out of work

it's my second day off from work and for someone who hasn't been at home for a long time, even on the weekends, this momentary experience is making me feel restless.

it's funny, because when i am at work, all i think about is being at home, watching movies, sleeping, reading...but now that i am actually living it, i don't know what to do!

yesterday, i decided to go to the grocery store to buy some ingredients to make cookies and bread. i felt so lazy during the daytime that i managed to face the flour, eggs, butter, etc. late in the afternoon. when i was done, it was almost my bedtime. 

cut-out cookies with my favorite sprinkles

kurvapusti, which my captain has requested for me to make

the house smelled like pulla when jukka came home late from work. then he had a conversation with the pulla and he just can't stop eating them. oh, that sweet pulla boy!

now, i'm browsing on the net for some other cookie recipes. any suggestions?

Halloween, kalag-kalag and baking combo

while waiting for the captain and fasu-su to come home last friday evening, i had this crazy idea to put on some make-up to surprise them when they arrive. i was still putting on my whiskers when they came. when i came out of the room, the captain looked at me like a creature who came from middle earth. fasu didn't care at all..she was hungry! 

so, i convinced Jukka to put on the same make-up, too. he agreed, but we have to make and eat dinner first. right after dinner, he went out to prepare dodge because we will drive Henri and his friends to a party. i thought that he was just avoiding me so i couldn't paint his face. but when he came back to the living room, he was ready for my hands to mess with his face.

we picked up Henri with this look!

when we came back, we made some Christmas cookies

grandpa and grandma cookies! 

after baking, we found our comfort zones in the living room sofa. i slept while he watched F1's practice. i woke up at 1 am and we rinsed our painted faces.

the next day, we cleaned the front yard. all those fallen leaves have piled up and needed to be taken somewhere. we were done around 4, packed up our clothes and went to mummolandia. Aili and Heikki were already waiting for us. we drove first to Lahti cemetery to visit the grave of Jukka's granddad, then drove another 50 km to mantsala to visit his grandmother's grave.

i took this photo in mantsala cemetery

we were back in Lahti around 7. Jukka and I had sauna at his parents' house. i have to say that their sauna is the most beautiful sauna that i've ever been to. so we were there for almost an hour. 

when we were done, we went upstairs and had dinner with his parents. we said goodbye to them a few minutes before ten, then headed to Leena's place.

Leena and her friends are so ready to party!

we drove the girls to the city, headed home and hit the sheets.

the next day, was pulla-making day! Aili came to Kerintie in the afternoon and taught me how to bake Jukka's favorite bread. it was very challenging learning how to bake when the instructions were given in a totally strange language. hmmm...but the outcome was good and the pullas were served warm along with steaming cups of coffee!

Aili, the master baker and Jukka, the quality control freak!

weekends, are just getting better and better!

pangayaw

as usual, we just couldn't stay at home this weekend. this time, we went to Tampere, to visit Jade, Vesku and Pike's german shepherd-mixed-with-three-more-breeds, who will celebrate her first birthday by the end of this month. we were such in high spirits, as we started the rainy sunday morning with a nice breakfast (prepared by the Jukka) while watching the birds and squirrels eat their breakfast as well, on the apple tree just outside the kitchen window.

our dear border

the 140 km drive to Tampere went well. and before we knew it, we were at Pike and Vesku's place already.

Fasu and Jade. the captain and i are so proud of Fasu

for being such a good sport while playing with Jade.

after the baby had a doze of her playing vitamin, 

we drove further to Tampere's centrum and went

to Pyynikin Nakatorni, to enjoy the view from 

somewhere high, and squeezed ourselves in the small cafe

to have some coffee and a taste of their famous doughnuts.

a panorama from the top of the tower

on the way home, the captain insisted that we drop by

Hameenlinna so that he could check my bike. 

what a good weekend it was! 

