The PiaNo

Wow, look at the time! It's almost 7pm already and I finally find the time to update my blog (talking like a very busy career woman :P) I came back to sleep again after dropping the kids to school this morning. I feel like I'm turning into a bear who loves to hibernate in the winter. I woke up at around 10am and found Sam was in a happy mood. I didn't expect that coz I had to wake him up at 5.30am this morning as there was a call for him from Semarang and he was pretty pissed off with that that guy whoever he was. I already feared for the worst. He tends to get really grumpy when he had to wake up in the middle of his sleep. Found out that he won soccer bet again and this Sunday I will be getting something for myself from him. Ria asked if it was Valentine's present but Sam's not romantic so I doubt it is but since Val's Day is approaching, I'll just make myself happy and assume that it is ^.^

At 12pm I left home and went to Gina's shop to collect the cupcakes I ordered from her for Fenny's birthday. She made the decorations as per my request : in baby blue n pink. Simple yet sweet looking.

Then went to BBS to fetch Casey. Like normal Thursday, we went to TA straight from there. Just before Casey's skating lesson, we had lunch in Nan Xiang Restaurant. Not putting up any pics since I ordered the food before except this time I also ordered Drunken Chicken. I'm not even sure why it has the name "Drunken" coz I can't taste any alcohol in the chicken =.=

When Casey was skating, I went down to Gramedia to look for some books. We went home after Casey was done coz I have to wait for the piano at home. Yup, the guys were going to send over the piano today. It wasn't till 4.30pm that it arrived. Casey was really pleased.

Yes, finally she can practice what she learnt from Wisma Relasi. In the late noon, we went to Taman Permata Buana Sports Club to give Fenny her bday present and the cuppies. Her older son, Kenneth, was having swimming lesson there so we chatted while waiting for Kenneth to finish up.

BTW, these are the 4 tops I bought yesterday:

I know these tops weren't exactly the kind of clothes that I would wear but I really like them and they fit snuggly on me. Casey helped me choose a couple but out of the many that she pointed out, I only chose 1 (3rd one). She really has weird taste when it comes to clothes.... just like her dad hahaha....

StressfuL Day

Seems like it's been awhile since I put up any pics of food, isn't it? Hahaha... Well, I don't go out much during weekdays and I don't have any mood to cook at all. I'm busy learning about photoshop. Not that I'm planning to be a pro but I just want to know the basics and thanks to Wiwin who has been so patient answering all my stupid questions :P Still, it gives me major headache. I guess it's just not something I'm good at.

I went to Plaza Senayan after fetching Casey coz I need to buy a birthday present for Fenny. I've ordered some cupcakes from Gina. Am excited to see how it will turn out ^.^ I bought 4 tops in Plz Senayan by Lily. Don't know where it's originated from but I don't really care. I like the designs although they are too decent for me (quoted from what Casey said =.=) These days I guess I'm not that interested in tank tops or sleeveless tops anymore. I haven't taken any pics. Maybe tomorrow when I am in the mood.

Anyway, after buying present for Casey's friend who celebrated her birthday a couple of days ago, we went to Kinokuniya. I bought this Photoshop book for beginners. Felt kinda embarrassed for troubling Wiwin all the time so I think might as well buy the book and read it thru myself. When I was about to pay for my book, I realized the bag with Fenny's present wasn't with me. I panicked like hell. My head was spinning so bad from the stress. I thought I have lost it. When we went down, decided to look for the bag in Kidz Station. Thank God the present was there! Boy, was I relieved! Really if I lose that.... I might have gone home and knocked my head on the wall several times. Well, it is partly my fault coz I was the one carrying the bag but Casey was running here and there so she was to blame too for my carelessness *ga mau tau*

Enough for the update.... Need to lay down for a bit. I'm not in my best form today. Tummy's been acting really strange since morning =.=

Yua's Pics

OMG!!!! I'm so, so jealous of Yua. I was playing game on my PC just now when Yon sms me and asked me if I know Yua just took her engagement pics with Erwin. I quickly click Erwin's blog and almost screamed out aloud. These are just two of the pics I grabbed from Erwin's blog. I hope he doesn't mind :P Makes my blog so much prettier to look at with her pics in it ^.^

I especially love the 2nd pic coz Yua looks so happy there. She really deserves it. She has brighten so many people lives by being around them. I'm so glad she finally found the happiness she's been looking for.

