the hermantos

my birthday

2008-11-07T21:54:00.004+07:00

Today I'm 40

Ooh..of course still fell like much much more younger, but my oh my... my body knows well..ha..ha..I know beside take good care of what I eat I also need exercise / workout.. ehm.. what's that..??, food..??!!

bertambah usiaku
semakin pendek jatah hidupku
semoga Allah SWT memberikan aku panjang umur, sehat, bahagia dunia akhirat
semoga kelak meninggal dalam iman islam yg sempurna, amin.

Today I'm 40

Perjalanan ibadah umroh

2008-10-01T14:50:00.000+07:00

Berjalan bersama Dudi dan anak2, menuju masjid Al- Haram, sambil menggandeng Farah, kulihat di depan mataku, Ka'bah.

Ya Allah.. bergetar kalbu dan mataku begitu melihatnya. Selama ini tiap kali sholat selalu facing The Ka'bah, now I witness it myself..

Eid Fitr

2008-09-30T14:40:00.003+07:00

This time we celebrate Eid Fitr in Saudi. It's been 9 times we celebrated this day not in our country..

Somebody told Dudi " why don't you guys just go to Mecca for Umrah ". Now..?, yes, now !. Yes we think why not now..?

Then after sholat id, right away I prepared the luggages ready for Mecca.

anniversary

2008-09-29T14:32:00.002+07:00

Today - 14 years of our marriage.

Hope still many many.. more years to come....i/Allah

Love you more Dudi..

Another new journey

2008-09-10T14:10:00.007+07:00

I can't believe it , finaly we're here in this soil..

I still remember.. 3 years ago on family holiday, we went to KL- Malaysia by Gulf Air. On the plane with the Gulf Air magazine in my hands, I told Dudi that maybe someday we could go to the desert in the middle east for holiday.

Here we are now, safely arrived.

We stopped at Bahrain, Dudi picked us up at the airport. My kids were so excited to see their dad (baru sebulan kok..he..he..). From Bahrain to Saudi only takes 30 min by car.

Amazing places..!

Alhamdulillah..

from kingdom to kingdom

2008-09-09T10:29:00.002+07:00

We're about to leave the Kingdom of Thailand off to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Good bye Thailand... my home..

Kha phun kha......

Dirgahayu Republik Indonesia

2008-08-17T12:59:00.004+07:00

Today is the 63rd Indonesian Independence Day.

___________________________________

The container just left an hour ago

The house is empty now...

Kay just came and bought the wayangs. I loved my wayangs but I don't feel like bringing them to Saudi..., no patung...

I know for sure they will be in good hands. I'm happy. Kay and family love Indonesian stuff. And they will be in France soon...,

apa gak keren tuh wayang....di tangan orang asing dan di negara asing...hore..... I'm so proud..

today's outfit

2008-08-16T20:00:00.005+07:00

I'm so addicted playing with this. It's so fun... just try

I'm gonna miss you my friends....

2008-08-10T10:49:00.009+07:00

Padaal temen2 ku masih banyak juga yg belum pulang liburan.. apalagi ita teman terbaikku. woah..lama amat bu liburannya.. gak kangen ma nasi apa..??

Tapi yah gak bisa ditunda lagi.., hari rabu ini rencananya mover company dah dtg, mau ngepak2 selama 3 hari. Yah jadi harus segera diadakan farewell dulu seadanya di rumah, mumpung masih ada furniture serta peralatan2 masak dan makan..

Hope our paths will cross again..

The kids' friends

2008-08-10T10:46:00.005+07:00

still holiday...

selama liburan panjang ini.. gw sering terima temen2 anak2 ku nginep di rumah. Ada beberapa yg gak pulang ke their country of origin ato liburan kemana gitu.. jadi lumayan anak2 gak bosen.

Selama gw sibuk beres2, anak2 juga ikutan sibuk mindahin mainannya ke kamar gw.. yeh..bebas gini.. coba liat ini..

gak cuman temennya arif ato emir, jumat kemaren sahabatnya farah, daniel juga nginep di rumah..!! coba bayi2 jaman sekarang, umur 5 tahuin dah berani sleep over..hebat juga,tidurnya yah dikamar gw bareng2..hi..hi...
untung gak nangis malem2 minta pulang

Dudi's off to The Middle East

2008-08-10T10:43:00.005+07:00

August 1st, pagi2 masih diantar sama khun akhom supir kita, masih pakai mobil GM dari kantor, Dudi berangkat deh ke KSA. Moga2 insha Allah aku dan anak2 segera menyusul. Setibanya disana Dudi perlu mengurus surat2 untuk kepindahan kita, pindah kesini nih gak bisa bareng. Suami harus jadi sponsor, makanya harus pindah duluan.

