Iya tau kok, udah lewat dua bulan anniversary-nya, cumaabis liat blog ibu-ibu lainnya yang ngebahas married life-nya setiap anniversary, rasanya sayang kalo nggak ikutan bahas di blog pribadi. So, here you go. 

Sunday Meet Up

Hari Minggu versi sebelum menikah, ibadah pagi di gereja, habis itu makan siang bareng keluarga, jalan-jalan sekalian groceries shopping, pulang ke rumah bobo siang sampe sore menjelang makan malam.

Hari Minggu versi setelah menikah... sama ajah. :P

Seperti biasa hari Minggu kemarin, abis ibadah pagi kami lanjut brunch, tapi kali ini kami nggak brunch sendiri. Beberapa hari sebelumnya, Ci Dinda yang lagi dateng dari Surabaya, janjian mau ketemuan hari Minggu di Jakarta. Masih inget Ci Dinda dan suaminya yang super fun itu aka Ko Steve? Monggo tengok postingan ini dulu kalo lupa :D

Quick story about our friendship. Sebenarnya yang kenal Ci Dinda duluan itu Andreas, waktu jaman sebelum aku ke Guang Zhou, Ci Dinda ini ngambil kelas bahasa selama setahun (kalo nggak salah) di kampusnya Andreas. Pas mulai pacaran dengan Andreas, he mentioned a lot some of his Surabaya gengs, salah satunya yang paling dekat itu si Ci Dinda ini. Tahun 2010, akhirnya aku ketemuan pertama kali sama yang si cici Suroboyo ini. Aku agak lupa, sih, pertemuan pertama kami kayak apa, yang jelas setelah itu kami nyambung dan sering ketemuan sama Ci Dinda beberapa kali waktu dia business trip ke Guang Zhou.

Setelah setahun nggak ketemu dan jalan bareng (terakhir ketemu pas di meritan kami), akhirnya kemarin bisa ketemuan lagi. Kebetulan adiknya Ci Dinda tunangan di Jakarta, hari Minggu sebelum mereka pulang ke Surabaya, kami meet up, deh.

Mereka nginap beberapa malam di Harris Kelapa Gading, tadinya mau ngajakin mereka makan di Bornga, karena udah cek di Surabaya belom ada. Ehhh, Bornga baru buka pas jam makan siang, sementara aku dan Andreas udah lumayan lapar. Karena Ci Dinda emang udah rencana ke GI (Grand Indonesia) karena janjian bareng keluarganya nanti sebelum ke bandara, yauda deh kami langsung cus ke sana aja.

Oh ya, sebelum ke GI, kami nyempetin ke Dakasi yang ada di jalan boulevard dulu dong. Dakasi itu minuman wajib Ci Dinda kalo lagi ke Guang Zhou, aku pun sama, soalnya enak, sih!

Sampai di sini pembaca mulai bertanya-tanya, kok nggak ada fotonya, ya? Ini bentar lagi mau di-post, kok, foto-fotonnya hahaha.

Sampai di GI, kami tetep milih Korean as our lunch, so Han Gang it is! 

Two big guys and one little guy 

 The ladies

Mohon maaf para pemirsa sekalian, postingan hari ini nggak ada foto makanannya, nih. Kayaknya during lunch, kita fokus banget sama obrolannya. Karena lama nggak ketemu, yang diomongin banyak banget. Mulai dari cerita personal, cerita tentang orang lain (lol), kerjaan, de el el. Senengnya masih sama, nih, tiap ngobrol sama mereka. Mereka figur kakak banget buat kami berdua, sih. 

Selesai makan, kami dapet kabar kalo ada temen lain yang mau nyusul, yang tak lain tak bukan, Etin!

Eh, rasanya aku belum pernah mention si Etin ini, deh. Dia ini temen baik dari Guang Zhou juga. Bisa kenal Ci Dinda, karena beberapa waktu lalu dia ke Surabaya dan ikut komsel di rumahnya Ci Dinda, so that's how they met. And yes, I knew some good friends from Guang Zhou.

Sambil nunggu Etin, kami menuju lokasi berikutnya yang memang sudah direncanakan Ci Dinda jauh-jauh hari, yaitu Olivier. Kenapa Olivier? Pasti pada tau lah yah kenapa. Lucu banget, sih, sekarang tiap kali kita sebut nama kopisiyop ini, pasti langsung inget "kawan lama" yang namanya sudah tak asing lagi bagi kita semua sejak Februari awal tahun ini hihi. 

