's.
See, isn't it perfect?

I even had an antique bautton to match!
I made mine a bit smaller , I can just fit in my keys, wallet, lipgloss and phone.


I then ran back into the basement and dug out a bunch of fabrics that had just been gathering dust.

I had this cuter than cute Marimekko fabric pice I used to make a bag for Saara's german friend Fenja (her birthday is soon).

And then I made a slightly bigger one.

Odds are that if I'm sending you a Christmas present it'll be a bag.

I have a feeling I'll go check out the roll end fabric bin at Marimekko...
I think I want one in every size.

Keep your eye on the counter!

10 000 will be broken today or tomorrow.

Make sure you check out your number.

I'm thinking a RAK for the lucky 10 000th visitor is in order.

Fun stuff

Here are some photos of Saara's extremely super dooper fun week.
Really really really fun week.
Did I mention it was FUN?
In fact the night before she was coming home, she sent me a text message saying how boring it was to come home. And Fenja was ready to pack her bag immediately and come over. We have agreed that next summer Fenja will be spending (atleast) a week with us. In fact, I'm ready to invite them all over!

But hey, I said photos, right?
They visited a wildlife park. Here's Saara trying on some deer antlers for size.

And here's Fenja trying on some slightly bigger ones!
She can't even lift them up, they are so heavy.

This kid of mine takes some cool photos, no?

Meet Hannes. He's 5.

And Jonah, 2.

This is Jenny. We met back in the 80's when we were exchange students in the same high school (Go Capital!) in Olympia, WA.

And Jenny's sweet hubby Stephan. He is seriously one of the coolest guys I've ever met.

And they made art. All the kids got to paint art to go on the livingroom wall.
This is Saara's masterpiece.


I've just made a dent in those photos. I think I'll have time to proof once school starts, heheheee.

Other fun news.
These two have landed in Finland!

Hoops & Yoyo.
Saara got herself a Yoyo mascot to hang on her backpack and pencils, erasers etc. I bought a notebook that I don't need, but it was just too cute, how could I pass it up?

And it doesn't end here.
There's a big mall (appropriately called Jumbo) near to us (10+ minute drive). New big stores have been popping up in the area like mushrooms on my lawn during a wet fall. A few weeks ago I noticed yet another HUGE store being built. After talking with my bro I found out it was...ready...

Toys'R'Us.

Whoa.
It should open still this fall.
Holy Christmas shopping, Batman!

Like I wrote in an email to a friend last night, now if they'd only bring Target and Michael's I'd be set.
And Pottery Barn.
Crate and Barrel.
And maybe even a scrapbookstore.

Let me dream here for a while, ok?

She makes me smile

Saara got home safe and sound last night.
New Playmobils are set up and being played with.
I got a cute candle holder, perfect for my scrap spot.
Daddy got chocolates.

And like a dutiful scrapper's daughter she brought home a memory card with 328 pictures.
If you wonder where I am for the next few days, I'll be proofing.
*grin*

Random bits

-Looks like 10 000 hits will be reached before this little blog turns 1. Less than 200 to go and the anniversary isn't until the 23rd. wow.
Thank you for reading.

-Niina is sooooooooooooooo antsy today.
Saara's coming home tonight. Big sis has been missed.
She knows she's bringing home the Playmobil bakery and hair salon.

We just set up a city scene with a supermarket, a fishmonger, a flower stand, a park and a cafe upstairs. Hopefully that'll keep Niina entertained for a few minutes.

-Why is it that the bills that come once a year, twice a year or every three months all come in august??? Geeeeezzzz.... magazines, electricity, water, tv, school tuition (x2 this time, eeekk). Luckily the property taxes aren't due until september or we'd be screwed.

-What chore do you hate doing the most?
For me it's changing sheets, blech. I think part of the reason is that the ceilings above all beds are vaulted and it kills my back doing it doubled over. In fact I'm procrastinating as I type, heheheee...

