"...he sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake!"
Sorry. That was probably too creepy.
But basically I just wanted to tell you that I have a new Christmas CD!
This is the first Christmas I have a Christmas CD! Before I've always listened to death metal or Emilie Autumn's joyous songs such as this one:
But it's not a particularly Christmassy song.
But I'm very into Mindy Gledhill's music and when I discovered that she has a Christmas song CD, I felt that it was important for my Christmas spirit to order it all the way from California! It arrived this week and I've been listening to it everyday.
Oh look, I took a picture of it with my phone.
There are several classic Christmas songs and also a few of Mindy's own ones, including the song "Winter Moon" which the album is named after.
The track list looks like this:
1. Santa Claus is coming to town
2. O Come All Ye Faithful
3. Christmas Waltz
4. Patapan / O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
5. Little Saint Nick
6. Toyland / White Christmas
7. Winter Moon
8. Little Soldier
9. The Christmas Song
10. Silent Night
This is my favourite Christmas music!
Here, have a wee listen yourself:
This year I've actually been really early with Christmas. I resisted putting the Christmas tree up until 22nd November. I had then been dreaming of having a Christmas tree up for a couple of weeks.
Unfortunately that's almost all the decorating I got to do since we had forgotten to take some of our decorations down last year and they were already up. Has that ever happened to you?
But I'm so into Christmas this year! I haven't really even been excited about Christmas before, and this year I'm not even sure what I'm going to do for Christmas. But this year it hasn't been just about waiting for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This year it's been about all the songs and the smells and preparation. And the general good mood while waiting for Christmas.
What am I waiting for?
I'm waiting for some Finnish Christmas baked tasty things. Christmas stars (joulutorttu) and ginger bread biscuits (piparkakku). The links will take you to recipies in English. I haven't tried out this recipies but the pictures look accurate.
But yeah, mostly I just looking forward to eating good food and enjoying peacefulness. Candles and some good coffee. Maybe I'll even try to read a book.
I was going to write this post before I got completely stressed out by consumerism and plastic and all that unnecessary waste that just ends up in landfills. But because it's almost Christmas and cosmetics have been my favourite thing for 2 years now, I thought I'd write this post anyway.
When I was really lonely and depressed I cheered up my life by going shopping for some cosmetics. I bought so many cream, lotions and make-up products. Trying them out really made me a lot happier and boosted my self-confidence!
Earlier this year, Brand Spark International listed the most trusted cosmetic brands in Canada, USA, China, Turkey and Mexico that were ranked by consumers. You can check all of them by following the link. I originally got the idea for this post from a Finnish cosmetics blog Ostolakossa where the blog's author Virve Vee compared the popularity of different brands in different countries and also told her own favourites.
So today I'm going to tell me what my favourite cosmetic brands have been past these 2 years! With some thoughts on how I'm feeling about the future with them. If this isn't something you're interested in, feel free to skip this post.
For example, these are the winning brands in China:
Face cream: Olay
Eye cream: Estée Lauder
Make-up foundation: Maybelline
Facial wash: L'oreal and Nivea
Shaving products: Gillette
Nail varnish: OPI
Body wash: Dove
Shampoo & Conditioner: Pantene
Hair styling: Vidal Sassoon
Toothpaste: Darlie
And these are the winners in Turkey:
Facial skincare: L'oreal and Nivea
Make-up foundation: L'oreal and Max Factor (Covergirl)
Facial wash: Neutrogena and Nivea
Lipstick: Avon
Mascara: L'oreal and Max Factor (Covergirl)
Deodorant/Antiperspirant: Nivea
Shaving products: Gillette
Body lotion: Nivea
Body wash: Palmoline
Shampoo & Conditioner: Elidor and Head&Shoulders
Hair styling: Hobby
Toothpaste: Ipana ja Colgate
Feel free to check out the other ones too, I'm sure they are all well known and popular brands.
I actually recently realised that many of the popular brands are owned by gigantic companies.
Maybe I'm just naïve but I was really shocked when I realised that so many brands are owned by this massive company. Unilever owns more than 400 brands!
Out of the brands listed earlier more are owned by them by not.
They own Lynx (Axe), Dove, Flora (Becel), Knorr, Lipton, Omo, Sure (Rexona), Surf and Sunsilk (Elidor), Ben & Jerry's, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, Pot Noodle, Turun Sinappi, Simple, Pepsodent (Signal), TIGI, TRESemmé and many others!