Aku sendiri, sih, nggak pernah ke Olivier, ke GI aja jarang banget. Sekalian nyoba juga, deh. 

Pas masuk ke dalam, ternyata waiting list, kira-kira harus nunggu sejam. Ehhh, baru keluar ruangan beberapa detik, langsung ditelpon udah ada tempat. Tapi Ci Dinda dan Ko Steve duluan yang masuk, sementara aku harus ganti popoknya Josh dan nyusuin dia, soalnya dese laper banget. 

Tempatnya, sih, sebenarnya cukup enak. Cuma karena siang itu ruameee banget jadi agak-agak berisik. Karena setahun ini Olivier sering disebut dan disorot melalui rekaman CCTV mereka (you know what I mean), aku jadi ngerasa hawa-hawanya Olivier ini gimana gituuuh. 

 Ini lhoo yang namanya Etin. Dia salah satu fansnya Josh hahaha. Terakhir ketemu pas Josh umur sebulanan lebih. Kemarin ketemu kaget banget Josh udah besar sekali :D

Karena udah kenyang, jadi kami pesan minum aja, kecuali Etin yang belom makan siang. Aku sendiri bingung tadinya mau pesan apa, soalnya... *ini ngomongnya bisik-bisik* harganya kok pricey sekali. Aku sendiri nggak pengen ngopi, karena pagi udah. Akhirnya pesan Thai Tea aja, deh. Penampakannya ada di foto atas. Rasanya cukup enak.

Pesanannya Ci Dinda, tau dong apa? *fotonya nyolong dari Instagramnya yang bersangkutan*

Nggak berapa lama kemudian, keluarganya Ci Dinda udah pada dateng, jadi kami harus mengakhiri bincang-bincang siang kita. 

Makasih banget buat Ci Dinda dan Ko Steve! Mudah-mudahan taun depan bisa liburan ke Surabaya, nunggu si krucil udah bisa ikutan makan, deh!

 Till we meet again!

Bonus foto terakhir: jadi begini, Josh ini kalo diajakin foto bareng hampir nggak mau liat kamera, senyumnya mahal. TAPIII, kalo dianya foto sendiri alias selfie, senyumnya langsung jadi murah meriahhh. Mudah-mudahan gedenya kamu nggak narsis banget yah, Josh. Kalo nggak mama yang repot!

Difotoin auntie Etin. Liat, kan, bedanya foto bareng dan foto sendirian?

5 Little Unforgettable Things When In Guang Zhou

 Guang Zhou Tower, 2013

Belakangan ini aku sadar, kalo jarang banget ngebahas atau cerita-cerita soal pengalaman hidup waktu kuliah di Guang Zhou 7 tahun yang lalu. Mungkin karena masalah banyak situs yang di-banned oleh pemerintah dan susahnya dapet free proxy untuk mengakses situs-situs tersebut, termasuk blogger (dot) com.

Sebelum basi banget (yah udah basi sebenernya), hari ini, aku mau share lima momen yang belum pernah aku ceritain di sini. Sebelumnya aku mau kasih tau beberapa hal dulu, nih:

1. Foto-foto di bawah ini mungkin agak low quality, cuma modal hape jadul yang pada masanya udah keren banget.

2. I might looked kinda slimmer in these photos, namun beberapa tahun kemudian sukses melar—dan bertahan sampai hari ini—karena Guang Zhou itu surga kuliner. Chinese food rocks!

20 Facts About Me (updated)

Hello!

So, today I decided to update my 20 facts about me. Here we go!

1. I'm a wife, a mom of a son, and currently living in Bogor.

 Mi familia

Gimana Jadi Orang Bogor?

Review setahun tinggal di Bogor, ahhh.

(emangnya pilem, di-review?)

Jadi abis nikah tahun lalu, aku langsung ngikut suami tinggal di Bogor. Kayaknya waktu itu nggak ada proper farewell yang gimana banget sama rumah dan keluarga di Bali. Padahal, sih, lumayan emosional, karena harus beradaptasi lagi di tempat baru, dan tentunya status baru.

Monday Favorites #6: Whats Up Moms (Youtube Channel)

I'm back with Monday Favorites! 

