Souvenirs from Balikpapan

I bought my self these imitation jewelry...

'Batik Sasirangan' for my mom and sisters...

'Batik Kaltim' for my brother and 'Sarung Samarinda' for my father...

and a lot more batik fabrics for my friends...

I hope they like what they 'll get

Holy Day Holiday (part 2)

Day 1
We spent almost all day long visiting Dan’s uncles, aunties and cousins. I’m glad my children could get along with Dan’s cousin’s children although they just have met.

Day 2
The Beach!!
Beaches are our favorite. The beach was clean. Sandy, and the water was quite still, almost no wave, so I can let my children get into the water with no worries.
We made a sand castle that looked a lot more like a bunch of burgers.

And there was a park for children to play. With my children's favorite game: climbing stuff

Crocodile Ranch
Nobody could tell us what this croc ranch is developed for. Do they take croc skins for fashion needs, or take their meat for food, or else?. The ranch was split in parts according to the croc’s age.

My children need to climb up the cage to be able to see the adult crocs in the pond. Suddenly one of the crocs roar. Ir got kinda shocked, he jumped and fell seated. His pants were wet and dirty. So I bought ‘any pants will do’ in a shop nearby. While Dan was changing Ir’s pants, Ar looked inside the plastic bag and asked, “Where’s mine?”.
Dan answered, “Your pants are okay, you don’t need to change”. But he wanted to have one. Oh, you twins.... So they changed their pants with these batik pants...

Day 3
We went to a mall and the kids have some fun in kidzone playground

Day 4
An uncle offered us to go to Tenggarong, 3 hours riding from Balikpapan to see a museum. But my mom in law said that museum in Yogya and Solo are better. So we decided to go to the beach again...

Time to go home...
Ir cried and beg to stay a little longer. But I and Dan had to back to work the next day.
So we went home. Ibit let me to sit next to the window for a while and took some pics of the clouds we hit...

We got home at 19.00. We really enjoy our holiday....

Holy Day Holiday (part I)

THE JOURNEY

We did sholat Ied in mosque Darussalam near our house. I'm sorry we couldn't join other people to take care of the sacrificed animals like we usually did in last few years, may Allah bless them. But I had to go to Balikpapan, my parents in law's home. It is to be my first visit in my 8 years marriage...
They usually came to Java in Iedul Fitri and some special moments (ex; my children's birth), and that's how we met annually in Dan's grandparents home. But this time I want to visit them, and there's no way they can say they're not happy about it.
We left for Yogya after sholat, and got there at around twelve. Had lunch and some rest, then went to the airport, where we took our flight to Balikpapan at 16.30. It was my children's first flight and they were so excited. They were sooooo noisy in the aircraft. 'we're flying... we're flying...'
'look at the clouds....!!!'
'hey!! we're hitting the clouds, can you feel the plane shaking?'
'I want to eat noodle!'
'I want to sit next to the window, I can't see anything from here!'
'Ibu, I can fasten my seat belt by myself!'
'this flight is so long! is Balikpapan so far?'
'hey... we're landing... we're landing...!!!'
People would be able to see, it was they're first flight...

We arrived in Balikpapan at 19.00 Java time, or 20.00 there time. Iedul Adha in Balikpapan is just as crowded as Iedul Fitri. Right after we got there, people come to visit my parents in law, since they are hajjis. I was too tired, so after a little hospitality and bla bla I apologized and went upstairs with the children and went to bed..

(to be continued...)

Iedul Adha (2)

To memorize and follow Ibrahim's faith...
When Allah told him to sacrifice his son Ismail, Ibrahim followed the order, and Ismail had no hesitate at all...
It was Allah the al Mighty who change Ismail with a lamb, right before Ibrahim's sword touched Ismail skin...
We are no prophet, and Allah has made it easier for us. We only have to sacrifice lamb, or goat, or cow, or camel. How could we still feel so hard about it?
And learn from Ibrahim, that the children we think we have, are actually not ours. They, like other things Allah has given to us, belong to HIM, and to HIM we will all return.
Allahu Akbar.

HAPPY IEDUL ADHA (to those who celebrate it...)

Iedul Adha

HAPPY IEDUL ADHA 1428H

How do you remember a phone number?

