Kim's Place

A picture tells 1000 words...

2007-07-16T14:55:00.000+02:00

and I don't have enough time to write 1000's of words. This is Croey 2007...Need I say more??

Look what happens when your computer gets sick?

2007-07-02T20:34:00.000+02:00

You forget all of your passwords and have to wait 2 weeks for it to come back from the repair shop!

So there have been many things to celebrate...

Summer...

Visa...

Being happy...

Having a great grill + great friends...

Enjoying the scenery...

Having a great midsummer...

Relaxing with great food...

Getting the last piece of paper work needed for living in Finland (for now)...

Good to be connected again, now warming up for the holidays :)

Old places, familar faces...

2007-05-28T18:30:00.000+02:00

The past weeks has been filled with visiting some old stomping grounds and seeing some friendly (and missed) faces...

Visiting Belgie (for work, but I managed to fit in some socializing :P)

A great dinner with the crew :)

Awesome dinner @ Osku + Simones fab house

And Kantsu...

The top of the roof when you jump out my old room :) ahh the memories...

Its been a while...

First time seeing Pike since she got back from India..

What a great week + great weekend! Keep it coming :P

Warning: Time to leave the page if you don't want to see photos of Eleni...

2007-05-17T15:31:00.000+02:00

Lately, visiting the UK means a million photos of Eleni and not much else. But what can you do when she is just so cute...

But we all have our moments... :P

A night off to Shane and Marie, as we go out for dinner and a couple of games of pool.

I managed to fluke in a few good shots!

All smiles

Taking bets that she walks before she crawls

Enjoying the Muumi we got her

No, it's not windy!!

Play time with Jukka :)

O the good times :)

2007-05-17T15:08:00.000+02:00

I recently had this random girl come and visit me in Helsinki, yes, that random girl is called Anna.
Thanks for visiting girl, hopefully not the last time...

We have not changed a bit...

She is still crazy...

(This is Anna enjoying the Eurovision crap that was jammed into Helsinki)

But so am I...

(two for the price of one: you can get a great view of Helsinki as well as go to the bathroom!)

Not to mention Jukka...

(This is our new BBQ, so cute!!)

Classic

But it was great to have someone here to remind me of the many things I love about this country...

Oh Vienna :)

2007-04-18T17:34:00.000+02:00

To reward ourselves for living through a freezing cold Finnish Easter, Jukka and I took a lovely long weekend to Vienna.
Oh the sun, the wine, the sights, the 'interesting' accommodation, oh Vienna...

ahh!!! This is sun! Can't see a thing! Hurts my eyes that are accustomed for dark :P not to mention the reflection from our white as white tan :)

Flip flops!! Bring that on!! Needless to say, we ended up with some nice red noses by the end of the weekend.

The highlight was visiting the wine village not far from Vienna's center. Look you can even get wine in coffee cups, perfect replacement for a morning coffee no? But in all seriousness, very nice wine, and very nice prices. Comparable in price to the lovely Australian 'goon' however not tasting ANYTHING like it :)

God damn I finished this!

Last night, boo for last nights, but we found a great little place just around the corner from where we were staying. Cheers!

And a nice sight to remember a great, relaxing holiday :)

First for everything!

2007-04-09T11:22:00.000+02:00

Sometimes life is just so full that you run out of time for bloggin :P

Even though living in a country I have lived before, the past months have brought with them many firsts in my life...

First time at -350 meters into the ground! For work, we had an event at -350, and well, it was pretty unusual. This was a deep as the Eiffel Tower is high - pretty crazy no? Also the site for one of the Amazing Race check points, and will have many scenes from an upcoming movie 'the story of Christmas.' Does not happen every day :P

First Jääkiekko (Ice hockey) game!
Ok, a bit of a shame it took me so long to do this one, but it was GREAT :) For full impact experience, we sat behind the penalty box, so lots of cranky men there :P
Here are the winners..

and the losers...

First sunny days :P
A few weeks ago, we went to Jukka's family cottage and were able to experience sitting in the sun without jackets - slight shame that the weather insisted on diving back into freaken freezing for the Easter break with a small amount of snow (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) on Friday.

(standing on the sea looking back at the sauna)

I am also now the proud owner/borrower of a BIKE!!!
I gotta bike, I gotta bike, I gotta bike bike bike bike bike!! Bring that right on... now I just need the wind to drop, the sun to shine and it to increase by about 10degrees! No worries :P

A bit of Moẽt, a bit of Godurn ??

2007-03-05T16:21:00.000+01:00

Many many many things worth celebrating these days, so taking a moment to pause and have a glass or two of Moẽt :)
Happy times

And a hilarious moment:) This is our door, guess who GODURN is??

A hop, skip, and a ...um...SWEDEN??

2007-02-24T17:40:00.005+01:00

Kiitos Sweden :)

Finally, oh FINALLY I am legal. Bring that on...
A last min call from the Embassy, ensuring I could get my visa from Sweden resulted in: Tickets being purchased, bags packed, convincing Jukka to join me and within a couple of hours boarding the boat to Sweden....

30 hrs on a boat for 5hrs on land is not really the way I would like to spend a couple of evenings, but for sure it was worth every last second.

Freezing my butt off, but just HAD to look at the frozen sea (pick the foreigner:P)

VIVA LA VISA...a very very happy moment

So great, that Jukka and I had to celebrate with Champagne

Oh, and did I mention that going thru the ice on the boat was really cool??

Non-communicado?

2007-02-20T14:50:00.001+01:00

Well perhaps just a bit...

the ins and outs of moving have indeed kept me more then occupied for the past few weeks...As well as the question of 'do traffic lights HAVE to take that long before giving you your little green man?'
I think not. One down side of the new location, is traffic lights that seem to have it in for me.
It goes something like this:

I go to the lights. Press the button. Wait, one, two. Press the button again. Wait. Curse myself that I did not put on enough warm things today. Press the button. Wait. Go to cross with out the green mans blessing before 4 cars come at once. Press the button. Wait. Wait. Wait. Man turns green just as another person comes to the lights.
Does the green man wait for more then 2 people before deciding to stop traffic for you? Or can he just tell that I was not made for this weather, and he needs a good laugh??

Either way, not impressed!

Great new place non-the-less.

will endeavor to do more exciting things, as well as take photos of those things to make sure there is something more entertaining for ya all ;)

Helsinki this time of year :)

Kim and Jukka at the beach, dreaming of warmer days, eating snags on bread with tom sauce. yum yum!

And a first look at our new place...

Oz Day 2007 - Finland

2007-01-26T08:49:00.000+01:00

Happy Oz day to everyone!

Here I am, up bright & early to listen to the Hottest 100 countdown!

Meat pies are in the freezer, heading to the Aussie bar for a BBQ in the evening...

(these are the actual meaties I will be eating today!)
What could be better? It even seems that the weather is warming up here in Finland, to help us Aussies feel more at home :P

Check out today's forecast...

I warmed up my Aussie-ness this week by watching The Feelers - Ok so they are a Kiwi band, but close enough! Great to hear some good live music...
We trekked home after a wonderful evening at 1am in fresh and beautiful snow :)

(Pretty good considering it was taken on my phone, no?)

Have a great one all :) Enjoy your day, no matter where you are!

Time flys by...

2007-01-08T10:06:00.000+01:00

A great ending to 2006, and a fantastic beginning to 2007, but it does feel like only a few months ago when I was celebrating the start of 2006!

The xmas and new year period this year was spent in UK with Shane Marie and Eleni. Great to see them, and how the little one has grown.
Also great to spend time with 3 of my fav people, Anbo, Dippy and JukJuk.
- great to go vintage shopping in London and laugh at the horrible clothes being sold at ridiculous prices
- loved seeing a show at west end, and sitting in a men only bar for about 10mins before realizing where we were!!
- excellent to chill in Canty, and when necessary push people in the sales
- and nothing beats eating and drinking too much for over one week

Our excellent Santa, who managed to deliver the most presents for herself!!

Us catching a show...

La girlies...

Dippy supplying us with some much needed OZ snacks :D

And the new year, oh what a new year. Nothing better then going 70s style, no words needed, just check these photos!

Anna as an office lady, Kim as a love child

Jukka as some kind of pimp...

Best dressed Marie as a 70s punk (including baby monitor)

Shane as some kind of hippy...

At 1am late entrant...

Ah, a great 2006, so much to ponder for 2007...

Wishing the BEST possible 2007 for all...

bye bye Belgie...

2006-12-18T15:03:00.000+01:00

There is simply no other way to describe my last days in Belgium, then absolutely crazy...

Last night, CRAZY TIMES

A sneak preview of what the night looked like...

SO MUCH LOVE...

This will always lift your spirits :P

Thanks to Sebastien, my fav bartender in the world, who continued offer us high quality great Belgium beers till the wee hours, as well as accepting my horrible 4 euro tip of 5c/2c/1c!!

THANKS TO ALL for making those last moments count....

Goodbye...

TUT TUT

Not without saying good bye first to beautiful Leuven...

The girls...

2006-11-30T21:09:00.000+01:00

A super, wonderful, relaxing, motivating, girly, soupie, giggly, champers, sunny, sharing-caring, reflective, oh-so-much-love WEEKEND with my girls ANBO and LOZZUM :)

Such a great weekend, and perfect timing, thank you girls...

BTW
Huge thanks to Anna, for the best xmas present EVER! wow you know me SO well...

Here I am modeling the GREAT earrings she gave me! Thanks for paying so much attention to my ears and their lack of holes!!!! LOSER!!!!!!!!!!

Random, but i was inspired by Elli :D:D

2006-11-23T13:41:00.000+01:00

Is this me or what??

Your Superhero Profile

Your Superhero Name is The Onyx LightYour Superpower is Distant AttackYour Weakness is Bald PeopleYour Weapon is Your Gravity DaggerYour Mode of Transportation is Capsule

What's" your Superhero Name?

I was, I am, I will be...

2006-11-15T19:53:00.000+01:00

Notice that 10 degree drop each time, what is going on there??

One month and counting, am happy BUT FREAKIN' OUT!!

Friday night chuckles night...