-Oh yay! My mom to the rescue. She's taking Niina downtown for ice cream to keep her occupied. I get to go drop off a movie and shop for groceries in peace. With no whining. Except my own possibly.

-We rented Weatherman yesterday. I like Nicolas Cage and this movie was better than I expected. Love the black humor. We also saw Walk the Line a few nights back. I'm a big Johnny Cash fan and the movie was such a treat. I still can't believe that both Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon did their own singing...

-I hate fruitflies. With a vengeance.
I think I got some with the bananas I bought and now they are all over...aaarrgghhh... I'm a serial killer today.

-I must be crazy. I signed us up to be a AC Nielsen family. I got my packet yesterday. I'm going to have to keep tab of everything we buy. Not only how much but specifically the what, how much, when and where from. For atleast three months. OY! I have three fat green notebooks to fill and send in. Just shoot me now. (the one bright spot is that I only have to record what I buy domestically so my scrapbook supplies don't count, ha!)

-Still dry. Not a drop from the sky. Usually we have thunderstorms in august. I'm still waiting.

-Smell of smoke in the air. The wind is blowing smoke from the forest fires from around St Petersburg in Russia. Since it has been so dry here, forest fires go up easily. They've apparently ran out of money to fight them across the border, so they are just letting it all go up in flames. And I get to live in the smoke haze. Great.

-My allergies are kicking up. This one weed. Ugh. Oh and that smoke isn't helping.

-DH is in the doghouse. He knew it was our anniversary yesterday. No flowers, no card, no 'Happy Anniversary, hon' (until prompted and that doesn't count), not even a measly chocolate bar. And it's not like I expected diamonds, I would have been so happy with the chocolate bar. A gesture was all I needed. I made him a card and bought a nice dessert. Hmmpphh.

-I have to stop procrastinating. Going to change those sheets might help...

One week and counting...

...to real life I mean.

Schools start in one week. Monday for Saara and tuesday for Niina.
I have to get ready.
I started by getting up at 7.30 this morning.
I need to wean my body from sleeping in.

It's now 11am and so far I've
-washed a load of whites
-checked my email
-caught up on boards online
-ate breakfast and read the newspaper
-made a birthday card
-hung up the whites to dry
-washed a load of reds
-picked up mail
-made an anniversary card (our 13th today)
-cleaned up my mess

Apparently I get stuff done when I get out of bed early.
Who knew.

Better go hang up those reds to dry too...

PS. For those of you still wondering what TIPster stands for go read this page.

Guess what I have in my hot little hands???

I got my copy of this supercool book today.
CK's Ultimate Guide to Photo Keepsakes.
Mine was a complimentary issue because...

Yeah baby!
That is my treasured TIPster album in there!
I just added it back to my 2Peas gallery.
You'll find it here.
In three parts as it is HUGE.

This book is filled with inspiration.
Well worth the $24.95.
250+ pages.
I can't wait to sit down in leisure with this one.
And can I just say how stinking cool it is to be in the same book with my buddies Helen McCain and Janet Hopkins.
Way cool.

All new

New month.
New banner.
New top 10 layout slide.
New gallery at A Million Little Things.

One of my projects this month is a mini album about Saara's camp school experience.
I only showed 2 pics of it in the gallery so here is the entire album.
And yes, I have a tendency to do stuff the hard way. I had no plans beyond the covers when I started it... so I just winged it (and sewed) when it was time to add pages.
This is mostly KI memories (Devoted line) with some Heidi Swapp and 7 Gypsies thrown in.









PS. Saara got to Hamburg safely :o)

And away she flew!

I sent my firstborn off to the world.

Well, only for a week.
She is still on the airplane as I type this.
I should be getting a phonecall in an hour telling me she has landed safely into Hamburg, Germany.
She'll be spending a week visiting our friends and having a total blast!
She was so nervous about flying alone (escorted by the airline), she hardly slept last night. Only a 2hr 15 min flight though, she had chocolate and a good book. She'll be just fine.

Wish I was going with her.
She has been instructed to take loads of photos.
And like a good scrapbooker's daughter she promised to do so.