 

duaw

this tiny bird was poking every part of the apple tree 

searching for food. 

sorry little bird...it's still too cold for me to come out

and bring you some nuts. 

come back in the afternoon, please...

pamahaw

 eating my breakfast para maging mas 

masigla, maliksi at masaya!

kaka miss

skype-ing with Berlin! i miss talking to and laughing with her.

tugnaw na naman

every morning before leaving the house, i always wonder how i'll manage the cold weather. well, i get a little warm when i walk to the bus stop. but standing there and waiting for the always-late-bus makes me feel so cold. then the one hour bus ride makes me feel warm. but when i get off and start to ride my bicycle for nearly 3 km to the kindergarten...ahhh, sometimes i just want to cry. almost all the time that i am cycling, i ask myself, why am i here? why do i have to bear this cold weather? of course, i know the answers to those questions. but i just can't help it sometimes. sigh!

today is tugnaw

bata batuta

the kids at the kindergarten have become more interesting for the past days. maybe they have adjusted to seeing a "different" person amongst them everyday. or those long hours of being together last week have made a quick bond between us. 

the other day, i was surprised when julia showed up in the kitchen and asked to help me with the dishes. i told her, thanks, but i'm done with them already. then i went to the main hall to get something and she was just behind me all the time. i took a glass of water to drink and she told me that she also want to drink water. as i started to prepare the kids' snacks, she was still there. so i gave her a pair of gloves and let her stand on a chair, and she helped me make sandwiches. i thought that she'll get tired of it after a couple of sandwiches but she helped me until all the sandwiches were done. she even helped with the glasses and bowls. ahhh, my little helper :) 

there's this boy in the kindergarten named Noel. he always gets into trouble. he used to follow me around and asked what my name is. he came to me one time and asked me to smile so he could take a picture of me with his imaginary camera. today, i walked in the small kids' sleeping room to check their beds and he was there laying on the foam. he got all things scattered on the floor. i just said hi to him, closed the door and went back to the hall. then he followed me to the hall and said, joan, i'll draw a rabbit. i said, okay. i stood beside him while he drew his rabbit. and when he's done, he told me, du kan far den. oh, how sweet can that little boy be?! i thanked him and told him that he drew really well. then he started to draw more! hahaha!

Noel's kanin ^_^

the alibangbang is back

it has been a while, huh! i haven't been here for what...? a couple of months? oh, someday when i have Alzheimers, there will be two months missing in my journal. tsk! tsk!

it may be so, that the alibangbang has enjoyed the late spring and have been everywhere during the summer and is now a bit tired and needs to revitalize. naks! and being back here is what i truly need! 

oh, blog! i love you!

the journey with three men and a baby

a week ago, i was on a trip with the henkka team for the norwegian karting race in rudskogen motorsenter. i almost backed out in the last minute because i thought all the while that i will only be traveling with dear fasu and jukka. when henri and asko came just before our scheduled departure, i felt sick. i probably couldn't co-exist with three men in a motorhome for a week. but jukka made that irresistible puppy face while i was carrying the pillows and comforters in the motorhome, so i decided to join the team.

tuesday, august 5. we left kerintie at 2pm. asko was already seated in the passenger's seat, so i settled on the sofa at the back of the motorhome with henri and fasu. the drive to helsinki made me feel sick because jukka drove too fast. 

on our way to helsinki

we got into ship at half past 4. we settled our things in the cabin. i decided to stay in there and slept for a while because i felt very dizzy from the drive. the guys went out for a drink. 

i woke up just when jukka came. we went to the shop to buy some food and had dinner in one of the restaurants in the ship. we took a walk on the upper deck after that and went straight to bed. (we slept at 2 am the night before trying to finish the walls in the motorhome). asko and henri went partying.

wednesday, august 6. we woke up at 8 am, showered and went to the dining hall for breakfast. i enjoyed looking at the view as we sailed close to stockholm. the ship docked at 9:30. we hurried to the car deck and once we were out of the ship, jukka drove so fast again. henri was sleeping so i decided to settle myself between asko and jukka on the front seats so that i won't feel dizzy, and it helped. 

my heart jumped everytime we passed by the road signs. we are actually going to oslo! weeee!!!

