Busy and Lazy

Hate to admit that I've not only been extremely busy but also lazy in updating my blog. The only site that seems to be gathering any interest. Running a start-up, working on projects as well as trying to do my dissertation, taking care of my kid and other household chores meant that I ran out of things to write. Call it a writers block or whatever, nothing seems to be coming out of me...except, sarcasm. Not really something I'm looking to share with the world. Then again if you are following my blog or stumble upon it by some unfortunate chance, then you know I can ramble on quite some bit. My other blog (yep, that one where I share my recipes and so on) needs an overhaul as well. I'm thinking of renaming it and shifting my things to Wordpress. I've started a new hobby to take my mind off work and other stuff. I'll share more of it later. Just know that this is not something I started just a week ago but something I've been doing for about 14 months now. I still suck at it but who cares, I'm enjoying myself. The weather hasn't improved much but hey at least there's sunshine in Finland, right? Oh well, here's a pic of Nemu with her shoes (so she doesn't get frostbite). She really hates them but at -28 degrees C in January she had to use them. I'm hitting the sack and I promise not to neglect this blog too much. Soon I'll upload *gasp* videos! xD

Nemu miserable with her shoes
taken in January 2016

A long overdued entry - The Move

Our Garden Gnome enjoying the autumn breeze!

I have been wanting to make a new blog entry for as long as I can remember. Since we've moved from our comfortable home in Finland where we have a child friendly neighbourhood and also leaving close friends to move to a small township in UK where we know nobody. Thanks to the internet I've found comfort in knowing I can still keep in touch with them. I'm very grateful for the people who has taken the time to come visit us at our new home as it's not easy to get to. It's not like we're a tube ride away; it's more like a tube, a train and a car ride away. Although in theory I'm closer to my sister but that doesn't mean it's easier to get to her.

For some reason everything feels so far away in the UK. Travelling times are exponentially increased with the traffic and narrow roads. Trains are an easy way to get around but the fares are not very appealing. I found my certain comforts taken away moving here but at the same time gain new experiences. After moving to Finland over 14 years ago, I was amazed at how everything works. I'm so used to the chaos that I found myself dumbfounded that I don't have to fight to get things done. Finland has spoilt me, they've spoilt me for the simplicity of getting things done over the phone, not getting ripped off is another thing I enjoy in Finland, I feel safe dealing with people in Finland and I don't have to be super-excessively suspicious with everyone. It's more like a what you see is what you get approach.

So coming to UK I miss the simplicity of those things and not wasting my time trying to get things working. It hasn't been all that bad. It's just getting use to things and then maybe I'll learn to avoid being disappointed.

I have a few personal projects I'm doing but I won't go into details on it. I've started to look for a new job about 1 month ago (October 2012) and so far have been only in interviews. I haven't got a good feeling in most of them but then again I'm usually very cautious with how I feel about the outcome of things to avoid disappointment. I'm also taught to question things so I don't jump into conclusions like I use to being an impatient teenager.

I'm going to try a different angle as I'm not in a big rush but would like to start doing something soon rather than just shuffling away at home. It's great to get 'some' time off but the day to day tasks are just driving me insane.

Moominworld - Muumimailmaa @ Naantali Finland

I've been rather busy with work and other things and also have been lazy in writing since I've been fighting with doing documentations for the past few days. However I need to get it written soon before I forget our adventure.
I'm not a big fan of the hippos to be honest but my daughter seems to like them...ALOT! So I'm giving in to these fuzzy hippos.