Aku harus siap2 disini sendiri, beres2, urus surat anak bw sekolah ke bkk ke konsular Thailand, ke saudi embassy, done alhamdulillah, gak susah cuman mesti bolak balik berkali2... paspor amrik bw si gendhuk cilik, urus rumah di horseshoe point, musti belanja ini itu.., benerin ini itu, pindah ke hotel, listnya pjg.. kamu bisa nih Lis urus sendiri, kata Dudi, yah insha Allah harus bisa.

Untungnya aku masih dikasih pinjem mobil berikut supir sampai sebulan, dan yg sangat luar biasa, visa tinggal bw aku dan anak2 gak dicabut sampai akhie sept ma GM, padahal semustinya setelah resign dari kerjaan bis itu ada waktu seminggu, peraturannya harus segera dicabut visa tinggalnya, dan angkat kaki segera, kalau mau tinggal lebih mah urus sendiri..dari awal. Makasih banget GM tercinta, semoga tetap jaya..!!

Okay pa.. take care..

We're moving......

2008-08-10T08:27:00.048+07:00

Dimana kaki berpijak, disitulah bumi Allah.

Selama 4 setengah tahun kita tinggal di Thailand, kini waktunya kita hijrah.

It's been 4 and a half years, we're living in Thailand. The place where people smile. This is the time....

We are so gratefull to have a chance for living here, our kids have grown here, as one of their back yards.

We are foreigners in a foreign country, we've learned other cultures, we've met other people both local and expats, made new friends, new neighbours, good friends... , for all of them we are thankful for. Alhamdulillah..

We will move to another exotic place and different cultures.

With an open mind, hopefully we won't have any difficulties in our new place.

Insha Allah our new life in a new place will be in Dammam - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Yes, we are happy and very excited.

Hopefully we always get ridho from Allah SWT

Now, we are moving..., people.

Bismilah hirohman nirohim....

__________________________________________

Hari Jumat, tgl 18 July yg lalu, setelah 2 minggu in the desert, Dudi mendarat lagi di bumi Thailand. Kali ini untuk siap2 pindah, moving out of the country.

Hari2 terakhir sebelum pindah, Dudi mulai kirim2 khabar ke orang2 GM di Indo, GM di negara2 lain, mantan mentors dan bossnya ( dari GM pusat Amrik yg sekarang tersebar di mana2 ada yg di amrik, london, Dubai, china..), temen2 lain di GM amrik, mexico, lah pokoknya orang2 GM yg dia kenal atau eks GM. Hiks..aku baca balesan emails-nya juga ikut terharu.. serasa nonton film.. semua kenangan2 itu terlihat kembali..., inget tampang orang2nya.. Mr O kita pernah naik boatnya dia di lake di michigan di belakang rumahnya, kita baru aja pindah ke amrik, S yg pernah ngajarin Dudi main golf waktu dia dulu bertugas di Indo.., T yg sekarang di dubai, O sekarang di london, A di amrik , B di China yg berkat dia kita bisa pergi undangan gala dinner kantor kadin US di Bkk, bareng petinggi2 GM lainnya, tapi ada yg lucu juga salah satu VP disini malahan bilang.."whatt..??!!, is thailand not hot enough for you.." ha..ha.. he's very nice and his wife too.. they are all nice to us, and to our kids..

Sad of course, you can imagine, it's been for 15 years, working for the company.., you know, the sense of belonging.., dah kaya perusahaan mboke dhewe. dedikasi tinggi, it's true..!!, dah sampai ke anak2 malahan. When Dudi gently broke the news to our kids about this moving, our eldest said.. "yeah we gonna have GMC, right papa..", see.. tuh khan..,lah wong dah disini before we got married. Walau hari2 terakhir di GM, Dudi selalu memantau stock market-nya di TV, tapi tentu bukan karena ini dia mengundurkan diri, (ya masa depan,..anak2 kita mulai besar.. yg sulung i/Allah 5 tahun lagi kuliah.., adik2nya menyusul). kita masih percaya dan berharap dgn motto "apa yg terbaik bw GM itu juga yg terbaik bw america..". Sangat bersyukur berkesempatan kerja di perusahaan besar seperti ini.