And of course such a big company has a lot of money to put on marketing and buying self-space in order to make sure that the naïve consumers can easily see these products when they go shopping.
But anyway, back to the point of this post and my own list! Because of course you all really want to know what cosmetics I use (almost) daily.
Face cream: Boots Botanics. Especially the 81% organic hydrating cream.
Eye cream: Lumene.
Make-up foundation: Skin79. I have now discovered Asian BB creams and don't want to mess with Western foundations anymore.
Facial wash: Lush.
Lipstick: Lush.
Mascara: Physician's Formula Organic Wear.
Deodorant/Antiperspirant: Lumene. But then I experienced an aluminium crisis and started making my own.
Shaving products: Gillette. Although I'm not sure how to feel about this ecologically or socially.
Body lotion: Soap & Glory.
Nail varnish: Lumene Natural Code.
Body wash: Lumene Angry Birds. I got obsessed with this one after I tried it at my friend's house.
Shampoo & Conditioner: Lush. I'm increasingly more and more obsessed with Lush, have you noticed?
Hair styling: Batiste. Dry shampoo is all I use at the moment. I've considered replacing it with just talcum powder though.
Toothpaste: Sarakan. I've had enough of fluoride.
I actually used to use a different toothpaste, but then I read about the dangers of fluoride and felt that I have been poisoning myself enough with it, and decided to switch to a more natural alternative and hope for the best. Then last week I bought a bamboo toothbrush and it works really well! I actually feel that my teeth are cleaner than they were when I used a plastic toothbrush.
I am a bit sad that many of these products contain so much unrecyclable plastic. I always use a Gilette razor where you only have to change the blade bit instead of needing to get a whole new razor! I wish everyone would do the same. Yes, they are a little bit more expensive, but they are also so much better than those awful ones you can buy in bulk. So much plastic ends up in landfill from them and you only use them a couple of times! If you need to shave, please buy a proper razor.
Lush is a fantastic company that makes bath and beauty products with environmental values in their mind. Their products are amazing and I am considering trying more of their products in the future. For instance, they have a mascara that comes in a glass bottle and it probably would be better for the environment if I used that one instead of ordering the one I currently use from America.
Also, in the field of soap and body lotion, I'm considering challenging myself and trying to make some of my own next year. It can't be that difficult, can it?
So, what are your favourite cosmetics? What sort of aspects do you think about when choosing these products?
You don't have to have a favourite to all categories but you can just copy-paste this template to comments and let me know! I'm a bit weird, but I'd love to hear what products you guys use! Oh, and this is a completely unisex questionnaire. Everyone is allowed to answer. Face cream: Eye cream: Make-up foundation: Facial wash: Lipstick: Mascara: Deodorant/Antiperspirant: Shaving products: Body lotion: Nail varnish: Body wash: Shampoo & Conditioner: Hair styling: Toothpaste:
This post has nothing to do with December. I just wanted to tell you why it's great to be a woman. I mean, a human.
This thought process started when I read one Finnish online article. A Finnish "popular lifestyle" website asked some women to list aspects of life where that they think men have it better. And because I tend to take these funny things seriously, I decided to write a very long blog post about it, talking about all of these 34 points. Are you ready?
Apparently these women are jealous about the following things:
1. No need to suffer from menstruation.
Itsestäänselvyys: ei tarvitse kärsiä menkoista.
Well, obviously it can be painful which sucks, but after I discovered menstrual cups it has become the only bad thing about it. No need to wear uncomfortable bleached plastic nappies (also known as menstrual pads) in my underpants or to push chemical-infused cotton sticks (also known as tampons) inside me. Periods are not stopping me from doing anything. I've spent a week menstruating on an uninhabited island without toilets, running water or electricity. I survived.
Plus by having periods you can make sure that there's no unexpected babies in their way. Men don't have that benefit.
2. No need to shave your legs.
Ei tarvitse ajella sääriä.
Honestly, I don't even remember when was the last time I shaved my legs. I go swimming at the local pool a couple of times a week though. No one has stopped me. No one has even looked at my legs that I've noticed. Why do women feel they have to shave their legs? Last summer my legs were very fluffy until I went swimming with my little sister. I removed some of the hair before that trip just because I didn't feel fluffy legs were appropriate at a Finnish beach site, but it was my choice. No one should force you to shave your legs.
Some men may become more charming with age, but so do some women. It's up to you what you want to become in the future. You can become charming when you want to and then you can develop your charm. It doesn't just happen to people — no matter what your gender is.
