Hunting Thank-You Gifts

Left the house at around 9:10am today. Fetched Susan from her house before going to Mangga Dua. It's been years since I'd been there honestly. If I wasn't mistaken, it was before I moved to Kebon Jeruk. I used to look for thank-you gifts from there when I was still staying in Sunter. When I moved here, I never went back there anymore. Normally I go to Mangga Dua Mall so I was kinda amazed at how much this has changed. Used to be so bloody hot when I shopped there but the air-con was so damn cold just now. I think for thank-you gifts, Mangga Dua is still the best choice but after taking a quick look at the women's clothing there, I'm happy to tell u all my 'materialistic' friends that I'm not interested in any of those hehehe.... I will still stick to my current hobby buying clothes from department store or Zara, Guess, etc...

Susan and I went around looking at the thank-you gifts and we finally decide on this small wooden table. It's more unique plus it looks big and expensive. We have to order them first so there won't be any pic to put up till after Casey's bday party. We ordered a total of 60 mini tables; 30 with Disney Princess pic and 30 with Pirates pic. We chose Pirates for the boys coz Susan bought Pirates watches from Disney Store when she was in States. As for the girls, we add in a Princess diary on top of that mini table. While we were at that store selling the diary, I bought 2 ceramic bowls for the kids coz it's just too adorable:

The traffic was really bad and we only reached Bina Bangsa at 1:20pm. Bina Bangsa has a new rule now. Parents can't wait inside the canteen as of today so it was bloody tiring waiting outside.

Feeling really sleepy now. Had not been sleeping enough these past 2 days due to late night movies =.=

TradinG K850i For G600

Heard from my cousin that Ivan has broken up with Lie Yong. U know, when you've been together with someone for too many years, it just feels different when they suddenly aren't part of your life anymore. I've known Lie Yong longer than I knew Sam so I'm feeling kinda sad that this all had to end this way. My dad and Cin2 are so against of Lie Yong becoming a part of our family that it puts a stress on Ivan. I really don't know what to think about it but I just can't bring myself to dislike Lie Yong like they do. I hope she will be alright. A part of me feels bad coz she has wasted so many years of her life with Ivan. She's going to be 30 this year and to start everything from 0 will be really difficult for her I'm sure. I just hope she doesn't do anything foolish. =.=

On Saturday, I went with the kids to Roxy Square to get myself a new phone. I exchanged my SE K850i for Samsung G600. I've been wanting to get rid of that phone for as long as I can remember hehehe....

Front View

Back View

That Surfer Girl sticker is a trademark now in my phones. Each of the 3 phones I had, got one at it's back hehehe.... The phone is really sleek but camera-wise, Nokia is a step ahead of G600. It's okay. It's so much better than K850i.

The kids and I had A&W for lunch. There weren't many choices in Roxy Square and in the end, the girls chose that.

Reached home at past 2pm. Adit, Ria, Wito & Rudy were already there. Awhile later, Cing2 came. Suli came the latest; at 3:40pm. In the end, we decided to just go to Pisa Kafe since there won't be much time left.

I did take pics of the food we ordered but I'm just too lazy to upload them to my PC. Anyway, we didn't take any pics of us this time. Cin & Wiwin arrived at almost 6pm and about 10-15mins later, Cing2, Ria & Wito left. Casey spilled Coke on her tee n skirt and Suli offered Casey her clothes. Can u believe Casey fits into them perfectly? Hahaha...This is how Casey looks like with Suli's tee and jeans:

While we were talking, a woman approached me and I was surprised to see my dad's godSIL (godsister-in-law). Turned out that Pisa Kafe belongs to her 2nd son. We didn't get any discount though :P Cin and Wiwin gave me this Starbucks diary that I wanted to get end of last year:

We all left the place at around 7.15pm. Adit went home with Cin n Wiwin. Wiwin had to go back to the office. Can u actually believe it? Having to work on Saturday night. Poor her. Found out that she has to work on Sunday too at times. Rudy followed us in Suli's car and she dropped us at home. Thanks guys ^.^

As for Sunday, we didn't go to church again. I've been missing it for weeks. Must make it a point to go there next week. Left for my dad's house at 11am. Stayed there till 2pm n Damien came with us to watch movie. We thought Artha Gading has the movie we want to watch but turned out it's not playing there. Found out that Gading XXI is playing but the movie won't start till 4:35pm so in the end we went to Studio XXI coz the movie starts at 3:40pm there. We were 20 mins earlier when we arrived and I let the kids play games in the arcade before buying some snacks and proceed to the cinema.

