Postcard from the camp, 1st day

Wake up at around 7ish and had prawn soup with rice for breakfast which actually is nice but I don’t think I’m ready for that much spices in the morning even if it is only ginger mostly. Depart for the MFA directly after breakfast with our luggage safely stored on the bus compartment cause we’ll be departing for the Chonburi province right after lunch at the MFA.

The Thai MFA building looked so grand and brand new, which wasn’t exactly brand new! They have lovely lotus like chandelier hanging in the hallway. We were seated in the Narathip hall for the welcoming address by the people from the MFA. The hall very much reminds me of the lecture hall back in the university. After a coffee break we had a lecture on environmental protection which presented by famous Thai climatologist or environmentalist (which I forgot his name), basically told us that we can do small things to preserve our environment. True, but sometimes we hover on the small things because they’re so damn comfortable. Like switching on 2 air con at the same time because its so damn refreshing!

Lunch was great, I had a pad thai which is my fav Thai which I found out is actually made from smaller rice noodle rather than the bigger one (the kwe tiau noodle). The coconut chicken soup was really good as well, not too hot but the flavor from the chili sort of linger in your tongue to tickle you taste bud in a good way.

After the luncheon the foreign student was escorted to the MFA radio station, Radio Saranhom, where they interviewed me and 6 other students representing the participating countries about the event. Thank god it’s a taped interview, so they can edit whatever it is I’m sayin.

Finally things were over at the MFA and were headin straight to Sattahip in Chonburi province. The ride took 2.5 hr and there’s a bit of a traffic cause of a traffic accident.

Arrived close to 5 and the weather is so damn wonderful, you can really feel the refreshing beach wind blow your face. The room is neat and comfortable with 2 single beads but I had the room for myself.

Dinner was at 7 and a bit of games afterward to let the participants know each other more. Im sure that most of the participants felt displaced and homesick, away from their friends, family and mostly their home. In the last game, I somehow managed to lost twice and as a punishment me and couple other boys and girls have to perform something. So yeah, in one nite I managed to totally humiliated myself and danced and sang my way through it. Which was really fun!

Finally a new place

I'm here in Bangkok, landed in the brand new extremely huge Suvarnabhumi airport at 5 o'clock. I'm staying in Hua Mark sports complex for the nite. The room is neat and clean with a view to the national stadium and the swimming pool.

A week as a youth

An opportunity come right knocking at my doorstep when I’m in dire need. I’ve had it up to my head, I really feel in need to declutter what’s inside my head with a little bit of help from traveling. I mean if you can declutter your closet who am I to say that your emotional baggage cannot be decluttered as well?

I’m off to Bangkok for a week for a youth camp, which isn’t exactly like a holiday but it does sounds fun. There’s some serious number of activities involve here, like morning exercises for instance! I also plan to take couple of days leave from work so I can stay back in Bangkok after the event finished. Like I said, I really need a holiday!

Packing for hot weather

I'm going travelling this weekend, so I'm picturing things on my mind that I need to pack for my trip. First of all I will need a handbag that is roomy and comfortable to bring. I prefer neutral colours like white or nude cause they will match most of the outfit easily. Should I go for the shoulder hobo or the one with a longer strap so I can use it as a slingback as well? I like my shoulder hobo cause its white but it doesnt have a zipper so I'm affraid that my stuff will fall down easily. On the other hand my slingback hobo is in beige and I'm more of a white person rather than a beige.

Secondly, I will need to decide on what shoes to bring. There's 3 kinds that I will need, 1. Flat sandals for walking around the city, 2. Sneakers for sport activities (yes sadly the event that I'm going to attend will involve some sport activities), 3. A flat shoes/mid heels sandals that can fit for a dressier occassions. Of course being a white person, I will make sure that all the shoes that I'll bring is white.

Move on to the tops, I did not have much choice with tops cause I still have a flabby tummy so I will opt for something that is big and long, empire cut will also help alot to cover the fat tummy. Since the place that I'm going is hot hot hot (I heard its 38C today!) so I will choose lighter material shirt and a chiffon top.

