Wahnsinn und Wahrheit

Hope everyone's having a happy new year

2010-01-04T13:52:58Z

We had a loud, happy party and had so much fun. There was more than enough to drink and too much to eat and we all had a great time.

Stayed up till 4 or 5 am and I'm still tired.

I'm an old woman, you see.

finnmarie @ 2009-12-25T16:12:00

2009-12-25T15:12:13Z

Merry Christmas!!!!

Why did the camera batteries die

2009-10-20T11:45:25Z

...just as I wanted to take a picture of Lotta the Lab for you all. Yesterday morning when I came into the livingroom, I found her all cuddled up in her blanket. Only her eyes and nose were looking out. It was too cute. Too cute.

I found the camera and she didn't move. Then turned the camera on only to hear the "bling!" and see "battery empty" on the screen. Dammit.

OMG

2009-08-17T09:34:45Z

...I'm too fat, I now really am. I needed pants in size 40-42. And I used to be a 36-38.

On the bright side, I know this because my husband whisked me off to Hamburg on Saturday, then dragged me to my favorite shoe store (I got new shoes, purrrrty! and cheap! down from 80 € to 34 €, the store next door wanted to have 60 for the same shoes) and to my all-time favorite clothes store and bought me a pair of pretty black pants and a dark purple blousey thing...

The blouse/tunic looks quite different on me, thanks to the curves, to put it politely :P The pants are huge but make me look tiny, so that's good.

The day was great.

And yesterday we went on a little bike/in-liner tour, as in, Basti was on his in-line skates, I rode my bike and used the smallest gears to get exercise as well... We think it was about 17-21 km... it took us about 2 hours (and a few breaks, so we were away for 2 hours and 20 minutes). Another great day.

I think I'm in love

2009-08-14T12:59:05Z

...with the lady at the register in Lidl around the corner

I bought potatoes, zucchini, ham, juice, water, a bottle of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (a great deal) and a bottle of Vernaccia di San Gimignano.

She scanned my stuff and then said: "Id?"
I didn't understand at first and said: "Sorry?"
Lady: "Are you 18? Could I see your ID?"
I almost hugged her!

(It's less than a month till my 31st birthday. I'm an old lady)

More updatey, picturey stuff

2009-08-06T09:56:29Z

Just a week after the first wedding, there was a second one. Over 200 guests and soooo much fun.

And then, there was the third wedding and a week off! Yay for time off. Yay.

We visited the in-laws and then our friends Ju and Andreas in Bad Salzungen close to Eisenach.

Wartburg! and Drachenschlucht

Updatey and picture-heavy, part 1

2009-08-06T09:03:12Z

The wedding in May was great! The bride was gorgeous, if you don't believe me, just see for yourself

My dress fit:

Our speech/trial was a big hit:

And all in all, it was a great day:

ETA: the kid in the trial pictures was such a sweetheart. She had the biggest crush on me and followed me around most of the night, we danced together (with her arms around my neck and legs around my waist as well as normally), she wanted me to be the one to go to the bathroom with her, "cause girls always go toghether" and asked me if I needed some fresh air and then walked out to the patio with me when I was sitting down between the dances.
Afterwards, she'd told the bride that she really hoped to meet the "pretty lady in the blue dress" again at the next family party and was very glad to hear that we've been de facto adopted by everyone and will be there a lot.

Honorable stuff

2009-05-11T09:04:44Z

I have been told that I rock as a Maid of Honor.
We just had the bachelor/ette parties this weekend. Oh, the fun!

The guys went to the groom's favorite brewery and later played pool.
We went to the sauna... we were greeted by a lovely lady who took us around the whole place, and in the end lead us into the café where they'd set up a table with candles and lots of glasses, cookies and tomato-roses. A pretty - and very nervous - young man served us yummy champagne, orange juice and water.
Later, we were taken to a sauna reserved just for us. They'd decorated the door with white tulle, there was a traditional Finnish birch wreath for the bride to sit on and a bunch of birch as decoration. It smelled so nice! We also had our own sauna master lady. After 10-15 minutes of sauna, we got yummy drinks, candy and, they'd organized for the yucky stuff, so I could crack an egg on the bride and dust her with flour. After she'd gotten all cleaned up, she had to run around the sauna in good old finnish tradition, and call out the names of her old flames (I'd checked with her right before, and she knew the tradition from my party and thought it was great :-P) and then throw a bunch of birch branches on the sauna roof to see if her first child would be a boy or a girl. Result: undecided. She thinks it means twins. Her sister suspects it means her first child will be gay, the bride thought that would be preferable, as twins might be quite tiring.
The place we went to then gave the bride a lovely, plush bathrobe as a gift. They'd even stitched:
Junggesellenabschied 9.5.09
Die Braut die sich traut
on the back.
(Hen night May 9th 09
The courageous bride)
Afterwards we went to the steam room and our sauna lady brought us some rose salt to use as a body scrub while in there. After a quick shower, we got some honey to rub on... my skin is STILL incredibly soft and smells nice after lots of showers.
Then, yet another sauna, some lounging around in the sun and then we finally headed back to the house to meet up with the guys.
What followed was:
a bbq
SingStar
darts
dancing
fun