I went home a little late yesterday, and was welcomed by childrens' hugs.
Nanny said, 'Ar Ir called Bapak by them selves this afternoon'
I asked them: 'O really? You could?'.
Ar answered: 'Yes I can' .
Me: 'You know the number?'
Ar mentioned the number, including 'stacked eggs' for '8'. He got it right.
Me: 'What about you Ir? You also know the number?'
Ir just held my hand and took me to the phone. And then pointed his finger to the numbers, 'this and this and this and this and this and this and this and this'. Eight digits, he can't mentioned the number but he knows the places to push.
It's a little strange for me, how Ir memorize it. But still I said, ' I'm proud of you guys. You can call Bapak anytime you want to. But... don't you want to call Ibu too?'
Together they said: 'No. I don't know your number'
Ooooo... I tought them to call their Bapak but forgot to tell how to call me!!

Everybody Kiss.....!!!!!

It was a game Ibit made accidently

I got home at six yesterday. Oooo.... Igot so much time to spend with my family!
We were in front of TV, the TV was on but we didn't care. We rolled on one another. Suddenly Ibit yelled: everybody kiss Bapak!! So we all did... MMMMUAHHHH!!!
And I continued: everybody kiss Ar!! So we all did... MMMMUAHHHH!!!
Then Dan (Bapak) said: everybody kiss Ibit!! So we all did... MMMMUAHHHH!!!
After that Ir said: everybody kiss Ibu!! So I got four kisses at a time... MMMMUAHHHH!!!
Ended when Ar said: everybody kiss Ir!! So we all did... MMMMUAHHHH!!!

Sweet massal kisses...
I love my family!

my work

I work five days a week from 07.00 to 16.00. Saturday and Sunday are my children's days. But there are days when I have to work over time. This last week has been one. It usually happens in year end.
My post before was about this hard time. Thank GOD I still have saturday and sunday. I don't go nowhere those days, that's what I said I'll pay.
I'm so thankful my children don't protest me about this long hours working. It's not everyday anyway, they understand it.
I hope I still deserve to be called 'a good mother'.

what kinda o mather am I?

I go to work at 06.30
I get home at 20.00

my kids wake up at 05.00. I bathe them and feed them, and at 06. 30 we go our separate ways. they, to school while I, to work.
at 20.00 get home. little talk and laugh to them. 20.45 they brush they teeth and pee, then at 21.00 they go to bed.
I meet my children 2 hours a day.
this year end is so hard.... working is soooooo tiring, some times makes me sick...

I'll pay this at the holiday....

BLOG READABILITY

I found something interesting in peacepigeon's blog. Want to know your 'blog readability'?
I my self don't really get it, I just tried it and found out my level is 'genius'. That means need a genius to understand my blog.
Is that good or bad?
Try it: readability

have fun!

Belief

is in our hart
it should make us better
not worse

(sok) SIBUK

(pretend to be) BUSY

so little time
so much to do

no time to post
no time to blogwalking

Darling, you have such a big mouth....

Ir and Ar playing with a loup their Bapak bought them....

Look at Ar's teeth. I don't know how they become like that. I brush them every night before he goes to bed (well, I sometime forget... but rarely...)

another baby, baby?

I talked to Ibit Ar Ir about having another baby in the house. This is what they said:
Ibit: OK. But it better be a girl, boys are bad.
Ar: OK. Girl or boy, but only one, not twin. (What's wrong with twin? He answered: you'll be very busy taking care of them....)
Ir: No more babies....

Am I ready to have one (or more)...?
mmmmmm.... I want to have one, but I'm not sure I'm ready for it... :)

Which one...

I have problems in re-uploading the pictures. I'll try it again some other time. But this is the answer:

Ir drinks juice.
Ar doesn't.
Ir put his arm around Ar.
Ar touching his cheek.
Ir in red.
Ar in blue.
Ir in green donut.
Ar in blue donut.
Ar holding red stick.
Ir in yellow, Ar in blue.

MY ENGLISH

Is not good. Sorry if I some time use wrong words, sentences, phrase, grammars… I don’t speak English daily, and I’m improving my ability in this.

“Cross the Wrong Answer”

It was Ibit’s English test.
The instruction was clear. And the example was also clear:
This is a/an orange (the ‘a’ was crossed)

I have explained to Ibit when to use ‘a’ and when to use ‘an’. She understood and she did the test according to the instruction.
But she got an ‘O’. “Teacher said I should have crossed the right answer”. I took a look to her test sheet and saw how her teacher circled the right answer with red pen.
Well, usually, in a multiple choices, the instruction is ‘choose the right answer’ – by crossing the letter in front of it. But this isn’t a multiple choice. There were no letters in front of the choices. And the choices were all the same for all number --- ‘a’ or ‘an’.

