it's official...

We're going to be in Finland for 2 more seasons!  It's been in the works for a little while, but J just signed his extension through the 2012-2013 season today.  I'm excited I can finally tell our family and friends now :) 

guess I better finally crack open my Finnish book and start studying!

It's really nice (and kind of crazy...) to know exactly where we'll be for the next 2 1/2 years.  That sounds silly to anyone outside of the hockey world... but in professional hockey, that's quite a long time.  Just like the rest of the job market, hockey jobs have become increasingly hard to come by in recent years.  We know many people who are playing in leagues lower than they should be just because there is nothing available.  Or who aren't playing at all this year.  There are just a lot of good hockey players out there. 

Now that's 2 more years we don't have to compete with all of the other talented players for a job.  Many players in North America don't know where they'll be playing that season until well into September & October.  They bounce around from NHL camps to AHL camps and go back and fourth until they (maybe) win a spot on a team.  And how many spend their time split between leagues, living out of suitcases in hotels?  I cannot tell you how fortunate we are feeling right now.  And how proud I am of my husband.  He works extremely hard, and has earned everything he has been given.  So, since I know he is going to read this and is sure to be embarassed about my "proud hockey wife" rant... I'll stop now. :)

Other than that, not a whole lot new around these parts.  We've been so busy lately, or at least it feels like it.  It seems like we always have somewhere we have to go in the afternoon when J gets home from practice.  The team has 3 games a week in the coming weeks also, so that will really add to the busyness of our lives.  Guess it's better than being bored all the time, right?

For New Years Eve, we went to one of the other guys and his wife's house for a small get-together.  There was lots of good food, wine, champagne, and company!  We had a great time.  There was also some action outside- some neighbor kids were outside setting off fireworks for a good part of the night (fireworks are a big tradtion on NYE here).  These ones were a little big for kids to be setting off (can you say illegal in the U.S.?) but they appeared to be having fun and we were enjoying watching them.  That is, until they hit the HOUSE next door and set it on FIRE!  Luckily, there was no one inside(!!) and no one living there at the present time, and we were a good 75 yards away from it.  I have never seen a house fire that close up.  It was blazing for a good couple hours as the firemen were trying to put it out.  Actually, when we left it was still going.

  poor house! thank GOD no one was in it!!

On New Years Day, we stayed up until 3 am to watch the Rose Bowl (it started at midnight our time!)  Too bad our Badgers lost :( 

Hope you all are having a fabulous start to 2011.  I've been trying to come up with some New Years Resolutions, but I am stumped this year.  I really can't come up with anything that is worth "resolving", or anything that I know I will actually stick to.  Maybe I'll come up with something in the next few days.  What are your New Years Resolutions? 

cake recipe, book reviews, and birthday cupcakes :)

Well, it's been a couple more busy days around here!  It's so funny how life goes from basically nothing going on to being busy non-stop for several weeks.  It's nice to shake things up a bit and keeps things interesting.

So, now that I'm back, first order of busniess:  My cake recipe!  It is basically chocolate cake layered with peppermint ice cream.  It's kind of Christmas-y, since peppermint is one of the main flavors, but if you're like me and loooove peppermint ice cream, you'll enjoy it year-round!!  If you're not into peppermint, you can really use any flavor of ice cream that you'd like (J doesn't like peppermint ice cream either though, but he LOVED this cake!)  It was a huge hit with everyone at our Christmas gathering.

Peppermint Ice Cream/Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
CAKE:

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter

6 tablespoons milk chocolate (chocolate chips, or broken up chocolate bar both work)

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 large egg, room temperature

ICE CREAM:

3 Litres (about 3 quarts) vanilla ice cream, softened

about 3 tsp. peppermint extract

2 cups crushed peppermint candy canes (or round peppermint candies)

(You could use store-bought peppermint ice cream if you prefer... I couldn't find any here so I made my own using this recipe and it came out great!)

CAKE

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (175 C)

Grease and flour a 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking sheet (38 x 25 x 2.5 cm, I think mine actually ended up being 38 x 29 x 5 cm, but just as long as the dimensions are big enough that the cake ends up being about  3/4 to 1 inch thick.)

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.

