A Devoted Wife

FOR BECOMING A MOTHER

2010-05-20T00:42:00.005-06:00

I hope I am not far from mother's day celebration and even if it is a little too late, I still hope that this writing is worth to read. This year is my 4th year of becoming a mother. It has been a joyful experience and I've never wanted to trade it with anything else.

As some of you may know, prior to becoming a mother I was a student living my PhD dream. Student and mother are two totally different roles. Studying was depressing when I did not know the peak of its demand and I was not able to see clearly how my project would go and how my supervisor would judge my work. I had to spent my time mostly in laboratory doing my experiments and it was depressing when I was not able to control the outcomes. Sometimes I had to stay until 2am in the morning just to find the bacteria's DNA profile was unidentified or did not match to any markers. Even more stressful when my love one was living far away from me. However, I can not deny the joy I had of becoming a student. It was my dream to finish my study and get the degree, and I had passion on what I was doing for my project.

Photo courtesy of Peter Ng

April 5, 2007 I became a mother of a very beautiful baby, we named her Bianca. I was still in my one year study leave at that moment. From the time I laid my eyes on her, I could not bear the feeling of leaving her to any baby sitter. I promised to myself I will take a good care of her and will do anything to make her happy and to nurture her in God's grace. She is an expensive baby, btw. Yes, I had to pay all single pennies for health care out of my pocket when she was still in my womb due to my immigration status (I was still under visitor visa in Canada at that moment). But nothing compare to the happiness we had the moment she arrived.

June 2007, my study leave ended. I had to go back to Australia to continue my study. Bianca was too small to fly for 24h. Thus I asked if I might have another year to be away from school. The university approved, unfortunately my scholarship did not allow me to have 2 consecutive years of leaving. Meaning if I take another year of leaving, I have to pay on my own all the remaining time I spend to finish my study. It was hard. Moreover, I had to think about asking someone else to take care of my baby, while I am studying. Even harder..
After thinking and pondering and another thinking...and another, I made a decision, the hardest decision ever.... July 2007, I sent out my termination letter to the University and scholarship liaison officer. I am leaving my PhD dream for becoming a mother..not that I am comparing the two roles, no..but that was the best I can do for my family.

Now, after almost 3 years I made that decision, sometimes I miss my school times..I miss the time I spent in library reading journal articles, I miss my friends at school, I miss working on my microbiology lab...(even though it sucks sometimes)..I miss thinking hardly and trying to connect the two facts I found on my bacteria...I miss my student life. I envy people who got their PhD degree and work on their fields.
Having said that, I never regret to be a mother. I never regret the decision I made. I am a happy mother of two lil toddlers.

I know by terminating my study I have disappointed some of my close friends and relatives. Therefore, with this I would like to extend my apology to those whom had been disappointed, I am sorry I may hurt your feeling and was not able to fulfill your expectation. But this is what I love to do..becoming a mother.

Our Long Way to The Destination

2008-11-11T09:50:00.003-07:00

As some of you may know, we used to live in Montreal, QC. It is a nice city, however fate brought us to our new home...Edmonton, AB.
On May 23 '2008 we left Montreal driving to Mississauga,ON and stayed with our parents for 4days. It was like a family farewell, since we might not be able to see each other for longer period of time due to the distance. (Read my culinary report on that farewell here)
On Tuesday, May 27 '2008 we started our long 5 days journey across 4 provinces. These are some pictures I took during those 5 days.

When driving across Ontario, mainly we saw lakes and beautiful scenery. Lake Superior definitely is super big. Summer was just begun so the weather was nice not that hot but breezy. We had bad experience with filling up gas near Wawa, ON where gas station is rarely found. We almost run out of gas, thankfully we found one at just a right time. After that, we always filled up our gas every time we saw a gas station, full tank!.. coz we did not want to take a risk if there would be no gas station ahead. We also had difficulty in finding hotel in that area. Normally we drove until around 8pm and checked in a hotel for resting and continued the journey early morning the next day. But there was once when Christian had to drive until 11pm to find a motel. Poor him...

Thursday May 29 '2008 we reached Winnipeg in the afternoon. We stayed at Nyoman and Paul's house for a night. Too bad we could not stay longer there, we just wanted to get to our destination the soonest, but it was a good reunion. I would like to make a special note about their daughter, Sarah...I was so impressed with her attitudes. She is a very good girl and I think Paul and Nyoman are successful parents. Winnipeg does not change much since I left it 8 years ago...a nice medium sized-city.

Then we continued our journey to the next province, Saskatchewan. It was the most boring time, coz what we saw was only flat farm land nothing else.

Bianca got so cozy trying to enjoy the trip by reading her book given by Nyoman with bunny as a company and of course her pacifier. I am glad she was so cooperative during our trip.
We spent a night in Saskatoon, it was my first time to visit this city. In my humble opinion, it is also a nice small city.

This picture was taken when we crossed Lloydminster, the border city. It means that we were almost there to our destination.