On Sunday, we all met up again for brunch of leftovers and I'm still stuffed.

Less than two weeks till the wedding. I'm busy.

ETA: cause I can spell at times

bicycle update

2009-04-06T15:21:34Z

went bike shopping all Saturday, then Raf, our best friend and the ultimate bike expert looked at our bikes yesterday... we hope to make it to two more stores today!

I want something cool!

I want to ride my bicycle...

2009-03-31T18:01:45Z

...but the trouble is, I bought it on Sat. and on Monday we had to give it back :( The gears just would not shift properly and there were a few more problems as well. Now we are back to looking.

Not happy.

going stronger

2009-02-09T16:22:41Z

....and stronger...

he's doing his very best and I'm just happy. And, yes, doing his very best means talking about hard, HARD stuff.

Happy Birthday, dog!

2009-01-29T08:30:20Z

Lotta turns 2 today!

Yes, she does. And she's still cute and all that.
This is Lotta sitting in my room, watching me type:

cough

2009-01-26T10:27:35Z

I'm sick. Have been since Wednesday. Cough, ear infection, stuffed nose... am on antibiotics and all that.

Fun times.

Basti's sick too.

Even so, we had a great weekend of cuddling (and coughing), watching movies, eating comfort foods and enjoying being together. Today we have a date in the bath tub soaking in hot water with eucalyptus oil and other herbs. And coughing, I guess.

finnmarie @ 2008-12-28T19:01:00

2008-12-28T18:02:39Z

The Life Experience Test

Overall, you have partaken in 84 out of 169 possible life experiences.

Your average life experience score is therefore 50%.

The average score is 51%, making your experiences more than 44% of the people who have taken this test.

The average for your age group (unknown/other) is 46%.

Broken down by category:

Art: 9/17 (53%)

Career & Work: 7/13 (54%)

Civics & Technology: 4/7 (57%)

Crime & Disarray: 1/11 (9%)

Education: 11/18 (61%)

Fashion: 5/10 (50%)

Fitness, Health and Sports: 2/7 (29%)

Life in General: 8/14 (57%)

Relationships: 9/14 (64%)

Religion & Politics: 2/4 (50%)

Social: 15/22 (68%)

Travel: 3/20 (15%)

Vices: 8/12 (67%)

Take the test and see how YOU compare

I didn't like the travel bit... I've travelled a lot, but being a European, well, ya know :P

it's that time again :)

2008-12-02T07:40:59Z

My LiveJournal 12 Days
My True Love gave to me...
12 eternitats a-wiggling.
11 mamlambos a-groaning.
10 kaishays a-milking.
9 zeusgirls a-twirling.
8 humanunits a-squeezing.
7 loree_borealiss a-chewing.
6 joysterliciouss a-grinding.
5 dark blue phonemonkeys.
4 posting rleysers.
3 Herzegovinian schmusimausi73s.
2 gerbil ladycrims.
And a grendelyn in a raspberry tree.
Get gifts! Username:
Another fun meme brought to you by rfreebern.

Advent calendar for a 30-year old Bunny

2008-11-24T14:30:46Z

I've got 14 things
(the Judgy Pants, chocolates, Fisherman's Friends, tiny little whiskey and gin bottles, a flashlight, a fun game)
and am missing 10 more.

Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.

me too - or three? meme time

2008-11-19T07:40:10Z

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
1. Riikka
2. Riiksu
3. Nirppu

THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:
1. Nirppu
2. Finnmarie
3. Frauhase

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. My hands
2. My mouth
3. My legs

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU DON’T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. My belly
2. My thyroid
3. My left knee

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
1. Carelian (ie eastern finnish)
2. Tavastian (ie middle finnish)
3. Ketonen (ie my family, we're a race of our own)

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
1. cancer
2. fish
3. the thought of doing my taxes

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
1. coffee
2. mascara
3. cuddles

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING NOW:
1. the blue pajamas my hubby gave me
2. red woolen socks from great aunt M
3. red robe from mom-in-law... I guess I'll have to get dressed soonish...

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTISTS:
1. Herbert Grönemeyer
2. Mikko Kuustonen
3. Joni Mitchell

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS (RIGHT NOW):
1. Du bist... (Herbert)
2. Daddy Sang Bass (Johnny Cash)
3. Mein Gorilla (Max Raabe und Palastorchester)

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP:
1. trust
2. physical attraction
3. support

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:
1. I have recently discovered jogging and, to my surprise, enjoy it.
2. I prefer baking to cooking
3. I cannot touch my toes without bending my knees

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE PREFERRED SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
1. Eyes
2. Hands
3. Voice

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
1. dancing
2. ceramics
3. reading

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
1. Get this book translated
2. See my little cousin's little girl
3. Buy Christmas gifts

THREE CAREERS YOU’RE CONSIDERING/YOU’VE CONSIDERED:
1. Psychologist
2. Librarian
3. Conference interpreter

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
1. British Columbia
2. Scotland
3. Iceland

THREE NAMES YOU LIKE:
1. Alexander
2. Emma
3. Joonatan

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
1. take singing lessons
2. become a good gardener
3. be a mom

THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A GIRL:
1. I wear skirts and dresses most of the time
2. I'm addicted to babies and toddlers
3. I cry

THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A BOY:
1. At the gym, I spend more time with the weights than the cardio thingies
2. I like to buy tools
3. I've been told that my favorite beer is a "man's beer" whatever that means

THREE PEOPLE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE TAKE THIS QUIZ NOW:

hmmm.... I always enjoy reading about my friends, so anyone.

They got married

2008-10-22T16:14:00Z

Nicca and Rafael that is, my maid-of-honor and Basti's bestman. Guess who was maid (no!no!no! I'm NOT a matron) of honor and best man?
It was fun.
It was great.

They'll have a church wedding in May and I cannot wait.

We met so many people we'd lost touch with. Nicca's grandma told me to call her Oma as she was adopting me, I danced with a ballroom teacher and cuddled babies. Oh, and there was good food and drinks.
And, we had a fun 30th bday party for the bride before the wedding.

me too!! (meme)

2008-08-05T13:19:26Z

Your result for The Commonly Confused Words Test...

English Genius

You scored 100% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 100% Expert!

You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go!

Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it!

For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/.

Take The Commonly Confused Words Test at HelloQuizzy

pictures, part 6

2008-06-23T16:39:39Z

one more post, and then I'm done, promise!!

Tampere, it's pretty

Back home

someone's been married 40 years!! That's a ruby mom's wearing, an anniversary present!

Pictures, part 5

2008-06-20T16:29:49Z

and more and more...
I know, I'm torturing you :P

Pictures, part 4

2008-06-20T16:13:38Z

Roundtrip part 2

Lunchbreak on day 3, in Kustavi...

Holiday pictures, part 1 of many

2008-06-20T12:54:02Z

Here they are, pics of the holiday...

a sunset (and sunrise) at my mom and dad's.

My brother's family came over the next morning:

..and then my sis and the girls got there and the two little ones had fun!

here I am

2008-06-19T15:06:45Z

I am back!
Happy, relaxed, still not any thinner but not any fatter either despite mom's yummy foods, so I think the drugs are doing some good.
(there are other evidence but that's TMI for the moment, those of you with thyrox problems can probably guess what I'm talking about).

I'm gonna be a maid-of-honor on Oct 17th/ May 23rd (yes, there's a gap, but there's a good reason for that).

Pics of the trip will be here VERY SOON, promise.

Tomorrow:
work (one little text came in today)
cleaning and laundry
crazy little doggie I've missed like crazy
weddingy stuff for Nicca the Most Amazing Bride-To-Be
uploading pics

New pics of Lotta

2008-05-22T10:00:06Z

After all the other posts, I thought it was time for some more dog pictures.

In the garden the other day:

She's gotten so big...