4. Your not embarrassed when you grow a moustache.
Ei hävetä, jos viikset kasvaa.
Maybe more women should be proud of their moustaches. Those huge bushy eyebrows are already in fashion, why won't we do the same with moustaches? Women do have hair in that area too, it's just often very fair. Some grow darker hair and then get it bleached or waxed. It's seen as a very embarrassing and taboo topic. I don't see a reason why it couldn't be seen as cute. We need to stop being embarrassed about our looks.
5. Barber costs less than a hairdresser, and you don't need to waste money on hairproducts anyway.
Parturi maksaa vähemmän kuin kampaaja, eikä rahaa tarvitse tuhlata hiustuotteisiin muutenkaan.
Do these women really think that men don't use hair styling products? I'm guessing that it's around the same percentage of men and women who do style their hair almost daily. I'm getting closer to some hippie-look with my hair and will just happily brush it. I don't even know what I would do with it. I tried to learn to straighten it, but then didn't see the point. It's naturally wavy, what's wrong with that?
I actually do find it unfair though, that men's haircuts are cheaper than women's. Even if it is exactly the same haircut. Why would your gender matter there? Shouldn't the hairstyle you want be the main factor deciding the price?
6. No need to blow-dry your hair in the mornings, style your hair or put make-up on
Ei tarvitse föönata tukkaa aamuisin ja väkertää hiuksia kampauksille, eikä meikata.
I've never felt a need to blow-dry my hair in the morning or make my life that difficult anyway. Everyone needs to get ready in the morning and what you need to do probably depends more on whether you're just popping to the corner shop or going to someone's wedding. It doesn't really have anything to do with your gender. There are many men who take longer than me straightening their hair and putting their make-up on than I do.
7. You can have children without streching your stomach or ripping your genitals.
Voi saada lapsia ilman, että vatsanahka leviää ja sukuelimet repeää.
Giving birth does have those aspects, yes. But it's not something all women have to do. Of course, some men are able to give birth as well. Adoption is a fair option available for everyone too though. But in general it is more difficult to have children as a single man than it is as a single woman.
8. Naturally smaller percentage of fat. No cellulite. Not fair.
Luonnostaan pienempi rasvaprosentti, ei selluliittiä. Ei ole reilua.
And none of those fantastic feminine shapes either.
9. Small phone bills. You don't have to waste time talking about nonsense.
Pienet puhelinlaskut. Omaa aikaa ei tarvitse tuhlata turhuuksista pälättämiseen.
Seriously? These women need to rethink their priorities. If you need to spend hours on phone talking about stupid things without enjoying it, it has nothing to do with gender. It's just your own stupidity.
10. Men can pee almost everywhere. It's also less embarrassing for men to go to the toilet.
Miehet voi pissiä melkein mihin tahansa. Vessassa käyminen ei muutenkaan aiheuta niin noloja tilanteita kuin naiselle.
What? Why is it embarrassing to go to the toilet if your a woman? And I think it shouldn't be acceptable to pee in public for men either. It's also possible for all genders to go and pee in a bush.
11. A man doesn't get upset or end up in pointless fights if he's not invited to a party or a shopping trip.
Mies ei loukkaannu tai joudu turhiin riitoihin, jos häntä ei ole kutsuttu juhliin tai shoppailemaan.
I think it would be upsetting to anyone to have everyone else invited except you.
12. Shopping doesn't take up much time.
Shoppailu sujuu nopeasti.
I think this depends more on the type of person you are. If you enjoy browsing shops it will take longer no matter what your gender is. And if you just want to go in and get what you need it will be faster. Unless you're me and shopping in Sainsbury's. Then it will take hours, but it's not because I'm a girl — it's because I don't know where anything I need is.
From Sex and the City.
13. You can wear comfortable shoes even in festive events.
Voi käyttää mukavia kenkiä juhlissakin.
I would never go to a party in uncomfortable shoes. Women don't have to wear high heels. I like high heels, but always prefer to wear comfortable high heels.
14. It's easy to get dressed to a party. Even to your own wedding a good quality suit is enough and you can wear that same suit to all the future festive events.
Juhlapukeutuminen on helppoa: omiin häihinkin riittää laadukas puku, jota voi pitää tulevissakin kekkereissä.
As far as I'm aware many women do dream of choosing their white dress, so I don't think that's something they are really jealous about. Also one good quality black dress will keep you covered to most festive events if you don't prefer to choose something different.
