Friday, April 19, 2013

Two weeks ago I went on my first girls weekend to Copenhagen with a few of my girlfriends from here in Helsinki.  We rode bicycles around the city, ate, drank, shopped, ate some more and laughed until we cried.  I have to admit at least a couple of times some of those tears of happiness were mixed with a few sad tears.  In just over two weeks my family and I are flying out of here to make our home in Virginia.  I'm going to miss these friends!


p.s.  a couple of friends have posted this on Facebook, and I think it describes the expat life and friendship perfectly.


Spotted this morning in our front flower bed: Crocuses!  Yesterday we were sad to see Henry's snow fort finally collapse, but I think this makes up for it at least a little.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Suddenly it feels like Spring!  The snow is s-l-o-w-l-y melting, but the sun is shining everyday.  It's amazing how warm 40 degrees (fahrenheit) can feel with the sun shining brightly.  It's the perfect weather to sit with my friend Helen and enjoy a beautiful sea view.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Here's my view of the day:


This morning while I was doing my most favorite thing, playing soccer, I tripped over the ball and sprained my ankle.  After looking over my x-rays the doctor insisted (more than a couple of times) that I was lucky.  Huh.  Doesn't feel that lucky.  On the plus side I am on the couch watching TV, with freshly painted toenails and I don't have to make dinner. 

Monday, March 25, 2013

Will all this snow ever melt?



It's official:  I'm finished with winter.  The sighs of happiness while watching the snow fall all winter have finally turned into sighs of disappointment.  It's already March 25th, so I think I did pretty well waiting until now to dream of a beach vacation.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013


Everyday I'm shoveling*



One thing that becomes obvious when you live abroad is that you really become your nationality in a way that you never would have living in your home country.  If you are American, for example, you are constantly reminded of, and even forced to analyze what it is that makes you American.  From your child’s teacher requesting you bring a classroom treat from your home country to an acquaintance’s offhand remark about something you’ve done as being “so American!” leaving you scratching your head and wondering, "Really?  Asking people where they're from is an American thing?"

I guess I expected to be analyzing the personalities of people who are native to the country in which I was a foreigner.  And while it’s true that I find myself constantly trying to figure out the local protocol (failing more often than not), it should have been obvious that everything has to filter through my innately American perception first. Whether it’s lining up to pay for my coffee or shoveling snow from our shared driveway.  

FYI, don’t bother shoveling your neighbor’s half of the driveway in Finland, it will just weird him out and he won’t be returning the favor which your American self may perceive as rude.

*Truman said no one will get that this is a reference to Party Rock Anthem, but I know you do.  And obviously I'm not shoveling, Steve is.  So really it would be "Everyday He's Shoveling," but that's just not funny.



Tuesday, February 26, 2013


Last night we finally made it to our first hockey game!  A parent at the boys' school was able to organize a special night for all the families from ISH to attend.  It was a fun way to spend a Monday night and I'm happy we finally made it out to witness a major Finnish past time.  This photo shows a fight that almost happened.  Apparently, there's not a lot of fighting in Finnish hockey.  What? I thought that was sort of the point of hockey.  Fighting or not, the beer and popcorn were great and I can honestly say a good time was had by all.  Go Blues!

Sunday, February 24, 2013




We're finally home in Finland after our trip to Berlin.  And guess what?  The sun is shining!  The sky is blue!  Yaaay!

We had a great time in Berlin. It was so nice to see family, especially for the boys to spend time playing with their cousins.  While we were there we visited museums, played at Lego Land, saw friends and ate lots (and lots) of good food.  


Walking around the Schlachtensee.



Henry starring in the Lives of Others at the DDR Museum.


Just making a call at the DDR Museum.


Knocking down the wall at Lego Land.  Also note Star Wars ships coming in for  back-up.


Checking out the Candy Bomber at the Allied Museum.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Good morning from Berlin!



This was the view from our bed this morning. Yesterday, while not warm, was a nice day and we were all so excited to have NO snow! Obviously things changed overnight. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.

Yesterday we arrived in Berlin to find that Steve's brother, Chris, had made us a delicious dinner of turkey schnitzel with the most delicious mashed potatoes I have ever eaten. Seriously. I'm not exaggerating, Steve and I were still talking about those potatoes as we were falling asleep last night. To top it all off, Katrin, Steve's sister in law, made a not only beautiful, but absolutely scrumptious, Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte.


If you look closely you may notice that, suspiciously, a few cherries are missing. I blame one of these guys:

Sunday, February 17, 2013



Here we are with only a little more than two months left in Finland. One thing I'm really going to miss here is our sauna. Every house has one and I read the other day there's almost one sauna for every person in Finland.

Last week we were all sick with the flu and having a nightly (and sometimes daily) sauna was soooo nice. Usually I was joined by my pal, Henry, who had lots of valuable information to impart. For example, if you have have a choice always go with a sauna brush vs. birch branches. They're not as messy and don't sting as much. Thanks, Henry.