I left home at around 10.30am today heading for Mal Ambassador. Michael was already in his shop. Actually the price for the G9 isn't so much different from JPC Kemang but it's always better to buy from a friend, right? He showed me a couple of things I can do with my cam but knowing me, I forgot as soon as I left the shop hahaha.... This is my new toy.

I won't be posting any pic taken by the cam first coz I'm still trying to get used to it. Maybe when I have taken some good shots then I will post them. But to tell the truth, I'm really satisfied with it. Lagian mana mungkin bilang kaga ya.... uda kebeli gitu lhoooo hahaha...

Went to fetch Casey from school and we had lunch in Wisma Relasi. I ordered Kway Teow Goreng and it was delicious. Then when it was ready to go up, we went to look around for a piano since my FIL been asking me to buy one so the kids can practice it at home. Ertien recommended Yamaha U3 but even for the 2nd hand one it costs Rp 23 mill. Plus the only difference it has from U1 is that it's just taller by 3 inches. Other than that I was told it's the same but U1 is Rp 5 mill cheaper. For the brand new one, it would cost Rp 48 mill so in the end we bought the 2nd hand one. Paid a deposit and they will send the piano on Thursday.

I forgot to mention I was kinda mad with Cecil this morning. Her Chinese teacher called me up to tell me that Cecil hasn't been paying attention in class lately coz of her friends. They've been talking and talking when the teacher was teaching. I was really pissed. I have told her not to play too much with Tiffany and then come again another friend whom I should be wary of as well. If I told her not to play at all, it makes no sense but if I don't tell her off, she would continue neglecting her studies. Really at a dilemma here. I'm like a stepmother. Telling her she can't play with this and that. I'm not even sure she knows I'm telling her for her own good but her friends are such bad influence to her =.=

A Watch From Ria

I have this bad habit.....but I guess those who frequent my blog know that. I can hardly stick with a skin long enough for people to say, "Wow, I'm amazed.... it's been awhile since she changes skin." Yeap I tend to get bored easily with my skin. Considering that I have too much free time at my hand, that's not a crime either hehehe....

Yesterday I stayed home the whole day. Not whole day coz we did go to the church in the morning. Actually I can just call up the cab but I'm just too lazy to go out.

At around 3pm, Ria came over with Wito and her friend, Ivan. She gave me a belated birthday present ; a DKNY watch shown in the pic below worn by Casey.

Thanks, Ria & Wito. Love it a lot ^.^

Today, I went to TA for awhile coz Casey wanted to eat Bakso Afung. Then came home and spent my time on YM chatting with the girls. I also asked Wiwin a lot about photography stuffs. Now my head is really messed up. So many things but u know when u get old, it tends to get harder to remember everything u hear. Unless of course it's something juicy hehehe....

Talking about memory hmmmm.... after sending the kids to school, I came home to sleep again. I slept at past 2am this morning so it was really hard for me to stay awake having only 4 hours of sleep. Sam came home at around 8am and was pissed off coz he thought I forgot to buy the door handle like he told me to. Half asleep, I asked him when did he tell me to buy. Then he said, "Lu selalu gitu....sekalinya barang lu aja selalu ingetin terus. Gua cuman pesen beli 1 hal doang bisa ga inget." He was really mad. I can hear from his tone and I didn't go to sleep after that coz my mood totally changed. I kept thinking hard when he asked me to buy but no matter how hard I tried to recall, I just couldn't remember. I know I am poor with my memory but just now it came to a point where I was really depressed at how bad my memory is. Then I asked my driver. U know what? Turned out Sam only told the driver and he didn't instruct me to buy. The nerve of him!!! And when I sms him just now, he only replied, "Hihihi...gitu ya. Sori, gua lupa gua cuman pesen ma si Agus bukan ma lu." Aaargh..... It's okay though. It's not like he was mad at me the whole morning. Last time when he got mad, he can stay mad the whole day but these days, he's in much better control of his temper. I really should learn from him.