at around 4:30, jukka said that it would be better if we camped by somewhere for the night. he was driving most of the day and he was tired. we stopped by a nice camping area in arjang, sweden. i took a walk with fasu and cleaned my nails while the boys went to the canteen to buy some drinks. we called it a night at around 10.

camping place in sweden

father and daughter

fasu...su

thursday, august 7. ugh! all i ever wanted the moment that i woke up was to take a shower. but the shower didn't work! ugh!

re-fueling

we were on the road again by 11:30. henri was rested and asked if we could play some card games. we did. it was fun. but i felt dizzy again. so we stopped playing and jukka stopped driving, too. we were lost. the gps took us somewhere else. i went out of the motorhome to get some fresh air. i stepped on the norwegian soil again! that realization somehow made me feel better. 

lost

we drove to the gas station and asked for directions. after that, we drove for half an hour to rudskogen motorsenter in rakkestad. we got to our destination at 3 pm. yey!!! we were an hour early because the camp opens at 4. i took fasu for a walk and once the gate was opened, we drove the trailer to the area where they can build the tent. 

jukka, asko and henri worked on the kart as soon as the tent was settled. i just wandered around the place with fasu and watched the motor race on the other side of the track. the guys worked until midnight. we slept at 1 am.

tent area

tambayan namin ni fasu

camping area

friday, august 8. practice day. i know so well that the guys will be stressed, so i stayed away from the tent most of the day, only dropping by to ask if they needed food or water. i watched the practice race with fasu under a bjork tree.

set....go!

things didn't go well on that practice. henri went out of the track line and his kart was filled with sand. plus the fact that he was adjusting to the new engine, trying to feel how it goes and all. 

jukka asked me to go with henri to the driver's meeting so that i could translate norwegian to english for henri. i told him that i wouldn't be able to understand norwegian anymore because i haven't heard the language for a long time already. but he insisted that i went with henri. okay. the three of us went to the meeting and i wasn't wrong! i couldn't understand what the organizer was saying. ugh! nosebleed! but they asked the man after the meeting to give them the instructions in english. 

i got a piggy back ride from jukka on our way back to the trailer! happiness!

jukka took a shower at midnight and had forgotten fasu outside the shower room. he was already in the motorhome when he remembered that he had fasu with him. what a daddy!

we had a nice view of the moon from the trailer's window before we went to sleep. so dreamy...

saturday, august 9. qualifying race. more pressure on the boys that day, so i maintained a low profile from them. i told them to just send me a message if they needed something. 

i had a quick trip with jukka to the grocery store and the bank, got ourselves some ice cream and headed back to the camp. 

i watched some of the races. henri's kart was broken when he hit the wall. jukka had to weld it back to place. henri was able to get on the 15th place in the last qualifying. 

it was rainy and windy all afternoon until at night.

sunday, august 10. final race. i was with jukka all the time when henri's group was on the track. i'm glad that i stayed there although i had a prior engagement and my mind was preoccupied that i couldn't meet mader kjersti at lunchtime. he was nervous and excited for henri and i realized how important it was for him that i was there.

parade of drivers

18

henri ended on the 12th place. we're proud of him, knowing that he did his best.

we cleaned up and folded the tent back to the trailer. we settled ourselves in the motorhome and headed to oslo. yes, to oslo! my heart skipped higher and higher as we started our one hour and 30 minutes drive to aker brygge, where kjersti was waiting. 

i was so excited that i didn't think about finding the way to aker brygge. once we got to oslo centrum, the gps went crazy again. just then, kjersti called and asked where we were. she stayed on the phone for a while to give us directions.

we ended up on the other side of aker brygge where we couldn't park. i went out and asked a taxi driver how to go to tjuvholmen. i told the guys the way, but they didn't believe me. yeah, right! i have a sense of direction, too! after exerting so much of my convincing power, they finally gave in and drove the way i told them to. and we found it! eureka moment! 

kjersti called again to check if we found the place and reminded to get a parking ticket right away, which we did. the guys had the decency to change into their better-looking clothes and we stepped out of dodge. 