So I called the teacher and asked about that, Miss Y insist that Ibit misunderstood the instructions.
“O really?” I asked. I read the instruction and the example slowly and clearly for her. They matched so right. She started to get a doubt and then said, “Ok then. Tell Ibit to bring her test sheet tomorrow, I’ll check it out. I guess I’ll need to tell the whole class to.” And she also said, “Well. This is just a daily test anyway”. Fine. This time is a daily test. What if it happens in a semester exam?

I remember when I was in high school having my final exam, subject Math. I was in physic class. During doing the test, I was wondering. ‘This test is way too easy’. And then, 10 minutes before the time was out, I just realized that I have done the wrong sheet. I worked on the test for biology class, off course they were easy! What can I do in 10 minutes? I’ve been doing it for almost two hours! (Years later I saw in TV Mr. Bean doing math test ‘calculus’ and ‘trigonometry’, and picked the wrong sheet. G, it made me feel so silly). Lucky I got 5. The answer sheet was same for both physic and biology class. I may have done the different sheet, but for the multiple choices, I guess I crossed right for some numbers.

Well. This is a lesson. Be sure to read the instructions clearly.

just another reebok steps

right double step, steptouch L-R
L step R knee (turn 180) - R step L knee (turn 180)
V steps left
diagonal right, diagonal left
R step back L knee (turn 180) - L step back R knee (turn 180)
R step back L knee (turn 180) - L step back R knee (turn 180)
V step right, R step L curl and back
V step left, L step R curl and back
--- left verse---

Whoa!! That's all I can remember. The rest was so complicated, and I could only do it with instructions. Plus a real high hi-impact!
I knew En wouldn't let me look ordinary, so I worked it out. Well, I looked great, but I also suffer great.

I'm fresh when I'm sweat, sweat is great!!

Belajar Scrapbooking

I tried to make these...

And Ibit was interested, and decided to make this for her science homework, describe about starfruit- tree.

which one is Ir - which one is Ar

clue: pictures on the right side of this page

the most beautiful girl in the world

I and Ibit were in Ibit’s bed, talked about this and that, until we got to the part when we talked about our neighbor who has moved couple months ago.

Ibit three years ago

"We can visit them someday", I said.
“Yes, I want to, I want to... But.... will Bim still remember me?”
“Of course he will. How can he forget the most beautiful girl in the neighborhood?”
Ibit punched me and laughed.
“Ibu, you know I’m not beautiful”
I was shocked. Most girl will love to be told they're beautiful.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m black, and black girls are not beautiful”
“What about me ?”
“You’re not either”
“But darling we’re not black, we’re brown”
“We’re dark, that’s just the same”
“Who is beautiful then?”
“Santa?”
Santa is her friend, she has a little lighter skin.
“If you’re not beautiful, what are you?”
“I’m just, ordinary”
“Do you want to be beautiful?”
“No, I dont. I’m glad with what I am. Alhamdulillah I don’t have blemishes on my face”
I smiled.
“That’s because you’re still so young. Sooner or later you’ll have some”
“Really ?”
“Yes”
“That’s fine, I’m still grateful everything on my face works. I can see with my eyes, I can speak with my lips, I can smell with my nose..”
I enfolded her in my arms. I tried so hard not to cry, I don't want her to think I was sad to realize that we are not beautiful. I (pretend to be wise) said,
“You know, there are so many things more important than the look. You are a nice girl, you are kind, caress, and smart. And that what will make people love you”
“Yeah... some girls have it all. They’re beautiful, and kind, and smart... But I'm okay with myself”
I hugged her tighter.
I also never think I was beautiful. But I never feel so comfortable about that like Ibit does. She just made me do. My beautiful angel, the most beautiful girl in the world.

LOVE ME FOR ME

Being put aside? I get used to it.
Disepelekan? Aku sudah biasa dibegitukan.

Some people think I'm a weirdo. Well.... I'm no ordinary girl. People who loves me are those who know the real me.
Banyak yang berpikir aku ini orang aneh. Well... aku bukan perempuan kebanyakan. Orang yang mencintaiku adalah mereka yang tahu, siapa aku.

Identical or Fraternal ??

My twin...

Kembarku...

They had one big placenta. But the doctor said it could be one big placenta for two, or, two placentas that grew too close so they became one. So I assumed my twin is identical. They are so similar in many ways. But they grew became two different persons, and I'm glad about it.