Emang tempat yg akan kita tinggalin, bikin komentar pertama2 dari temen2.. apa gak serem..pindah kesitu.. yah kalau gak tahu serem juga, tapi setelah dudi look see sampai 2 kali bow, trus blogging sana sini, baca sana sini.. gak lah.. emang di mana kita..? ha..ha..
Insha Allah, mohon dilindungi Allah terus dimana kita berada. Trus masalah baju, yah aku harus penyesuaian..kalau soal jilbab, anyway gw emang islam yg semustinya pakai jilbab, tapi kalau abaya hitam. Nah.. itu emang cultures sana yg harus kita ikutin , walopun kita org asing, hati2 bisa ditangkep ma polisi khusus..namanya muttawa.. !!actually it's not a bad idea, wearing a black cloak -abaya- , surely make me look slimmer, ha..ha..kidding. Yg musti bener2 penyesuaian nih budaya segregationnya (catat : ini budaya, bukan agama) wanita dan laki2..wah.., tapi katanya denger2 sekarang dah mulai dikit ada perubahan.. he..he.. ini mah urusan mereka aku tak bs ikut campur.. cuman kalau dah gak terlalu segregation..khan aku nebeng enaknya.. tapi ini gak pengaruh ke anak2 sih.. khan mereka ke sekolah international.

Tgl 25 July, orang2 di kantor Dudi ngadain pesta perpisahan bw kita. Ya Allah baik2 yah mereka, makasih sekali, jazakallah. Biasanya sih gak semustinya ini diadakan farewell party bw Dudi, krn Dudi khan bukan transfer ke GM lain tetapi mengundurkan diri. Pindah, keluar ke company lain khan gak dipesta2in...

Semoga dengan kepindahan ini, yg paling penting semoga semakin memperkuat iman islam kita, amin.. Anak2 semakin terbuka, tidak rasis dan tolerance, meyadari bhw orang itu berbeda2 dan tidak satu, beda bangsa, cultures, agama, hopefully aku dan Dudi bisa mengajari, membimbing dan mempersiapkan mereka semoga mereka bisa menjadi kontribut yg baik bagi dunia. Kayanya anak2 kita dah mulai menjadi bagian dari the third culture kids (wikipedia)

Tolong doain kita yah biar kepindahan kita lancar..., makasih.. jazakallah..

so funny....

2008-07-19T06:58:00.003+07:00

One night,

The kids were in my room, Dudi was still in The Middle East,

I heard this, the conversation between Arif (my oldest) and Farah (the youngest) :

Well, actually Arif (who's talking), Farah's (who's listening)

Arif :

Farah, listen to me, I'm telling you this :

Don't marry A, he's too disgusting
Don't marry B, he's too skinny
Don't marry C, he's too negative
Don't marry D, he has too many pimples
Don't marry E, he's too sissy, easy to cry
Don't marry F, he doesn't like wearing a tshirt when sleeping (iya betul, cuma pakai boxer, gw aja sampai kaget, gw buka kamar anak2 pas dia lagi nginep di rumah.., whattt.. )

Don't marry G, angry a lot, oh okay he's not, only for some times, but he likes to get angry without any reasons, (wah gawat...)

Don't marry H, he's..., oh no.. oh yes..!! he's good.., he's smart, but no.!, he has bug teeth, maybe later..

Don't marry I, he's too tall
Don't marry J, he's too picky (very difficult to eat) hee..hee.. emang rada norak

Don't marry K, he's too..., oh yes.., he's oke, oh no..!!, he's too good for you ( me : whatt..!!?? )

Don't marry L, heemm, jumping a lot..!!
Don't marry M, he's too fat..!! you will run out of money, just buy food for him..!!

(and now he's talking about Farah's friends)

Don't marry N, he pee a lot ( in the morning, going to the school by school bus, he likes to ask the driver to stop somewhere..)
Don't marry O, he cries a lot..., oh God..
Don't marry P, he's... eemm.., oh okay.. he's a good boy, he's good for you...
(woah...finally..!! someone got approved.. pheeuuhh..!! )

Emir's 10th birthday

2008-07-15T22:50:00.003+07:00

2008-07-15T22:49:00.004+07:00

Today, our second is 10 years old.

Soon after subuh, I right away went to the kitchen, needed to make a special breakfast.

At 9 am we all were ready for breakfast. Dudi is not here, he's still in The Middle East.