"The Spiderwick Chronicles" is really good and like what Wiwin said, better than Narnia. This boy Freddie Highmore's been playing in so many movies and his acting is wonderful. I read that for "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory", Johnny Depp especially asked for him to play the part as Charlie.

We went Damien back to my dad's place after the movie. Then we went to Pluit to buy dinner. At night, while waiting for Sam I watched "Vantage Point" on DVD:

The movie is great. Almost like "24". Pretty confusing at first coz the subtitles were all wrong.

I waited for Sam to come home since his flight only landed at 11:45pm. He didn't reach home till 1:30am though. He was damn tired. Poor him. These were the stuffs he got me; an Esprit shirt, a pair of Esprit sandals, MU tee and a shot glass from Macau.

Front View

Back View

Okay, this is all for now. Gotta go to Mangga Dua with Susan to find thank-you gifts for Casey.

Ms Bunny Swan is EntertaininG

Ria told me this morning that Irene's been finding me n wanting to show me some hilarious videos. So I went to Irene's blog to check it out. Irene asked us to guess who does Ms Swan remind us of and when I watched it, I knew instantly who she meant. But I personally think this video looks more like the one Irene's referring to:

Anyway, there are more videos of Ms Bunny Swan. How corny the name is hahaha... And she's actually much prettier when she's dressed as herself. No wonder she looks pretty familiar. She was in "The Lizzie Mcguire Movie." Not my kind of movie but my kids watch that for like hundred of times so I practically remember all the faces that were involved in that. You guys should check Ms Swan's videos. Crack me up when I watch a couple of them. Thanks for sharing, Ren.

This morning I went to bed and watched "No Country For Old Men"

I personally think it's a very, very good movie although I don't really like how it ended. I think it's beautifully written and the whole movie was pretty gripping. I thought it was a drama actually judging from the look of it and the title but I'm glad I decided to go with my choice. And luckily the subtitles aren't all jumbled up coz I couldn't really make out what they talk as there are times, they are barely whispering. The one playing the villian, Javier Bardem, gave such a stunning performance as a psychopathic killer that it even gives me goosebumps whenever he appears. It's really awesome I tell u. If u have a passion for thriller movies, then this one is a must to watch.

Below are some random pics of Casey which I took with my G9. The only thing I edit is resizing it and make the color stands out more. Still got a lot to learn but I'm glad of what my tele-converter lense can do. Last pic with Ria wasn't using the lense though. It was taken awhile back when we were in Suli's apartment:

2nd Trip To Dapur BabaH

I fell asleep and now I couldn't sleep anymore. Yesterday was one of those days where my energy was being wrung out of me. This is the time when I need God the most. Not that I'm having problems with Sam again. Sam n I are perfectly fine. It's regarding Ivan. I just hope God gives us the strength to go thru this moment. I believe He will. He has shown me His love in so many ways and I'm sure this is just one of those times, we are being tested on our beliefs in Him. If this must be the way Ivan has to go thru in order for him to truly understand that life isn't a bed of roses, then let this be a lesson he will learn well. And that he has to realize that in this world, compromising is a necessity in order to survive in the community.

We went to Pasadena late in the morning with my MIL and Susan. Casey took a really long time to decide which cake she wants. In the end, we still hadn't found one to her liking but Casey did give a rough idea so the lady is going to work on something, draw it out, and fax it to me as soon as possible.

By the time, we finished it was 12.40pm. Decided to have lunch in Dapur Babah again. This time we sat in a room, brighter than the one we were in last time but it's still pretty spooky. I managed to take some pics of the place this time:

I just realized u can sit in the back area as well where u are facing the sunlight. We would have chosen there in the 1st place if we knew. In the 2nd collage, see the 2nd pic from the top left? This pic is the clearer view of it:

Notice the smoky figure of a lady in white? Hehehe.... I use slow synchro to take the pic and while it was taking time to process, one of the waitresses walked passed. That was how the smoky figure appeared but this pic was enough to spook my girls LOL....