Mereka punya satu plasenta besar. Kata dokter, itu bisa jadi satu plasenta besar buat berdua, atau, dua plasenta yang tumbuh berdekatan sehingga menyatu. Jadi aku asumsikan mereka identik. Mereka sangat mirip di banyak hal. Tapi mereka tumbuh menjadi dua orang yang berbeda, dan aku bersyukur.

I even sometimes misscall them. 'Hey Ir'. And he stood still. When I got close, it's Ar! Their father once pinched Ar because he thought it was Ir who was being naughty. So Ar cried, starred at him and say 'But I'm Ar. I was good'.

Kadang-kadang aku salah panggil. 'Hey IR'. Tapi dia diam saja. Waktu kudekati, ternyata itu Ar!. Bapakny apernah mencubit Ar karena dipikirnya itu Ir yang nakal. Jadi Ar nangis, sambil menatap melas ke Bapaknya dan berkata, 'Tapi aku Ar, aku nggak nakal'.

this is Ar

Ar is much noisy. He's fussy. He sings all day long since he was 2. He learns things so fast. And he cries more often than Ir. He always confuse when he has to decide something (ex: Do you want ice tea or orange juice?; which car do you want?; are you staying at home or go with us?), He's so interested in computer.

Ar itu rame. Dia cerewet. Dia suka bernyanyi sepanjang hari sejak masih 2 tahun. Dia cepat belajar. Dia lebih sering nangis dibanding Ir. Dia selalu bingung kalau harus memilih (co: Kamu mau es teh atau es jeruk?; kamu suka mobil-mobilan yang mana?; kamu mau ikut atau di rumah saja?). Dia suka sekali komputer.

and this is Ir

While Ir is so quite. He doesn't speak a lot, but once he does, you'll be surprise with what he says. He also doesn't sing alot, but I remember once, he sang along to a song on the radio, in the background vocal version. He needs a little more time to understand things, but once he understand, he'll be able to conclude things related to it. He always feel sure about what he choose. And still I can't see in what he's really interested. I mean, he likes cars - but don't every boy do?

Ir anteng banget. Dia nggak banyak bicara, tapi sekali ngomong, mengejutkan. Dia juga gak banyak nyanyi, tapi aku ingat pernah suatu saat dia ngikutin lagu di radio, pake suara dua. Dia butuh waktu lebih lama untuk mengerti, tapi sekali mengerti, dia akan bikin kesimpulan tentang hal-hal yang berkaitan. Dia selalu yakin akan pilihannya. Dan aku belum tahu dia suka apa. DIa suka mobil - tapi kan semua anak laki-laki begitu...

So I think it's no big deal wether they're identical or fraternal. I believe every child is unique.

Jadi kupikir, gak masalah mereka satu atau dua telur. Aku yakin setiap anak itu unik.

It's nice to be home

I got home. My children were awaiting in front of the door. Ibit has cut some paper into small parts and they poured it on me as I walked in. Oh so sweet..
Aku pulang. Anak-anak menunggu di depan Pintu. Ibit gunting-gunting kertas sampe kecil-kecil... lalu mereka sebar ke aku ketika aku masuk. Manis sekali....

'welcome Ibu!'
Selamat datang, Ibu

A week away was so hard for all of us. But now I'm home!
Jauhan seminggu itu berat. Tapi aku sudah di rumah sekarang!

CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE

Wise men say
only fools rush in
but I can't help
falling in love with you

Shall I stay
would that be a sin
if I can't help
falling in love with you

Like a river flows
surely to the sea
darling so it goes
somethings are meant to be

Take my hand
take my whole life too
for I can't help
falling in love with you

Flowers

I've been singing for years. I've got those applauses, and those nice comments. But flowers?

This is my first flower from the audience.

I was singing Julio Iglesias's 'Can't Help Falling in Love'. In the middle of the song, while I was working on my anticlimax, people gave applause.... this guy came over and handed me a bundle of flowers. It's so sweet, made me want to cry. I want to keep it forever, but I think I can't. They are real flowers.

Ladies and gentlemen... please welcome...

HADIRIN SEKALIAN, SAMBUTLAH......

NELSONS!!!




and...





ALICIA KEYS!!





kidding!!
becanda!

They're just my kids and their friends performing on stage about two weeks ago. Why I post something from two weeks ago? Well, I've been thinking how I can make it dramatic. This is my best idea, and still isn't dramatic enough I guess...
cuma anak-anakku yang manggung bersama teman-teman mereka sekitar dua minggu yang lalu. Kenapa aku post sesuatu yang udah dua minggu yang lalu? Aku pingin bikin sesuatu yang dramatis. Jadinya seperti ini, gak terlalu dramatis ya....

