Jibran has school break for a week starting today. Since Oki and I can't leave work so we cannot take him anywhere out of Jakarta nor anywhere around the city during weekdays (although I think I'll take Wednesday off so I can take him somewhere).
This morning during breakfast, I asked him to write down the list of things he can do whenever he feels bored, in anticipation of him calling me every 15 minutes to ask me what time I'll be home. So he comes up with this list...
I know, his handwriting is very impressive. Hey, maybe he is destined to be a doctor :D. I'm not proud with the fact that the first two list consists of electronic, but it's not everyday he gets to do those things. He added number 9 in the back, that is to play soccer.
Well it's only the first day of school break today and turned out, my sister took him and Jehan to watch Smurf, so he spent most of the afternoon at Pejaten Village.
This morning during breakfast, I asked him to write down the list of things he can do whenever he feels bored, in anticipation of him calling me every 15 minutes to ask me what time I'll be home. So he comes up with this list...
I know, his handwriting is very impressive. Hey, maybe he is destined to be a doctor :D. I'm not proud with the fact that the first two list consists of electronic, but it's not everyday he gets to do those things. He added number 9 in the back, that is to play soccer.
Well it's only the first day of school break today and turned out, my sister took him and Jehan to watch Smurf, so he spent most of the afternoon at Pejaten Village.
"You need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way you select your clothes every day. This is a power you can cultivate. If you want to control things in your life so bad, work on the mind. That's the only thing you should be trying to control".
There are a few list of things that we always do everyday such as eating, breathing, taking a shower and all other everyday routine. In my case, another thing that I effortlessly and subconsciously do every single day is daydreaming and imagining about visiting other countries and new places. Not a day gone by without me vividly picturing the family taking a trip somewhere new. I think this rubs on to Jibran too, as he always talk about going or living in other country like every other day.
The other day, I found a booklet in my sister's car. I guess she went to a travel exhibition with my mom and took home a few flyers. I cannot help but wandering around and wishing I'm on my way to the airport to see...
..the canals in Amsterdam, the historical Brussels, the magnificent of Mt Titles in Switzerland, the ancient Rome and the romantic Florence, breathtaking ocean view of Nice and Monte Carlo, peaceful Provence, quirky Berlin, remote Finland, amazing Prague, architectural Budapest, superlatives Moscow and St Petersburg, Stockholm, Sweden to Copenhagen. Madrid, Portugal and surreal Santorini.
Of course there's more, what about Capetown? and everything in South America, Buenos Aires and Patagonia glaciers, Rio de Janiero. And then there's Egypt, the whole Middle East, Morocco, Montreal Canada, Melbourne, Sydney, Christchurch, Auckland, the great wall, Taj mahal and Jaipur
*sigh*..there's so many I want to see!
The other day, I found a booklet in my sister's car. I guess she went to a travel exhibition with my mom and took home a few flyers. I cannot help but wandering around and wishing I'm on my way to the airport to see...
..the canals in Amsterdam, the historical Brussels, the magnificent of Mt Titles in Switzerland, the ancient Rome and the romantic Florence, breathtaking ocean view of Nice and Monte Carlo, peaceful Provence, quirky Berlin, remote Finland, amazing Prague, architectural Budapest, superlatives Moscow and St Petersburg, Stockholm, Sweden to Copenhagen. Madrid, Portugal and surreal Santorini.
Of course there's more, what about Capetown? and everything in South America, Buenos Aires and Patagonia glaciers, Rio de Janiero. And then there's Egypt, the whole Middle East, Morocco, Montreal Canada, Melbourne, Sydney, Christchurch, Auckland, the great wall, Taj mahal and Jaipur
*sigh*..there's so many I want to see!
Like taking me to Anomali Kemang so I could get my favorite latte even though he hates the parking lot there. And then, in turn, I accompanied him to eat at Ah Mei so he can get a piece of Roti Prata that he claimed the best he ever tasted even though there's no food I like at Ah Mei.
