A Corner Makeover

This was one of the corners in my bedroom, there was only a small rattan hmm..what do you call it? bench? ottoman? storage? Well you get the idea. I first bought it to store Jibran & Jehan toys in the play area but since they have gotten new boxes, I then use it to put towels and linens and place it in my bedroom :D. But since we're running out of space..we need to replace this with a bigger one.


And this is what we found last weekend in Index Artha Gading, for 50% off...:D. Not bad at all for Rp 800,000. The color goes well with our bedroom furniture. But I didn't realize in the store that the stuff inside was going to be that visible :D. It'd look nice if the inside is neat and consists of the same color, maybe I'm going to cover it with black paper or something. But for now, I like it much better than the previous one, which looked really lonely :D. And finally I put up our wedding picture. First time we put it up after 8 years or marriage..hehehe. There's also a small basket for remote and stuff as well as oil burners.

The Aglio Olio

I have decided to start on a 7 Days Challenge where I give my self a different challenge every week..Duh gaya yeuuh kaya bisa konsisten aja :D. Udah beberapa tahun terakhir di dunia perinternetan banyak yang bikin semacam ini, ada yang untuk 30 hari sampe setahun. Baru-baru ini di Twitter juga ada #Misi21 yang digerakkan oleh career coach Rene Suhardono. Dan gue tertohok ngikutin #Misi21nya Ligwina Hananto yang ingin menyempatkan diri masak untuk keluarganya selama 21 hari. Memang kedengerannya simple yaa, tapi when you have a schedule like her, it's amazing she manages to spare time to step foot in the kitchen. Kadang sampe rumah jam 11 malem dan jam 6 udah harus pergi lagi! Nah jadi malu kan gue yang ja 7-8 udah sampe rumah dan pergi jam 9. Makanya..7 days challenge ini dimulai dengan memasak dulu deh, biar in line dengan resolusi taun baru :D.

Untuk pertama, pilih yang gampang lah yaw (padahal sih seterusnya juga udah pasti yang gampang-gampang..). Pulang kantor mampir dulu ke toko buah, beli spaghetti, cabe dan tuna. Iyaa maap tunanya pake tuna kaleng, next time beli yang fresh deh :p. Sampe rumah langsung minta tolong si mbak untuk iris-iris bawang putih (tuh udah ada yang bantuin padahal kalo emang niat sih). Walaupun suasana dapur nggak senyaman dapur di rumah dulu dengan alat-alat yang nggak familiar tapi kebayar lah sama bantuan yang ada, nggak perlu beres-beres pula setelahnya. Ditambah ditemenin si neng juga niihh..(sambil gadoin ikan asin!!)

Penampakannya sih standard ya...rasanyaa...ya standard juga..hahahaha..yang penting Jehan nambah 2 kali. Jibran cuma beberapa suap karena udah makan sebelumnya, buat bawa sekolah aja besok katanya dan bapake pun doyan!. Siplahh..jadi besok masak apa kita....

Berkibarlah Benderaku

Lagi nungguin Ira & Darina dimakeover di Shunji Matsuo..jadi iseng-iseng upload videonya Jehan lagi nyanyi waktu bulan Oktober kemaren :D

Another Milestone :)

I got a phone call from TVone on Tuesday evening, asking me to appear on its Coffee Break program the next morning where they will talk about social media and online business. I asked a few questions first before I said yes. Of course, I was excited :D but I just didn't think much after the phone calls because I had a lot to do.

The next morning, when I arrived at Epicentrum Walk, saw the set and received quite a few BBM, Twitter mention and phone calls from family congratulating me, wishing me luck and telling me how proud they are of me, that's when it finally hit me that..wow this is something big. I will be appearing live on a major national TV for something I've been pouring my heart out for the last few years. My eyes began to feel moist..but then the make up artist distracted me :D

So there...I did it :D. Thanks to my sister who captured it for me so at least I have an idea on how it looks from the other side :).

As usual, every time something extraordinary happens I always wish my dad was here. I hope they set you up with a plasma TV up there, Dad..and I sure hope you're proud of me!

On not being blinded by the big names

This post is written due to the recent antic made by one of our ministers :D. Oki was actually one of the candidates to be on that team. That being the company that's been terrorized by our minister. I think he's had three phone interviews with the people from the regional headquarter and landed a face to face interview with the country manager for Indonesia. Everything looked good, they always said that things were positive but the thing was, hubby couldn't wait any longer because he had an offer that he had to answer. It was a week full of contemplation because ... well it was a tough choice. Both positions obviously have their own plus sides and down sides. But being a graduate of a business school whose dream is to climb up the corporate MNC ladder, you can't just dismiss a chance to work in such company. Especially when the position has country manager title in front of it and you will be supervised by a high caliber individual who has a long list of awe-inspiring experiences.