I had to promise Ar-Ir 'Hot Wheels' before they agreed to perform (and they got it the morning after). While Ibit would just say yes anytime you ask her to, she loves to perform. But she was so upset, coz her friends 'didn't sing right'. I had to let her hear every mom said that the performance was great, to confince her that nobody realized something wrong.
Aku harus ngiming-imingi Ar-Ir 'Hotwheels' supaya mereka mau tampil. Ibit sih gampang aja, dia suka tampill.Tapi dia agak kecewa karena teman-temanna 'nyanyinya gak bener'. Aku harus membuat dia mendengarkan ibu-ibu berkomentar bahwa pertunjukkannya hebat, supaya dia yakin gak ada yang sadar ada yang salah.


She didn't cry, but still she hummed, 'They sang wrong'.
Dia gak jadi nangis sih, tapi masih nggrundel, "nyanyinya salah"

Well... what can I say?

room sweet room

I like our new paint on tv-room. Especially the stars. I planned to paint the stars using some scotlight poster color. But a friend sugested me to put on some glow-in-the-dark-toys. It doesn't look bright in light. (May be I need a dark blue, not marine blue. Marine should be for ocean-look. But I thought too dark would make our space feels poky) But in the night if I turn out all the light, they really glow, feels like we are underneath the stars..

I know this isn't large enough to be two boys's room.

And this isn't good enough to be a girl's room.

But they are happy with what they just got. They're own rooms.

Those two 'rooms' were supposed to be one room, for my twin, while Ibit 's was some room under. But she wanted 'a room upstairs'. So they shared, and okay with that.

Some day I'll give them what they need: territory and privacy.

wedding pictures

I went to bed at about half an hour after midnight last night. I arranged my pictures of my wedding day, which was happening over eight years ago!
My husband always felt strange that we didn’t have any photos of that day in our house, except the big framed one on our room wall. We have printed two sets, but left one at my parent’s house, and the other one at my in law’s. We didn’t keep one.
So we decided to print one more set for us.
I just realized that we’ve made everybody busy that day. But I hope they were really truly happy for us.
And I hope this happiness will never end....

When you have a boss....

... in this almost-impossible-to-quit-job... you can only do what he says. You may give him advices, but it's up to him to decide, and you to do the decision. Whether you like or not.

Well, it's a good thing anyway. He said it is for my self-development. Maybe he's right. Maybe I was just too selfish to say 'ok'.
I'll do it anyway.

Daily Morning Business that I won't Leave

Kesibukan pagi yang tidak akan kutinggalkan

..... would be:
.....adalah:

1. Preparing my children's breakfast. They only want sandwiches and a glass of milk each. Ibit some times prepares her own when I wake up a little late. She's always been so sweet.
1. Menyiapkan sarapan anak-anakku. Mereka makan roti lapis dan segelas susu. Ibit kadang-kadang bikin sendiri kalau aku telat bangun. Dia memang anak manis.

2. Cook for my children's lunch. Nanny would cook the rice, but I do the vegetables and others. I only do simple cooking.
2. Masak makan siang anak-anakku. Mbak-nya yang masak nasi, tapi tetep aku yang masak sayur dan lauknya. Aku masak yang simpel-simpel aja.

3. Bathe my twins. When I start undress Ar, he would say 'Ir first'. If I undress Ir, he would say 'Ar first'. So I (pretend) leave them and say, 'No body wants to get bath, no body goes to school. I'll just take bath and go to work'. They both will run to me and say 'Bathe me' :D
3. Mandiin kembar. Kalau aku mulai nyopotin baju Ar, dia akan bilang 'Ir dulu'. Kalau aku mau nyopot bajunya Ir, dia akan bilang, 'Ar dulu'. Jadi aku (pura-pura) berlalu dan bilang 'Nggak ada yang mau mandi, nggak ada yang mau sekolah. Ibu mau mandi lalu kerja'. Dua-duanya akan mendekatiku dan bilang 'mandiin...'. :D


...those are the least that I can do, since I leave them morning-to-evening working 5 days a week.
... itu yang paling tidak, bisa kulakukan, karena aku meninggalkan mereka pagi-sampai-sore bekerja 5 hari seminggu.

what do you do to be a woman?

