Cheerleadershouts for the weekend survived!

"V" for victory and "G" for "God don't let another weekend like this come very soon!".

We are finally giving away the keys to the old flat today, which means no more teeth gringing while packing random objects that have no special place in our household, but which are seemingly too important to throw away. Unfortunately this means the teeth gringing has partially translocated to our new flat, as the items have to be unpacked as well. On the positive side, it has a more relaxed feeling to it as it is Our Own Home Bought With Our Own Money (=bank's money) we are fixing. And with the effort we are putting to the place, I don't think we'll be moving out any time soon...

Last weekend saw a more collective victory as well. The sword school held a syllabus day, allowing a bunch of students from several branches to train together and many to grade as well, including myself. Grade 1 might not sound like a lot, but one must start from somewhere. And it sounds much better than being a basic level 0 student. :) I'd give a deep analysis on the subject, Ken style, but honestly the day is quite a blur to me. I remember feeling good in the beginning, after a light warm-up second grade candidates had to lead and doing some dagger work, but the sword stuff... Let's just say the diagnostic drill proved there is a lot to work on, but in general I'm getting the feel of what everything swordsmanship just might be. And my first grading gives me the encouragement that I might be good for something after all.

Speaking of being good for something, I have decided to make an early new year's resolution. I don't usually make new year's resolutions, as I see no point in making some mighty plans just because the year changes (says someone who obviously hasn't been able to keep her previous plans and has decided to let go of the tradition altogether!) but this time I thought of a good promise to make. This moving business has revealed how much crafting supplies I have: piles of paper, yarn and cloth. I hereby promise, that I do not buy anymore supplies until I have used up atleast a half of my stash. I also promise, that atleast a part of the crafts I create will go to charity. I already have some ideas, but will reveal them later when I have given the ideas a little polishing. Firstly though, I have to get through that teeth gringing...

Plastic food

Did you know that an averige person in an industrial country eats 6-7 kilograms of additives per year? That's about 19 grams per day. Considering that additives are the lightest components of a produce, 6 kilograms is a huge amount! Preservatives and mildew inhibitors have their place, sure. But what about components such as mono- and diglycerid emulsifiers, carminic adic, monosodiumglutamate (MSG), dinatriumguanylate, gluconodeltalactone, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, maltodextrin, modified potato-, corn- and wheatstarch and several unanalysed aromas (all found in a Swedish crayfish pie, being a part of a 52 ingredient total. By the way, the amount of crayfish in the pie is an astonishing 4 percent.). Do you know what all of the mentioned additives do, to the food or to your body? Can you even pronounce most of the names?! I know I can't.

Mats-Eric Nilsson's book Den hemlige kocken (translated into Finnish as Petos lautasella) is a great read. I have been aware of the downsides of "plastic food" as I call it for years, but receiving in depth information on industrially manufactured goods was quite mind stopping. Most of the ready-to-eat products we buy from the store are made from such poor ingredients, that the products need to be filled with dozens of emulsifiers, artificial aromas and other additives, so they keep their shape and taste like something (usually the same). Breads, being a big part of our every day diet, in their simpled form should only contain flour, salt, water and yeast but store bought bread may have as many as 15 ingredients, if spices are counted as one. The orange juice you buy as fresh might be a year old. I won't even mention the grossities related to sausages... Need I go on?

As cliché as it might sound, you are what you eat. How can you become strong, fit and smart if your basic diet is built from empty calories and year old ingredients? A retorical question, that I feel everyone never-the-less needs a ponder on.

The next book on my reading list is a similar-themed book on cosmetics by Rita Steins: The Truth About Cosmetics. The way this is going, I just might have to become vegan and go au naturel, letting my pimples blossom! Or maybe just find that midway of living well.

(P.S. The picture I chose for this entry is somewhat ironic, as it was the 1950's which saw the birth of so-called TV-dinners and the explosive popularity of ready-to-eat meals.)

It's time

Personally I find I am living interesting times. We just bought a new flat and are moving in by the end of the month. I have quite recently discovered a noble martial art with a modern twist, historical swordsmanship. I have the honour of watching life growing in the form of a miniature schnauzer. And monthly I seem to get interested in a new topic in the field of crafts, fashion, history, sports, nutrition or health, just to mention a few. There are so many great things happening around me, and I feel I am letting them pass too easily if I don't have them documented somewhere. I feel it is time to do the thing I have thought of for a couple of years now and open a blog, condensing my life into one neat(er) package.

So, with these words I announce this blog opened, for my joy, and hopefully yours too!