Our trip to Naantali from Helsinki-Vantaa area was quite an interesting one as we had the location in our navigator. As our TomTom's map was last updated in 2007 (or there abouts) the new Turku (Åbo) highway was not showing, so it looked as though we are driving on someone's farm <.<"...ANYWAYS, after tunnels upon tunnels, it started to remind me of Norway, except that these tunnels were far shorter and the little one seemed to enjoy them. My main concern on this dreaded hot day was if the hotel (Kultaranta Resort)would have air conditioning. Low and behold (curses Scandinavia <.<) it doesn't!!! It has this THING that circulates air in the room that just makes awful noise and to be honest does nothing to suck away the darn heat. I get that winter is far longer than summer but if you want to keep being #1 at Tripadvisor (out of 2 hotels at the moment) you better up and up the standard! For lack of amenities (no air-cond in MOST apartments/suites whatever you call them, , limited things to do for non golfers and kids etc etc...I'll cover that later) plus allowing smoking makes it even more unbearable for people who don't smoke and have to keep the windows open all night just to breathe in the hot summer nights (did I mention the blood suckers yet?).

What's in the hotel? They have a golf course...so for someone who doesn't play golf steer clear unless you want to spend time in the 'salt room' that cost EUR 14 for absolutely nothing (I call sitting around doing nothing but breathing in minerals sprayed into the air a bit silly, that was the description I got from the reception plus they also have magazines for me to read...yay! <.<") or just walk around the golf course. They don't have a swimming pool, so you'll have to rent a bike from the hotel to get to the nearest swimming beach or drive there.

Kultaranta Resort - Relatively new rooms, quite a distance from reception.

In any case we weren't there for the hotel but even then we'd like to have a comfy night's sleep. The breakfast however did make up a little for the bad night's sleep no matter how good 'Unikulma' beds they had. It was funny to find hash browns being served with the cold cuts, cheese and salad section. I'm more used to them being warm. However the standard buffet style breakfast had everything and even more than what we normally have for breakfast, the first day we were there the strangest thing was the Bolognese sauce O_O. I couldn't figure what to eat that with. At some point I was thinking sarcastically maybe I'll just take a bowl of the sauce and put some muesli, yoghurt and some fruits with it for the lack of pasta. My husband liked his, he had Bolognese sauce with meatballs =.=".

IMPORTANT: If you're going with children that needs a highchair BE EARLY! Because even if the restaurant is equipped with a child play corner it is not very well equipped with baby chairs. They had one Ikea high chair and one Stokke high chair that is with the extra bit for babies...If you have a bit chunkier kid like we have...you'll get lots of screaming trying to put your child in or getting them out (especially out). So Dear Kultaranta, Invest in Ikea baby/high chairs...they aren't that expensive plus they can be hosed down easily if it gets dirty kapish?

Kultaranta Resort - Restaurant overlooking the golf course,
very neat, nice staff, lacking some child facilities.

Golfers, my most love to hate subject and sailors. From what I see they have quite a nicely maintained golf course and a marina coming soon (I don't know where it is as I didn't have time to make that visit). If you're lacking some items from your golf bag, they have a small golf boutique (pro shop) selling Kultaranta logo products plus a few brand names, Gant being one of the brands and cross is what I remember. There might be some other I don't know and I really couldn't care much. You'll also find some Moomin products for sale at the reception. I didn't notice much difference in prices there or at the Theme Park but of course there are more selections at Moominworld.

Now I got that covered...you get breakfast, hooray! So if you're not playing golf where is the closest lunch place...awww man?! the hotel again? I had a coffee, a croissant and my daughter had a cup of milk with sausage and french fries and it cost me about 16 EUR. I'd recommend that you take a drive to Naantali...there isn't much there either xD but at least you won't be paying hefty prices for simple stuff. Better yet you could bring your own stuff as there is a fridge for use at your room plus there is a child care corner on the top floor of the studio apartment rows that has a microwave (at least the row we were staying in) They even have washing machine and dryers for people who intend to stay longer and have laundry to do (detergent not provided so BYO). You are provided with coffee and tea making facilities but you don't get refills too easily...again BYO. Oh and the fridge is empty just in case you are wondering. It's not really a minibar so feel free to use it. The water out of the tap is safe to drink in Scandinavia, unless you're paranoid you can always preboil your water.