2006-11-14T15:39:00.000+01:00

I think these photos speak for themselves no?

Bigitty Bogitty (Boo) Gives Kim the kiss of (pink) death...

ah.. no comment...

(SarSar, Bigitty & Kat)

For a Lozzum on her b'day :)

2006-11-13T21:51:00.000+01:00

Happy b'day for Sat Lozzum :) Was great to see you.
Te-he thanks to everyone who helped in making me a surprise!
*Hugs*
Kim

Oh my god, I am a model... A house model (??) :P

2006-11-10T20:45:00.000+01:00

This is dedicated to the lovely Carolyn, a new trainee (soon to arrive) to Belgium.

Carolyn, I hope you find these photos both informative and entertaining.
For all others, this is me and some friends modeling my house to its next potential occupant :D:D

Enjoy!

So the key features of my house include...

A great place for deep and meaningful conversations...
actual conversation:
Kim "myes, I do concur with your pontification on the rights of the Kudu in northern Namibiya, Biggity Boggity (Boo)"
Biggitty Boggitty (Boo)"Uunnnggghhh....eeerrrrrr.....TOOT TOOT!"

A couch (that conveniently folds out to a become a bed) just big enough to squeeze two...for those romantic and not-so-romantic occasions
Exhibit A: The not-so-romantic...

Ample cupboard space leaving enough room for an oversized ball and cheerleader poses.
Rah Rah Sis Boom Ba!

And of course, good friends right around the corner!
Disclaimer: Beer and french fries not included

Too cute.... Or just a little bit crazy?

2006-11-06T21:35:00.000+01:00

One thing I never in my most crazy moment ever EVER thought I would say, that I am now saying is... I LOVE Belgium, and I am so going to miss it.
Each day I see how much I LOVE living here, and how Belgium I am becoming :P

In my Belgium bliss, I have decided to give you an overview of my bike skills, as this is imperative for being Belgium.

Ability to bike - check (every day to and from work, no accidents yet ~touch wood)
Successfully in a skirt (I.e. no flashing) - check
Successfully in heals - check (every day!! god damn I am good!!)
Whilst talking on my mobile - check
Whilst eating - does this exclude gum??
Holding an umbrella - too scared to do this one!!
Dodging pedestrians - check (the sound of my brakes ensures that people jump away from my bike)
With a bike-basket and bike-bag full of groceries - check!
Drinking a beer - that is drinking and driving, given my current position in the company, I cannot support this :P (however drinking water - check)

Bubble Bubble, Champers and Trouble :P

2006-10-23T21:08:00.000+02:00

Champers b'day trip mark #2 happened last weekend.
Oh what I weekend!
...And what a totally girly weekend.

1 GPS (excluded from car trip for not contributing)
2 cars (one to lead, one to say, why aren't we leading??)
3 baguettes (dinner on Saturday night)
4 hours (the time we spent looking for a place to stay)
6 bottles of red wine (the other part of the dinner)
7 red wine stains on the bed (7 caused by Loz :P)
8 girls (lovely ladies: Zdenka, Lisa, Loz, Dy, Kat, Oxana, Shinta and me!)
12 repeats of the theme song for the weekend (Madonna: What it feels like for a girl)
15 mins (the time we got to the shop before it closed, and we went dinner-less and wine- less)
16 out of signal (messages from the dis-owned GPS)
19 turn arounds (cause we were on the wrong road)
39 bottles of champagne (hehe, well it was a champagne trip!!)

Fun fun fun, but really a crazy weekend.

Thanks lovely ladies for a most enjoyable weekend. Particular thanks the nice champagne man Pierre (??) who made our weekend :)

This is the bubbly crew:

This is kamikazie crew, including my friend Lisa the giant, and Lozzum

Cheers to that :)

A perfect weekend (except for being sick and lack of bed)...

2006-10-12T19:46:00.000+02:00

Thanks Mum and Dad for a perfect and great weekend :)
From showing you the sights and sounds of Belgium (Brussels, beer, mussels, Leuven - my shoe box and Brugges), to spending 1/2 a day working out sleeping solutions, to getting terribly ill!
It was a wonderful wonderful weekend, that was far too short.
Have safe travels home, Love you!

Cheers to great beer!

Te-He Te-He, Mussels from Brussels

Lozza at Waggas

2006-10-12T19:41:00.000+02:00

That's right, Loz and I went to Waggas - A lovely evening, even if she was a little seedy mageedy :) Hehe
But thanks Loz it was nice, and thanks for approving of my lovely new purchases!

Sorry to all those other Am-sters that i did not get a chance to catch up with (boo!!)

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I see Loz tomorrow... It is only, a, day, a, way....

2006-10-03T12:53:00.000+02:00

I love it when business trips allow you to see friends :)
See you tomorrow Loz (as you can tell, I am excited!!)

... 2005 V 2006

2006-10-02T21:45:00.000+02:00

And the FINAL thing I got to do in the UK, was to collect some photos that have been sitting on Shane's computer for over a year now...

Croatia 2005, Kim and Anna

2005 V 2006... But I just can't see the difference, can you?

Anna 2006

Anna 2005

Still a loser...