Tom Cruise’s Spaghetti Carbonara, makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 inch olive oil (for frying pan)
2 cloves minced garlic
1 chopped onion
8 to 12 thick slices Italian bacon
4 eggs
2 packages spaghetti
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a frying pan, combine 1/2 inch of olive oil, 2 cloves of minced garlic, one chopped onion and the Italian bacon cut into small squares. Let simmer for about a half-hour, being careful not to let the oil get to a boiling point.

In a bowl, beat 4 eggs with lots of salt and fresh ground pepper.

Bring a pan of salted water to a boil. Cook both packages of spaghetti until al dente, drain and immediately add egg mixture to pasta. The eggs are actually cooked by the pasta. (Make sure the eggs are thoroughly cooked before proceeding.) Stir the egg mixture until it is well mixed. Pour in the mixture from the frying pan and stir. Finish with the Parmesan cheese and serve!

… as written on Oprah.com.

I’ll report back after I’ve tried it out in the not-so-distant-future.

I also totally fell in love with these bright blue ballerinas with studs by Friis. I want them so bad but can’t really think of a valid reason to buy them. Oh, shoes, why must you torment me so?

For basic skin care I use Vichy’s Normaderm series, specifically the day and night creams as well as the cleansing gel. They’re more expensive than the regular stuff you buy at stores, but they have worked well for me. I wouldn’t recommend them for mixed skin types or dry skin, as they don’t have any remarkable hydrating effects. If you have very oily skin, kind of like me, I definitely think you should try it out though. I especially love the smooth, silky and matte effect the day cream has.

Another way I try to battle my monthly PMS acne is by regularly treating my skin with a clay mask and scrub, especially when I start to notice the early signs of my skin blooming up again. I’ve tried a few varieties, but at the moment I’m sticking to Blue Corn 3in1 Deep Cleansing Scrub Mask by The Body Shop. It really gives your skin a good cleanse and the scrub makes your skin feel even more smoother. If you feel like you don’t need a scrub just apply the mask and rinse it off without scrubbing.

Finding the right skin care products is however not the only way to battle acne. As far as my PMS acne goes I’ve found trying to reduce any sort of stress has helped. I haven’t noticed any significant changes when experimenting with various diet options, it’s all highly individual I guess. Hormonal contraceptives can also help you out. I’ve tried that option, but I felt like the positives didn’t quite outweigh the negatives, and additionally it did not clear up my skin entirely.

I’m glad I’ve found products I feel I can stick to, but of course you never know what’s out there until you try it. Does anyone have any recommendations as far as products or general facial skin care goes?

The most significant thing now that I’m awake though is how sad I become when I think of the dream. I don’t know in which year my grandparents had the house (in Lammi) built, but my memories must be from the period I was 3-5 years old, since my grandfather died when I was 5, after which my granny sold the house and moved into a smaller apartment in Helsinki. I still remember all the rooms, the scents, the cellar space that was always flooding, the back room my grandfather had his desk and all his papers in, and it makes me miss those days, that house, my grandfather and grandmother. I’m actually tearing up as I write this.

I don’t know, maybe it’s just the hormones.

As for tomorrow’s exam I can’t say I’m very bothered. Haven’t had the time or energy to study properly, but it doesn’t really matter if I pass or not since passing the exam won’t actually speed up anything and I can do a retake in December again. At least I feel like someone gives a damn about me at the university of Vaasa, a fact and feeling I’ve learned to appreciate. I realize that as a university student you carry all of the responsibility for your studies, but when the system fails you beyond your control (oh so many times) and no one actually cares enough to fix it you start to wonder. When school doesn’t give a shit about you I don’t think you should give a shit about the school in question, either.

The end of the summer cottage season is this weekend, I don’t have any plans though (the one plan I sort of had went down the drain already). Anything crackalackin’ somewhere in the area?

Oh well, carry on citizens, carry on.

On a more normal note I enrolled in some classes at the university today. Hopefully I also get into the beginner’s Spanish one (it has a limited number of seats and you had to motivate why they should pick you). Hola, mi nombre es Silja!

Today’s link: http://www.eroakirkosta.fi/ – “Leave the church”, Finnish site for an effortless resignation from church online. Unless you’re actually a believer and/or remotely active within the church, give me one, ONE, 1! good reason why you shouldn’t leave the damn thing.

Top of the mornin’ to ya!

Summer’s Kiss by Silja on deviantART

If you’re more of the music type, then here’s a song by the Finnish band Regina called “Tapaa minut aamulla” (“Meet me in the morning”) for you to listen to.

Another raku ceramics course coming up next spring. I’m so participating. I’d also like to try out new languages, I might enroll in Spanish class at the university, where I for the record have three courses and the candidate’s thesis left to do before I graduate.

Oh, another thing! Imogen Heap is coming to Finland again in November. I so want to go to her concert!

Yes, I’m alive. My inspiration just went for a summer vacation, that’s all.