Just like what we did yesterday :)
Just like what we did yesterday :)
I didn't know that a three year old can become a coffee addict!. There has been a few times that you asked me to stop by to a coffee shop on the way to our destination. 'Mommy, nanti sebelum ke rumah temen mommy kita beli kopi dulu yah' :). That's exactly what you said when I asked you to come with me to my friend's baby akekahan. You have even started to ask for your own cup at Starbucks. And I'm trying to hold it for as long as I can to buy you your very own latte :D.
This morning was no exception. Right before breakfast, you specifically asked you wanted a cup of coffee. I usually just share you some of mine but now that I rarely drink coffee in the morning, I didn't make one for myself. And of course, I didn't want to make a cup just for yourself because that would be too much. So I made you a cup of hot Milo instead. And you, being a coffee lover that you are, can tasted that it's not a real coffee. 'Bukan yang rasanya kaya gini, Mommy...'. Then you went to the kitchen, opened up the cabinet and took Bunda's Indocafe Coffeemix and said 'Yang ini lhoo yang Jehan mau'...:o). So I made you half a cup and then we sit at the back porch and eat our breakfast. Such a simple moment that make life worth living :)
*taken on September 13. Written today because I miss her so much since she is on a weekend trip to Bandung with her grandma :')
On the left is a picture of an empty cup of Starbucks Double Shot Ice Shaken Espresso. It's mine. Drank at 7 at night on a Saturday night so I could stay awake until the witching hour to do some power point presentation work, while everyone has comfortably tucked inside their blankets, or laying low catching up with the latest movies on their DVD. Cause the single shot just doesn't do it anymore. Cause the regular work hour on weekdays is not enough anymore to do all the work. Cause I don't have the heart to leave the kids any more than I have left them for the sake of completing all the works.This reminds me of what Shaherose, founder of Women 2.0 said at StartupLokal meet up: "Being an entrepreneur is a lonely journey".
It is indeed can be a long and lonely journey. One that doesn't come with a set destination. One that doesn't come with a manual. One that you just can't share the burdens to everyone. What it takes is perseverance for no one can survive without it.
....and keep your feet on the ground. Try to do this on a day-to-day basis, and in a very normal way. You don't need to be aggressive towards others. The secret is to believe in a dream and follow it - day by day, hour by hour.
Don't forget that the most important thing in life is not be the number one or the biggest, but to do what you like to do. The most important thing is to have a very strong balance in life and in relationships. Don't ever push people to meet your dream. That will destroy your character. This is a society that prefers winners, but whether you're a winner or not, you win in life when you do as you like.- Diego Della Valle, founder & CEO of Tod's Group. Taken from an interview in Prestige magazine.
Don't forget that the most important thing in life is not be the number one or the biggest, but to do what you like to do. The most important thing is to have a very strong balance in life and in relationships. Don't ever push people to meet your dream. That will destroy your character. This is a society that prefers winners, but whether you're a winner or not, you win in life when you do as you like.- Diego Della Valle, founder & CEO of Tod's Group. Taken from an interview in Prestige magazine.
One of my new year resolutions is to get fit, toned and live a healthier lifestyle. Of course I fail. I did the first attempt of trying to be healthier, that was to get my general health check up. Surprisingly I turned out to be healthy...and then after that I forgot all about the plan. In total, I stepped on the treadmill about three times for the last 6 months :(. My weight skyrocketed! I gained about 5 kilos :((. I definitely look chubbier and if I met relatives, they would ask the same thing, "Lagi isi ya Han?". My clothes don't fit me anymore, and I have a lot of clothes but nothing seem to fit just right. I'm tired of spending money and getting new clothes :((. I knew I had to do something but laziness took the best of me :(.This morning, Mommies Daily published an article about Keluarga Nugraha, who are a household name for mommies bloggers as Astri, the mom is always been sort of an inspiration for all mommies. I took a peek to her blog and learned that she is on a mission to have a smaller waist and belly line. I mean, if you look at her, most women would kill to have a body like her yet she is still very determined to have a fat free figure. Despite living with 4 kids in Australia with no help of nanny, running a very busy, one women show catering business, some design projects, a garden to attend and gazillion activities, she still manages to spare 30 minutes every single day to step on the treadmill. It's a hard slap on my face that I always have 'How could I find the time to do it' excuse to justify my laziness. I guess I just didn't want it bad enough :(. If I wanted it that bad, I would find a way.
