Spring is Coming

See, Malena thinks it’s already here. Leaves on the trees. Birds in the air. Little girls with pigtails playing outside. And a flower with carefully drawn leaves that form a heart. I love how children always look at the positive. Helps me keep my mind on the right thing, too.

Another Use for Condoms

I thought these were so clever, I couldn’t resist adding them to my blog. The things people come up with. No pun intended. These are from the Fall 2008 Condom Fashion Show in Beijing.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I just received the nicest of surprises in the mail, from my dear friend Sirpa. She had asked me earlier in the week if I had received anything yet, so when I knew something was coming, I rushed to the mail box every day, but ... nothing. Until yesterday. And what a lovely box full of pretties it was. Everything was so carefully wrapped, even my girls ooohed and aaahed over each little bag and bow. Each little gift—with ties to Finland—was carefully selected for me. Most precious was probably the letter she wrote, telling me about each company and its history, and more importantly, about Sirpa herself.

Thank you so much, Sirpa!


Each gift was so nicely wrapped, and the two gold bags were tied in a way I had never seen before. The girls and I marveled at each little goodie.


The aftermath of reluctantly tearing through all the pretty bags.


All the pretties revealed. Earrings by Aarikka, a bracelet by Sirpa herself, a reindeer from Pentik, magnet, tags and note cards by Minna L. Immonen of MinnaKortti, a bag by Marimekko, and chocolate and salmiakki by Fazer.


Wearing the lovely earrings from Aarikka.

Woot, woot!!!

The lovely miss Brandi of Brandi Girl [blog] and Brandi from Catie’s Blue [Flickr] nominated me for the much coveted and somewhat elusive Marie Antoinette Award for … right. For being one of the most awesome bloggers ever. Or something like that. Hmm.

The rules are:

1. Please put the logo on your blog.
2. Place a link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate at least 7 or more blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message on their blogs to tell them.

My nominations are, in no particular order:

1. Claire of Claire Pearse
2. Sheela of Eclettica
3. Anna-Karin of SmåBlå
4. Maryam of Maryam of Marrakesh
5. Deb of Crysallis Creations
6. Joanne of JoJoBell
7. Natalia of Realisation Creations

Impatience

So, I’m not very good at waiting. And right now, I’m waiting very impatiently for two packages to arrive. Not just one, but two. One expected and very coveted by several Flickr friends. The other a complete surprise until a couple of days ago, when dear Sirpa asked if I’d received the package she sent me. I love surprises like that, especially from Finland and Sweden. And Malaysia and England. And Poland. Or from anywhere, really. Except the IRS, don’t like those very much.

Winter Woes

You know, if it’s going to be cold in Georgia (15°F/-9.5°C currently), it should be cold with lots of snow like this, not just cold.