15. It's easier to make a career as a fighter pilot or a fireman.
Helpompaa toteuttaa haave vaikka urasta hävittäjälentäjänä tai palomiehenä.
I couldn't make a career as a fighter pilot because of my bad eye sight. I'm sure my brother would have the same problem. It is true that in the job market it is more difficult as a woman, but there's also a problem that many women don't pursue these careers.
16. Saving money! You don't have to spend money on menstrual pads or tampons. Or bras. Or make-up and other cosmetics.
Rahansäästö! Ei tarvitse laittaa rahaa kuukautissiteisiin ja tamponeihin. Eikä rintaliiveihin. Eikä meikkeihin ja muuhun kosmetiikkaan.
Lady, guess what? You don't have to spend money on any of those things either. I bought a £20 mooncup that will keep me sorted for the next 10 years on the menstrual front. I do like to buy bras though, because I like to feel supported. I've also spent most of my money that didn't go into food or rent on cosmetics, not because I felt I had to but because they made me happy. I'm starting to question my values on this and am planning on stopping buying so much.
17. Life without tights.
Elämä ilman sukkahousuja.
I can't imagine a life without tights. I don't wear trousers so tights are kind of necessary for me. I just wish they were cheaper and wouldn't break as easily. Women are allowed to wear trousers though if they don't like tights. It's unfortunately a bit socially questionable for men to wear tights today.
Robin Hood: Men in tighs is a very good film though, if you need some entertainment in your life.
18. You survive with fewer clothes when travelling.
Pärjää vähemmällä vaatemäärällä reissussa.
I have a funny feeling that if I went travelling with a guy, my clothes would take up less space. First, most guys boxers appear to take more space than my tops. And what I have seen of many men's packing skills, they have a lot of unnecessary space in their bags. When I was travelling with my brother, I had some things that didn't fit in my suitcase anymore, and asked him if I could put them into his bigger suitcase. He said that there was no space but that I was allowed to try anyway. And then I put a blanket, 3 jumpers and several pairs of shoes into his suitcase without any problems.
19. Men are likely to get an orgasm more easily.
Saa todennäköisesti helpommin orgasmin.
But apparently those orgasms are not as amazing as those fantastic female-orgasms you can read about.
20. Sports news. As a man you're more likely to be interested in sports and sports news are often well-covered amongst the most important news in the country. Also, if you're a male athlete you get to enjoy bigger audiences, reputation and pay, than as female athlete.
Urheilu-uutiset. Miehenä on naista todennäköisemmin kiinnostunut urheilusta, ja siitä kerrotaankin kattavasti joka päivä valtakunnan tärkeimpien uutisaiheiden joukossa. Lisäksi mikäli olet itse miesurheilija, saat nauttia paljon suuremmista katsojamääristä, maineesta ja palkkiorahoista kuin naisena.
The latter is true. But maybe sports news shouldn't be something to be jealous about. Not all men are interested in sports anyway.
21. As a man it's easier to carry your shopping bags and you're able to throw a ball further.
Miehenä jaksaaa kantaa kauppakassit ja heittää palloa pidemmälle.
Testosterone is great.
22. You can hold your drink better. And people have more tolerance for drunken men than drunken women.
Parempi viinapää. Eivätkä ihmiset katso kännistä miestä yhtä pahalla kuin viinanhuuruista naista.
It's to do with that body fat percentage thing. But I'm not sure about the social tolerance thing, because drunken idiot is a drunken idiot no matter what the gender is. Or what do you think?
23. You don't have to suffer with uncomfortable bras that are the wrong size.
Ei tarvitse kärsiä hiertävistä/vääränkokoisista rintaliiveistä.
24. You don't have to take the contraceptive pill.
Ei tarvitse syödä e-pillereitä.
No one has to. They are given to women as if they were candy or some miracle drug that everyone should take. It is not. It is one effective method of contraception but it's not the only option out there. It's also possible to make a male contraception pill but no one is going to fund that project because testing would take so long that it's not worth it for any pharmaceutical company to do that because the female contraceptive pill already exists. It was barely tested before they gave it to women — now there are more strict regulations in place.
I mentioned a little bit about my experiences with the pill in this post.
25. It's taken for granted that your last name will always remain the same.
On itsestäänselvyys, että sukunimi säilyy aina omana.
In many countries, including Finland, men can choose to take their wives last name when they get married. It's all optional, families are not forced to have the same last name.