My miserable lunch

At last! Day 1 was over...I could not wait for day 2 when I finally get to spend the entire day away from the HOTel. It's just my damned luck that after breakfast we left during the sunshine to Moominworld and arrived when it was raining cars and trucks! We were drenched, at least we couldn't complain that it was hot. We decided to be 'smart' and went straight to town to park closer to the Moominworld (don't do this! It cost alot plus you might not find spots) There is a specific area to park if you're going to Moominworld, there is a bus driving you there from the parking spots for a fee but it beats paying the parking in town if you're planning to stay the entire day.

Tickets to Moominworld can be purchased beforehand for a discount rate and bonus (S-bonus in Finland). We didn't know about this until we got there but heck it was 4 EUR more for both me and my hubby but children under 3 is free. Since it's more child oriented park they have lots of amenities for caring for your children if there is a need. Unfortunately ours decided to do a squeezy attack with her smoothie pack and got herself, her babybuggy and anything within 30 cm radius covered in blueberry =.=". We were glad that she had her raincoat on so the mess wasn't too great but it was still a mess. My hubby could change his wet shirt into the new t-shirts he got from the theme park but I couldn't find a corner at that time to just remove the wet clothes and change into my very own theme park t-shirt. So I just continued my 'adventure' with my wet top, pants and shoes....did I mentioned covered in blueberry smoothie?

Mamma's kitchen facing the boutique

Nipsu/Sniff's Boutique

Another restaurant

Muumitalo - Moominhouse the trademark house

People lining up to visit the Moomin house

Pikku Myy/Little My, The cop, Hemuli/Hemulen in character

As you can see that now the sun is shining and I'm sticky and sweaty hence I wasn't going to crowd into the house. My hubby and my daughter went in and my daughter loved it so much she was stuck in there for quite some time. Tip: If you're looking for the characters going up to the Moomin House is the best way to see them as they gather around there. If you go around you'll not bump into them so easily or at all.

The sea creature at Moominworld

Sign to Pappa's ship

Pappa's ship

View from Pappa's ship

Snork's story

Snork's camp

The train to and from Moominland to Naantali center

Now you've seen some sights in Moominworld...there are still quite a lot of sights to see. It may be quite boring to kids who don't know the character much. So it's up to the parents to make the experience for them. This is not those traditional theme parks that have rollercoasters and what not. It involves ALOT of walking. Sort of like going into a character play cross museum. So before going make sure your child is aware of that and introduce them to the character or else they'll find themselves kicking trees and rocks, asking when they can go home etc (I know this because I witness a Spanish family with a 5-7 yr old trying very hard to get their kids excited and all they wanted to do was sit and have ice cream and then leave).

Naantali

More of Naantali

Valio Ice-Cream Kiosk in Naantali,.
There is a Moominshop close to it if you think you've missed
some items from Moominworld.

Kaivohuone @ Naantali

The end of Naantali

Overall the trip was good despite some minor inconvenience and unpleasant heat. I'd say we may go back again and do things a bit differently to make the trip splendid. :)

Holidaying with kids

Last week we planned to go for a weekend trip with our two year old. Since this was rather a last minute option and all the flights and hotels during July in Europe is rather expensive. So we decided to go to Naantali; to be exact, to Moominworld.

Around summer last year...

I've never been there and since I'm not a big fan of those hippo like creatures I was not too excited about this. So I decided to give it a go anyways since my daughter was so excited when we mention we would go there. So we booked the hotel, or my husband booked a hotel that had a golf course =.=" (Go figure what happens next.) In anyways we agreed that he could pay some golf but I'm thinking about how my nerves would take it. We will return on Sunday which would be tomorrow 24th July 2011.

The garden is ready!

I promised to post the progress but I failed to do so as I was feeling frustrated being bitten by millions of mosquitoes while trying to get it ready hence forgotten to take snap shots of the progress. However I manage to get the finishing work while the plants are still growing =).