a few steps later, i saw mader kjersti walking towards us and when she saw me, she had that usual warm smile and open arms. awww!!! it felt like home! i was so overwhelmed! i just couldn't believe that she's there and i am there. we hugged and hugged endlessly. i totally forgot about my companions for a while there. when kjersti unwrapped me from her arms, jukka stepped forward and shook hands with her. kjersti called him lucky. hehe then i introduced asko, henri and fasu. 

i felt so happy that the guys were actually chatty and got along well with kjersti as we walked deeper into the resto areas of aker brygge. and after a while, i saw familiar faces coming out of one of restos. felix, finn einar, liv and fredrik! felix walked closer to me with open arms. awww...he has grown so tall! i hugged him so tight. i missed that little guy! then i hugged finn-einar, fredrik and liv. awww...i couldn't contain my happiness in seeing all of them again. we talked and talked until jukka asked if we could transfer to some other restaurant since they are so hungry. 

liv and fredrik left earlier because liv had to be at work at dawn and she had to drop fredrik to her dad's place. as we looked for some other place to eat, finn-einar and felix walked with us. i walked hand in hand with felix as we used to. we decided to eat at tgif since they allow dogs in the area. finn-einar and felix decided to go back to their hotel. kjersti stayed with us, saying that she couldn't leave me just yet.

we enjoyed the view of the supermoon rising from the horizon and talked until we finished our dinner. then jukka remembered that our parking ticket is only until 10 and it was already past the time. we walked back to the parking area in tjuvholmen and when it was time to say goodbye, kjersti asked us to visit in stryn someday. and we couldn't end our hugs. hehehe she was teary eyed when she let go of me. 

i hugged jukka just when i let go of kjersti. i was so happy and sad so quickly and i needed a hug. also, i am so thankful to jukka for taking the time to drive us to oslo and meet my host family. i'll be forever thankful for him for that chance.

henri found the overparking tickets. a thousand kroner. ooopppsss...jukka just dismissed it. he asked me to sit on the passenger's seat. yey! finally! i missed that. i missed holding hands with him when he's driving. we drove under the big full moon on to stockholm, stopping by at some gas station to buy coffee and some chips to keep us awake throughout the drive. at around 2 am, jukka was so sleepy already and we found a camping area to stop by the night.

monday, august 11. i woke up with the sound of the heavy rain and the rambling motorhome. jukka started driving again. after an hour, we stopped by another gas station to buy some breakfast. it rained endlessly until we were close to stockholm. we drove straight to the harbor and got on the ship. i took a long shower while the boys went to sauna. then they decided to have some pasta for dinner and i passed because i was still full from the chinese food that we had for lunch. 

after dinner, we took fasu for a walk in the upper deck and enjoyed the sunset. 

tuesday, august 12. jukka woke me up saying "henri almost managed to take his pants off". i checked henri on the lower deck and laughed. asko, jukka and i went downstairs for breakfast and left henri sleeping. he must have been partying all night. 

when the captain announced that we were almost in helsinki, jukka woke henri up. it took quite a long time for henri to get up. jukka told him to splash his face with cold water and henri just smiled and murmured. hahaha! so, he's so drunk! and he's so funny! i asked him what he drank and he murmured and smiled, his eyes halfway open. he managed to get down to the car deck safe and happy :)

setting the gps on the drive back home

we were all squeezed in the motorhome just when the gates were opened and we started the drive. we stopped by some place in helsinki because the guys returned the kart's engine to somebody. we left the place at 12:30 and finally on our way back home. i slept on the way and woke up in kerintie. 

aaahhh!!! it's so nice to be back home :)

excited!

if they will let me off at the border, i will be able to go to the beautiful Norway! today!!! yehey! i am so excited! i feel like dancing and jumping with so much joy!

@ 3:48 am

i always wake up in the middle of the night

but i don't always wake up with this great view.

i am so thankful for my bladder 

for forcing me to get out of the cottage.

this is one of the reasons why i want to live 

by the lake.