Melt butter in a medium sauce pan, remove from heat.  Add chocolate, stir until melted.  Whisk in water, cocoa and vanilla until blended.  Whisk in the egg.  Add to dry ingredients, and whisk together until well blended.  Pour batter onto baking sheet.

Bake cake until toothpick stuck in center comes out clean/with only a few moist crumbs, about 20 minutes.  Cool cake on rack at least 15 minutes.  Run a knife around the sides of the pan to loosen the cake.  Turn cake out onto a sheet of foil (do not do this until it is plenty cool or it will crumble and break into pieces! I learned that the hard way...)  Cut cake crosswise into 3 equal strips.  Freeze cake strips for one hour.

ICE CREAM:

Mix the softened vanilla ice cream (soft enough to stir well, but not runny), peppermint extract, and chopped candy pieces together.  Stir until very well blended.  Add more or less peppermint extract to your taste preferences.  Return to a freezer-safe container. 

ICE CREAM CAKE:

Place one cake strip on a platter.  Working quickly, spread about 3.5 cups of ice cream onto the cake strip, smoothing to the edges.  Layer with 2nd cake strip, and repeat with 3.5 cups of ice cream, again smoothing to the edges.  Top with the last cake strip, return to freezer for 1 hour. 

After 1 hour, spread the remaining ice cream (about 6 cups) over the top and sides of the cake, covering generously (being sure to work quickly!)  Freeze for at least 3 hours, until firm.

For decoration, I added some whipped cream around the edges and sprinkled it with M & Ms, broken candy canes, and other various candy pieces.  The cake will make about 12 servings. 

 The Finished Product:

Hope you enjoy it as much as we all did!

Order of business #2, book reviews!  I am now onto the 3rd book in Lauren Conrad's series of L.A. Candy books, Sugar and Spice.  I promised to give my reviews of the first 2, L.A. Candy and Sweet Little Lies, so here they are! 

A quick synopsis: The first book in this series, titled L.A. Candy, is about 2 girls that move to Los Angeles after high school, one to go to USC and one to work for a high-end event planner.  Shortly after the 2 girls arrive in town, a reality tv producer "discovers" them at a club and convinces them to be a part of a new reality show called that he is going to film called L.A. Candy.  They soon discover that there are 2 other girls that will be on the show with them, requiring them to become "friends".  The girls are excited to get into the world of reality tv (some more than others...) and all of the new opportunities it will give them- VIP access to clubs, a new apartment, spa days- and to get paid for them.  However, they quickly learn that it's not always all fun and roses, and the drama begins to unfold.

My opinion of it:  This was a pretty good book.  I mean, it can't be that bad- I finished it's 300 pages in 2 days.  If you like reality tv shows, you'll definitely like this book.  I was curious to find out if it was going to be just like The Hills, which it sort-of-was and sort-of-wasn't.  The chapters are told in the point of view of different characters, which I liked, because you can get into each character's "head" and learn the unspoken things that are a big part of the drama in the story.  It was an easy read and just something fun and lighthearted to get into.

A quick synopsis:  The girls of L.A. Candy are starting to realize the negative side of being a reality tv star.  As the show ratings skyrocket, they cannot go anywhere without being recognized.  They begin to learn that not everyone is their true friend, and their boy drama that began in the first book continues to escalate.  The girls are starting to forget what it was like to be "normal", and sometimes find themselves longing for what their lives used to be like.  Others, on the other hand, can't get enough of the fame, and will do just about anything to be in the spotlight.  There is backstabbing, heart break, lies, suspense, and even some happiness all mixed into this second book in the series.

My opinion:  Now that I already knew all about the L.A. Candy girls from the first book, this one was an even quicker read, finishing it's 300 pages in a mere 24 hours (I know, I know, I need a life... :) )  It's the kind of book that is so easy to finish because you keep wanting to know what is going to happen.  Each chapter ends with a cliff hanger that keeps you going back for more.  It also kind of gives you an inside peek on  how a reality show really works (if you didn't already know) and what sets apart the "real" reality from the "fake" reality. 

