Keeping busy

"Oh, I've been keeping busy" or "I know he likes to keep busy" or "we're just trying to keep busy"

Those sentences baffle me. I don't understand why someone chooses to keep busy and apparently a lot of people like to keep busy. I love my quiet times, which I don't have very often, and wish I could just be more often.

So maybe it's just a phrase people say, when you're asking how they're doing. But I know some people who actually really like to keep busy. They start businesses, hobbies, studying etc. just for the sake of keeping busy. I've tried to understand, but I guess I'm just not open-minded enough to understand why those people would choose "keeping busy" over being with their family, children, friends etc. What is so important about "keeping busy"? So that you won't appear lazy or that you at least feel productive, even when you're really not?

I guess I'm just baffled about this need to keep busy, because I'm extremely busy and I really wish I wasn't. I wish I had more time to be with my family and friends. I'd like to occasionally spend weekends doing nothing. I'd like to be lazy. It's just not possible right now. But I've made the choice to be busy, only temporarily though.

Maybe what I'm doing is "keeping busy"? I'm finishing up my MA thesis (I submitted the preliminary version for inspection yesterday, yikes!) and after I'm done with that, I'll have to focus more on my MBA thesis. And I work 40 hours a week. So I'm busy, but I really don't want to be. I can't wait for the summer when I'll hopefully have more time to just be. No "just keeping busy" for this girl!

I know I'm a lazy person at heart and I don't mind that one bit :) What I do mind is that I don't have time for this blog and I really hope that I can resume blogging a bit more next month.

Until then...

from weheartit.com

or don't. Do whatever floats your particular boat :)

Random Tuesdays 02/04/2014

Lake Michigan in Chicago, IL :)

Random Tuesdays 01/28/2014

Hogback Mountain Gift Shop in Marlboro, Vermont in 2006

Random Tuesdays 01/21/2014

Taking the Water Taxi in Chicago, 2008.

Random Tuesdays 01/14/2014

Princess Lilly and the blogger herself near my parents' house in southern Finland, 2007.

I miss my puppy so much, she would have turned 16 this month. 

Random Tuesdays 01/07/2014

Canopic jars at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in 2007

The Giveaway winner and a surprise!

The Sugar Antelope Giveaway in cooperation with Golla ended last night and it's time to announce the winner. 

There were two participants, so both names were written on index cards, which were folded and put in a bag. Then lil man randomly selected a winner by grabbing one of the cards. As before, he was selected to do this important job as he is the most impartial person in our household when it comes to this; he can't read. 

And the winner is...

...Eveliina! 

Congratulations!

Would you be able to email me (sugarantelope @ gmail.com) your address, so that I can send you the Golla Mobile Purse? :)

Then for the surprise part! 

Since there were only two participants I figured a 2nd prize would be in order:

So, T. would you also be able to email me (sugarantelope @ gmail.com) your address, so that I can send you this Golla Phone Pocket? :)

Thank you both for participating, I'll be answering your interesting questions next week. 

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

Happy New Year 2014! Resolution time!

2013 came and went, way too fast!

I'm glad to bid farewell to 2013, but I'm a little sad I didn't accomplish as much as I had hoped to during it.

Due to some health set backs I haven't finished my MA thesis yet, which I'm really bummed about. I knew it would be hard to work full time and write a thesis, but I didn't plan on the other difficulties :( But, I do hope to get the thesis done by the end of this month. I haven't been able to write much of my MBA thesis either, so my New Year's resolution is to finish both theses!

Tin results 2014: seahorse, small dog and a bigger dog. 

Conclusions: I'm going to Sealife and will be getting two puppies this year, yay! :)

My other New Year's resolution is pretty common; I plan on taking better care of myself. This means more sleep, less stressing over things I have no control over :)  I also want to do some adjustments to my diet; I wish I could promise to give up on sugar candy, but I know I'm too weak to do that. Instead I will add more greens to my diet. I eat plenty of fruits, but I need eat more veggies. I gave up on bread last year, which has worked out great for me, although I do still eat Carelian pastries :) 

As for my other wishes for the brand new year 2014, I really wish we could just put this darn immigration nightmare behind us and move on with our lives. It has now been 8 months since we applied for my IR-1 spousal visa and nothing has really happened since. Our papers have been transferred from one service center to another, so basically from one desk to another, but that's it. Extremely frustrating. Oh well, one more thing I have no control over :)

Did you make any New Year's resolutions? If so, I'd love to hear them!

Wishing everyone a fabulous New Year 2014! :)

p.s One more reminder, take part in the Giveway! Ends tomorrow :)