And lets not forget my all time favourite, dresses. Oh yes where would I be without them? I love them, flirty and feminine and hide all my imperfection perfectly. I'll chose several dresses which have light material and with short sleeve.

I will of course bring a pair of jeans and couple skirts that still fit me on my current figure. And dont forget Clinique Superdefense and Banana Boat sunscreen to protect me from the naughty sun ray.

Baby in box

Babies have a mind of their own, sometime you bought them an expensive toys only to find that they rather play with the box rather than the toys itself. Like here Raysa was really happy when we put her inside the container box which its real purpose was to store her clothing. She's espescially happy when we push the box around.

Without her in bed

Raysa usually sleep with me and R on our bed, we put her in between us. But for the last 2 days she's been sleeping with my Mom & Dad cause R is terribly sick and we wouldn’t want her to catch the cold. I felt like a sick puppy without her beside my pillow, I’m so used to seeing her face before I fell asleep. I’ll kiss her like crazy and fall asleep holding her hands. So last night It’s kind of odd that I don’t have to worry that I might accidentally fall on her while I was sleeping, but I cannot sleep at all, I was wide awake! I was even sleeping holding Raysa’s Green Kitten doll hands the day before. LOL!

Raysa and her green kitten doll

Jewelry wishlist

Gold dragonfly necklace from Oasis available at Debenhams, retail at Rp169 IIRC.

Black loop enamel earrings from Oasis, retail at Rp69, which is really cheap for an Oasis earrings.

Although I already had this star and butterfly necklace that I bought during the easter midnight shopping. But I think the dragonfly is more for the classic look whereas the star and the butterfly is more for the fun look. Ok I'm making excuses here, cause the dragonfly is way too big and bold for a classic look.

Or this Linea Nervenkitt Jesella necklace made from semi precious stone which IMO perfect for a simple cut shirt or dresses. Linea Nervenkitt available from Luxe Ideas, a Singapore based store which ships internationally. But I can always try to make them myself, It doesn't look like a complicated design given that I can found the semi precious stone. I use to make my own jewelry but nowadays I never semed to find the times to do it anymore, between work and Raysa there seemed not too much room for extra activities.

I made these two necklaces myself, I like the one in the left with the turquoise stone, simple yet chic. Whereas the one on the right was custom made for my mom with freshwater pearls and semi precious stone, but I wouldnt be caught dead with one of these. It's just too huge in a very not me way!

In need for the neutrals

Beige/nude cropped jacket that will goes with most of the colourful tops in my wardrobe.

White dress or shirt dress that is not too plain or boring, but not too over the top.

This weekend with chocolate

Sabtu pagi Mommy udah bangun barengan Raysa terus nemenin Raysa, main kejar"an di baby walker. Raysa galak banget. Mommy di tabrakkin terus sampe kakinya sakit. malemnya tapi Raysa nggak pergi kemana" soalnya her dad had a seminar to attend and mom had to tag along.

But on Sun, Raysa pergi ke rumahnya andung. Tapi pas sampe sana Tante Ti-nya tidur soalnya kecapean ngurusin acara semalem. Jadi deh cuman becanda" sama andung ajah. Pas di rumah andung ujan terus Raysa seneng banget pas diajakkin ke balkon. Tapi kalo dibawa masuk lagi dia ngamuk berat! Alisnya udah naik" terus mukanya galak banget de.

Abis dari rumah andung Raysa jalan" ke PIM, wah seneng banget dia! Secara anak mall gituh, kalau gak liat mall seminggu ajah udah heboh kayak uler keket di rumah pencilaan terus (bahasa jawa nih ya?). Raysa sempet ketiduran pas didorongin di strollernya, tapi pas kita ngafe di Death by Chocolate dia kebangun deh, melototin Chocolate Meltnya Mommy, marah soalnya dia gak dikasih. I must say, chocolate meltnya enak banget, instead of an ice cream they serve it with cold chocolate mouse dan pastinya pake chocolate sauce juga. Tapi sayangnya chocolate cakenya di dalemnya nggak ada chocolate yang melt keluar gitu, tapi rasa cakenya enak pait" manis, sort of bitter sweet gitu. But I still prefer the one in Urban Kitchen by Chocolate, oh didnt I tell you about that one? Enak banget! Chocolate souffle served with chocolate fondue, vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries. Last week I went crazy and ate Chocolate Souffle 4 times in a row. LOL!