Not only is Lauren a #1 NY Times Bestselling Author, but apparently these books are very popular here in Finland.  When I have been searching for them at the bookstore, all of the sales people I have asked help from all know exactly what I'm talking about right away.  They get 10 new copies in and they're gone within a day or two.  I had to go to 3 different stores to find the 3rd book. I give Lauren Conrad a lot of credit for not only making millions by starring on a reality show, but then going and writing books about the exact same concept and making lots more money.  The girl is good!  I didn't like her when Laguna Beach was popular way back when (I thought she made herself look too desperate, or at least the show made her look that way) but I really liked her in The Hills.  I also like that she broke away from the show tomove on to bigger and better things than reality tv.  She is an all around respectable girl (which can't be said of many reality tv stars), and knows how to write a good book or two, also! :)

Now that I've gotten that taken care of, I'm off to enjoy the rest of my BIRTHDAY!   The guys have an away game (go figure, happens every year on my birthday! haha)  But it's a short trip so I was able to see J for a good part of the beginning of the day, and he will be back shortly after the game.  One of the girls has invited me and our other fellow American girl over tonight for dinner and to watch the game and have a little something special to do on my birthday, which is super sweet of her and I'm very excited to not be sitting alone all evening on my special day ;)  Oh, and the best part of the day? 

FUNFETTI cupcakes with pink frosting!!  My faaaaaavvvorittteee! My mom sent a box from home in her Christmas package of goodies because they haven't yet discovered the-greatness-that-is-funfetti-cake in Finland.  Thanks Mom!!

Ok, reading back over this post really makes me feel like I shouldn't have taken the day off the gym today.  But hey, a girls gotta indulge now and then! :)

thanks, santa!

Ok, I know, I've been a terrible blogger lately!  Things have been busy, and even when they haven't, I just haven't been on the computer as much the last few days.  With the holidays winding down (but not quite yet!) I hope to get into a better routine. 

Christmas was great.  We had a nice quiet Christmas Eve/morning at home, and then went to have Christmas dinner with our 4 fellow Americans here (2 guys on the team, one of their wives, and baby).  It was wonderful!!  I took my Peppermint Ice Cream/Chocolate cake over for dessert and it was a big hit.  I'll post the recipe tomorrow, promise!  I just want to get the pictures loaded on the computer so I can share those, too :)

Santa was pretty good to me... he had apparently been listening well because he brought me a new hair straightener (European one, since my one from home doesn't work well here) along with some mittens, a scarf, sweater, and various other goodies.  But I have to say, my favorite Christmas gift was....

The Marc Jacobs wallet that matches the purse that J bought me in the fall.  I've only been eyeing it up in the store like, every time I walk in there.  haha.  I'm so excited to have the matching pair now... and I was due for a new wallet, so it was perfect.  I must have been a really good girl this year!

My other favorite present- except this is a birthday present (my b-day is the 30th, I got it a couple days early even!) is the HTC DesireZ Android phone.

I've mentioned on here about missing my Blackberry and how they don't have them here in Finland- well, this is even better!  Aside from the fact that I can't BBM some of my friends :(  this phone is amazing!!  I'm still getting used to it and figuring stuff out, but I love it.  I feel so much more connected to the outside world now that I'm back to having a phone with internet, apps and the like. 

More important than any of our presents, we got to Skype with our families on Christmas.  I am so thankful that we were able to talk to AND SEE them!  It was almost as good as being there in person.  It's hard to think that it was just a few years ago that people couldn't even do that...

Also coming tomorrow, my book review of L.A. Candy, and the second book in the series by Lauren Conrad, Sweet Little Lies.  I read the first one in 48 hours after I got it, and the 2nd one I had all 300 pages finished in 24 hours.  That says one of 3 things:  1) It was a good book, 2) I have wayyy too much time on my hands or 3) All of the above.  Check back tomorrow to hear what I thought of them!

And finally, I know I mentioned that I hoped to spruce up my blog a little bit, but I just haven't gotten around to doing much yet.  That, and I'm fairly computer illiterate when it comes to that kind of stuff.  So, hopefully soon I'll have the time, energy, and patience to sit down and work on it! :)

Tomorrow is the first game back from "break", so hubby is already in bed.  Time for me to head also!  Hope you all had a wonderful Holiday filled with fun, family, food, thanks, goodies, and memories.  Goodnight!

merry christmas!!

Well, Christmas has finally arrived!  Though Christmas this year is very very different than every other year, it's still my favorite time of the year.  We're certainly missing all of our families and loved ones, that's for sure!! But we're enjoying being together and celebrating some of our own traditions. 