Okay, for breakfast this morning we had nasi kuning, opor ayam, empal suwir, mie goreng, gado2, sambal goreng udang and chocolate pie ( I managed to finish making this pie at 11 pm
, ngantuk rek )

As usual Farah made a special birthday present, her drawing. Last night she drew the picture in front of the birthday boy and I helped her to wrap it while Emir was in front of me . But Emir was so nice to her so when he opened his present this morning he didn't forget to put his face surprisely.. and Farah so happy.

Selamat ulang tahun sayang.., doa mama selalu menyertaimu..

The boys

2008-07-05T23:43:00.003+07:00

Actually Emir's birthday is still 10 more days to go, but since the school had finished a week ago and before everybody's leaving for long summer holiday, we had Emir's friends to come to our house today.

Fortunately Scott Hansen, Terry Petras, and Caylan Mc Coy are not leaving yet for the holiday, they're still in town.

Before lunch they played PS then after had lunch, we all ( 7 of us, Arif, farah and me included. Dudi just left for The Middle East yesterday) headed to the theater to watch the movie (Hancock).

In the afternoon they continued to play play station for another hours....., they all refused to go swimming.

I had so much fun with the boys and seemed they had a great time too, not to mention Farah who was very excited to join with them.

Last night

2008-06-27T10:13:00.012+07:00

What is going on here...??

It was late at night, bed time, messy room, everything was upside down.., and Arif..?? eating on his bed..!! you all needed to be grounded..!!

Wrong.. !! , they were all more than happy grounded in this room.., hhmm.. where..??

gimana seh...

2008-06-26T20:23:00.007+07:00

Hua..... , today I had the last coffee morning at la baguette with Janet before she's leaving. My dear friend Janet Seale and her family are off to America tomorrow afternoon, not for summer holiday, but for good. They are moving back to the US after 12 years in Asia (Taiwan, China, Sing, Thailand). She is a very nice and sincere person. Love her so much. Janet, you'll be missed by everybody here..

I forgot to take pictures, infact none of us took any. Ita, Anna T, Aini, Lim, Janet and me, everybody forgot..!!

After coffee, Janet's house, lunch, then time to say bye to Anna T too. We took her to the hotel. Yes, she's moving too... but moving to Bangkok... hee..hee...GOOD.., more excuses and more often for me to go to Bangkok... !! . See you soon Anna T..

Hope someday, some other time, somewhere will see Janet again...

Take care my friends..

from Jakarta

2008-06-21T08:42:00.007+07:00

We all went to Jakarta. Visiting our parents. Met sisters, brothers, niece and nephews.

Kids and me stayed there for 1 week, and just came back last night. Dudi will be home tonight.

I had a chance to meet Nela (we were law students at UI' 87), we had lunch at Setiabudi 1, yeah.. teens years ago seems just like yesterday. Thank you Nela for your time. Ahem.. we ate dimsum.. yuhuu.. (bener yah nel, gak pake babi, awas aja kalau dah sampe indo masih juga ketipu ). Hope some other time I can see my other UI colleagues..

With so much appointments in Jakarta, I still could meet with Anna G (my Philipina's friend when she was in Pattaya), she and the family just moved to Jakarta. We (her 3 kids and her 4th kids to be -she's expecting-, my 3 kids, my mom, and my bro) had lunch at Warung Pojok -Plaza Senayan-.

Oh ya.. we went to Bandung for shopping... off course..!!. Satisfied..!!

Kita sekeluarga sangat mendoakan agar mimih -ibu mertuaku- cepet sembuh, amin.

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T23:30:00.003+07:00

to all moms..
the hardest job you always love

Mother's Day

2008-05-11T22:44:00.008+07:00

I love you all babies.

Always pray for you

The boys

2008-05-01T23:32:00.009+07:00

What picture is this..?, little soldiers..??. No, they're not.

My boys were playing paintballs with friends. Arif..and Emir..where are you.. hhmm.. I know their shoes though,.. ha..ha.. lol !!

Dudi berumroh

2008-05-01T22:50:00.005+07:00

Sedang berada di Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Dudi bulan April lalu menyempatkan untuk Alhamdulillah menyelesaikan ibadah umrohnya.

Hik..hiks...aku yang terharu. Iya setiap ada orang yang ke Mekkah gw musti nangis dengernya karena kepingin. Lha gimana gak terharu.. aku aja ngebayanginnya sekarang dah kepingin terbang.