26. Thicker skin that doesn't age as fast.
Paksumpi iho, joka ei ikäänny yhtä nopeasti.
I don't understand this argument. Surely the skin ages no matter how thick it is? Hormones do affect the skin, so often men do have thicker skin and women have softer skin. But women tend to make aging a huge deal and spend loads of money on different serums and creams that promise anti-aging properties. Maybe it's just another pressure on women needing to look perfect and young always, so it's something they want to feel jealous about? I don't think any of those women want to have a thicker skin though.
27. Army stories.
Armeijatarinat.
In Finland, it's compulsory for all men to take part in military service (or civil service, or go to prison). For women it is optional. I met one of my best friends, Jonna, in the army, when we had a one-weekend introductory camp there. We do still look back to those times and think about all the good memories, when having a fika. I can understand that men who have spent 6-12 months in the military service would do that to even a greater extent. But women, we have nothing to feel jealous about — we have an option to join the army!
28. You are able to order a giantic meal in a restaurant without needing to worry what your dinner partner will think about it.
Voit tilata ravintolassa hirmuiset jättiannokset eteesi ilman, että alat pohtia sitä miltä mässäilysi näyttää illalliskumppanisi silmissä.
If I'm hungry and I want to order something, I will not care what anyone else will think about it. Seriously.
29. A high number of sex partners is only a positive thing.
Seksikumppaneiden korkea määrä on vain positiivinen asia kanssaihmisten silmissä.
If you're a straight man and your mates think it's cool and you really care about that, then maybe? But maybe your future girlfriend won't find it any cooler than you would find it if she had the same number of sex partners.
30. Your voice has more auhtority.
Äänessä on enemmän auktoriteettia.
It's more up to your personality than your gender.
31. A man, who can't dance can be adorable, but a woman who can't dance is only embarrassing.
Mies, joka ei osaa tanssia, voi olla hellyyttävä näky, mutta huonosti tanssiva nainen on vain noloa.
Why are the women who made up this list so convinced that being a woman is embarrassing?
Personally, I only like to go to night clubs where everyone is happy to dance badly and "embarrassingly". It's only for fun! At many straight clubs the dance floor is only meant for people who are skilled dancers and if some one looks like Ross and Monica from The Friends it's only embarrassing. Lighten up people, have more fun! Being skilled at laughing at yourself and having fun will earn you more life time happiness points than laughing at other people will.
32. Apparently you dare to ask for a pay rise more easily.
Kuulemma kehtaa pyytää palkankorotusta helpommin.
You cannot really be jealous about something that you start with the word "apparently".
33. Men's clothes last longer: in the sense of quality and fashion. Miesten vaatteet kestävät paremmin aikaa sekä laatunsa että tyylinsä puolesta.
Maybe men only buy better quality clothes and prefer classic styles? As a woman you're just as allowed to buy good quality clothes that represent classic styles. 34. Men have balls: in their attitude and also literally. Miehissä on munaa: sekä asenteessa että ihan konkreettisesti.
Women can have balls too. In their attitude and also literally.
Any thoughts? Do you think other genders have it easier?
I don't know what's happened to me but this Lyra is becoming an eco-Lyra.
Maybe I've been working in a shop for too long and seen how much rubbish we produce and how many unnecessary things we try to sell to consumers. Or maybe I'm just getting increasingly disgusted with plastic. This plastic-disgust-thing has been going on for a few years now and I've tried to replace all of my plastic kitchen tools with silicone. It hasn't really happened yet apart from my spatula, stirring spoon and rolling pin though. I'm skint and always have been.
You maybe read in my last blog post that I was going to order a bamboo toothbrush. Well, I did order it and can't wait for it to arrive. Apparently toothbrushes are a really big waste problem and can't be recycled and last in landfills for about a 1,000 years. I haven't researched this info, but in my plastic-disgust I believe it to be true enough to invest in an beautiful wooden toothbrush.
The picture will take you to their online store.
It wasn't even a big investment, because many plastic toothbrushes are even more expensive than these ones, and hopefully my teeth will appreciate this. My student budget has normally encouraged me to buy a £1 pack of 5 toothbrushes, but I guess it's okay to feel like I'm saving the planet while brushing my teeth.
