"Now I forgive the woman in the mirror more" 

Singer Tarja Turunen has learned to take better care of her strenght. Eventhough life on the tour if hard she's not ready to give it up. 
- In the baby department we're just practising, Tarja laughs. 

When people in Finland are planting bulbs singer Tarja Turunen, 33, is putting out the summer furniture on the deck of her new home in Buenos Aires. In Argentina spring is turning to summer and the housewife has cleaned and painted the furniture. 
Tarja's and her producer husband Marcelo Cabuli's deck isn't for people with the fear for heights. The apartment is on the 19th floor and from the windows you can see tower houses that mount even higher. 
Tarja wants to cherish beauty around her. To her home and hotel rooms she creates mood with aromatic scents ans candles, she burns even in the middle of the day. The family's apartment is decoreded in the Finnish way even including the little sauna. 
- The sauna is small, but two bums fits well on the bench. 
Eventhough Tarja's third album What Lies Beneath has just come out the mrs already types the flygel in the living room for ideas for new songs. Days at home and the light of spring feed the creativity. Though it's years for the next album's release the themes for it have to be developed before the soon starting world tour. 
Being at home is a rare treat for the busy artist. Even now during her minibreak she did interviews for all over the world and went to perform in Šots for the Russian prime minister Vladímír Putin. 
Because of the constant traveling Tarja's and Marcelo's home in Kuusankoski is on sale. There's no point in having the house empty: during the last two and a half years Tarja managed to spent almost three months in Finland. 
- I miss my family from Finland but luckily there's Skype and everything else to keep in contact. My life's a constant travel but I enjoy it hugely. Eventhough our home is now in Buenos Aires I don't know where we'll end up. That we can decide when our dream of a child one day comes true. At the moment we're just practising, Tarja laughs. 

WATER 

"My day begins and ends with water. As a singer I need moist and moisturizing on the skin and on the inside. From my doctor's advice I drink three liters of water everyday. I'm used to carrying around a water bottle all the time and drincking it during the day. 
When I was a child I was afraid of natural waters. The sea felt pressing and was afraid of getting abonded in the middle of it. Even now when I swim or dive in the sea I realize how small we people are. On the other hand it's a good metaphor for life. 
I'm not afraid of the waters anymore. We got into diving with my husband four years ago. We had talked about starting the hobby for a long time and while in Thailand for a holiday we did a course. That was it after that. 
We've dived a little everywhere, only the waters in Polynesia and Australia we haven't experienced. So far the best experiences are from Egypt. On a diving safari there we stayed in the water from six am to nine pm. 
Diving is increadbly relaxing. I've found a centre of peace under the surface where I can just focus on breathing and looking at bright colours. I've learned to recognize the fish and organisms and often thought God had a busy day creating them. I've dived in the middle of a swarm of sharks and not been at all afraid. For a romantic like me diving is like a trip to a fantasy world and a very romantic experience. 
I'm not very competative and don't want to compare diving experiences or equipment. We own minimalistic properties: suits and basic equipment. Diving for me is enjoying and the feeling not measuring the diving metres. 
I get easily sick on uneven ground and the same goes for diving. I have to take a nauseapill wether I'm jumping on a helicopter or under water. One time a forgot and everytime I came to the surface I started to throw up. The nausea eased when the diving teacher put a tank on my back and pushed me under water. While diving I thought what if I throw up in the regulator?" 

BREATHING 

"My body is extremely sensitive to changes. Since a singer's whole body is her tool changes affect the job as well. I travel a lot, my hours are everything but regular and the action part of the job has to be done 100 percent. It all affects the singing. 
Breathing is often seen as too a commonplace thing and it's felt to be self-evident but with the right breathing you can cure a lot of things. If I have a touch of flu or tensions in my body, I get help from breathing exercises. With exercises I relax the mucles I can't work out on the gym. In fact pumping big muscles smothers the inner muscles, that's why I don't lift a lot of weights at the gym. 
My breathing counsellor has become my guru. Where ever in the world I fly to him/her (can't tell from the Finnish version) when my body feels bad. After the treatment follows an amazing feeling. It's like having an airbag around your body. Sometimes my torso swells up and I look like seven months pregnant." 

BEAUTY TRICKS 

"I'm now 33 and have started to take better care of my strenght and well-being. I believe I'd take care of my appearance even if I wasn't in a performing profession. I always look in the mirror critically, but with age I've learned to forgive it more. 
My mother was a very beautiful woman. I think her innner beauty could be seen on the outside. I got good skin, cheek bones and a desire to clean from her. She never wanted to go out without mascara or lipstick. I can go without make-up but not without my serum. I found years ago a moisturizing and invigorating lotion without my day doesn't start. My mourning routines are washing my face, brushing my teeth and tapping on the serum. It gives a nice, womenly feeling. My other magic trick is echinacea, it keeps colds away. I learned the habit from my mother and keep them always in my purse. 
Sometimes I wish I'd gotten also my mother's legs but no. I have awful Maradonna legs - that's why I'm never seen in a mini skirt. My mother often said you have to suffer for beauty. But I'm not ready to suffer so much as to walk around in a mini skirt. 
One of the most terrible moments in my career was performing for princess Victoria (of Sweden). Not the princess but having to perform on tv in a knee lenght red dress. What a nightmare! My fans tried to cheer me up by sending messages: 'Great legs'. 
We go on tour soon. Touring is tough and we spend about two years on the road. Luckily Marelo does the schedules so that we all have time to rest. Before the tour I exercise a lot, get in a better shape and on off days from touring I run, cycle or swim. Our home in Argentina has a gym on the ground floor where I can take an elevator from our front door." 

HI-Fi ENTHUSIASM 

"I bought my current iPhone as soon as the first model had come on the market. I had seen one on a musician friend of mine and got excited right away. The phone has a lot of little things that make life easier: a metronome and piano, with which I've done singing excercises and opened my voice in many backrooms for festivals. I've recorded many ideas for songs and even composed a c-part for one song. 
Without the phone I would have been lost many times. I'm a hi-fi enthusiast otherwise too but Marcelo is worse. He listenes to music loudly so equipment has to be top class. Making the new album techic became even more familiar since we managed the producing all on our own. 
The e-mail on the phone I use very seldom but Skype many times a day. With that I manage the contacts with my family and friends and most of my business calls. With videoskype I can follow my brothers' kids grow. My older brother has two children and now my younger has family too. Beat me to it. But I'm not in a rush. I don't feel like giving up my career and staying home just yet." 

The choices of feeling good 
a good place: home 
a good memory: vacation 
a good age: now 
a good state of mind: after a glass of red wine 
a good food: stake 
a good person: a friend