Masih inget deh sama kata2nya temen gw Lita sepulangnya ibadah haji 10 tahun yg lalu kira2. Dia berujar "Lis....kalau bisa ibadah haji mumpung masih muda..masih kuat dan sehat..jangan tunggu tua..". Nah kata2 itu terus aku pegang sampai sekarang. Sampai kira2 4 tahun yg lalu nih gw ngomong sama suami untuk beribadah haji, waktu itu pas kayanya rumah kita di Indo dah lunas, he..he..jadinya kepingin. Wah... itu namanya belum rejeki kali yah..lha buktinya kita belum berangkat. Nah sekarang rejekinya Dudi ibadah umroh.

Mudah2an kita ada rejeki dari Alloh SWT biar bisa pergi haji. Rejeki harta, umur, kesehatan, kemauan, kesempatan, keselamatan. Amin.

Sejak setahun lalu peraturannya sekarang bisa lagi foto2 di deket kabah.

They visited us

2008-04-15T10:23:00.003+07:00

They were our friends in Michigan but now Tari, Adi, Anya and Ben are living in malaysia. They visited us here for 2 nights.

Dudi and me took them (mr and mrs Prabowo only, their kids must stayed at home) to see Pattaya at night. Serem yah... awas aja kalo disitu gak ngerasa serem...

The last day they were here was Tari's birthday, they entertained us in a restaurant.

Not missed the chance, Tari and Adi tried the famous thai massage in a health center. Bagaimana..... ?? boleh puas..??.

ida & lin party

2008-04-01T21:31:00.003+07:00

They're leaving

2008-04-01T21:30:00.001+07:00

This is not fun...not at all... !!

After living here in Thailand for almost 4 and half years, I'v had so much friends from different nationalities. Very good friends.

As times running, there is a moment for finally one by one's leaving the country. Who's turn know..??, hiks.. not only one but ones...

Toko, a Japanese. I knew her first time at Montessory school in 2005. Her youngest girl, Kana was Farah's classmate. Since then we'd just hang around together, played golf together, in a driving course though.. (never had a chance to try out in green with her) hee..hee.., I'm so lazy.. although.. pls accept this for saying -I'm better than you-, ha..ha.. admit it lah...

Eva, from Germany. Lukas her son was also Farah's classmate in Montessory in 2005. Ya, we are Montessory gang..?. Btw she loves japanese food, not common for Deutches, ya..?.

Ida, Indonesian. Off course as Indonesians and not living in Indonesia we always found each other.... I met her at PILC's (Pattaya International Ladies Club) Coffee Morning. She and her family are relocated to Singapore. Bu pergossipan masih terus berlanjut..melalui email.., pastinya !

Lin, Singaporean. She came to my house with Anna Malaysian (again, Montessory !) when I had a stainless steel party. Her kids and mine are in the same school (Regents's). Now they're moving to Australia.

Farewell Toko, Eva, Ida, Lin.... , hope to see you somewhere, some other time.. and always keep in touch, okay. ( hee..hee.. Facebook )

at ita's

at aini's

at la baguette

at Janet's

International Day

2008-03-08T22:43:00.002+07:00

I was so exhausted.... !! . I'd thought I was done !. Yeah, I'd participated the international days at my kids' school many times before, and mostly in Regents' School, hhmm.. let's say, almost every year..??.

First time was when we were in America, at my boys' school ( Farah was not born yet ) -Brookfield Academy- we were the only Indonesian Family. Despite the name of International Day, they called a Cultural Day. I still remember those days.. my 2 boys were still little boys, they were so cute and adorable in teluk belanga costume ( from South Sumatra ). In those days I used to make sate ayam and I stayed up till late night to prepare a poster about Indonesia.

When we moved here to Thailand, again at my boys' school (Farah still in another school-Nursery school), we were the only Indonesian family who participated the International day although there were another 2 Indonesian families. It was no problem at all for me, I still prepared Indonesian food and set up the table to show something about Indonesia. My boys wore javanese costumes complete with blangkon and keris and this time I also wore a beautiful kebaya.

The next year there were more Indonesian families at school, and some of them were really eager to participate the International day (salut for Ita fam, Arry fam, Elen fam and Di fam). We even (the indonesian moms) had a meeting to make plans about these and those things, ...bla..bla..(he..he.. meeting and eating..of course..!! ) so when the day happened, it was like what we'd hope. We really hit the day . The food was great and there was a lot !!, our table was really beautiful decorated with Indonesian things. The kids also enjoyed wearing the indonesian traditional costumes from Java, Aceh, Bugis, Bali. They just made us so proud. I was so impressed with Farah and other younger kids.