Scotland also recently passed a law where all the shops have to charge 5p for every plastic bag and give that money to charity. I can't believe how many people have moaned about that law. They say that the plastic bags are not worth the money and that it's ridiculous to make people to save the plastic bags and that it will just allow stores to charge more for things. I think they are missing the point. I feel that it will encourage the stores to give more money to charity and to make people think about the environment by bringing their own reusable bags. The shop where I work is actually exempt from this law, so we don't charge for the bags but I can see the difference in my customers. So many people say 'no, thanks' when I ask them if they need a bag and they happily pack their purchases in their backpack or reusable shopping bag. It makes me so happy! Most of the time those plastic bags are so unnecessary, you only use it for a number of minutes and then you throw it in the bin.
Picture from Zero Waste Europe -website. Click to visit!
I prefer to carry my shopping home in a canvas bag anyway, because they fit my body better and are easier to carry. Maybe stronger people haven't had this problem, but I really appreciate my own bags. Of course people with cars don't have to carry their shopping very far anyway, so for them it's maybe even better that there is that 5p encouragement fee. Have you guys noticed a change in your behaviour after this fee was introduced?
I'm basically still discovering how I could reduce my ecological footprint. All of this is very new to me. I'll try and keep you posted about my experiences. I tried to make my own deodorant today. I'll tell you know how this experiment went once I have evaluated my smelliness levels. P.S. My birthday and Christmas are approaching and if you're one of those few people who tend to buy me presents, here's some ideas for you! Maybe try and avoid small plastic things or synthetic sponges and stuff like that. These days I'm more into homemade things and "natural products". For instance, Life Without Plastic -Website has many cool things that I wish I had. I mean, I don't want anyone to order this stuff from America, but please feel free to be inspired by these things!
It's been difficult to write. Mostly because I feel that I have too many thoughts and opinions and I'm not confident enough about them to post them here for the world to criticise about. But maybe I could take it as a learning exercise and we could learn from each other? This is not an educational platform where I am supposed to say how something should be done. This is supposed to be a place where I learn to share my opinions and thoughts.
So, what sort of thoughts have I had recently then?
At the moment I'm feeling a bit distressed about the consumer society we live in. The fact that I currently work in an industry which is highly dependant on people buying stuff isn't helping. It got worse after I read this article about how a 23-year New Yorker, Lauren Singer, has been living a "trash-free" life for 2 years.
Lauren Singer. Picture takes you to her blog.
Blogging about this is very scary because I'm not supposed to say anything about my work and because it seems to be a cool trend in blogs to show of new items that people have bought. I was going to write some shopping related posts about my favourite brands, but now I'm so stressed out of all the stuff and trash. I still have a month before I need to make any New Years resolutions, so maybe I really need to think about this.
In the meantime, let me tell you a story.
I went swimming again. This appears to be a reoccuring theme in my blog, but I'm okay with it. I went there straight from work and I had to buy some wash stuff because I had only taken a towel and a swimming costume with me in the morning.
I bought this:
It's colour-free and perfume-free. I wish it was also paraben-free, but apparently you can't get everything. I spent half an hour choosing this, so in the end I decided to go for this one instead of this Sanex one. It had so few ingredients that I decided to choose the Simple one because it had cucumber extract and citric acid. Do you people ever read the ingredients lists of the products you buy?
This turned out to be a decent buy for the £2 I spent on it. I didn't only wash my body with it, I also washed my make-up off with it — including my mascara! I don't understand people who go swimming without washing their make-up off first. It will end up in the pool? Some people also apparently put conditioner on their hair before they get into the pool. Why do they think it's okay? But anyway, this shower gel was okay on my face and it got my make-up of so I used it for washing my hair also. My hair got clean and I no longer understand why someone would need to buy normal shampoos. I actually compared the INCI of this shower gel to some basic shampoos and it looked the same. It seems to be just advertising so that people would buy more products. My scalp is dry though and can't really even tolerate normal shampoos so I sprayed it with my scalp moisturising mixture that I used after my last traumatising trip to a hairdressers when they washed my hair 3-times with some awful hair dresser shampoos that made my scalp very itchy. I'm not sure what I put in the mixture anymore but judging it by it's scent: apparently a lot of cider vinegar. It helped. Normally I wash my hair with either a shampoo bar or a budget solution: olive soap!
It's good for my hair and there's no need for conditioner. It's also cheap and "trash-free". Now please excuse me, while I go and buy myself a bamboo toothbrush.
I've disappeared for a while because I haven't really wanted to talk about my life publicly. But maybe it's time to try again.
Here's a song for you that somehow describes how I feel at the moment.
