I apparently am attractive to the drunks and possibly a man.

I've learned so much last night while at Taneli's for supper for Tim's birthday. For one - the reindeer was absolutely delicious. We cooked it with zucchini, egg plants and carrots and served it over mashed potatos with lingden berries - like a stew. Very delightful.
Thanksgiving is not celebrated here and is pretty much the only North American holiday not celebrated in Finland.
They do sell turkeys small enough to fit in the small European ovens here...however ham is the more traditional meal to have on Christmas Eve. Stores are closed by 1pm for the last minute shoppers on Christmas Eve. A rice pudding of sorts is served for breaskfast Christmas Eve morning, while in the early evening big Christmas dinner is served the same day.
Presents are opened late Christmas Eve night and then typically Christmas Day - people go to Mass.
(Tim now has an encyclopedia about Finnish culture - so if you have a question - now I can feel more confident about answering you!)

I've been hunting online for used items for the baby - as we don't want to buy everything brand-new when there were so many great quality and good conditioned items up for grabs on the Tori website. I power walked to Sohwi this morning for 8:20...I was to meet this guy for the stroller between 8:15 and 8:30. He showed up at 8:24, looked at his watch and loudly pronounced, "I am not late as I told you between 8:15-8:30". He's Italian. He then showed me the features of the baby's stroller and then proceeded to tell me he could reserve the car seat in the back of his white hatchback car - however I told him that was fine - as we don't have a vehicle and the car seat was meant for an older child (about 4-6 years old). He smiled and then decided to swing another way around the bush and then tried to sell me some toys that they have at home, "Very clean toys and very good condition like everything we have!" I said maybe and for him to e-mail me the photos of the toys. When I told him that I was interested in his crib he had up for sale online (plans changed with the previous crib we had in mind) - he was ecstatic and said he'll reserve it for me. He told me first he will e-mail me a picture to see if that's what I wanted or I could visit. I told him a photo would be fine and he rushed to explain that the photo is a little out of focus however I'll still get the idea (by this point I felt like he was talking to me like I was incompetent) - and he could not take a new photo because the crib was dismantled and ready to be sold. It comes with the mattress and he told me about the crib and I said sure. He then asked if I was walking back home - and I said yes - he THEN says, "Oh if I knew you were walking - I would've dropped this off at your home. But I have no time now as I have to go to work."
(Insert rolling of eyes secretly).
So I paid him 40 Euros (pram was only 25 but bank machines only dispense in 20s here as well) - and he started arguing that I was paying too much. I told him to bank the extra change towards the crib and he managed to shell out 10 Euros....so I said fine - bank the 5 Euros towards the crib - we'll probably end up getting it. He said instead he will put it towards the toys (or the crib) once I see the photos. (He has since sent photos and I don't have internet - but Tim said it looked fine to him - so hopefully my little Italian friend can drop it off tonight).
**He came by at "7-ish" aka 7:45pm....and "forgot" the screws to the crib. Ah well - tomorrow I'll get a screw driver to assemble it - to keep myself busy this weekend. He also brought a bag of toys for me to inspect...picked out a few - that was it and he will be back this weekend with a quilt and mattress sheets and pillows that go with the bed set - so I'm excited.

Meanwhile I've since had a nap and ran downstairs to meet Meervi (whom I thought was a male but was actually a lady with firey red hair and a beautiful black bow in it) whom I bought a really clean and great conditioned car seat for taking the baby home. I also snagged a blanket from her - that can probably be used by Tim - it's quite large and makes a nice lap blanket for now.

Loki is terrified of the stroller for some reason and a little cautious of the car seat as it rocks when touched. This should make things interesting when I want to go walking or jogging with both the baby and him tethered to the stroller. HA.
The stroller isn't for new borns unfortunately but that's okay - we're thinking a baby sling may be what we need during the earlier stages for now. Atleast we have most things sorted out right now.

Soon I'll be leaving to meet a lady at her home to look at some cloth diapers and liners she had posted online. She had some of the expandable ones online for 8 Euros (which is great considering they have different buttons to adjust the size as the baby grows and usually go for about 20-35 Euros a piece at the Eco-store) and some other ones and the liners or fillers for them as well. (Got 10 cloth diapers and 29 liners for 105E, and I did get lost going to her home).
I also got hit on by a drunk. I was walking from the bank machine on my way to this lady's home (who took forever to let me leave as we had great conversations although I was border line sweating- her house was so warm)....this guy called out HELLO while I was power-walking by and tapped my shoulders (I had my iPod and thought that was a good enough sign to leave me alone - apparently not)...I shook his hand with a firm "g2g - please don't talk to me" hand-shake...and that wasn't a good enough sign either. He asked my name and couldn't string a sentence in advance (by atleast 5 seconds) together. So he asked my name and while talking to me - he continued to roll his eyes up to the sky like he was preaching and kept trying to shake my hand multiple times. Ewww. Finally I told him my name is Ashley and that I really had to run to meet somebody (which was true - sorta)- then as I ran to cross the street - the light turned red. But he didn't pursue - thankfully. How do people know I speak English anyways? Is it because I don't have blonde hair and blue eyes?!?!?! I wasn't even walking towards the guy - I came from behind him!

I think I'm finally settling in with the idea of having a baby. I know this may sound funny as I've only been pregnant for the last 8 months - but I think it's starting to come true and I'm starting to realize it now that there's a stroller, a blanket and a car seat in the living room.

I had posted an ad online for more cloth diapers (previous to getting them today) and someone asked to meet me to learn English in exchange to learn Finnish.
This is what the E-mail started with:

"I found your announcements from Tori (University of Jyv�skyl�). At
first, I'm sorry but it may be that we don't have any baby stuff to sell
to you, but I have a little question. Would you (or maybe your
wife/girlfriend) like to meet me and talk with me in English?"

How does one write a response to this politely?!?! Sure I'll meet you - but the wife will be at home....oh dear.