Anyway, I got my monthly allowance today. Yipee.... So I don't have to wait till Wednesday to get my digicam. I'm going tomorrow. There was a funny incident when Michael called me up just now to tell me that I will only get the underwater housing in 2 weeks' time. It's really embarrassing so I think I'll skip that part of the conversation. I only told it to Yon and she was laughing her ass off everytime she remembered about it so I should save myself from further embarrassment.

MeetinG Cn, Therry & SyL

I met Cn, Therry and Syl for the very 1st time today. And only one word to describe them : awesome! Hehehe... The last time I met up with new people I know thru cyber... hmm...that was sometime ago. I mean on and off during gatherings there are bound to be people I never meet before but usually it is with people I know so I'm not entirely clueless on how I should react coz if I don't feel comfortable with the new ones, I can still talk to other friends. This time, it felt like years ago when I went on my 1st gathering with IC members. Nervous and excited.

When I first arrived, Cn was already waiting outside Sushi Tei. Therry was the 1st to arrive actually but she went somewhere else. So Cn and I waited for Therry. She came with her boyfriend but he left after we said our 'hellos', saying he doesn't want to spoil the fun for us. They really look so sweet together. My 1st impression of Cn is she's the same as her pic and she's actually more gentle in reality. Oops...I hope that doesn't sound sarcastic coz I'm making a compliment here hahaha.... She's really sweet and she smiles a lot... I mean a LOT. So u can bet she's just as friendly as she sounds in her tags. Therry... I wasn't expecting she was that tall. I mean she looks petite in her pic but she proves me wrong today. She is really easy to talk to and also smiles a lot. In fact they all smile all the time! Cn has to be the most cheerful of us all coz her happiness is really infectious I tell u. As for Syl, she is the perfect figure of how u view a teacher should be. She's the quietest among us but still, she can crack u up with her jokes. And they are all awesome in their own different ways! I'm really glad we met up today coz I did have a blast. I want to do this again sometime. One thing they all have in common: love for dogs and they all own at least one *if I'm not mistaken coz Sushi Tei was damn crowded just now and they are all soft-spoken... so opposite of me!* Now it makes me wish to have a dog. Thanks for the good time, ladies ^.^ So nice to finally meet the writers behind those wonderful blogs I love to read. Kinda reminded me of what Han told me earlier today during our chat in YM. He said Therry's blog made mine look so plain. Hahaha... Yeah, don't u all start comparing mine to hers or to any of theirs after this please coz I do admit I have limited vocab inside me. While in mine u might find errors here and there, it's hard to do so even u try to look for the flaws in their blogs.

L-R: Therry, Me, Syl & Cn

Not to forget, these are the food I ate just now:

Yaki Udon

Hotate Miso Mayo

Hmm...can't remember the last one but it's like california roll with soft-shelled crab. My advice, don't order these 3 if u go there. The roll is okay and the Yaki Udon is still edible even though it's so not like the normal fried udon I ever tried. Even Casey wouldn't want to eat it! As for the scallop, expensive and too salty! Yucks... I never eaten scallops that taste that bad before. Well, now I have.

From Plaza Indonesia, the girls and I went to Grand Indonesia. Planned to watch "Alvin & The Chipmunks" at the Satin Lounge in Blitz Megaplex. It's Rp 20K cheaper than Premiere so I was curious enough to want to try it out. We bought the 4.30pm show and then went down to Kinokuniya. Kids bought their books and I bought mine. I bought a couple of books about photography. Even though I'm not planning to buy an SLR cam but I think I want to know more about it.

Wanted to look for school shoes for Casey but it was a long walk to Planet Sport (or whatever it is called) so we decided to look for it in Plaza Senayan instead right after the movie. while going back up to the cinema, I saw Forever 21 Boutique. Finally now I know what kind of clothings they have. All this time I only know that brand through Xiaxue's blog. Forever 21 supposed to have 2 floors to themselves but only the one at 1st floor is opened at the moment. Went inside to look around and was kinda surprised coming home with 2 jackets, 1 cardigan plus 3 blouses.