Anyway, these were mostly the stuffs we ordered plus Bubur Soemsoem and Biterbaletjes which I ordered before so I didn't bother to take anymore pics of those.

I stand by my opinion that it's indeed better than Shanghai Blue. Definitely going back for more. It cost only a little cheaper than The Cafe's buffet. Yes, the difference is a very thin margin n of course The Cafe would be so much more worth it to spend money on. Still, Dapur Babah's food always leave me wanting more. So far, none of the food I tasted was bad in my opinion. They are all so super yummy.

Headed home after that and I slept awhile in the car. After dropping my MIL at Blok H, Susan and us went to Puri market to look for Casey's thank-u gifts. Planning to go to Mangdu with Susan again on Monday when the kids are in school. It's been awhile since I bought my thank-you gifts from there coz I always find it troublesome to travel all the way there. Place is so freaking jammed during weekdays.

It's almost 2am.... Will try to find something else to watch to help me sleep. BTW, the ladies are coming over to my house today to bake something. I should have discussed it over YM yesterday with them but I was too busy to come online. Sorry =.=

HaruM ManiS

The girls & I went with Sam to his office today to drop him off. Then we headed for Menara Kebon Sirih, which is situated very near to Sam's office. Dropped the pork sausages for Cn but she was in a meeting so I passed it to the receptionist. She kept eyeing at me suspiciously...maybe wondering if it was bomb in that crumpled white plastic bag I handed over to her.

It was 11.30pm when I got out of MKB and asked my driver to head for Pavilion Apartment which is situated in JL K.H. Mas Mansyur. I was browsing the net yesterday and came across this restaurant so I decided to go with the girls to check it out.

Harum Manis is just one of the restaurants they have in that building. When we first entered, there's this small reception desk on the front :

And to the left is the waiting area with creamy colored, exquisite sofas:

We were ushered to our table. The decoration was really nice. The atmosphere is great. Pretty romantic too if u are planning to have a romantic meal with your loved ones. Kids were sitting on the sofa while I was facing this huge mirror with carving of a golden tree (or at least I think it is hehehe) :

We were given the menu and one waitress came over to us and handed us the complimentary appetizer:

Steamed peanuts! How original

Ordered the food and then I started to take some pics of the restaurant:

Then after about 10-15 mins passed, our order came:

Jus Alpukat

Es Teh Sari Kelapa

Udang Bakar

Ayam Selimut Lengkuas

Tahu Telor Selamat Datang

When we finished eating, I asked for the menu again and ordered dessert. Took a couple more pics of the restaurant:

If u are in a group, u can always opt for a more private area like the pics above. It looks better in real coz my pics are quite blurry since my hand kept shaking hehehe... I would have taken pic of the washroom too but it would be too 'norak'. The bathroom looks nice but what stands out is that it smells so exceptionally sweet when u enter it.

Our dessert came out not long after I got back to our seats:

Pisang Goreng

Es Podeng

The desserts don't stand out as much as the main course. It's pretty expensive I tell u. For a plate of Udang Bakar, u will have to fork out Rp 92K and it only consists of 3 pieces. Rice is slightly cheaper than in Shanghai Blue. It costs Rp 12K for 1 portion. Refrain yourself from ordering Es Teh Manis there coz it costs Rp 18K per glass. I have to fork out almost Rp 500K for all. Food is nice but I would say it's not that worth it. I'd choose Dapur Babah over Harum Manis anytime.

We went to TA as Casey has skating lesson and after she finished skating, we dropped Cecil at home before going to Hypermart.

This Hypermart is situated within walking distance to Cing2's apartment and it's only been open for a week. It's more or less like Carrefour but it sure seems more spacious. Heard that food is cheaper there than in Carrefour. I don't really know. Everytime I just take and pay hehehe...

Signing out now.... have to help Sam pack up.

