TRUE LOVE FOR VALENTINE´S DAY

  I´m a do-it-yourself gal. I apply the approach to love also. A true, deep love comes from within, but it has to be kept alive, as life keeps changing.
  I´m no romantic, but I´ve been fortunate to experience a genuine love that conquers all for the past 19 1/2 years. And it´s still growing stronger. How the heck is that possible?! I never dreamed of a husband, kids, or family life, let alone everlasting love.
  As we approach our 20th anniversary, I´ve done some summing up on how to keep love flourishing through thick and thin.

Check it out on my column Nelland Living!

  Love is precious, cherish and pamper it for the sake of yourself! Happy and love-filled Valentine´s Day weekend!

VALENTINE´S DAY GIFT TIP

  Valentine´s Day is practically just around the corner, and it´s time to start thinking about how to show love and appreciation for that special someone (or yourself!).
  I´ll be darned if these brand new aromatherapy earrings I made don´t do the trick, along with some sensual ylang-ylang essential oil! You can get them from my little shop Nelland Boutique for only 20 e/pair.

Sweet pink hearts are for the younger generation of lovely women.

And these beautiful classic red ones for the more experienced chicks.

  Love is the greatest power in the world, so let´s celebrate it to the fullest!
  Have a love-filled and most romantic upcoming Valentine´s Day! 

PRE-CHRISTMAS PARTY

  My husband and I rarely go out to parties in town. But the other weekend we did manage to do that, just the two of us! We staid in a hotel in midtown Helsinki, and fully enjoyed grown-up time together. We did a tiny bit of shopping, ate and drank well, laid on the beds being lazy and watching tv with no interruptions, had some wine, and finally went in to the bar downstairs to do some jamming. I met a few of my husband´s colleagues, whom I´d never seen before, and it was so cool getting to know them a bit. You know, to get faces to the already familiar names I´d heard so many stories about over the years.

Our hotel room was right next to the presidential suite, so the view could not get any better than that. (Remember this tunic I made last spring?)

It´s just a shame that at this time of year it gets dark at 4pm, so we could not enjoy this full view for very long. But who cares really, we weren´t there for the view initially!  =)

Learning to take selfies, which I´ve always found narcissistic really. But since everybody is doing it nowadays, it´s probably ok...

Here´s my party look for the evening. I wore a pair of black suede pants with the top (which I also wore a year ago to a girls´ night out).

  The rest of the evening was spent in the restaurant, pub, and bar mingling, dancing, and laughing. We staid up until 4.30am! I can´t even remember the last time I staid awake for that long, let alone in a bar! Good times!

  A night out with my husband, staying overnight in a hotel (with him =), and spending a lazy next morning is what I call luxury. When you have small kids, it is easy to just go by their demands, serving them, and forgetting about yourself. It is crucial to a good relationship to get some time alone with your significant other, preferably away from home. Because you´re not just mommies and daddies, you are also "girlfriends" and "boyfriends" who do have that spark there. And that spark needs to be lit up every now and then to strengthen your love and appreciation to each other. At least that´s how it works with us. The roots of a good family lay in the good relationship between mommy and daddy. It should not be valued less important than the kids´ needs. We should all be equal, kids and grown-ups. That´s what I teach to my kids too.

LUXURIOUS DAY

  Being alone is the best luxury for me these days. I´m a mother of two- and a nine-year-olds and happily married to the man of my life. They are the most important things to me. But right after them comes me, myself, and I. I love myself too. And I need time to myself too. Luckily my family lets me have it whenever possible. When mommy is happy, the whole family is happier too. It is not selfishness, it is a fact. Mommies need to take care of themselves too.

  Recently I was able to enjoy one of those important moments of solitude. Three full days in fact. Naturally I headed to our summer cabin to enjoy summer. On one of those days I decided to head to the nearby town, where I used to live as a child and a teenager, to refresh memories and check out the little boutiques there.

I started the warm summer day out by having a relaxed breakfast on the pier. 

I could start daydreaming watching these beautiful clouds on the horizon.

After a short ride, first on our boat and then by my car, I landed Rauma, a town I used to live in and have not visited for nearly three years. This view is from the old part of town, and in this particular picture the 19th century atmosphere is exceptionally well presented because there are no cars, traffic signs, people, or anything reminding of the present modern day.

A fun piece of art in the canal flowing through the town. I´m glad I have not encountered anything like that while swimming in the sea. I did get scared twice this day. First there was a bee crawling up my back inside my grey summer dress, but miraculously I was able to slip out of it without getting stung by the bee! And second, I almost stepped on a viper at boat harbor. There are snakes on our little island too, but so far every one I have seen was a non-venomous grass snake.

Next it was time to hit my ever favorite second hand store by the Red Cross. They operate solely on voluntary workers and sell stuff people have donated. The prices are ridiculously low. The store has been there forever, and I remember shopping here already in my teens. I must admit the stuff back then was older, nicer and more retro. I guess the selection just reveals that the lifespan of goods is much shorter now than in the nineties.

Would this look okay with jeans? Why not, it´s only 50 cents, and all I have to do back home is to take it in on the back a bit. Worth a try.

By now I was hungry. I heard that an old classmate of mine, whom I have not seen or been in contact with since 1989, had opened a cafeteria a few years back. So naturally I headed there to support her business by getting me a sinfully buttery and sugary pastry. After all that walking and shopping, I definitely needed these calories, right? =) I so rarely go out to eat, that this definitely was luxurious! And by chance I even saw a glimpse of that old classmate of mine! She had not changed too much since we were... um... eleven, twelve.  =) I have, but naturally only for the better!