Udah lama banget nggak nulis topik ini. Blog feature ini tadinya berjudul Monday Favorite Links, penjelasan kontennya kurang lebih seperti ini: Monday Favorite is a blog feature where I share inspiring, awesome, lovely stuff from the internet world. 

Aku sengaja hilangin links-nya, karena aku pengen share satu hal secara keseluruhan. Jadi biar bisa lebih detil gitu, lho. 

Hari ini mau share sesuatu yang belakangan ini jadi tontonan favorit aku banget. It's a number #1 parenting channel on Youtube, Whats Up Moms.

25 October

So I'm officially 25, started yesterday. Yeaaay! Happy birthday to me! 

And beside of my birthday, we actually celebrated our first wedding anniversary too. Yes, from now on we will celebrate two occasions every year. 25 October will never be the same :D

Hubby surprised me with a tiramisu cake and 25 roses bouquet at midnight, right after I nursed Josh. I was asked what I wanted for my birthday. I only wanted a cake, because I really wanted to eat birthday cake. Is it only me or birthday cake always tastes so good? 

 Don't bother how the cake looks like. Aku comot pas tengah malam karena ngiler.

I thought a staycation before for celebrating the 25 Oct, but maybe it's not a really good idea since Josh is still so young (maybe next year!). So we went for simple dinner at Spatula and luckily the place was not full—since it's weekday—so we didn't bother to bring Josh's stroller. He was sleeping while we're enjoying our dinner. 

Their Thai Iced Tea surprisingly tastes so good. Must try!

Yeah, Josh didn't seem so impressed to take selfie, hahaha.

Dear us, 

So a year has passed, we made it! I know our life will be more exciting than ever, specially since a little cookie added to our little family. I feel thankful for our marriage, because I get chance every day to learn, to grow up, and to love. It's only one year for our marriage, but it's kinda surprised me that we have been known each other for 6 years already. And it feels funny because when we first started our relationship, you totally a stranger to me. But now, I stepped into "I miss you" phase almost every day, when you go for work. Sometimes I feel we are more best friend than husband and wife, but that's okay because we're best friend for lifetime, right? Thank you for always supporting me and thank you for being a "home" for me and Josh. Let's take our marriage and to the next level and let God always be our leader. Can't wait for experiencing another adventures with you. Cheers for us! 

And dear 25 myself, 

Now you are a wife for a year and a mom for two months. Usually in every birthday, I have longgg wishes and they sound like "I want to travel more", "I want start a new business", "I want to finish my book", and blah blah. Well I still want those things, but as for now, I thank God for everything I have today, this minute, this second. I thank God for my marriage, my baby, and my little family. I can solemnly say that I feel content. I'm satisfied and happy. I hope I will be better and better this year and of course enjoy life more with new blessings. Jia you, Jane!

Say A Little Prayer

Postingan hari ini bukan bahas soal my Josh. It's about another Josh, anak dari seorang cici gereja di Jakarta dulu, sebut saja Ci Rin. We both and our family are pretty close anyway. Ci Rin ini udah kenal aku dari bocah sampe akhirnya punya bayi.

Sebenarnya udah lama banget kami nggak kontekan. Paling mentok komen-komen di sosmed. Kami ngobrol lagi sejak aku bertanya sesuatu (you know, ci :P), dan terus sampai aku lahiran. I've learned lots of things about baby and motherhood from her. Dan pas masa-masa baby blues (which was I didn't realize at first!), ci Rin lah yang banyak encourage aku juga. 

Beberapa minggu yang lalu, Mama ngabarin via WA, titip doa buat big Josh yang lagi sakit. Katanya pulang dari Bogor (abis jenguk baby Josh), Ci Rin noticed mata Josh agak bengkak. Sampe di sini aku kaget lah, kirain pulang dari Bogor bawa penyakit, kan. Eh ternyata, Josh emang sakit ): 

Cerita lengkap soal Josh, bisa dibaca langsung di blog pribadi Josh (written in English by his Mom, by the way. Tapi tenang aja, bahasanya simpel dan enak dibaca). Intinya, Josh didiagnosa Nephrotic Syndrome.

Nephrotic Syndrome adalah gangguan ginjal yang menyebabkan tubuh manusia kehilangan terlalu banyak protein di dalam urin. Biasanya terdeteksi pertama kali pada anak-anak usia 14 bulan-5 tahun. Buat yang pengen tau lebih detil, silakan gugeling langsung ya. I'm not good on explaining medical things. 