BaLi Pics

I've uploaded the Bali pics to my Fotki album. To save u time from searching since I have tons of pics there, this is the link --> HR Bali 2008

Spent the whole day at home today. My driver asked for a day off to take care of some stuffs. He lost his wallet yesterday and in it were his KTP, STNK motor & SIM. Bad luck for him. I still have my FIL's driver whom I could use but just don't feel like going out today. This week will be the week where we see Sam the least. Early yesterday morning, Sam left for Makassar and he just came back 2 hours ago but won't be back till 8pm. And tomorrow night he will be flying to Macau again and will only return on Sunday. I remembered last time when our marriage was still on the rocks. It felt great when he's away so I could at least breathe freely. Now, it's just not the same. It's funny how I used to think Sam will never change and I was so damn sure about it. I'm glad he proved me wrong....and I'm glad things work out for us. Whenever he's out of town these days he would call me up a couple of times just to talk to me. It feels so nice to be appreciated and it makes me appreciate him more n more. A couple of days ago while we were in Bali, Sam said that we will go on a honeymoon again in 3 years time. He wanted to go Europe during winter but u guys know Sam. He changes his mind way too often hehehe... There's this place in Bali I would love to stay in one of these days :

It's extremely breath-taking, isn't it? I'm not going to state where it is in case u guys beat me to it hihihi... It's freaking expensive though. Around US$400-US$500/ night. It means I should start saving from now or better still, ask Sam to start saving from now. Hihihi....

A friend asked me why I didn't take any pic in Kuta beach since it's just opposite of where I was staying. To be honest, I never even went there during my trip this time. It's just too freaking crowded. I know coz when I was in Crocs, we could see the beach from there. Well, we couldn't exactly see the beach coz the place was packed with people. It's like there's no more place in Bali to go other than Kuta. Geez... Frankly, it's not one of my favorite beaches. Way too commercialized.

Anyway, I won't be cooking anything this week. In fact, am planning on trying a restaurant we never tried tomorrow after sending Sam to work. On Friday morning, I will not be around too coz we will be going to Tomang to look for Casey's birthday cake. It's only 2 weeks away. My, how time flies. My little baby is going to be 7 soon. This is the time I look back and smile and really enjoy life.

Gifts From mY MIL

I have formatted my blog so that it shows the entry/entries based on per day so it doesn't get too long when u scroll down. If u want to see previous posts, u can always click the title of my blog from the 'recent posts' widget.

Now for the stuffs my MIL bought for us. She said she really enjoyed her trip this time. Can u imagine Susan & her going to States with 2 half-filled luggages and they come back with 5 big luggages all filled up with stuffs? I wonder where she find that strength to carry all the loads hehehe... The stuffs she bought for the kids are in this kiddy suitcase:

Each of the girls get one of that and it's full of their stuffs. I mean really FULL!

They are mostly of Disney Princess, High School Musical and Hannah Montana. Each one got 3 pairs of shoes/sandals, 2 pairs of bikinis, loads of stationeries, loads of pajamas, loads of long-sleeved tees, loads of undergarments, 2 pairs of leggings and 3 handbags. They were overjoyed like hell. I would too!

As for me, these are the stuffs my MIL got me:

2 pairs of boots - one from Anne Klein which costs only US$20!!! and another from Nine West

A pair of sandals from Aldo. They feel so comfortable under my feet

A woolen hat

A Daisy Duck & A Tinkerbell tee ... they are sooo cute

6 more shot glasses to add to my collection

Bath & Body Works body cream - smells really nice

A Victoria Secret bra & thong

Liz Claiborne clutch wallet

Anne Klein Charm Bracelet Watch

And last but not least :

My very own Juicy Couture handbag. It's really beautiful. I almost cried when she gave me that *hiperbola dikit* hihihi.... My pic doesn't do any justice to the actual bag so if u want to see a clearer view of my Terry Daydreamer Tote, click --> this

My MIL also gave us this box of Godiva chocolates:

They taste so heavenly *starry eyes*

As for yesterday, I had to go to Plaza Senayan since Sam asked me to bring his jeans to his normal tailor for alteration. We had lunch in Din Tai Fung before heading to Wisma Relasi for Casey's piano lesson.