But anyway, as we grew older (and wiser :D), we realized that it's not just about the big name, the fancy title and the prestige anymore. There were many things that we put into consideration that made him emailed that company and drew himself out of the candidacy. Now fast forward to two months later, there's a possibility that that company operation will be suspended over some stupid regulations. We couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

So far, we seemed to make the right decision, including by crossing Singapore off the list (this is about another company that he had wrapped all of the hiring process). Working with the world most admired company doesn't seem that appealing when you can't bring your whole life there. We were both excited for the first few interviews but the excitement wore down towards the end. It's just not worth it. Now I'm happy that he is happy in his current company (still big, albeit local company). And the fact that we're in the same industry gives it an added bonus. We can update, help and learn from each other :).

So how did the resolution go?

I know it's only been a week, but I'm planning to evaluate all of them, at least once a month because what's the purpose of having goals if we don't keep them on track, right?

On living a healthier life!
I brought Oki lunch for three times, that's not bad at all although I have to admit that the meal wasn't prepared by me. Two were from his mom while one was especially prepared by Mbak Nur :D. We went grocery shopping today and bought some veggies and fruits for making yummy and healthy smoothies. I haven't prepared the weekly meal, but I did cook today for the family. It was Mac & Cheese for them and sardines with cutup chillies and shallots for me. I even made a homemade spring roll and rolled more than 50 of them. Oki & Jehan love it and I couldn't be happier :D. For dinner, Oki made us spaghetti bolognaise and I made the garlic bread. I think we should do this more often :).

On spending more and save less
Hmm..I've brought home 3 Zara pants (they were on sale and I have no pants aside from jeans), a Tod's bag (again, on sale too and something I'm gonna treasure forever). A pair of Seychelles shoes from Rococo Rack (yes, another sale haul and I swear I need low heeled shoes for everyday wear). I think that's it...it's not too bad if you don't take the Tod's bag into consideration. But hey, I only buy bag every four months or so and this wasn't an impulse..so I think I'm doing Ok..I just need to cut down on my Starbucks visit :D.

Oh and I did hit the treadmill yesterday and ran for 20 minutes. That's like the longest I have ever been on a treadmill :D. I played around with the speed by changing it to high speed for two minutes and then slowed it down for two minutes and then back on a sprint. It suits me more than the regular/steady speed.

On spending more time with the family
Today was quite an accomplishment that we were able to stay at home for the whole day and cooked for everyone :D. I'm going to spend the first half of Tuesday with my mom going to Connex to look up some schools for Ibnu. I had lunch with my friends (in Central Park, no less :D) and went to Startuplocal and dinner with Ella. Need to visit my grandma and arrange something for Jibran's birthday so the whole family can gather together. I'm helping my uncle who lives in Florida by writing him a hardship letter. I also had a quick meeting with my sister and my aunt to talk about the project they are planning. I've been waking up earlier too and I set up an Adzan apps on my phone so I can always be reminded to do the five times everywhere I go.

On exploring new hobby
Sadly I haven't taken pictures at all. I'm planning to get a Lensbaby though to have some fun with the camera. And I'm writing now :)

Overall, it's not too shabby for the first nine days...

There it is...My New Year Resolution

I bet new year resolution is the most popular topic in blogging world these past few days as 2011 has just arrived. I don't think I made one last year, although I did have some kind of plans sporadically. I've been thinking about my plan and what I want to achieve this year and thought it'll be good to list them down (it's the first step toward making it happens, right?) even though now that I'm making a mental note..it seems that all my plans is pretty generic, like to lead a healthier life, to spend more times with the family, to spend less and save more. Standard banget deh seperti sejuta orang lainnya.

Ya memang sih semua orang pasti cita-citanya kurang lebih sama, pengen hidupnya lebih berkwalitas. Hanya aja cara untuk mencapainya berbeda untuk setiap orang, tergantung kemampuan, keingingan dan kapasitasnya. Jadi daripada menulis rencana-rencana besar, kayanya saya juga harus menuliskan langkah apa aja yang akan dijalankan untuk mencapai rencana besar itu. Kalo perlu sekalian tentukan deadlinenya juga. Afterall, it's not just a dream, right? It's a goal. A goal is a dream with a deadline. Jadi bukan hanya angan-angan kosong aja.