Josh ini anaknya super sweet, super adorable. Pertama kali ketemu, ya waktu mereka sekeluarga datang ke Bogor untuk jenguk baby Josh. Selama ini cuma gemes lewat foto-foto yang di-share Mamanya di Instagram. Ternyata aslinya beneran lucu, and he's so cheerful. Akunya gemes banget, dong, pas dia liat baby Josh and said, "Hai dede Josh...". Emesssh! 

Makanya pas tau Josh sakit, I was brokenhearted. Kok bisa, sih, penyakit 'berat' kayak gitu bisa kena anak selucu Josh? Dan yang bikin sedih, Josh is just a little boy, he doesn't have any idea that he's sick ):

Waktu aku baca blog yang ditulis Ci Rin, aku nangis. Emang, sih, aku nggak bisa ngerasain langsung apa yang Ci Rin rasain waktu Josh di rumah sakit itu. But now I am a mom, rasanya emang pedih kalo liat anak sakit. All you want to do is take all those pains away. 

Aku sendiri nggak pernah dengar sindrom nefrotik ini. To be really honest, aku dulu sama sekali apatis dengan jenis-jenis penyakit, khususnya yang menyerang wanita dan anak-anak. Apalagi jenis penyakit yang aneh dengan gejala yang aneh juga. Buat aku, kalau penyakit itu cuma menyerang 1 dari 9 orang, aku nggak akan terlalu kuatir kalo penyakit yang sama bakal (amit-amit) terjangkit sama keluarga dekat maupun diri sendiri. 

Lain cerita sejak punya anak. Pas Ci Rin cerita soal sindrom ini, tiba-tiba aku nggak lagi apatis. Aku langsung browsing tentang sindrom ini, dan coba belajar tentang gejala-gejalanya. Masih nggak begitu paham, sih. Emang bodor kalau soal penjelasan medis. Tapi setidaknya, aku jadi lebih aware dan lebih peduli sama kesehatan anak ke depannya.

Jadi buat kalian yang kebetulan atau sengaja baca postingan ini, it would be greatly appreciated if you guys send a little prayer to big Josh. Doa kalian nggak cuma untuk kesembuhan Josh, tapi juga menjadi support dan encourage untuk papa mama nya. 

And for those who wants to share related experiences or any information, you can drop an email to Josh's Mom here. 

Ciayo, Big Josh! Dede Josh can't wait to meet you again and maybe soon we can have a play date!

5 Lessons Before Hitting 25

I don't have 25 lessons before 25 list. Aku cuma punya 5 pelajaran hidup yang penting selama setahun belakangan ini. 

Cusss, apa aja itu?

Joshua Is Officially One Month

Ternyata kalau udah punya anak, dikit-dikit yang ingin dibahas cuma tentang anak sendiri ya HAHAHA

Jadiii... Josh udah genap umur sebulan di bulan kemarin. YAY! 

5 Important Things (and how much of your time do you give to each of them)

Photo from @swismiss

Ada "tugas" menarik dari Mbak Laila, salah satunya yang mau aku kerjain di sini.

Birth Story: Arrival of Joshua

H-2

Ini hari keempat aku 'cuti' nggak ngikut ke toko bareng suami. Due date sih masih jauhhh, sekitar tanggal 5 September, tapi aku dan suami pede banget debay bakal lahir di minggu ini atau bulan Agustus akhir. Suami pun minta aku rest aja di rumah biar nggak terlalu capek untuk persiapan lahiran.

Our Baby's Arrival

Hi beautiful people!

My name is Joshua, you can simply call me Josh. I was born through an emergency caesarian. Both mama and I (and papa too!) are getting to know each others day by day. I'm currently 11 days old and I drink much!

Since I'm the new member of my family, I guess I will make some appearances on mom's blog too. Nice to know you all, let's have a great time together!

xoxo,

Josh, Papa, Mama

Tick Tock Tick Tock

One thing I (already) knew about my son, that he is a smart boy. 

Last Saturday, it was my first time to attend pregnancy exercises class. A lil bit too late, but better than never.

Pregnancy Journey: 36 Weeks Update (almost there!)

So, we are officially hitting the very 36 weeks milestone, which means our cookie is almost done baking, everyone! Let's recap what has been going on with the belly (and of course the mommy) until this week.  