Aku ini cuek urusan merawat tubuh.
Pake hand body misalnya, paling-paling sehabis mandi -- kalau inget.
Pake pelembab muka misalnya, pagi hari -- kalau inget
Bersihin muka, malam hari, kalau inget. Kadang inget tapi kalah ma ngantuk...
Pake make up -- kalau mau ke kondangan.
I'm so careless about my body.
Using body lotion: after bath -- if not forget.
Using face moisturizer: in the morning -- if not forget
Cleaning face: before bed -- if not forget. I sometime remember, but sleepy don't let me to.
Wearing make up: only if I have to go to a party.
...
Aku punya teman, Kulitnya halus seperti kaca. Bersih,hampir tanpa noda. Selalu bermake up, walaupun tipis, tapi lengkap. Aku jarang pake make up, tapi aku tahu dia pake lipstick, eyeshadow, blush on, pensil alis -- tapi tanpa maskara.
Suatu hari kami ada rapat, dari pagi...
Seperti biasa dia tampil cantik anggun mempesona. Sedangkan aku, seperti biasa, natural (baca: No make-up at all).
I have a friend, her skin is so delicate like glass. So clean and spotless. She alway wears make up, thin, but complete. I knoe I don't wear make up that much, but I know she wear lipstick, eyeshadow, blush on, eyebrow pencil, but no mascara
One day we had a meeting together, started in the morning.
As usual she appeared with elegance beauty. While I was so natural (read: no make-up at all)
....
Rapatnya lamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa banget.
Jam 1 siang waktunya istirahat makan dan sholat. Temanku itu menghilang. Aku makan, sholat, lalu balik ke tempat dudukku. Tidur tengkurep di meja menunggu rapat dilanjutkan, ngantuk you know.
Ruangan mulai ramai lagi. Orang-orang mulai berdatangan. Aku ke kamar mandi, cuci muka, lalu balik ke ruangan lagi. Tak lama, si cantik muncul.
The meeting was soooooooooooooooooo long.
At 13.00, it was time to break. I had lunch, sholat and back to the meeting room. I put my face downward the table and sleep to charge my battery -- I was so sleepy, you know.
The room was starting to get noisy again, people have comeback. So I went to the toilet to wash my face, and back in. Not so long after, the 'beauty' got in.
....
Dengan make up yang sudah diperbaiki, dan senyum yang manis...
With a made-up make up, and a nice smile...

Oh, I wish I could be just like that!
But Still I don't think I could... Ough....

PULANG SEKOLAH

Going home from school

Kemaren aku pulang kantor naik bis. Bis impian pasti. Sebelahku seorang gadis kecil, umurnya sekitar 10 tahunan. Kayanya pulang sekolah. Baju batiknya bertulis SD ISLAM SULTAN AGUNG. Waktu aku baru naik dia sedang membaca buku IPA. Sekarang lagi musim tes. Anakku juga lagi tes midsemester.
Yesterday I went home by bus, my dream bus of course. Sat next to me a girl around 10 years old. It seemed like she was going home from school. I could read what was written on her batik shirt: SD ISLAM SULTAN AGUNG. When I got in the bus, she was reading science book. This is exam season. My daughter is having mid semester test too.
Tidak lama dia ketiduran, bukunya terjatuh dari tangganya, dia tergagap lalu menutup dan meletakkan bukunya, lalu tidur beneran. Kayanya capek baget... Setelah perjalanan separo lebih aku pengin bangunin, takutnya dia kebablasan. Tapi gak tega, tidurnya enak banget. Untungnya dia sudah bangun sendiri sesaat sebelum dia sampai di halte tempat dia harus turun.
Not so long, she fell asleep. Her book fell. She hawed and put her book in her bag, and continued sleeping. Sleeping so sound. After few minutes, I wanted to wake her up, just to remind her where she would stop, but I couldn’t, she slept too sound. Alhamdulillah she woke up just few seconds before the bus stop she had to drop.
Jadi inget diriku jaman dulu. Waktu SD, aku berangkat dan pulang sekolah jalan kaki, sekitar 2 km. Setelah SMP - SMA naik bis. Sekarang, aku gak tahu apa aku tega nyuruh anakku berangkat dan pulang sekolah sendiri naik kendaraan umum. Kalau harus nyeberang jalan ngeri, lalu lintas gila-gilaan. Jadi anak-anak tak titipin mobil antar jemput sekolah. Insya Allah aman. Mungkin nanti kalau mereka sudah agak besar... biar pada naik angkutan...
She reminded me of how I was. When in Elementary School, I went school on foot, walked about 2 km. In high school I went by bus. Now I don’t know if I can tell my children to go to school that way. Traffic’s just too crazy; they have to walk across a crowded road. So I let them go and home with school car that pick them up every morning and drive them home in the afternoon. Insya Allah they will be safe. May be later, when they grow a little bigger, I’ll let them go by bus...