Back at the summer house. It was so hot that I just had to jump into the sea right away to cool down. While in the water, this flock of wild geese flew by close to me. I could hear their wings swish and all. It was so cool, and I felt somewhat in tune with nature. Awesome.

After skinny-dipping in the sea I dried off in the late afternoon sun. I only dare to do this when the neighbors aren´t there. =)

In the evening I saw the most adoring sight: a pair of horned grebes feeding their young together (darn my snapshot camera, I could not get a closer picture). That made me miss my own kids...

  When my family came to join me in the cabin, I was fully charged and happy to meet and greet them again. What a difference it makes to occasionally just be left alone for a moment! That´s a big problem in our Western culture. Evening out the hectic times and the lonely times of life. When we are young, we are too busy to do anything. And when we are old, we have too much time and nothing to do. Peace of mind comes from balancing these two, or recognizing the deal and trying to balance it the best we can anyway. Easier said than done, I know.

SUMMER CABIN SEASON OPENED

  Last weekend was one of the many yet to come at our summer cabin this year. We went there just the two of us, my husband and I, but it was not all just hugs and kisses. We still have a big task to do clearing out the storm damages from last winter.

 

Under the bright early summer sun we worked. And thanks to my sister, I now wear day cream with sunblock. She´s lectured me about the importance of it, and she is right. Thanks!

The island where our cabin is located is so small, that there is not enough ground to clear out all the salt from the sea water. Therefore there is no running water, or plumbing for that matter. An outhouse is the only option. We started off by taking down the old and nasty outhouse with a chainsaw and...

... a sledgehammer. I say "we", but the truth is I did not touch either one. I kindly carried away the pieces of crap my husband had demolished. Team work, baby! Last fall we begun building a new shed for firewood, tools, and a new outhouse. Good thing we did, because now we have so many knocked down tree trunks to chop and store, that we badly need the storage space. It was also lucky that we did not get so far as to take down the old outhouse last fall, because it took a huge hit by one of the major spruces in the storm. Had it not been there still, the new shed might even have cracked.

Since we were, after all, spending a holiday weekend, I took the time to adore nature´s beauty. It is always calming and comforting.

The ground is quite barren, but luckily fertile enough for some species to flourish.

And it was very windy from the cold North. Water temperature was only 48 Fahrenheit (9 Centigrade), but it did not stop my husband from swimming! Although it is devastating even to think about dipping in, the reality is that he has not suffered from common colds since we bought the place nearly three years ago and started swimming in the freezing waters. I wish I could do that!

Here´s what we accomplished. The sauna will heat up countless of times with this amount of firewood! Yipee!

But there is still a lot more to do... This is not nearly all of it either... The shed proceeded towards finish line too, missing only windows, doors, and trims now. We are very satisfied with the result of the weekend, we exceeded our goals.

On my way home, only ten minutes from our house, hit a big snowfall. With all these hills on the way, I was not sure if I was going to make it home. How pathetic would that be, having first driven nearly three hours, and then in the last minute hit the ditch?!

MY WEDDING RING

  I found it!

  It was missing for nearly two years. So not typical for me to lose anything, let alone something as important as my wedding ring. The ring. The single one I have ever had. It represents both, engagement and marriage. (As a teen I decided to wear only one ring, I thought that would be more stylish.) And I have had it since I was eighteen (which, of course, is not that long ago... =). And  yes, with the same man.

  The first time I ever met my husband-to-be was an incredible coincindence. It´s a complicated story, which I will not get into right now... In addition, I was just about to move to New York for a while. Which I did, so  it was a miracle our relationship lasted through the difficult beginning overall. That was the time right before cellular phones and internet broke through, so we kept in touch by telephones and letters. Oh dear, I still remember how we had a set weekday and time when we would call each other. And I missed him so much! A mere boy, whom I´d only known for five months before heading to NY.

  And here we are now, so many more years later, and I still have that ring in my finger I got from him right before going to New York. When we got engaged that is. Seems unbelievable. Time and life around us has changed, but still we remain together. And happily so. We have been through thick and thin, grown up together, had kids, and all that. But I feel like I haven´t changed all that much, inside or out. Hopefully gotten a little wiser, but that´s all.

  It will be interesting to see what life shall bring upon us in the future. I have never taken it for granted that we shall be together for the rest of our lives. No one can guarantee that. We have to be active ourselves that we remain happy and respectful of each other. A good sense of humour, compromises, and putting our significant other first at times has taken us this far.

 I do hope to stay on this road for a long time. But I need to keep in mind that if one day there are more rocky roads than smooth rides, it might be best to take another path. This I consider an important rule, which also guides me towards cherishing our relationship, and not taking it for granted.

So what happened to the ring? I knew I had lost it while inside the house. But where?! A few days ago I dug out my old body exfoliating gloves. I love to scrub my skin, but hardly ever find the time for it. Obviously, since the last time I did so was that nearly two years ago! When I slipped the gloves on, I felt something hard in the tip of the ring finder. My wedding ring! Unbelievable. And just a few weeks ago I went through stuff in our bathroom, throwing away things I haven´t needed in a long time. I had those gloves in my hand, on their way to the trash, but then decided to give them another chance. If I could find the time to pamper myself sometime in the future. I´m so glad I did!