Eat in Bali: Sakanaya Fish Market by Ryoshi | Sushi Hana Bali

Postingan hari ini sengaja dijadiin satu, karena fotonya sedikit dan udah nongkrong di draft agak lama, sih. Baru sempat (baca: baru ada mood) nulisnya. Semoga berguna buat yang pengen makan Jepang di Bali, ya!

Sakanaya Fish Market by Ryoshi 

Beberapa bulan yang lalu, pas terakhir pulang ke Bali, kami nyobain salah satu restoran Jepang bertema fish market. 

Sebenarnya nggak "pasar" banget, sih. Malah bukan pasar sama sekali. Kirain tadinya kami bakal makan di tempat sejenis Tsukiji market yang kami pergi di Jepang waktu itu, makan sashimi di dalam pasar. Ternyata konsepnya restoran biasa, namun di bagian dalam restoran ada berbagai macam fresh seafood dipajang di dalam kotak kaca, mulai dari udang, ikan, kerang, dll. Area dining-nya sendiri di bisa dibilang semi outdoor.

Selama ini nggak pernah tau kalau ada restoran semacam ini nyempil di jalan besar Sunset Road (arah Seminyak), padahal dulu hampir tiap hari lewat. Aku baru tau Sakanaya ini dari blognya Alodita. Kalau restoran Ryoshi sendiri emang banyak cabangnya di Bali, dan setauku harganya cukup pricey. 

 Salmon belly sashimi. Udah tau lah ya siapa yang empunya ini. 

 Grilled Red Snapper

Biasanya restoran yang served menu fish and chips, mereka pake ikan dori karena dagingnya lembut. Di Sakanaya aku ditawarin pake red snapper dan ternyata... superrr sekali rasanya!

Kalau review suami, salmon sashimi-nya endeus, jauh lebih enak daripada di Sushi Tei. Mungkin karena fresh banget kali, ya. Harga juga nggak begitu mahal menurutku, soalnya Andreas masih sempet nambah seporsi lagi sashimi-nya, dan total bon kami nggak sampai 200 ribu. Murehhh banget kannnn.  

Buat yang doyan seafood dan penggemar sashimi sejati, boleh cobain kapan-kapan. Lokasinya strategis, cuma plang restorannya agak ketutupan pohon. Biar nggak kelewat, patokannya setelah lewatin lampu merah The Harmony Hotel (dulu Sunset Point). 

Sakanaya Fish Market by Ryoshi 

Jl. Sunset Road 77x, Seminyak, Bali

(click here for maps)

Open Hours: 10:00 am - 10:00 pm

***

Sushi Hana Bali 

Restoran ini juga berlokasi di jalan besar Sunset Road (arah Kuta) dan sering banget kami lewati. Alasan kami akhirnya nyoba ke sini, karena bosen pilihan makan sushi di area Kuta itu cuma Sushi Tei, dan makan di Sushi Tei itu cepet bokek, hahaha. 

Kalau dilihat dari luar, Sushi Hana ini nggak begitu meyakinkan. Begitu masuk ke dalam, ternyata areanya cukup luas, bahkan ada lokasi outdoor-nya juga yang cozy.

 Mau di restoran Jepang mana pun, ini udah jadi menu wajib si doi. 

Untuk taste makanannya, 7,5 deh dari 10. Fried calamary-nya sih enak banget, dagingnya nggak alot dan gorengnya pas. Sashimi-nya standar, nggak segurih di Sakanaya. Untuk harga juga cukup affordable, nggak semahal di Sushi Tei.

Buat yang sama-sama bosen dengan restoran Jepang di Bali yang itu-itu aja, boleh deh cobain di sini.

Sushi Hana Bali 

Jl. Sunset Road No. 239, Kuta, Badung, Bali 

(click here for maps)

Open Hours: 11:00 am - 10:30 pm 

Things I Always Wanted To Do (but it never happened)

Kalian punya semacam daftar tentang hal-hal yang (sebenarnya) pengen dilakukan, tapi nggak pernah dilakukan nggak, sih?

Well, I have.

Berikut di bawah ini beberapa hal yang entah kenapa nggak pernah berhasil dilakukan: 

Books Love #2: My Holiday Reads

Liburan seminggu kemarin, aku berhasil ngelahap tiga buku sekaligus. Ada yang dibaca duluan sih sebelum libur beneran, soalnya buku yang dibeli bagus semua, jadi nggak sabar untuk dibaca.