Finally on Saturday afternoon, May 31 '2008 we arrived at Edmonton, AB our destination. After that long journey, I can only thank God who gave us guidance and protection during the trip. Thank You Lord for Your unchanging love and mercy!

A Good Two Days Visit From A Very Good Friend

2008-10-07T17:18:00.003-06:00

I supposed to post this writing long time ago, but due to my procrastinating behavior and bunch of my motherhood activities (a good excuse, right?) I only posted it today.
We were having dinner Tuesday, July 29, 2008 when the phone rang. Christian picked up the phone and instantly handed it to me. I almost could not recognize the voice. Yes, it was a call from my dear friend Peter, a good friend from my Australian uni. Suddenly I realized that I almost forgot oz's accent...it was so hard for me to understand his very thick accent on the phone...(sorry Pete...). So we agreed to meet up the next day.

We picked him up at the hotel on Wednesday at 6.30pm. We were late for 30min, Christian had to take another route around to avoid the traffic. From the hotel we went for dinner at a Malaysian Restaurant nearby, good foods they served (the above picture shows Bianca, Peter and me while we were waiting for the foods). After that we went to West Edmonton Mall, the biggest mall in North America, we were quite late to reach there, it was already 8pm something, so we did not spend enough time to wander around since the mall closed at 9pm. Peter said that he would go back to the mall the next day and he did all by himself (Good for him considering the distance from his hotel to the mall is quite something and he is new to this town...).

The next day, I invited him to come over to our place for dinner. Chris picked him up after work, since his hotel is on the way to get home. I cooked Chinese-indo food Fuyunghai, it is crab omelet with tomato sauce, and bought 3 kinds of Chinese meals (mushroom, tofu and spicy chicken), since I did not have enough time to prepare every thing. For dessert I made fruity pudding with homemade strawberry syrup. Chris bought a bottle of red wine and they both finished it up that evening. It was a very good time spending with him.

On the first day, Bianca was a bit cranky when Peter sat beside her in the car on the way to the mall. She cried a lot to my surprise, coz normally she is not like that, she is the most social little girl I've ever known. I needed to switch seat with Peter, I think she needed mommy to sit beside her. By the time I sit on the back with her, she stopped crying.
On the next day, she has known Peter better, so she spent some times sitting beside Peter while watching cartoon on TV. cute....

During the visit, Peter brought us some gifts from Australia. And here is what we got. The blue shoes were a gift from Pat, my best girlfriend in Sydney. The Vegemite is a typical spread in Australia which I'd never tasted before mainly because I did not dare to try it. I am glad Peter brought it for us, so that I have an opportunity to try it. The taste is not that bad though...but it is not my favorite. We also got a key chain which is not shown in the picture since Bianca did not let it go out of her hand. And of course Tim Tam is my forever favorite chocolate coated biscuit! Thank you Pete, thanks Pat!
It was definitely a good visit with him....

A Friendship Poem

2008-09-06T00:30:00.011-06:00

Thank you Ary for sending me this beautiful yet meaningful poem....

We need friends for many reasons,
all throughout the season.
We need friends to comfort us
when we are sad,
and to have fun with us when we are glad.

We need friends to give us good advice,
We need someone we can count on,
and treat us nice.

We need friends to remember us

one we have passed
sharing memories that will always last.

Spread the poem of friendship to:
1. Charlotte
2. Pharma
3. Shinta
4. Judith
5. Tutut

Kreativ Blogger Award

2008-09-03T00:03:00.008-06:00

It's been more than 3months I did not update this blog...mainly because I do not have enough time to keep up with 3 blogs which I should maintain...
So..big apology from me to all my beloved readers...

Two weeks ago, I got this award from my good friend, Febrie-Krucils' Mom...
Thank you for giving me this award...

It has been done according to the following rules:
1. The winner may put the logo on her blog.
2. Put a link to the person you got the award from.
3. Nominate 5 blogs.
4. Put links to the blogs.

5. Leave a message for your nominees

So now, I would like to nominate my friends:
- Widi
- Elyani
- Irma
- Ari
- Tutut

Happy blogging every one!

TAG...TAG...

2008-06-03T12:33:00.001-06:00

Got this tag from Ayin in the middle of my hectic time moving away to another province...

This time around I am not gonna pass it along to others...