Below is Raysa at Death by Chocolate, ho ho itu yang pertama Raysa lagi marah karena nggak dikasih Chocolate Melt sama mommy. And look at that, sepatunya dimasukkin ke mulut? Ck ck ck padahal dah dibilangin gak boleh dia malah marah. The next one is her playing with her bottle and the last one, pastinya nggak mau ketinggalan kalo orang gede lagi buka" menu dia maunya juga punya buku sendiri!

Many faces of her

Kemaren lagi nyari" foto buat kerjaan, jadi malah liat" foto Raysa dan ketemu foto"nya dia waktu minggu" pertama. Ngenes banget de kalo inget waktu dia baru lahir, keciiiiiil banget, secara beratnya cuman 2.5 kg pas lahir dan pas dibawa pulang turun jadi 2.4 kg. Foto yang paling kiri itu pas Raysa baru 1 minggu abis visit pertama dari dokter. Di foto yang kedua saking kecilnya itu paha keliatan jadi lembek banget. Udah gitu pas baru lahir Raysa kulitnya merah banget. Tapi tetep dong walaupun kecil gaya.

Setelah sebulanan, Raysa lumayan naiknya ada 1 kilo lebih dikit. Jadinya pipinya udah rada tembem dan dia udah tau mall. Kalo dibawa jalan" ke mall senengnya bukan main. Kalo difoto udah bisa lebih ekspresif, dan udah mulai ngocol. Ini foto Raysa sama Nenda lagi ngopi di Bakerzin Plaza Indonesia. Sebenernya waktu itu ada Bunda Dhia juga, tapi bundanya nggak ke foto.

Kalo sekarang sih, jangan ditanya, udah bisa nyengar nyengir dia kalo di foto. Kalo liat kamera dia maunya ngambil ajah buat mainan. Takut juga dong kameranya direbut sama Raysa, secara hobinya sekarang banting" barang.

Tapi tetep yang gak berubah dari baru lahir sampe sekarang ... Raysa masih gundul. Sabar aja de ... rambutnya belum tumbuh.

The places I used to call home

I was browsing through the net and I found this blog, An Angel at My Table, by a Swedish girl who posted lot of nice pictures of corners at random houses and utilities. It reminds me alot of the houses that I used to live in when I was in Melbourne. This kitchen reminds me of our kitchen back in the boarding house at Fawkner. It has an L-shape kitchen set cupboards with another cupboard in front of it that has a serving table just like in the picture. On a good day, that is when our supervisor is in a good mood and she felt that we’re behaving nicely, she will make us pancake for our Sunday breakfast. The girls would gather in the kitchen and some would try their skills at making pancake.

The wooden floor reminds me of Ibu Rasmi’s house at Camberwell where I stayed during my final year of High School. During the summer, the kitchen will be so blindingly bright because of the whole kitchen was covered by glass so the sun light will directly shower the whole room.

This black and white checkered tile reminds me of the floor on my apartment in Armadale. A simple 2 bedrooms apartment with a minimalist decor but felt really like a place of my own.

And all of this reminds me of her, the bubbly girl that I lived at all of these houses with. She's going to be a mom soon, we're becoming mommies now.

Face spray

I’m a dry skin type therefore in the morning I usually put generous amount of moisturizer on my skin. But that doesn’t help much, usually by mid day my skin has gone really dry and a bit flaky. It felt especially horribly bad after lunch where the weather in it’s hottest and I sweat a lot but the face feel really dry. Then came along Clinique Moisture Surge Face Spray to save my day, spray it 20-30cm from my face and I felt all the drama in my face is gone. It felt so cooling & refreshing on the face but it doesn’t melt down all the make up that I worn. If it’s not that expensive, I would probably spray this every 5 minute because I love the cooling sensation!

I've spotted a bargain for a sample from this e-Bayer. If they got a sample sold on e-Bay perhaps they will have it in Mangdu as well, I'll check out there first before I make any move on e-Bay.

Baby Gym

Sebulan yang lalu, waktu akungnya ke Singapur Raysa dapet oleh" Baby Gym. Walaupun sebenernya dari 3 bulan udah boleh ditaruh di baby gym ini, tapi belum sempet di beliin karena liat" yang di Mothercare mahal banget dan masa pakenya juga cuman sebentar jadinya gak dibeliin de. Eh ternyata Raysa suka banget mainan di baby gymnya. Setiap mainan yang digantung diatas ditarikkin sama dia. Terus dia suka bangetnya sama mainan ini karena dia bisa lompat kesana kemari dengan pegangan ban sekelilingnya dan dia jadi bisa berdiri" gitu. Jadinya kalau dia lagi di baby gym biasanya harus dijagain orang atau baby gymnya ditaruh diatas tempat tidur. Jadi kalo Raysanya lompat masih ke tempat tidur.

Sekarang Raysa kalo mainan tuh gak cukup satu dua ajah bonekanya, kalo bisa sebanyak"nya deh soalnya dia gampang banget bosenan. Tapi yang pasti dia paling suka masukkin mainannya ke mulut. Jadi dua hari sekali mainannya Raysa di rotasi di cuci. Karena seringnya dicuci, preferably kalo beli boneka yang washable atau bahannya yang ringan dan kecil jadi gampang dicucinya dan keringnya.

Tapi Raysa cukup beruntung juga, karena Mommy-nya hobi ngoleksi boneka dan barang lucu. Jadi selain bonekanya sendiri yang banyak, dia dapet warisan juga dan di kamarnya udah banyak pajangan" Marvin the Martian sama Disney Princesses.

Red if you dare

Do you dare to wear your red on your lips? I dont dare to cause I personally think that red lipstick are not meant for the tanned. But a MA in MAC teach me how to wear red lippie, just used a tiny bit on the middle of your lips and blend it outward to your whole lips with a clear gloss. Still I dont think I have the guts.

Sit up straight

Yesterday, when we're at the Debenhams bedding section, my Mom sit Raysa down at one of the display bed and I noticed that now she was able to sit up straight on her own for a long period of time.

Resemblance

Everyone that went to visit me after my labour swear that Raysa has no resemblance to me at all, she's 90% the woman version of R. But a bestfriend of mine insist from day one that Raysa had my nose, which I thought at that time couldnt be right cause hers is pointier than mine. Even my friend at the office pointed out the exact same thing. Until recently I found this photo of Raysa, her in her most mommy-like expression. So anyone who said that she does not have any resemblance to me at all can compare the two pictures, she obviously have my nose (I realised it now), the heart shaped face with the pointy chin, the way she arched her eyebrow is obviously me and the narrow set eyes also similar to mine except that hers is bigger. If you put a blush on on the side of her cheeck you can recognise that high cheek bone structure that I have.

7th Heaven

Time flies so fast, without even realizing it Raysa turned 7 months today. For Javanese people, the 7th months birthday is one of the important one to celebrate - I'm not really sure why, but my mom always asked when is Raysa's 7th months birthday. 2 weeks ago she weighed 7.25 kg. She has fully weaned off to solid food now but still drink alot of milk cause she move more now therefore she needs more energy.

She starts to realize her surronding more, like when you called out her name she will immediately turned her head. When she's in her baby walker she will follow you around. When I came home from work she will greet me with her giggles and wide open arms and if I didnt came home on time she will get really cranky. On the weekend, if we didn't take her out she will get pissed off and really cranky but as soon as we step inside the car she will sit still and smiled again.

She outgrown from most of her shoes already so we need to get her couple of new shoes. I dont know why but she loves biting her feet toe and put her feet into her mouth in a very acrobatic move. I tried to tell her that it's not allowed to put your feet into her mouth but she get pissed off and starts shouting and will put it immediately back to her mouth.