My garden corner - Blueberries up front, veggie beds at back =)

I've been trying to battle the flea beetles eating my Pak Choy but it seems to be in vain. After shortly posting this to FB my uncle passed on advice from my aunt that I should spray garlic and soapy water so they'd go away. I should consider that...Another advice I found from some gardening sites is that I should use some nettle water to spray on these little guys so the flea beetles will not like them. As I opened the hood to take photos...A few ladybugs have flown in to eat the unwelcome tenants. I covered them in quickly so that they can eat all those nasty buggers and their offsprings.

I'm quite pleased that this year my Peony didn't have blight issues. I was quite depressed that it was so terribly ill two years in a row. Now look at my little Shirley Temple!

Shirley Temple Peony -I chose this because it had the name of the
actress that my mother was named after =).
Also the white with a hint of red is just fantastic!

I also grew Rosamund potatoes and the Blue congo out back behind the Syringa Lilacs (Syreeni in Finnish). I also have the Spaghetti squash there lingering =)

Rosamund potatoes with pink skin -They are the bushy guys closer up
The Blue Congo with the purple stem - They are actually blue inside!

And then the close up of my Pak Choy being eaten by those nasties :(

Beautiful Pak Choy with nasty bug eaten holes.
 I'll try to spray the garlic-soapy water to see if it helps!

Last year my summer squash plant was larger. This year he's looking rather small. My spaghetti squash is still trying to get bigger but the cold weather isn't helping very much. I'm planning to use a large bottle to cover the area it is growing in piercing some holes for air so that it keeps warm and maybe then it will grow better =). Anyways here's a pic of my not so lovely zucchini.

Zucchini!
This year this little guy is growing in the old Syringa's spot.

Hello and welcome back....

okay the title was meant to be a joke :P I've been gone way too long from my blog due to having too little time for myself these days. Today was the day when my hubby took my little girl with him to his sisters so she could play with her cousins while he went to play golf with his dad and brother in law.

I don't fancy the game at all so I'm glad that this worked out well on my behalf too... I got to sleep until almost 13 (yes I know rather late... =.=") I got to go to the garden store to pick up some stuff I was missing...plus I got to tidy up the house a little. I'll share some photos later this evening after I've tidied up the place a little more =).

Boy does time fly...

I have been meaning to write here but I've been rather busy with work. I've recently left my previous employment to a new job doing something rather similar with a chance to change into a different role in within the same field in the near future (hopefully...). Of course in the beginning I'll be doing the same old things I've been doing for the past 6-7 years but at least it'll be familiar. I'm kind of sad about leaving my old project when I haven't completed it as I really enjoyed working with the project team. So far I've done all I can to handover the project to my dearest successor (I wish her immense luck as this project is not what you'd call a walk in the park). Having a good team with great support always helps, so I'm not too worried about her. I'm more worried if I've left something out. I hate doing half arsed work (like I do with my blogs *cough* or back in school :P <_< sorry about that). I can't wait for all this snow to melt. I'm missing gardening... I wonder if I have anymore sweetpea seeds to plant?

Sweetpea, Champagne Blossoms

Those were from last year's batch but due to the short summers I never got any riped peas from my stock. This year I plan to be working alot in summer as I'm only taking my 'summer' holidays when the weather here gets yucky. This way I will have probably a very hot summer again...I complain alot about the heat and about the extreme cold. I do like it chilly but when you live in a country where it can get to -30 at the southest part, THAT'S extreme! Lately my biggest concern now is about starting a new project. I've been starting so many projects but never having a chance to end them...or then I get them towards the end and not really getting a chance to start them. I plan to now concentrate a little on my career goals and hopefully get to where I want to be in within a year. I'll play it by ear and see how I progress monthly.

My hubby on the other hand has been having challenges of his own. He seems to be struggling a little but I believe that he's just stressing for nothing. He can only do so much with the time given and usually (or almost always) when you change jobs you'll need time to adjust. Now that being said...I should jump on a running train and be able to drive it as I've been placed in the exact same job I've had just two years or so ago. However that's not the case, dealing with two different companies with similar processes you will make mistakes. I already notice I'm making mistakes when uttering person's role. It's late... I better get to sleep. I'll continue this jibber jabber tomorrow! Adios!