Sampai pertengahan tahun ini, aku cukup beli banyak buku, tapi yang bener-bener dibaca kelar malah sedikit, hahaha. Jadi biar nggak terjadi pemborosan terus menerus dan numpuk di rak, tiga buku yang aku baca ini semua versi terjemahan Indonesia. Biar cepet nggak pake lama.

Fun fact: Semua novel yang aku baca ini akan diadaptasi ke film dan dirilis akhir tahun ini (kecuali Crazy Rich Asians).

Babymoon Trip: Puncak Sehari

Setelah nikah sama orang Bogor, aku pikir bakal sering diajak main ke Puncak. Eh ternyata malah ini pertama kalinya aku jalan dan nginep ke Puncak setelah nikah sembilan bulan. Waktu aku 'protes' ke Andreas kenapa nggak pernah ajak nge-date ke Puncak, alasan doi simpel, "Puncak tuh macet banget!".

Six Years Of Dating You

Yesterday, we both celebrated our six years dating anniversary.

First year of our dating anniversary, we were still in college, so we just went out for simple dinner at a small restaurant spesifically serves porridge. We ate and talked for hours how we could bring our relationship to next level. And that time, marriage was not our topic.

Too bad I don't really remember what we did on second anniversary, because that year we were so busy on Andreas's graduation and he was back for good.

Third year anniversary, it was my turn to go back home and moved to Bali. Andreas came to visit us for few days in October. He felt sorry for not celebrating our anniversary again, but instead, he handed me a blue box (not from Tiffany, girls!) and asked me to step into a different level of our relationship. I said yes!

Fourth year annivesary, again he came to Bali and we went out for our first fancy dinner.

On fifth year (whoa... what a long journey, isn't it?), we began to prepare our wedding stuffs; from pre-wedding photoshoots, dealing with the vendors, etc. We just had a little talk on phone, how excited we were for welcoming our big day.

And now, for the sixth anniversary, we are standing in a really different phase. We are a married couple, expecting our first kid, finally could afford a car by our own sweats, and so many other exciting things we hope for. 

Dating and marriage life are in a different portion size, but we are thankful that we have learned so many things to build our relationship in the past six years. We believe anything happened in the past, or even later in future, those things make us stronger.

Dating phase is fun, but marriage life is more than that. It's a lifetime lesson. If you're lucky enough to find someone who is willing to join you in a team, your relationship is definitely worth to fight for. 

And I'm lucky to have mine.

Happy 6th anniversary, my dear (:

Baby Essentials (Wish List)

Sejak sebulan yang lalu, udah beberapa teman dekat nanyain, "Eh, lo mau apa buat hadiah lahiran?", sejujurnya aku pun bingung mau apa, hahaha. 

Pregnancy Journey: Second Trimester (4-6 months)

 
As I'm writing this, I am 28 weeks (3 days) already, which means I finally made it to the last stage!  Let's make a recap about the second-trimester journey. Here we go: 

About Baby In The Belly

As my belly is growing bigger (I'm halfway to my last trimester, by the way!), and since I can feel my baby's movement constantly now, there are so many thoughts on being a momma-to-be and of course about my future child.

Not until a year has passed, we just signed our legal marriage certificate and exchanged our wedding vows in front of God. Months later, we thank God that He seems trusted us enough to have this baby. Though this baby hasn't born yet, we want to let him know that he always being loved and he has been such a blessing to us. I wonder if he knows every time his dad showers him with a bunch of kisses, or when we talk to him about things that he probably won't understand.

We had once talked about our expectations when our baby grows up. Like I want this baby to be generous and kind like his daddy, and be brave like his mommy. This baby came with no manual. We obviously don't have any idea how to treat him well. But we also know that we can't shape his characters to what we wanted. He should become what he should become. Because I believe God has knitted himself so perfectly and made him just right. 

Now we just can't wait to hold you in our arms, baby! However, take your time till the due date. Stay strong and please keep kicking, because it's the only thing that assured me that you feel very fine. We love you!

P.S. I found this article written by a hot momma, mother to Brooklyn, Cruz, Harper and Romeo. I ain't nearly like VB, but as a mother herself, she has admitted that how special to become a mom and put precious values on her children.

P.P.S. A photo bonus!