Like I mentioned above, for International Day this year, I'd had a plan to do nothing but retired and enjoyed, just come and see and buy and eat the food (yeah..you wish !). After talked to Ita suddenly we had an idea to participate the International Cafe . Hmm..not bad... I could handle it, in fact that was a good idea, brilliant ! since Ita and me like to cook and bake (apalagi si ita deh si ratu kue). Ya, stupid me !. Anyway, again, we had a meeting and eating. Moms facts : enjoy talk and eat, this time the meeting also involved Anna (Malaysian-Singaporen), Lim and Aini (both are Malaysian). Yes ! we would have a table for us together. A Malay-Sing-Indo Cafe. At the menu we would have complete nasi lemak, longan juice, risoles, es dawet, pisang bakar, bubur ketan item and pastel. Super yum..!! for sure.

I knew from Arif that some Indonesians students in secondary were busy preparing a presentation for Indonesia. Arif joined and participated with it. I called Vera (who has 2 kids in secondary) asking her wether it's possible to put our Indonesian stuff at school a day before, but this conversation ended up with asking me for participating as an Indonesian. Woott......??!! are you kidding me..?? (talked to myself, ha..ha..) I was like ggrrrhgh..!!. oh ..come on dear.. where were you last year and 2 years ago..??. Where have you been..?? (cuman beraninya ngomong dlm hati -talked to myself only !!-).

Anyway.. here we were, the whole family. International Day this time was held on Saturday. Arif left before us, he needed to prepare the table with friends. Farah was so cute in kebaya. Emir wore his kemeja batik (mama, I would never ever..ever.. wear a skirt again, he kept saying that, days before, till this morning to make sure. Ha..ha.. lol!, off course it's not a skirt, it's a sarong, he refered to baju jawa blangkonan, he was so scared I would force him to wear a javanese prince costume).

When I came to school this morning I saw Sunny (my international day - partner in crime - friend ), waving to her from my car window, and looking at her.. oh .. she was just walking slowly in casual clothes (not in a traditional korean, like she used to wear it when international day), not bringing food and seemed happy !! it was very obvious that she's "retired" now, like I was supposed to, regeneration..!!, take over to the "newbies". To late....Lisa..!! here you were with the food, plastic cups, plates etc..etc.. and wearing kebaya. The car trunk was full with ......, I don't know, everything..!

I found only 1 left available table. It was still not even 11am but the cafes were already so crowded. I started to get ready alone while waiting for my friends. I needed to prepare es dawet into the cups (Elen made es dawet but she couldn't come she must go to the church), set up the food that I made : risoles and caramelized banana satay, set the plates, names, etc..etc.., I asked Dudi to bring a tray with full of small bowls of bubur ketan item to Arif's table in second floor. Then my friends coming.. Ita put the batik table cloth on. The gift artist - Anna - was ready with beautiful, handmade, small flags of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. So cute..!

I walked up to the second floor to see "Indonesia booth". I was so surprised that only Arif had came and was ready with his stuff, sat down and eating his mom bubur ketan item. He set up the tables so nice... wayangs, masks, mini statues from Bali, the flag, the books, with my antiques, very old, royal patern batik sarongs (from my mother off course) unfolded laid on the tables. Although I warned him before, not to open those each batiks from its plastic bag since my mother had washed and preserved them with sago flour (crispy cloths). I was so impressed !. Fantastic Arif. Fortunately there was no camera. Dudi was the one who in charge of taking pictures and he was somewhere going around with Farah and Emir.

This was first time for Dudi to come, see, know the International day. He and kids enjoyed the day. They tried so many food, watched performances, did activities/games and participated with the parade.

After the parade finished, We came up to the second floor, needed to help Arif with the stuff, then there...?? wow..??!! the Indonesian booth was nicer, very nice presentation, something had hapened here..?, yeah Vera and family came to school very late (because of the car problem, I felt really sorry for them), but they did the job very well though. Vera brought es cendol and pudding, and there were some more batiks, baju daerah, patung2 bali, poster. Well done Mutia..!!

At around 4 pm we're off

I'm done !.

So long..International day..but.. still, I have intention to do this, some time in another country and another school. Insha Allah-God Willing-.

Cookie

2008-02-29T14:30:00.006+07:00

Farah : Mommy..look what I made at school, it's a ginger bread man cookie !!
Me : wow..! oh so sorry for you Farah, but the head is broken.
Farah : that's okay, mommy. So how is it mommy..?, do you like it
me : emm.. very nice. I love it.
Farah : here I give you the mouth and the eye. i know your color.
Me : Oh..thank you Farah, you're such a sweet girl.

The cookie was very good indeed !.