1. What do you want for your birthday?
~nothing in particular~

2. Who will be your next kiss?
~hubby and daughter~

3. When was the last time you went to the mall?
~yesterday to Kingsway mall looking for some stuff for Bianca~

4. Are you wearing socks right now?
~no, it's hot here now~

5. How did you spend your summer?
~picnic-ing with my friends and lil fam, travelling to cities nearby~

6. Have you been to the cinema in the last 5 days?
~Nope~

7. What was the last thing you had to drink?
~coconut juice with pulp~

8. What are you wearing right now?
~stretchy jeans skirt and top~

9. What was your last purchase?
~wet wipes, zippy cup~

10. What was the last food you ate?
~rice and green jackfruits gulai~

11. Who would be the person you would call if you were up in the middle of the night and couldn’t sleep?
~noone~

12. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week?
~nope~

13. Do you have a pet?
~nope, wish I would have had fish~

14. What made you laugh in the last 5 days?
~an unknown lady waved to my husband in downtown Saskatoon, she thought my husband was someone she knows~

15. If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?
~home in Indo or somewhere in Venice or beach in Sydney~

16. What is the last thing you purchased online?
~skype credit~

17. One thing you hate about yourself?
~procrastinating behavior~

18. Do you miss anyone?
~my nieces, nephew, my sis~

19. What are your plan and my friends for the day?
~having dinner together (I cooked) and fixing our car license plate~

20. Last person you msg’d?
~mom in law~

21. Ever went to a camp?
~yup, long time ago~

22. Are you a good student in school?
~guess so~

23. What do you know about the (your) future?
~it's in His hand~

24. Are you wearing any perfume or cologne?
~not now, but yup sometimes~

25. Where is/are your best friend/s right now?
~in Indo~

Today's Humor

2008-05-15T22:17:00.004-06:00

Secret To Success

A young man asked an old rich guy how he made his money. The old guy said, "Well, son, it was 1932, the depths of the Great Depression. I was down to my last nickel. I invested that nickel in an apple. I spent the entire day polishing the apple and, at the end of the day, I sold the apple for 10 cents. The next morning, I invested those 10 cents in two apples. I spent the entire day polishing them and sold them at 5:00 p.m. for 20 cents. I continued this system for a month, by the end of which I'd accumulated a fortune of a $1.37. Then my wife's father died and left us 10 million dollars." from: conectique_newsletter@conectique.com Thursday May15'2008

A Gift from Norway

2008-05-10T19:32:00.002-06:00

My virtual friend, Ayin sending me a gift all the way from Norway...as a token of unity...as one big Kunti family...
Thank you Ayin....

Lover's and Best Friend's Birthday

2008-04-19T12:45:00.000-06:00

As I've mentioned on my other blog, April is month of birthdays in the Sianturi's. Today in fact is my father in law's birthday. April 2nd is my husband's birthday. April 5th is Bianca's. April 10th is my mother in law's. April 27th is Shinta's-Chris' sister's. And a lot more to come for Chris' cousins. So for me it is like the busiest month of the year beside December. Busy to greet them happy birthday, make phone calls, send birthday wishes, choose gifts and prepare party.

For my husband's birthday this year, at first I did not have any idea of what to give. I don't want to give something ordinary...clothing, including shoes , hats, belts, and other accessories to me are ordinary gifts. This time I wanted something special and...more, not in term of money..but more useful.
Lately, he's been begging to own GPS for our car and I kept postponing to say yes. So 3 days before his birthday, finally I said yes and let him order GPS from e-Bay. He found himself a very good deal on a brand new Navigon 7100, the one he 's been having his eyes laid on, and since it was available in Ontario, it will be easier for us to get it sent. I am so happy that at the end, we received the package exactly on his big day...so it was a perfect gift for him.

Later on that day, we went out for having dinner. It was so touching when he stated that he wanted to take me and Bianca to a restaurant which serve pasta-the food I like, as I know that he does not really like pastas. As for me, he needs not to do it, since it was his birthday, his special day...his preference should come first, why mine? However he insisted to go to that special place, and we did. I felt so touched, so loved...Thank you my lover and my best friend!

And on Sunday April 6th, after church service, we had a small party for Bianca and her dad. We did not tell all of the church members ahead of time that we would have party on that day. We just casually invited people to come down stair after the service for fellowshipping. I cooked the main dishes with the help of our good friend. Below are pictures of that small birthday celebration.

Once again, happy birthday my dear husband and daughter! Thank you Lord for days You have given to us..Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom...

Long-time Stored Homework

2008-04-15T22:09:00.000-06:00

Got this homework 2 weeks ago and just got a chance to do it now..sorry Feb...

Heres the Rules :
* First copy and paste it.
* Do not remove any content.
* Just add One word related to your blogs.
* If you don’t like the concept Pls! say no?
* Our main goal is we are going to circulate our number of friends.
* The more people join the “pass it to the front” the more links we generate.
* Lastly write only one word “short” for your blogs…
* Keep it simple and short,i know some of you have more than one blogs.
* The color is only black, gray, or white plssss avoid using any color okies

Let me show you :1.-Filipina,2.-Stories,3.-Abroad,4.-Husband,5.Gagiers, 6. Life 7. Everything, 8. Offer, 9. Moments, 10. Journey, 11. Simple 12. ABaLe 13. Eucalyptus 14. Greiche (Gege) 15. Wilda 16. Truly 17. Debbie 18. Febrie 19. Lidia

Everyone do this kind of Linky Game recently. