About 100 Happy Days

On April I took part in the 100 Happy Days challenge and yesterday, on the 24th of July, my 100 days were full. 

The idea of the challenge is to pick your platform and post a picture of something that makes you happy every day for 100 days. It can be anything; food, friends, places, books, etc. If it makes you happy, post it and share it with everyone! I am happy to report that I succeeded in this and as far as I know I never skipped a day. I posted my pictures on Instagram (@grasshopper89) and also shared some of my thoughts here on my blog. You can find them under the tag 100 Happy Days. 

I'm proud of myself for doing this. It wasn't always easy, but I did it, and this certainly reminded me that no matter how awful my day was, there was always something good in it. This challenge made me look for those things. Some days were easier than others. But every day I was happy about something. Not all day every day, but every day. I encourage you all to take part in this, because I really feel it has made a positive difference in the way I see things. 

Huhtikuussa osallistuin 100 Happy Days -haasteeseen, ja eilen, 24. heinäkuuta, minun 100 päivääni tulivat täyteen.

Ideana on valita jokin sosiaalisen median sivusto, ja julkaista kyseisellä sivulla joka päivä kuva jostain, mikä tekee sinut onnelliseksi, ja jatkaa tätä 100 päivän ajan. Se voi olla mitä vain; ruokaa, ystäviä, paikkoja, kirjoja tms. Jos se tekee sinut onnelliseksi, postaa se ja jaa muiden kanssa! Olen erittäin iloinen voidessani kertoa, että onnistuin haasteessa ja ainakaan omien tietojen mukaan yksikään päivä ei jäänyt välistä. Julkaisin kuvani Instagramissa (@grasshopper89), ja jaoin myös joitakin ajatuksiani täällä blogissa. Kyseiset kirjoitukset löytyvät 100 Happy Days -tagin alta. 

Olen ylpeä itsestäni ja siitä että onnistuin. Se ei aina ollut helppoa, mutta tein sen, ja tämä tosiaan muistutti minua, että olipa päiväni kuinka huono tahansa, siinä oli aina jotain hyvääkin. Tämä haaste pakotti minut etsimään noita asioita. Jotkut päivät olivat helpompia kuin toiset. Mutta joka päivä olin onnellinen jostain. En koko päivää joka päivä, mutta joka päivä. Haastankin nyt teidät kaikki ottamaan osaa tähän, koska ainakin itsessäni näen erittäin positiivisen muutoksen. 

You can find more information HERE.

ATTENTION! NEW STUFF!

I've been pimping my blog, what do you guys think?? I don't know if these changes are permanent, but so far I'm happy. 

On an important note, the address of this blog has changed!!!

The new address is:

www.miss-grasshopper.blogspot.com

Oon tässä vähän muuttanut blogin ulkoasua, mitäs pidätte?? En tiedä ovatko kaikki muutokset pysyviä, mutta toistaiseksi olen tyytyväinen. 

Tärkein ilmoitus: tämän blogin osoite on muuttunut!!!

Uusi osoite tuossa ylempänä. 

Goodbye, Sweet Mother of Chaos. It was fun while it lasted :)

What's Going On, World?

Well, haven't written here in ages... Summer has taken all my time. Work, friends, barbecue, strawberries, ice cream, endless light. Summer is such an amazing time. Especially when one gets to enjoy it to the fullest. Guess who only has three more days of work left until vacation! Sweet freedom starts on Monday, my four-week summer vacation, which I've already almost booked full. I'm having a friend over from Germany, I will be traveling to London and I get to just hang around. You have no idea how much I need a vacay. I will surely update the blog at some point as well, and hopefully by the fall I will get back to regular blogging. 

Oh, and I already booked a winter vacation, too (because why not?). Abu Dhabi and Dubai are calling for me in December! :)

No ei ole tänne tullut kirjoiteltua taas aikoihin... Kesä on vienyt kaiken ajan. Töitä, kavereita, grillausta, mansikoita, jäätelöä, loputonta valoa. Kesä on mahtavaa aikaa. Varsinkin, kun siitä pääsee nauttimaan kunnolla. Minullapa on enää kolme työpäivää jäljellä ennen lomaa! Maanantaina koittaa suloinen vapaus, neljän viikon kesäloma. Se onkin melkein täyteen buukattu; saan vieraan Saksasta, lähden Lontooseen ja saan vaan olla. Te ette tajuakaan, miten olen loman tarpeessa. Kuulumisia varmasti päivittelen tänne jossain vaiheessa, ja toivottavasti syksyn mittaan pääsen taas säännöllisen bloggailun makuun. 

Ainiin, tulihan sitä jo talvilomakin varattua (koska miksipäs ei?). Abu Dhabi ja Dubai kutsuvat joulukuussa! :)

Changes(?)

All right. I've been thinking, guys... Sweet Mother of Chaos needs some changes. 

"Why?" you may ask.

Well... changing it into something new and better not only improves my motivation but also (hopefully) raises the amount of readers. Also, I want to make the blog more suiting to my current lifestyle and to everything that's going on. My summer vacation is on in just a few weeks, and after it's over, I only have two weeks until I go back to school. Not having studied in three years, it's going to be a big change for me :) a good one, I hope.