Oops !, I almost eat Farah, hue..hue.. (gemezz..), she's so cuutee...

Dudi's birthday

2008-02-24T22:22:00.011+07:00

Iya! on Friday (Feb 22) was my hubby's birthday, he's now 41. (ehm ! tambah ganteng and sexy deh, hush !)

I made Farah woke up that early morning and told her it was papa's birthday, yup ! easily she got up and found papa was not in his bed
Farah : where's papa ?
me : still taking a shower
Farah (yelling from the bathroom's door) : hi papa... happy birthday..

then immediately she just went to his brothers room.. "wake up mas.. wake up Emir..., it's papa' birthday.. come on.. quick get up...!!" (he..he.. she's just like a police officer). Okay...okay... the boys grumbled.

Before papa left for office, Emir and Farah showed their work to Dudi. They made a birthday wishes project in the computer, so cool... even Emir made a slide show, good work!. Arif..?.. oh, he continued his sleeping again... (still holiday!)

Days before, Dudi said "ehmmm what I'm gonna get for my birthday.." (hah..??, I'd been thinking not to buy anything for him, he..he..evil wife!). Okay then, hhmm.. a ring ?, no.. !, he definately does't like it, a neckless..?, he..he.. I must be crazy.

Done with my grocery shopping then we (Farah and me) went to a mall, needed to buy a present for Dudi. I know he loves books, okay then... easy peasy.. just find the best seller ones.., but since I didn't go to the bookstores in Bkk, there are not to much choices here in Pattaya, so I took the book that is not heavy read like Dudi's other books but the one that I can read it too(ha..ha..wise wife!). Could you wrap it very nicely please.. I asked the guy. Wow!, he put it in a very special box. Perfect!.

Back home, it was already about 1 pm. I started to cook for special dinner. I made nasi uduk, ayam bakar bumbu rujak, mie goreng, tumis tahu tempe bumbu pedas, ayam bumbu bw putih then I also made a very simple chocolate birthday cake and for dessert I made creme brulee. Oh ya also I made caezar salad.

Dudi called me and said that he would be home at 7 pm (..liar!, let's see, hue..hue..), but... until 7.15 he was not at home. Okay, Farah couldn't wait any longer she needed to have dinner soon or otherwise she would sleep. And, it was right!, just after Farah finished her dinner then Dudi came. It was about 8 pm!, I wasn't surprised, I'm his wife!.

When we were still working with our dinner, Farah put her head on the table then soon she slept... zzzz

On Sunday, to celebrate Dudi's extended birthday, we had lunch at a Japanese Restaurant ( yes!, Dudi loves Japanese food, so do Arif, Emir and Farah). I'm not a fan of japanese food but I love desserts, I'm a dessert person hue..hue.. and Benihana has everything I like .. hm yum..yum..!!

Mid term break

2008-02-21T18:38:00.005+07:00

No school for a week. I like to bake and try new recipes. The kids enjoy their afternoon tea. Then go for swimming or ride their bikes, while I'm preparing dinner.

coffee morning

2008-01-25T21:55:00.001+07:00

To welcome in the new year 2008, I had a small group of moms (Regents School) for coffee morning at home today.

Not so busy for preparing the food but I must fry some of them (easy, but you know... right ? when you do it). I made mini mushroom muffins, risoles - crepes with creamy chicken filling, tofu nugget, fermented gloutinous rice cake (kue tape) mini croissants and black rice pudding served with coconut milk (bubur).

The moms were Kay (England) who came with her adorable baby Eden and mom - mrs Martinesz, Ita (Indo), Elen (indo), Anna (Malaysian), Lin (Singaporean), Aini (Malaysian) and Sv (Russian). Lin who came right after her badminton refused to be taken her picture since she said she was still in her sport outfit, he..he..he..

Ita made apple pie, Anna made mini tartlets...hhmm.. tempting and yum..., too bad I didn't take the pictures since my camera was still in charging at that time), Ellen made rujak (various of cut fruits with peanut dipping), Kay with the mint chocolate and Lin brought fruits. Thank you so much girls..

Arif's birthday

2008-01-14T22:57:00.002+07:00

My eldest son, si gundul ganteng 1, turned 12 years old (Jan 13th). He is my young man.

We had brunch at a restaurant (at my kids favourite restaurant). In the morning my centil Farah had been busy for preparing the present for the big brother. She asked me to help her wrap it.

"I'm not telling you mas....", Farah said to Arif.

"I know what it is..., it's a drawing !. Your drawing...", Arif said

"No, it's not. I'm not telling..." she kept saying that, and she kept showing him the wrapped present.