1. Hidup lebih sehat!
Nah tuh kan standard..hehe. Ini berlaku bukan untuk gue aja tapi juga sekeluarga. Pokoknya mesti melakukan hal-hal di bawah ini:
- Cek kesehatan lengkap sama oki juga (kolesterol, jantung, dll) di laboratorium Pramita dekat rumah: Januari
- Pap smear!. Padahal dekat rumah ada Rumah Sakit Asri. Bagus, dokter-dokternya oke dan nggak pake ngantri parah. Januari harus ya!! Di push sampe minggu ke empat juga nggak pa-pa kok.
- Imunisasi. Jelas bukan buat gue...tapi buat Jehan sama Jibran. I think I kinda lost track on their recent immunizations. Mesti ke Markas Sehat bulan Januari minggu kedua.
- Harus lebih rajin lagi siapin lunch box buat Oki. Tiga kali seminggu lah. Jangan lupa juicenya juga ya.
- Bikin menu khusus untuk anak-anak dan buat Oki juga sekalian. Jadi setiap weekend udah tau minggu ke depannya mau bikin apa aja, sekalian disiapin juga bahan-bahannya. Termasuk juga menu breakfastnya Jibran. Jangan turutin roti + Nutella aja setiap hari.
- Treadmill!! ya ampun beli treadmill itu kapan ya, taun lalu kayanya? dan saya udah pake berapa kali ya? Five times at the most :(. Haruuss dimulai minggu ini, seminggu dua kali!
- Kurangin makan nasi, apalagi kalo malem. Kurangin gorengan (susah!). Tadi pagi aja udah disediain pisang goreng, trus siang ada tempe goreng tepung dan malemnya ada tahu goreng tepung!. Tapi udah mendingan sih konsumsi gorengannya dibanding waktu masih berkantor di Bangka Raya.
- Udah itu aja kayanya. Gosh, that's a lot and that's only for the health section!!

2. Spend more save less!
Ehh kebalik ya? :p. I was good at curbing my spending for quite a while and but then everything went downhill came November and December. I started a #livewithless project when I came back from vacation. Throw a lot of my makeup stash and clothes and shoes. Now I only have a small box of makeup, three blushes instead of thirteen blushes. The only makeup I bought since July was a Lancome eye kohl. I didn't buy any clothes for almost two months but then I started to loosen up a little bit and still gave myself a restriction such as: buy only local brands, buy used, etc. But towards the end of November and December was the worst, I shopped and spent quite a lot :(. So, what's the plan?
- Finish of the remaining of family financial plan. First week of January
- Recalculate the monthly budget and give myself an exact amount for shopping allowance
- Set up an automatic credit/debit for cable, Internet, etc.
- Get a life insurance for Oki.
- The first fashion item I bought in 2011 has got to be special. I have to ask myself 'Will I like it by next year? The next two year? Can it be passed on to Jehan?'. Chances are, I will bump into many mediocre items. That way I can wait and save until I can get the one I truly desire.

3. Spend more time with the family!
- I think I need to take a day off every two weeks so I can do anything I have to do on personal level (going to the bank, pampering, grocery shopping, visit grandmas & relatives, lunch with mom and sister, bake something with Jehan, pick up Jibran at school, lunch with bestfriends, clean up the house, anything!). It's for anything that I seem to never have time to do and don't want to sacrifice weekend. I hope it's not too much to ask if I start this day off this month.
- Quality time with husband :D. When was the last time we went to watch movie together? Right, it was for Slumdog Millionaire. We need to allocate at least once a month to go see movie or have dinner together. January 5 is a perfect date to pick, but it falls on Wednesday, I'm afraid it's not doable :(. Maybe this weekend?
- Wake up at 5 (and not just for Subuh and back on the bed afterward). I need to start and take care of myself early so then I have more times to prep for my three babies and avoid the morning rush we always seem to have in the house. January 5
- Project time with the kids. Maybe doing a craft together? Cook or bake? Or I can take Jibran to Starbucks and accompanying him study there and then we can chit-chat for a little bit. It's anything that we start together and then accomplish it as a team. I'm still thinking about the kind of projects we can do together.
- Get moving. Like swimming together? Riding a bike in BSD? (Pe ernya mesti beli sepeda dulu sih bapak ibunya). Hmm..what else?
- Take time to visit families, relatives, friends. I haven't visited one of my best friends to see her daughter (and she is one year old now), I haven't visited my cousins new house even though they have been coming over my house a few times. It seems like I've always too busy for those things and too occupied to be thoughtful. I hated this :(

4. Explore new hobbies.
- I picked up sewing as my new hobby a few months back. I liked it a lot and planned to do and learned more but as expected, I didn't have the time, so I haven't touched the sewing machine again for the last two months. Not sure if I'm able to resume it this month. But hopefully, come February I can sew something for the kids or for myself.
- Take pictures! I'm always a happy snapper and one of my long term goals is actually to learn photography and get that full frame camera. For now, I have to try to maximize my Lumix, iPhone and sometimes the 500D. I'll try to take at least one picture a day starting January 2. And finish reorganizing all of my pictures since 2003 and upload them to Flickr. Can I get it done at the end of February?
- Dance class? Maybe starting in July
- What about the public speaking class? The time has never seem right and I'm still on and off about it. But it's a skill I need to develop. Plus I kind of miss being a classroom student again :). We'll see what happen in March/April
- My sister has been asking me to make a small business along with my aunties. It's something that I can't say No because one of the reasons why I'm here is to help out my families in anyway I can. And the good thing is, it's something that I have huge interest. So yea maybe we'll start something and can talk about it seriously in the beginning of February, after I can set up the online version of Closet Quickies in January
- Write more!

My goodness, that's a lot and I'm not even done writing it down *inhale & exhale*...but I am overwhelmed already..so I will leave it at that for now. Will report back in a month on the progress of my so called new year resolution

Happy new year everyone...wishing you a blessed year ahead :).