I deserve it!!! I've been deprived of shopping for so long! Then when we went up one floor, there was this Guess Kids Boutique. My FIL promised the girls they can buy clothes from there and he's paying so we did go inside to look around. I bought 1 identical dress as theirs.

Can only buy 1 coz my FIL will wonder why the bill adds up to that much if I kept buying the same stuffs as them. We did get vouchers and it all adds up to Rp 700K! Too bad can't use it to minus the bill. Can only use it on our next visit there.

We waited at the carpark for the driver since we got a lot of plastic bags on our hands. By the time we reached the cinema it was 16.25pm, 5 mins before the show starts. I was disappointed with the Satin Lounge. It's so not worth it even though it's cheaper than Premiere. Yes, u can straighten your legs up but that's about it. No blanket, and u can't push down the back of the chair like in Premiere. It's just like normal cinema except u watch it from the top part. Total waste of money.

Now about the movie, I just love it. I mean, who wouldn't want to see talking chipmunks in real life? I do!!!! Theodore is just so, so adorable. It's a "MUST BUY DVD" on my kids' list.... and mine too of course hehehe....

So right from Grand Indonesia, we went to Plaza Senayan. Finally found an Osh Kosh shoes for Casey. While on our way out, passed by Agatha and I bought this cute hair accessory :

Okay, time to hit the bed now. Dead tired and tomorrow we're going to the church. I don't want to go to 10.30am mass. It's just too late. I won't be able to catch my nephews in my dad's house if I arrive later than 12pm and I don't want that.

SpendinG The AfternooN with Old FrienDs

I almost died of boredom today. Even though I was having conference chat with the ladies, still I really need something to make me forget about the camera. My hands already itched to get hold of the new cam but that had to wait till Wednesday.

Luckily at 2.15pm, Fenny sms me and told me that Mony was going to her house and asked me if I want to come. Quickly said 'yes' coz I've been dying to see her younger daughter, Kelly. Let me tell u, Kelly is such a darling. She's soooo adorable. You can't possibly not fall in love with her. These are her pics:

She's such a cute girl, isn't she?? Oh and this is a pic of Kevin, Fenny's younger son :

He's very, very cute too. He kept looking at Casey and when Mony teased him, he would look away shyly.

Mony gave the kids stuffs again. I really am at loss for words. Just don't know what to get for her and her daughters. She practically has everything! These were the stuffs she gave Cecil & Casey:

Can u believe it??!!! Hello Kitty maskers!!!

Last but not least, the one present the kids get that made me really, really jealous!

Hello Kitty phone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've put it in the kids' bedroom and it's just so, so pretty.

It was a really enjoyable day today. We went to Panecook again at 4pm and spent almost 2 hours there. The service today was really bad =.= After that, we went to Fenny's house again to continue talking. I left there at around 7.20pm. Wish we can do this more often. Really miss hanging out with old friends.

Tomorrow, I'm meeting some new friends... Never meet them before but first got to know Cn from Mona's blog and that's where I got to know Therry and Syl. Am so excited about it!

Change of Plan

Nothing much to write about today. Sam came home last night with his new toy : PS3 and he's selling the PS2 to his friend =.= And it's not like he bought any game for me. He only bought 1 game : soccer. Oh and he's been calling me "boy" after he took a good look at me last night. He kept laughing at me right in my face. He said, "Why didn't u listen to me? I told u not to cut it short, right?" I said, "Why don't u spare a thought on my behalf? What if I feel comfortable having short hair? Why do I always have to do what pleases u and not according to what it makes me feel?" Then I put on this big pout and he said, "I was just joking!" Still pouting..... Then he said the magic word, "Ok, ok.... I'll pay for the purse u bought the other day." Hihihi... But he still laughs at me whenever he sees me... grrr..... I realized something. Basically, most guys prefer women with long hair coz besides Sam, a couple of my male friends think the same. I only heard positive comments from the guys in my blog *minus Unt* hehehe....