RAIN

It's raining now. It's been raining since the latest days of ramadhan. Not everyday, but rain has wetted the soil, and it smells so good.
When I was in school, I learned that rain should fall between October-April. Climate has slide a bit I guess. I remember my first child was born in August. In her age of two months I was busy wash n drying her clothes and layette, it was starting rainy around September.
The good thing of this late rain season is, we finished repairing our roof. I can not imagine if it is still open and rain falls... The window on the east sides isn't finish yet, so some water poured in last night. I put a curtain to make the water flow down to the floor, and catch it with some mop-cloth. Alhamdulillah the rain wasn't too long. I will have the handyman to finish it today.
I can't wait to see the rainbow in Ibit's room...

SEM SEM CHICKEN

This is a recipe I got from some other blog. I'll try it someday.

Sesame Chicken
(feeds family of 6 plus some leftovers)
To be served with steamed rice or Chinese noodles, or both!

Ingredients you will need:
4 or 5 boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1 ½ inch pieces(If I am having a large gathering or luncheon, I will use 12 chicken breasts)
All-purpose flour
1 egg
Corn starchBaking powder
Soy Sauce
Sesame Oil
WaterGround ginger (optional)
Chicken stock or chicken broth cubes
2 or 3 garlic cloves, smashed with a mortar and pestal
Hot red pepper (can be from a jar or if you can get a hold of some Chinese red peppers, then by all means do so)
White Vinegar
Sugar (white or brown)
Oil for frying
Sesame seeds (untoasted)

Step by step:
1. Take your cut chicken pieces and place them in a large mixing bowl. Prepare to get your fingers messy. On top of the chicken, add ¾ to 1 cup of flour, 3 tablespoons of corn starch, 2 tsp. of baking powder, 3 to 4 tbsp of soy sauce, a few sprinkles of ground ginger, 6 to 8 drops of sesame oil, 1 egg, and ½ cup of water. Begin mixing the mixture with your hands, making sure the wet and dry ingredients blend together to make a thick paste-like coating. Add more water and/or more flour if necessary. Your goal here is to coat the pieces so that when they are fried, the batter around them will be uniform. Once the consistency is right (like thick pancake batter), place chicken and batter in the fridge and let it sit for at least 20 minutes. Go wash your hands. While the chicken is marinating, prepare your sauce.
2. In a medium sauce pot, bring to a boil one cup of chicken broth. (this can be something you already have on hand, or use a maggi cube, whatever) When the broth is boiling, add to it 1 cup of sugar and ¼ to ½ of a cup of white vinegar. Mix well. Turn heat to low, and allow the sugar and vinegar to jive nicely in the broth. Then add a few drops of sesame oil, the smashed garlic cloves and (depending on how hot you like it) add 1 to 3 tsp. of hot pepper sauce or hot chili peppers or dried hot red peppers. Do not try to substitute w/ cayenne. Mix well and allow mixture to simmer on low for 5 minutes. Then with a ladle, take a ladle-full of the sauce out and place it in a small bowl. Whisk into this sauce about 3 tbsp. of cornstarch, until dissolved. Place whisked mixture back into the sauce. Stir well. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes or until thick (honey-like). Remove from heat. The house is starting to smell good now.
3. In a large frying pan, heat oil (about 1-inch thick). Peanut oil is the best for frying because of its high smoke-point, but I’d have to sell my grandma to afford peanut oil in Jordan. Use whatever you like. Once the oil is HOT, begin dropping each piece of chicken INDIVIDUALLY into the oil. They will quickly puff up and begin to brown. Remove chicken from the oil using a slotted (metal) spoon once it is thoroughly browned and done. It will have a nice tan color…not too brown but not pale either. (see picture) Allow chicken to drain on paper towels until all chicken has been cooked.Place the chicken in a beautiful serving dish and pour the sauce on top; mix. Sprinkle chicken with lots of sesame seeds. Serve and enjoy.