This afternoon, we went skating on this cute little rink nearby. 

It's about -20 celsius (like -5 F), but we managed to get a good 40 minutes in before our fingers and toes were totally frozen.  I had 3 layers of bottoms on and 5 layers on top.  haha.  We shot the puck around a bit and had a great time.  I can't remember the last time I've skated outside like that!  There are several rinks like this around the city.  They freeze a lot of the soccer fields in the winter for people to skate on.  We'll definitely be going back (hopefully it will be warmer next time!)  It was also a good practice run for J, because his team will be playing an outdoor game in February in this stadium:

1952 Olympic Stadium

 

 Probably won't be quite this sunny though! haha

That will be a chilly one!!  They have already sold 30,000 tickets for it, so it should be a great atmosphere aside from the Arctic air.  They play their big rival team, so it will be even more exciting.  I will definitely be layering up- and possibly coming home for hot cocoa in between periods- it's right next to our apartment! :)

Tonight we will be having a Christmas Eve meal here just the two of us- I can't wait!  Then, we each get to open one present (the rest will have to wait until tomorrow morning!)  We'll also be Skyping our families, which will be nice :)

Tomorrow morning we'll be having brunch and opening our presents in our PJ's, then in the afternoon we're heading over to celebrate Christmas with 2 of the other American guys on the team, and one of their wives and baby.  It will be nice to get together with others and make the day a little more special, plus have all the yummy food!  My task was dessert- we thought we'd play it safe with chocolate covered pretzels and strawberries, and then go a little crazy and make Peppermint Ice Cream/Chocolate Cake.  It's halfway done right now, and I can't wait to finish it!  It looks absolutely delicious.  I'll have to share the recipe after I am finished and can have some taste testers :)

Even with all of our festivities, it still doesn't really feel like Christmas.  I guess we're just going to have to redefine our definition of "Christmas" cause I don't think it will be changing anytime soon!  :)



Hope you all have a wonderful holiday.  Enjoy the food, family, friends and togetherness.  Take time to reflect on the past year and everything that has happened, and to be thankful for everything you have!  

♥Merry Christmas

Hyvää Joulua♥

10 things i am most thankful for in 2010

Sure, Thanksgiving was a month ago.  But all of the holiday season is a time to think about what we are thankful for and also to reflect on everything that happened over the past year.  With that, I decided to make a list of my:

Top 10 Things I am Most Thankful for in 2010

(tie) 1) Family and Friends.  No brainer.  Sorry if I'm boring you by putting them at the top of every list I make, but how could I not?  We're blessed with such wonderful people in our lives, and they deserve every bit of recognition that I can give them.  You help make both of us the people that we are.

(tie) 1) My husband.  I couldn't ask for a better person to spend the rest of my life with.  This has been a huge year for us, and I know it's only going to get even better.  You're always there for me when I'm having a tough day and can always put a smile on my face. 

3) Our Dream Wedding.  It is, and probably will forever be, the best (and most fun) day of our lives.  We had 160 of our nearest and dearest all in the same room to celebrate us.  What more could you ask for?  Everything worked out flawlessly (ok, I'm sure there were a little bumps throughout the day... but obviously they weren't a big deal since I don't even remember them 6 months later!)  Everyone had such a blast and it turned out just the way we were hoping it to.  I'm even more thankful to our parents, because if it wasn't for them, it would have never happened.

4) Hockey.  Sure, it's a love-hate relationship, but there's no denying that it has brought great things to our lives.  First, it provides an income for us.  And how many other people get to move to Europe in their twenties?  There are definitely perks that come with the life.  On top of it all, my husband gets to wake up every morning knowing that he's going to a job that he loves.  Doesn't get much better than that.  As a friend of mine quotes on her facebook profile "Find a job that you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life."

5) Other Hockey Wives.  Whether it's ones I know personally or not, these ladies make me feel a lot less alone in this crazy little world that we live in.  From advice to sharing stories, support to making new friends, I don't know what I'd do without them!  So few people understand our lives, so it's important to be able to connect with one another and have people to talk to who "get it".

6) Skype.  I hadn't really used Skype much until this year.  Now, I don't know what I'd do without it!!  Being able to talk to and SEE family and friends across the world is amazing.  I can't imagine what it would be like living over here without it (and it wasn't that long ago that people had to!)