I went to TA today. As usual, Casey has her skating lesson. Then went to Parisian. Bought some stuffs for Amy's daughter, Sieske. Just need to find a box to put all the stuffs in. Also bought a couple of CDs. I'm so into audiophile these days.

Today, I decided I won't be buying SLR cam after all. 1st, it's too complicated for me. 2nd, it's too expensive considering we have to buy different kind of lenses =.= After talking to Cin and Michael, I finally decided to get Canon G9 instead. I told Mike I will go to his shop next Wednesday. Hopefully I get hong bao from my FIL this year *wishful thinking*

Red-Haired Ivy

Stayed for almost 5 hours in Ertien's salon today till my butt went numb but I'm satisfied with the color. Sam came back last night and only said my face looks rounder than it already is but no comment whether he likes it or not. Maybe coz I was half asleep already and he didn't get a close look at it. Well, he'll see it tonight and hopefully he doesn't say anything too disheartening. Not like I care coz Sam never really disapproves of what I did to my hair. Just that u know, (not sure if I'm speaking for all women after 30's or not) it helps to boost one's self-esteem when one's being praised especially from a family member. That's why it was quite disappointing when Casey first said I look better with long hair. She's fine with it today though. She said I look nice with the new color. I had to use the webcam to take the pic coz my N82 cam didn't quite bring the color out.

Not that I'm trying to comfort myself but it does look better in real than in pic... my hair of course not me :P

In the noon, went to Kedungsari to buy my favorite Es Kopyor. Then the kids and I went to Panecook for desserts. I ordered the Oriental Sensation and a cup of hot chocolate.

Oriental Sensation

Hot Chocolate

And this was what Cecil had for her drink :

Crunchy Hot Chocolate

The only difference from mine is that there are bite sized chocolates in her drink. They are both simply delicious. If u are a chocolate lover, u will definitely love the drink.

Okay, need to take a shower now and continue reading my book.

New Hair

Isn't it amazing how kids can go on sleeping in spite of all the efforts u tried in waking them up? It's not easy to wake Cecil up but it's even more difficult when it comes to Casey. I tried shaking her, put the alarm clock not so far from her ears, tickling her, and yet she can still sleep like there is this huge wall between her and her senses. It's crazy and I have to do this every morning 5 times a week *sigh*

Today, I went on a major change. I did something which I thought I will never do again until I turn 40. I cut my hair short... And it's not shoulder-length kinda short. That I did before. It's chin-length. Just gotta wait and see what Sam would say to this. Last night I told him about wanting to cut my hair short and again, he said, "No, just trim it a bit will do." I went to Ertien's salon telling myself the same thing... that I'm just there to trim my hair but I was talked into cutting it short by Ertien. I was still weighing whether or not to do it and she kept saying, "Aren't u tired of the same look for so many years?" (It's been 4-5 years since I had the last hairstyle) Then I thought to myself, "Yes... oh heck, doesn't really matter what he'll say. Just do it now and worry later." So I went for it but I did gasp out when I realized how much of my hair they cut off. I almost didn't cut with Alya (the hairdresser) coz I'm used to having mine cut by Donny but Ertien told me to give Alya another chance so I did and I was pretty satisfied with how it turns out. And it only costs me Rp 32K!!!! Very cheap, right??? Beats having it cut in Lu'vaze. Still pains me thinking of the money I had to fork out the last time I was there. Casey doesn't really like my new look though. Keeps shaking her head in disapproval whenever she sees me and said, "Why do u have to cut it that short?" My FIL laughed at me when he saw me just now.... even my maids too. Do I care? Of course not! I'm very comfortable with my new hair regardless what others have to say about it ^.^ I'll have to go back there tomorrow to color my hair.

Yup...it is this short now. So, don't ask me if it's real or not coz I really have no idea how to do photoshop at all. And this is the look from the front :

Just now I went to Puri market to make some more bedsheets for the kids and me. I also made more bed covers. They have the Chanel motifs and I ordered 1. Of course it's fake but do I want to use real one to sleep in if they do have it? The answer is 'no'. I'm not that crazy after all hehehe.... And I finally begin to understand why it irritates cn when people pronounced Chanel as Channel. While I was in the shop, I heard that word pronounced wrongly in every few minutes.... bet if cn was there with me she'll probably scratch those women's eyeballs off. It is very annoying, trust me.