 You may not have any idea about this photo scan (neither do I, the doctor tried to explain while she was scanning my belly, but it turns out to a photo that we couldn't understand). But everytime we got home with this photo scan, we feel more than grateful (:

P.P.P.S. Did I use "he" or "him" to mention my baby a lot? That because we are expecting a baby boy!

Music Love: Jessica Jung (feat. Fabolous) - Fly

Since several years ago, I am reminded constantly (by closest people, books I read, songs I listen to) about reaching out your dreams. Have you ever felt that your dreams seem so close yet so far away? For me, I think that because our fears are too big and we let those fears take over our passion to achive those dreams. The easiest thing to do is just spread out our "wings" (our inner strengths) and fly high to touch our dreams.

Anyway, this song contains of poweful meanings, while Jessica delivered it in her soft and beautiful voice. I hope you love this song as I do. 

Inside the invisible fog

I have to find myself

The hope of a small light 

You'll find with only your imagination 

When I reach out towards a higher place

It feels like I can almost touch it 

Am I closer to the days I longed for 

I draw them on the sky 

Just spread your wings 

Follow the sound of your beating heart to the end 

Close your eyes and spread out your dreams 

You're a hero you can fly 

A world that you've never seen before 

WIll open before you 

Fly above the clouds 

Cause your wings are made to fly 

Pengalaman Pertama di Big Bad Wolf Books Jakarta 2016

Photo by freddie marriage on Unsplash

Hari Minggu tanggal 8 Mei yang lalu, akhirnya aku pergi ke giant book fair Big Bad Wolf (BBW) di ICE, BSD Tangerang. HOREEE!

Seminggu sebelum pergi, pas tahu ada event ini udah kebelet pergi. Apa daya tinggalnya di Bogor, jauhhhh banget ke BSD. Nggak sampe hati rasanya minta suami yang bukan pecinta buku nemenin sejauh itu. Berusaha direlakan aja (padahal hati miris hiks hiks). 

Suatu hari pas main ke Youthmanual, ada artikel liputan tentang BBW. Sumpah bikin mupeng lagi. Terus baca blog orang yang udah ke sana makin pengen. Belom lagi ada temen yang ngomporin harus banget ke sana. Jauh tapi nggak akan nyesel. Akhirnya memberanikan diri nanya suami boleh pergi apa nggak, dan suami pun dengan pasrahnya menjawab, "iya boleh".

HOREEE LAGI!

So these are some thoughts from my first experience at BBW: 

Malang Travel Journal 02: Museum Angkut

Read the previous Malang Travel Journal here.  

Things to do at Museum Angkut:

Malang Travel Journal 01: Batu Secret Zoo

Dua minggu yang lalu, aku sama Andreas nyusun plan trip dadakan ke Malang. Tadinya kami cuman rencana pulang ke Bali aja seminggu. Keinget ada cicinya Andreas yang sekarang udah for good ke Malang, kayaknya ke Malang dua hari adalah ide yang bagus.

So, Malang here we go! 

Green Apron Experiences

 Picture credit: Google

Beberapa waktu lalu, aku pernah nulis tiga blog posts tentang pengalaman kerja jadi barista Starbucks.

Blog post terakhir yang aku tulis buat Starbucks series, adalah tentang 10 rahasia barista itu. Dan nggak disangka, postingan tersebut traffic-nya paling rame, bahkan sampai sekarang. Aku juga kaget sih, hampir tiap hari ada aja komentar baru di postingan itu (maklum, biasa mah sepi komentar, haha). Ada juga yang kirim email, isinya juga macem-macem. Mulai dari pertanyaan standar yang (sebenarnya) bisa di-Google kayak gimana cara lamar kerja di Starbucks, interview-nya kayak gimana, pengalaman kerja di sana kayak apa, dll.

Karena terinspirasi dari teman-teman yang udah kirim email atau drop comments di blog post, muncul lah ide untuk nyumbang blog posts tersebut menjadi artikel di website Youthmanual.

Apa itu Youthmanual? Langsung diklik aja, ya, link-nya! UPDATE (July 2020): ternyata Youthmanual udah ganti nama jadi Rencanamu. 

I have been reading this cool website since Mbak Laila mentioned it in her blog. Karena langganan baca blog-nya doi dan beberapa kali suka ikutan diskusi di kolom komentar, I assumed that she knows me. Ini murni kegeeran aja, sih, hahaha. Kebetulan juga Mbak Laila salah satu author di Youthmanual, aku langsung nulis email untuk submit ide tulisanku ini and hoping she would say yes. 