Then she said that she would give the present when his birthday has started. Ha..ha.. for her, mas Arif's birthday is a time when Arif blew the candles. So, she insisted that he needed to wait until we got home, then he could open the present.

After brunch we went to a certain shop to buy a present for Arif. Hmm... the one that he really wanted (read : not he needed :P).

At home, after Arif blew his candles, then time for Farah to give him the present and she was the one who was really excited. Trang..trang....! both Arif and Farah were so happy. Mas liked her drawing. He really appreciated Farah's effort.

"Mas..this is me and this is you.....", Farah pointed the picture.

"but Farah why am I smaller than you...?", Arif asked Farah.

Arif's birthday

2008-01-14T22:50:00.000+07:00

Jakarta

2008-01-14T22:46:00.000+07:00

2 Days ago I Just came back from Jakarta, went alone, needed to do something here. Only spent for 4 nights (9-12 Jan). I stayed in my mom's house.

Still, I could manage my time here for visiting my in laws, my dearest auntie and her family at one of their houses (the new make over one - wow! it's fab!! - and I'm so in love with the big and the modern kitchen) and had lunch with them, went around with Indri for shopping (ha..ha.. not me, but Indri) and did my urusan bussiness (kindly she took me everywhere) then met my friends Arry and Amanda (another little bit of shopping with her). Rushed and rushed.... !!

My luggage was limited for only 15 kg, that's good !, excuse for not shopping here, but still mine was overweight for 1,6 kg ha..ha.. although I didn't do shopping :P

Btw, I'm thinking to make a proposal to the magazine about my aunti's house

Ayu Wati, me, Rati, Ravi, Indra, Indira, Mom, tante farida and oom Srihadi (having lunch at a hotel)

mom, me, Indri, Arry and Elly at a mall

Romantic Bangkok

2008-01-05T23:37:00.000+07:00

We stayed in a very nice hotel (located along the Chao Phraya river).

At night, we took a hotel owned boat, cruised along the river. Liked the view with the lights, so..romantic, clean and no smell. We were not dissapointed at all.

2008

2008-01-01T15:15:00.000+07:00

Happy New Year 2008 from Central World - Bangkok

She was a reindeer

2007-12-16T21:54:00.001+07:00

Farah at a school performance (Dec 13th 2007)

24th Sea Games-Dec 2007 (Thailand)

2007-12-16T21:30:00.000+07:00

There were times when Indonesia was no 1.

We came to Horseshoe Point to watch and support the Indonesian team. No luck...

king's birthday

2007-12-06T23:40:00.000+07:00

On December 5th, 2007, the king is 80.

Thais showed their respect for His Majesty by wearing yellow- the colour that symbolizes Monday, the day of the king was born. Well, not only Thais, on this day most people here wearing yellow.

We were here with Thais in rachadanun street, when our driver called my husband telling him that the king just finished his speech from the palace, and would pass this street very soon. So we crossed the street and got ready. The police started to put the yellow (big&long) scarf in front of yhe people. Wow... we were in the very front row, how lucky !

When The king's car passed, I was about to wave my hand when I realized people around us clasped their hands in respect. "Long Live the King" echoed in unison throghtout the air, it was a sight never to be forgotten.

we were in yellow

2007-12-06T21:24:00.000+07:00

Amanda and me

2007-12-04T13:20:00.000+07:00

She is my old friend and was my best friend.

We went to the same high school. We took Feksos (bimbingan belajar) together before entering university. After that I had barely seen her. Both of us took law in major (not same university).

Finished law school, I worked for a bank. She had taken paths as a lawyer. Lucky me I met her again when I got married. Then I never met her again until recently. Yeah.....after 13 years.....

She came here in Thailand to visit us. Stayed in my house for only 2 nights.... hah..what ...??!! after all these years....??. Since this is my first time to go to Thailand, so I must go to Chiangmai as well, she said. Yeah right !!, you're such a good friend...ha..ha..ha..

Anyway in 3 days, we talked a lot, catched up with each other. Talked about our parents - mothers and our late fathers, our siblings, our friends. It was so fun !!.

We went around to see pattaya at night with Dudi and Scott (Dudi's friend) then we went to a discotheque !! (her request, gak salah nih Manda!!), I protested her but I went with her anyway :p, needed to take care of her, ha...ha...ha...

She is my wonderfull and best friend !!.

She is single, available and a lawyer...

with amanda

2007-12-04T13:00:00.000+07:00