Pink PresenTs

Since Suli & Yon keep talking about books in their blogs, I think it's time I start reading again. I love to read...just that I put that hobby aside since I got my NDS. Now, I am back to my old past time.

Fenny just came over to drop me a belated birthday present from Mony & her.

It's pretty big and I was wondering what it contains. Kids were excited when they see presents regardless who they are for. In the bigger box, it is :

Hello Kitty oven! So pink and so cute! Bet Yon is jealous of me now LOL....

In the smaller box, it is:

Paris Hilton Heiress fragrance set. I never use Paris Hilton before. I just started to buy Britney's eau de toilette in S'pore coz of the rave review, so having Heiress set is a new addition to my collection.

Fenny's birthday is next week and now it makes me spin just thinking of what to get for her =.=

Anyway, the reason why I had to stay home today is because Sam bought a new ac for our room and the people were here earlier to install it. So we had 2 ac in our room now. How wasting is that?? My FIL already had 2 in his room and just last week I was thinking to myself how silly that was and now Sam did the same thing =.=

BTW, we found out yesterday that there's going to be Disney on Ice Show right here in Jakarta in April. It's not in the papers yet so if u guys already hear where I can buy the tickets, do tell me.

The New 'En' LooK

Kinda annoyed coz yesterday we didn't watch movie as planned. The sermon at the church took longer than usual yesterday coz there was an adoration sacrament carried out. We got out of the church at 12.10pm and reached home 20 mins later. By the time we reached EX, it was already 1pm and we haven't had lunch yet so kids said they will just wait for the DVD to come out.

Had lunch in En Restaurant. At first, we were confused coz the En we used to go has been replaced by Pho 2000 Restaurant. Then realized that it has moved to just opposite F Bar. It looks so much nicer now plus they have TV everywhere!

These were what I ordered:

Wakame Salad

Buta Tumire Nabe

Honey Bread Ice Cream

The Wakame Salad is my favorite. I really love Japanese salad dressing. As for Buta Tumire Nabe, the minced meat ball is so, so, so soft. It has such a texture that it melts in your mouth. No kidding! I don't really enjoy the kim chi soup though. But overall, it's okay thanks to the meat balls.

Then Sam took the kids to buy shoes since Casey complained about her shoelaces keep getting on the way. Later on, I went to look for a purse. It was me who planned to buy actually and I didn't intend to ask Sam to pay for it since he already bought me so many stuffs. It's crazy though that the price of the purse itself costs only a little cheaper than the handbag my MIL gave me last year. Still, my Burberry purse looks kinda worn out already so I bought it anyway. They do have some on sale but I don't like the design. I'm surprised that Sam offered to pay half of it ^.^ And he said if he wins his soccer bets, he'll pay all of it! Thankfully I paid it with my credit card so I still have 3 more weeks to see if he wins other bets hahaha.... If he does, then I really hit the jackpot. Well, not jackpot but still, paying half compared to not at all is quite a big difference so let's all cross your fingers and pray that he wins :P

On our way back to EX, kids asked for cupcakes so we bought another 4. This time I only got 3 pics coz one of the cupcakes is oreo which I've posted before.

Chocolate & Lemon

Raspberry

Before going home, we stayed awhile in Gloria Jeans to have coffee first.

2 nights ago, the girls n I watched "Sydney White" on DVD starring Amanda Bynes.

It's a chick flick and I think it's pretty entertaining although it's not my favorite. I like Amanda Bynes even if her acting isn't really that good. She just looks so sweet. The leading actor, Matt Long, is like the younger version of Brad Pitt except he's lack of that sex appeal though hehehe...

As for tomorrow, don't wait up for my blog in the morning. I will probably be in Ertien's salon cutting my hair. Yup, very soon, I will go for smoothing again and then color my hair too. I really want to cut my hair short but after so many hair disasters, I think I'll stay with long for awhile first.