Casual shoes

I came across these pictures of Luella Bartley for Target while browsing through my files. What I really liked so much about these two pictures is the way they throw the Converse sneakers to complete the outfit. As much as I'm known for my high heels, I actually adore Converse for casual occasions. I especially love the picture on the right cause I myself prefer the knee hi Converse but I would never have the courage to actually pull this style off - the shirt dress/knee hi Converse combo – especially here in Jtown, I could have been mistaken for an Avril ABG punk wannabe. Usually I would wear mine with skinny jeans and fold it up so it would show the height of the sneakers and combine them with a more feminine but not too feminine top to actually showed that I'm way past my ABG due date.

I'm still looking for the classic hi cut white Converse but havent had any luck. Obviously, shopping in Jtown sucks! I could only find the white in low cut with different lining colours but I'm not a low cut girl so I will pass on this. But check out this Xtra Hi Converse on white, they look awesome with skinny jeans tucked in which is so not the current me. The pink knee hi Converse is adorable too, I found few limited items knee hi Converse during the Java Jazz but unfortunately they can't process credit card purchases during the festival, not my luck! The 3 straps look good too but then again it's a low cut.


Don't forget the Converse for infants ... would you go for the cute printed one or the classic white? Maybe the classic white, so Mommy and Raysa would have a matching Converse all star shoes.

Hopelessly numb

Anti depressant anyone? I felt so de-motivated lately. Maybe I should take Vicodin like House did to numb the feeling, but I guess it would only work for the leg not the mind.

ETA, even the sky agree with me, they're so dark and gloomy and the rain starts to pour down so badly.

Marni Dresses

I love this Marni dress that my mom bought me when I was pregnant, espescially when I wear it with footless tight. Unfortunately I cannot wear them to the office for some mommyhood reason.


If only the dresses doesnt cost a fortune I would love to have this silk coat on the left which for one reason only is impossible to wear in here cause we only have one season namely hot humid summer all year round. The second dress on the right look lovable as well but for the price you have to pay, it looked to laid back. Both of them are from the last season and are not available online anymore.

These two on the other hand are brand new and so now, the almost ballony shape looked gorgeous and flattering to my figure.

Baby in red

All the tiredness from work just went away when I saw Raysa greeted me with her smile and wide open arms asking me to carry her. She looked so adorable in red, one of mommy's favourite color.

Shoes for Mom and Baby R

The weekend started with spending the Friday nite with Erry and Tegas. I get off from work around 6ish and meet Erry at her office and head for Senayan City for shoehunting at C&K. We fed our hungry stomach thai food at the Thai Express, which in my opinion was not a great thai restaurant but the Pad Thai was the best one that I can find here in Jtown. I bought a beige patent peep toe shoes with a stiletto heels - which looked similar to the one in the picture except that mine is peep toe. What better way to start a weekend than a nice new pair of shoes?

On Sat, I took Raysa to Senayan City and she's pretty happy that the mall was crowded and noisy. We we're lookin for a new shoes for Raysa, Adidas got some cute shoes for babies but unfortunately none left in Raysa's size. On the right is me with her while waiting for my Mom trying on jeans, which she finally bought after pondering for almost half an hour. We were planning to visit my SIL on the afternoon but R supposedly have unannounced urgent meeting.

Raysa strolling around the mall

On Sun, we took Raysa to the mall again and of course she's really happy. Espescially that everyone is there, Mom & Dad and Nenda & Akung. She couldnt stop giggling and jumping around. She even tried to snatch our food when were having our dinner. She got so tired she eventually fall asleep on my lap. We finally manage to find the Adidas shoes on Raysa size. I was actually looking for the one on the left first row on the picture below but they only have the smallest size, which is 0-3 months. So we ended up with the one similar to the shoes on seocnd row in a pink/peachy coloured. When she's abit older I think I will buy her the mary-jane one, she'll look cute running around with this shoe and a frill dress - if they still have those in store.

Sporty chic

I miss Sportsgirl, they're casually chic without too much effort and they're affordable. They catch up with the latest trend pretty fast. And the way they combine their pieces ... I love it! Good enough for a high street store. Check out these shoes, espescially the yellow and red flat! I'm lovin them...