I'm not sure if I understand what these pretty Irish girls are singing about, but it's just beautiful and I feel that I can relate. Isn't that what music is about? It sounds beautiful and you feel that you can relate although you have no idea what any of it is about — right?
I would quote this song, but I'm not sure how to. But I feel the waiting and the floating.
I have no idea where I'm going with my life but I want to float and I don't want to lose the grip. I fear for the winter and the future health issues. And I've started to burn candles again.
I'm also trying to reach out to new people. I am hoping to find someone who wants to come and sit with me in a coffee shop when it snows. Although the snow is not compulsory. Considering my location it will probably just rain a lot, and I'm ready to accept that.
Guess what? We decided to stay here with the bunnies and all the happiness. It's far from some places, but sometimes far away is good. We have our own things that are close to us. There's a river, a 24-hour supermarket, fantastic foresty jogging route and a little park with a Pictish standing stone. This is our home.
It's been quite a busy week moving back and forth. I really recommend to everyone to move away or to pretend to move away if you ever feel unhappy. It really makes you appreciate your life at your current place more. Unless you actually feel happy about moving – then you should probably just move.
But I've never been this happy before in the Bunnyland. I mean, I've been really happy living here, but I feel that I've never appreciated this place quite this much. We had some friends over for dinner on Friday, and we showed them around our house, our surroundings and even took them for a magical shopping trip to our local supermarket. It was lovely to see that they were as excited about this place as we are. They even said that they understand why we want to live this far from the university.
I'm also really excited about summer! I even managed to dry some laundry outside at the weekend. I've also been looking at garden furniture recently. It would be nice to sit and eat outside.
Laundry and dinner party weren't the only things that happened this weekend. We also went to a Moulin Rouge themed ball on Saturday. It was kind of a one-year-together celebration for us. And also a good excuse to dress up.
I hope you're all doing amazing and enjoying the summer weather I've heard so much about. Apparently it's been about 30°C in Finland. It's about 9°C here and raining. That corresponds to my mood perfectly.
I've been sad recently.
We moved. I don't really feel at home at the new place. It smells funny and just doesn't feel right. It's bad. It was supposed to be everything we wanted. It's right next to university so it's perfect for Laura. And it's not even at the beach side that I dislike so much because I hate the monster seagulls and the stupid street where all the lorries drive like crazy. It's close to my bus stop so that I can get to work easily. It has a bath and our room is big enough to fit most of our stuff and our desks.
But I just don't like it and I don't know why. I miss my home. The old place. I'm there now. We still have it for a couple of weeks. This was my home. The best home I've ever had. All the bunnies and happiness are here. I'm not sure if there's anything at the new place.
But I guess while I'm weeping over the old place, I'd show you what it looks like.
Welcome to my home tour! This is the corridor. Front door on the left and the cupboard door on the right. It was a good place to hang jackets. The corridor also had the best mirror so that's where I put my make up on.
Laura wanted to have a bus ticker on the corridor wall. Instead of stealing one from our bus stop, she made one herself. She updates it sometimes with new features, the newest one being the weather. Check out a typical Scottish weather. First it's sunny, and soon it's pouring. You always have to be prepared for everything. But now I can actually know whether I need an umbrella immediately when I leave the house without needing to open the door. Or the curtains.
I'll skip the bathroom this time, because I already showed it to you in candlelight.
This is our bedroom. You might think that you can't see all of it in this picture, but actually, this is pretty much all of it. There is a small wardrobe facing the bed, but you can see the other one on the left of the bed and the chest of drawers that you can almost open on the right. That's it, no more room for anything else but the bed. You can also see that I was feeling very interior designerish one day, and bought this bedsheets, and the matching cushion. I'm also starting to like London. One day I will tell you about all the things I have discovered I like about London.
This is our living room. It's where we do our living. It never looks this clean. Normally it's covered in laptops, sweetie wrappers and unopened letters.
This is where we watch TV. Except it's not a real TV. It's a computer screen, but we like to pretend that it's a TV. Sometimes we play Play Station games too. Also, we can never find those coasters underneath all the stuff we normally keep on the coffee table.
I also really like that shelf-thingie. I burn candles there although my safety causous mother told me not to. It's also a perfect place to keep my wine and champagne glasses. It makes me feel like a fancy sophisticated person.
Oh, and look at the kitchen!