...what causes people to feed into their ego? Is it that gratifying to always be at the mercy of others' praise and admiration?
Or are they actually insecure that they need those as validation of their self worth?
And Twitter seems to be just the place for people wear their pride on their sleeves, people who would easily succumb into their ego faster than you can say RETWEEET!
Or are they actually insecure that they need those as validation of their self worth?
And Twitter seems to be just the place for people wear their pride on their sleeves, people who would easily succumb into their ego faster than you can say RETWEEET!
Already? That means we're moving into the second half of the year next week? Wheww..where did all those time go? I don't even dare to look up to my 2011 resolution right now, afraid there's too many lists I haven't crossed :(.
'Summer' break is here. The kids are out of school and Jibran is enjoying his soccer camp. Jibran and Jehan are supposed to fly out to Solo on Monday morning...but there could be a slight change and I might go with them for the whole week. I have a few hours to decide.
Btw the layout is new :) and I like this one a lot. Changing the blog template reminds me about my college days where I could just spend the whole day trying to figure out the HTML code.
Workload is getting better, I'm still learning on not spreading myself too thin, because I don't want to experience the level of stress that hit me last month. I ended up eating too much and worried that I would never get everything done. I blamed myself for not being able to be there for the kids and cook healthy food for my husband. I had digestive problem and couldn't even stand a cup of coffee because it made me nauseated and gassy. My stomach tightened every time someone reminded me about work deadlines and I couldn't sleep properly, and I didn't even drink coffee!. I think that was the first time I experience what is called: stress. Of course, I shed a few tears too when it was dark and quiet. The moment where I miss my simple life back in St. Louis :'(
But I'm getting there, trying to sort out my priorities and try to live in the moment. I've touched base with the SLR camera and started taking pictures. I've splurged on an L lense and don't regret it all. It captures the moments I want to hold dear in my heart perfectly.
So what do I look forward to for the next month? Hopefully we can manage a short getaway because we desperately need a vacation. Oki is moving to a new company next month, totally unplanned and unexpected as he has everything going on at KG, but it's an opportunity he can't say no. What I love the most about this new company is the fact that it's located not too far for home and hopefully no more going home at 9 :). So that's why we need to squeeze time for a getaway before he starts his new journey because as a new employee, he needs to wait after six months to claim his leave.
I guess that's it for now. Tomorrow is Jibran end of year performance and we need to be there at 7 AM!!...ZzzzZzzz
'Summer' break is here. The kids are out of school and Jibran is enjoying his soccer camp. Jibran and Jehan are supposed to fly out to Solo on Monday morning...but there could be a slight change and I might go with them for the whole week. I have a few hours to decide.
Btw the layout is new :) and I like this one a lot. Changing the blog template reminds me about my college days where I could just spend the whole day trying to figure out the HTML code.
Workload is getting better, I'm still learning on not spreading myself too thin, because I don't want to experience the level of stress that hit me last month. I ended up eating too much and worried that I would never get everything done. I blamed myself for not being able to be there for the kids and cook healthy food for my husband. I had digestive problem and couldn't even stand a cup of coffee because it made me nauseated and gassy. My stomach tightened every time someone reminded me about work deadlines and I couldn't sleep properly, and I didn't even drink coffee!. I think that was the first time I experience what is called: stress. Of course, I shed a few tears too when it was dark and quiet. The moment where I miss my simple life back in St. Louis :'(
But I'm getting there, trying to sort out my priorities and try to live in the moment. I've touched base with the SLR camera and started taking pictures. I've splurged on an L lense and don't regret it all. It captures the moments I want to hold dear in my heart perfectly.
So what do I look forward to for the next month? Hopefully we can manage a short getaway because we desperately need a vacation. Oki is moving to a new company next month, totally unplanned and unexpected as he has everything going on at KG, but it's an opportunity he can't say no. What I love the most about this new company is the fact that it's located not too far for home and hopefully no more going home at 9 :). So that's why we need to squeeze time for a getaway before he starts his new journey because as a new employee, he needs to wait after six months to claim his leave.
I guess that's it for now. Tomorrow is Jibran end of year performance and we need to be there at 7 AM!!...ZzzzZzzz