DRY SENSATION

Wonogiri was known as a dry land. Full of calcic mountain and lack of water. Alhamdulillah my home wasn’t that bad. I never experienced that kinda lack of water, that I should walk kilometers away to get water and carry it pail by pail. The worst thing was we couldn’t use water as freely as before.
But this dry problem wasn’t only the problem of my home town. I went to some places and saw the same thing. Rice fields that usually green and goldy yellow at rain season, were all turned into brown view.

MY DAM
I went to Waduk Gajahmungkur (Gajahmungkur Dam) on third of Syawal. It’s a tourism object in our town. I’m so proud of it. Over 100 villages in over 10 districts were drawn during the project building it. Offcourse the people who lived there have already been moved to some other places. It’s a large manmade lake. It (was designed to) irrigate thousand hectares of rice fields, and generate some electricity supply for the town. I went there so often.

The dam was so large, it has many beautiful parts and I love them all. It has a camping ground near by. It has a port for fishermen and tourist. It has a park that called ‘plaza’.
When I was in kindergarten, my father had this hobby, fishing. He took me fishing on it edges. At the port, under the bridge, near the river. One day I’ll never forget, our family took a picnic to its plaza. We went there riding 2 old vespas, bring some food – rice, satay, fruits, drinks. We were not a rich family, a simple picnic like that was a great thing to remember for a kid like me.
When I was in high school, I often went there alone or with a friend riding motorbike. We did nothing, just sit there under any tree, and enjoy the view, the wind, and the coolness.
Even when I finally lived away from my hometown, I still always tried to visit it when ever I went home.
Like this Iedul Fitri. I and my sisters and brother, and all my nieces and nephews, went there to have some fun. Well, we had it. Only it was so sad to see what the dam has become to be. The water level decreased to an unimaginable level.
See the port over the people?
Now boats started to go from about 4 meters below it







This is a view of a part of the dam's edge, close to the intake. The water level got lower and lower, met the bad sedimentation that's up to 3.000.000 m3 provided this (it's reported to be 130,5 meters height). This boat was used to go to that island over there. Now you can go there by car.
In a normal water level, I would have met nila and karper fish.



Where will we go? Uncle Ibot, push the boat to water please...








I'm glad I could still find a green part of this sad thing.....
People who live around the dam plant corn on the sediment as the substitute of fish... It's exotic, really.
Perum Jasa Tirta is right now dredging the sediment. They've got 20.000 m3 of 80.000 target. During the sediment-dredging, the dam is closed, irrigation system below the dam is repaired, the illegal intakes are cut.


Now I know why the rice fields look like this at the lower course. Some farmer are still trying to plant rice, while waiting for rain to fall over their field and fill the dam, they make drilled-wells near to their field to supply the water needs.



MY FOREST

The forest was my childhood playground. I went there with my friends after school to find some wild fruits, to find some unique shaped branches, or just to hang around.
On day two Iedul Fitri, it was so hot at home so I asked my husband to go there to find some cool places. But this is what I found ….

No trees you can rest under. I mean you can rest under any trees, but the trees don’t have leaves. What’s so cool about it?

I pray for rain to soon fall over Wonogiri….

MY FIRST POST AFTER TWO WEEKS OFF

Whuah!!!! Great Iedul Fitri

Ied was great. Our family together. I can see my parents are happy. Ibu, as usual got hypertention. Her 10 grandchildren has brighten up the house, and ruining it at the same time. Ho.. ho.. they ran here and there. They fought, they laughed, they cried, they yelled, they scream...

Ied at my husband's family couldn't get any 'worse'. We visit every body who has relation with my parents in law. I always had trouble to remember who is whose who. Alhamdulillah, this is my eightth years doing this, I think I get better each year :)).

My First day work
Which was 22 October. I was overloaded with jobs I left for two weeks during Ied holiday. I sat in front of my computer all day long. I really had no time to peek any pages other than my job. I even got home after maghrib, tired. Everything was should be ready by, as usual, ‘this afternoon’. It was painful all over my body, stiff in every joint and muscle, ooooohhhhh. I got home to take bathe and go straight to my bed… This happened for the whole week. :(

My First aerobic - after almost two months off
It was a low low low low low impact, done in my first Friday morning at work, in the backyard of my office. Felt so hard, but I felt fresh after doing it. Sweat was good. Stretches has loosen my muscles. Steps have relieved my stress. Tired of having exercise is fun, much better than working …:)

My First Swim – after at least two months off
I used to do at least 200m. Not much, but that’s my portion. But this time, I gave up before 100. My chest was like pressed. I couldn’t control my breath. I was even twisted, couldn’t control my balance…