We had a guest around once who said it was small. I never invited him over again. I don't find it small. And if I'm awake at day-time the window lets a lot of sunlight in, and it's fantastic. the cooker is very good and efficient and the washing machine works well, and there's even space for a small coffee maker. And you can fit three people in as long as all the people in there are happy to be in there. There's also a microwave and a bunny, but I already showed you them in my "decoration tips" post.
I've been doing nothing but looking for a new place to live closer to my bus route, so that I'll get more freetime and a shorter commuting time to work. Makes sense to spend my freetime worrying about that, right?
To keep myself away from the websites with flat ads, I decided to finally answer the 11 questions I was challenged to answer in Meriannen blog. I've done the full challenge before, so this time I will just answer the new questions. They were very good questions.
1. What book has meant a lot to you, and why?
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It changed my life. I got it as a 10-year birthday present from my godmother, and it was the first Harry Potter book I ever read. It was the longest book I had ever read. I read the two previous books as well, and then waited for the next ones to get written and published. I grew up with Harry Potter, and I really do believe that my life would be completely different if I hadn't read those books. I might write a whole post about that one day when I'm brave enough to tell you the full story.
My bookself.
2. What makes a home home for you?
A home is a space where I can be myself. At home I don't have to be alone. There needs to be a sofa where I can sit down and watch Gilmore Girls and a kitchen where I can cook. At my current home, we have bunnies in the backyard and I will miss them if I end up moving somewhere where there aren't bunnies. They might not be necessary, as long as I still feel that I'm at home when I'm at home.
3. If you won in the lottery, how do you think the money would change your life?
I would probably worry less about affording things. I would be able to travel more and I would eat fancier food. My life would be more luxurious! And then I would buy houses and rent them out, so that I wouldn't have to work ever, and I could just do what I wanted to do without worrying about not having a job. It would be fantastic.
4. When you started blogging, what did you wish to achieve with your blog? Have your objectives changed since then?
When I moved to Scotland, I had a blog where I talked about my adventures here. That blog was directed to my friends in Finland. But then times changed and that blog got forgotten.
In 2011, my flatmate moved into a caravan to look after baby ducks and started writing a blog how her water barrel is trying to grow a pet Rowan tree. I thought that it sounded cool, and wished I had something to blog about too. At the time though, I thought that nothing interesting was happening in my life. Moving to Scotland was old news and all I did was to hang around planning on my next backpacking holiday. But I thought that I'd start a blog anyway — maybe I could write about travelling sometimes. And offer valuable opinions on life. And so began my blog.
But things have changed. Of course they have. I've learned more about life and myself since 2011. Since the awful November 2012 I have tried to get back on my feet and to be happy again. During that time I've tried to use my blog as a therapy resource for myself. I had become really scared of the world and avoided speaking to people and telling them my thoughts. Raindeer Pants was a place where I could talk about things and express myself. It still is.
That's what Raindeer Fodder is for. Apparently so far only Spinach Pancakes. That'll do.
6. What's your dream holiday destination?
I'd love to go to Micronesia, Hawaii and New Zealand. I like my holidays far, far away.
7. Are you tidy or messy? Has it changed when you've got older?
I appear messy, but let me I assure you: I know where everything is.
8. Does your soul belong to a city or countryside?
I'm from Finland, and I miss the trees. I think as long as there are trees, it doesn't matter whether I'm in a city or in the countryside. I'll feel just as lost in treeless countryside as in a concrete, parkless city. But apart from the tree aspect I enjoy both. At the moment I prefer living in a city, but I have a feeling that when I start a family I'd like to live in a smaller town.
9. Who is your favourite actor? Why?
I really like Monni. She's awesome and inspiring. And I know a bunch of other inspiring actors too, but obviously if they don't have a blog I can't mention them here. I'm not sure if the aim of this question was to mention a Hollywood actor like Johnny Depp, but Johnny Depp doesn't really inspire me, even though I think that Jack Sparrow was the only reason Pirates of the Caribbean was so popular. He did a brilliant job with it.
But okay, if you're looking for film tips with this question, Laura and I have been watching films with Bill Nighy recently. He is a good actor.
I also really love the whole story line with Tess in Lip Service. Tess as a character is the kind of actor I can relate with. And Fiona Button is a good actor too. And very good looking. I really enjoyed watching Lip Service. They better do another season soon.
Here, have another picture just to show you what I've been obsessed with recently. Also, the picture summarises actors, trees, flowers and homes. Everything I just wrote about! Perfect.
Feel free to answer the same questions in your blog if you want.
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