I also want to change the name of this blog. Any suggestions? 

Whatever it will be, I want my name to be in it (even if it's just something like sweet mother of chaos by iira). SMOC has been a a lot of fun, and this blog ain't going nowhere, it's just going to be updated. I wanted to give you guys a heads up. Obviously, changes in the appearance of this blog only concern Blogger, and not Glipho. My readers in the latter will only notice changes in the content of the blog. 

I hope you're having a slammin' week so far. I'm in the middle of a long stretch of work, but it's all good. Been in an exceptionally good mood lately. I wonder if my upcoming vacation has something to do with that ;) 

Today I went to see Maleficent at long last, and I have to say, it was awesome! Not what I expected, much better. 

Talk to you later, lovelies :)

Where I've Been

Sooo.. You may or may not have noticed I've stayed away from the blogging world for a while now. 19 days to be exact. 

In case you're wondering, I've done so intentionally. Not that I had too many brilliant ideas for upcoming posts, but my lack of motivation did strike at a good time for once. To be honest, I grew a little tired of blogging, because I felt like nothing was happening. Let's face it; where's the fun when no one reads your blog or writes their own? 

I hate to rant, so I'll just leave it at that, and tell you what I've been up to in the past few weeks. 

Nothing too significant has happened. I know, right? Kinda boring. While not wanting to blog, I didn't really have a reason to, either. I did book bus tickets and hotels with my friend Minna, for our upcoming trip to London! That's always exciting and fun :) Only a little over a month to go! We are super excited and happy about that. 

I've also been visiting friends, went to see an apartment I will be moving in in the fall, have made some plans as to how I will decorate it, I've done some reading and watched a lot of Orange Is The New Black, The Nanny, and Disappeared. I made a little trip to Staples with my mom, to check out what I would need when school starts. I swear, Staples is my heaven. I LOVE office supplies. 

I can't say I've enjoyed summer, because the weather is nothing like summer... it's been very cold and rainy so far, and I can only hope it'll get better by the time my vacation starts, which is July 21st. I'm having a friend over from Germany, and I would love for her to see how lovely Finland can be in the summer :)

This week I've been sick, and spent a few days at my mom's new house in the country side. Even though the weather sucks, she still found wild strawberries from her yard :) so yummy! 

So yeah, that's what's happening. I'm still a little ill, running a little temperature and coughing. I'll return to work this Saturday, though, and can't wait to get back to some kinda routine. Tomorrow I'm getting together with some old co-workers and that ought to be a lot of fun! 

And what comes to my blog's future; I honestly have no idea. I'm sure I won't stop, I just love this too much. I'm excited to share certain things with you, and would love to get back to regular blogging, but right now I can't make any promises. While I love blogging, I also loved not having to stress about it for 19 days. 

If you're reading this, and happen to have good tips on blogging (ideas, how to not give up, etc.), then please leave a comment below. Love you all for reading, and still remaining in my list of followers. It means a lot. 

Hope you're all having a good week so far!

England Calling!

Ah! I am so happy and excited, you guys!

Today I booked a flight to London. 

In case you didn't know, I love London. 

I haven't visited London in six and a half years. My two-hour layover last December does not count. And being away from a place I love for over six years is just wrong. I am so happy to be going back, even if it is only for a week. London has a special place in my heart, and I can go back any number of times and still feel the first love. 

I'm going on this trip with Minna, who is one of my very best and closest friends. And this trip is going to be very special for us, because at the time we will be in England, it will be exactly ten years since the last time we were there together. In the summer of 2004 we spent three weeks in Torquay, South West England, and that journey was what sparked the desire to travel in us. We were just a couple of fifteen-year-olds on a language course, traveling without our parents for the first time. And our hearts were stolen by Torquay in the English Riviera and London. We have both been to London after that first time, but never in Torquay. That's a place where we should go together, and in just two months we will :) 

I will most definitely share my trip with y'all, and can't wait to go! I'm so happy to have something this great to look forward to. 

Have a happy rest of the weekend! <3

Jammin' June: Country Music

I LOVE country music. I thoroughly enjoy everything about it. This is actually something I think not a lot of people know about me :) well, you know now. The thing is, country music isn't a Finnish thing and we rarely hear it on the radio. So I put on my jams on YouTube or Spotify (bless the Internet, right?!) and whenever I'm in the US, I find a country station to listen to. 

Today I want to rave about Lucy Hale and her debut album Road Between, that came out today! 

You might know her from Pretty Little Liars, but in case you weren't aware, she's an amazing singer!

I was so excited when I heard she was working on a country album and now it's finally out... Gotta raise a hat to a girl this young who's doing so well in the entertainment business and seems to have her head and heart in the right place, and her feet on the ground. 

Road Between is a wonderful album with catchy tracks. Lucy's voice is pure and clear (and lovely), and I'm happy to be listening to real country music after a loooooong time. I hate to say it, but I feel like some country singers have lost their touch and are doing music that's not really country anymore.

I'm not lying when I say I love all the tracks on this album, but here are some of my favs:

Road Between

You Sound Good To Me

Red Dress

Nervous Girls

And now, stop reading this, and go get your copy of the album or listen to it online! :) If you love country music, you'll love this album.