And... she said yes! 

Seneng dan bersyukur banget, ternyata Mbak Laila menyambut baik ide ini. I promised her to submit my articles in a week, before my homecoming trip. Dan sesuai jadwal yang udah ditentukan, artikelnya udah naik tayang dalam minggu ini.

So, here they are, my first writings on Youthmanual. You may check the articles here and here. Masih ada satu lagi menyusul, ditunggu ya! UPDATED: Here is the last article that I wrote.

Anyway, setelah artikel ini naik tayang, baru sadar udah lama banget nggak nulis "serius" and I miss writing very much! This is a good thing. Mudah-mudahan makin rajin nulis dengan baik setelah ini. Thank you, Mbak Laila dan Youthmanual buat kesempatannya ya!

Stay awesome, folks!

Japan Travel Journal 07: Tsukiji Fish Market and Ichiran Ramen

Akhirnya, setelah empat bulan lamanya, Japan travel journal ini rampung juga. YAAAAY!

Not Good Enough

I've been spending most of my days lately thinking that I'm not good enough. 

I'm not good enough on doing my job. I'm trying every single days to love what I do. I don't hate the job, it is just not my thing. The only thing I know about this job is that we're making some money. No job, no money. No money, no living. While I'm not hating the job, I'm also feeling guilty not doing what I supposed to do. But, what actually that I supposed to do?

I'm not good enough as a wife. Andreas still wakes me up in the morning, while some of wives out there might get up first and prepare all things in the morning. I often get lost in the kitchen. Sometimes I don't know what to cook, and worry too much if my hubby gets bored with his daily scrambles/sunny-side-up for breakfast, just because that the only dish I can cook the best and he loves it... and he actually never complains. Sometimes I feel I can't manage our financial well. There's a time I'm easily spending our money but the other time I afraid we're spending too much. Why do we spend the money for a fancy meal? Don't we have to save more for a house? For the baby? For the investment?

And right now, I'm feeling that I will probably not good enough as a mom. I know this is silly, the baby still on the way. But some part of me, it seems so scary already. As another part of me thinking that "I'm not good enough as a wife", how could it possible for me to be a good mom. 

 

After you done reading this, you might find this is only crappy post written by someone who is dealing with both her identity-crisis and being pregnant.

Or perhaps this is just a thing called, pregnancy brain?

Striped Sunday

Around three weeks ago, I spent a fine Sunday with my ladies (one of them came with a plus one!). We had Korean lunch kind a day at Dubujib PIK, chits and chats, good laughs, and left some space in our belly for desserts. There was a little accident happened with one of our lady, but... as a (real) good friend, we couldn't stop laughing on her (sorry!). Ya, sudalah. That's why we are friends to each other, right? ((: 

And oh, we "accidentally" wearing stripes!

Japan Travel Journal 06: Mount Fuji Trip

Yes, people. I am still working on this not-so-honeymoon-again post. The good news is, there's another LAST post. Please bear with me! 

Passion Reminder

 

 Credit: Pinterest

"Passion is not a job, a sport or a hobby. It's the full force of your attention and energy that you give to whatever right in front of you." (Terri Trespicio on TEDxKC)

Pregnancy Journey: First Trimester (1-3 months)

I spilled the beans to fellow friends on Path already since my second appointment with the doctor. Banyak yang komentar kalau kami cepet banget hamilnya (padahal baru nikah empat bulan lalu), kami sendiri juga nggak expect bisa hamil secepat ini. Iya, sih, nggak ada acara nunda-nundaan, but we still surprised when we found out the two lines. Puji Tuhan ya langsung dipercaya punya anak (:

Sehari setelah test pack, besoknya kami langsung cek ke dokter. And guess what, ultrasound pertama memberitahu kami kalau bayi yang ada di rahim ini, udah umur lima minggu, udah sebulan! Aku agak syok. Karena berarti anak ini udah aku ajak Zumba tiap minggu dan minum kopi setiap hari. Pantes ya, terakhir kali Zumba kenapa ngos-ngosan banget, biasanya nggak. Well... there's a little life in my belly!

I'm already on my 14 weeks and it means I'm coming to second trimester! Sebagai pencapaian stage pertama, aku mau share pengalaman selama 3 bulan pertama kehamilan. Here we go!