7) Money.  But not in the sense that you're thinking of.  I am thankful that we have a steady income to support ourselves and pay the bills.  It seems like a simple thing, but so many people don't even have that.  The security that it provides makes day to day life a lot easier (which, I know, is where the irony comes in, since many say that money only complicates things)

8) Maddie.  She probably knows me better than anyone else, even my hubby.  She hears all my secrets and  see how I act when nobody is watching.  She nurses me when I'm sick, sleeps on my feet when they're cold, and listens to me when I need someone to talk to.  No one else gets so excited every time I walk in the door and makes me feel as important as she does.

9) Finland.  I feel so blessed to have been given the opportunity to live in this beautiful country.  I learn something new about it every day, and it has been a wonderful place to live.  Almost every person I have come into contact with has been welcoming and helpful.  The team has been wonderful to us, and I have only good things to say about our stay here so far!

10) Learning so many new things about myself.  Okay, that's kind of broad.  But I think I have grown a lot as a person in the past year especially, and I'm really proud of that.  Every challange that I face (and overcome) makes me aware of what a strong person I am.  I think I have always been ahead of my years in maturity, but I think I have surpassed even that in this past year.  I have learned a lot of new things about the world, cultures, people, myself, and life in general.  I'm pretty content with who I am right now :)

Also:  I added a "my story" page at the top.  For those of you interested in reading, you can also find it here.

♥

4 days until Christmas!

♥

countdown to Christmas

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Here's a shot of our tree, decorations and presents!  It has taken a lot of willpower from me to sit in front of this all weekend (with no whitnesses) and not dig into them.  It doesn't help how adament my husband is about "DO NOT TOUCH" any of them.  It only makes me want to touch them more (don't worry sweetie, I didn't!!) 

Gosh, I sound like a 5 year old... haha :)  But J and I usually end up telling/giving each other our presents before the actual occasion, so I'm not used to this!  Plus, I have no idea what they are, and I'm a person with no patience what-so-ever.  A lot of these are from J's parents also, so I know there are some goodies from the good ol' U.S. of A., which makes me even more excited.  Aside from all of that, I'm excited to give J his presents.  I usually spoil what I'm going to give him (last year he got his Christmas present on December 2nd, the day that I bought it) so I'm pretty proud of myself that I was able to keep them a secret this long.  I just love shopping for other people, which is part of why Christmas is one of my favorite times of year!

It's been snowing all day here... must be getting a fresh blanket of snow ready for Santa and his reindeer!  My back is still the same :(  but I made it out to do some shopping and got my book! 

I saw LC's books at the bookstore the other day so I figured I'd give them a try.  The selection of English books here isn't so great, and I'll admit I've kind of wanted to read them anyways.  We'll see how it is!

Sorry for 2 fairly uneventful posts in a row... it was just that kind of weekend!!  Nice and relaxing though... :) 

I'm so excited to see more and more of you checking out my blog.  Don't forget to become a follower!  And I always love to hear from new people (and old friends too!)... feel free to say hi, or email me! :)

*Strangers are just friends you have not met yet*

♥

6 days until Christmas!

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lazy day

Well, today was just that!  I'm officially a bum today.  I woke up early to say goodbye to J- he and the guys from the team went to Amsterdam for the weekend- and then fell back asleep until just before noon!  Yikes.  I've been exhausted lately, so it did feel good.  My back has been sore last night/today, which has made things fairly unpleasant :(  Standing up, sitting down, walking, running... no matter what I do I feel like an old lady!  Good thing there was nothing on my calendar for today.

I was planning to head downtown and pick up a book that I've been looking for, but when I headed to dragged my butt to the gym, I made the executive decison that it was too cold and I knew that once I got back home there was no way I'd want to go back out.  The temperature is -12 Celsius (10F) but the wind is what is the killer!  Maybe tomorrow I'll get my book... :)

I've decided now that I'm starting (key word: starting) to get the hang of this blogging thing, I need to spice up my page a bit.  Keep an eye out for some changes in the next week or two :)  And if any of you bloggers have any tips for me- feel free to help a sister out! :)

Sorry for the short post today- I need to get back to nursing my poor back!

♥

One week until Christmas!

♥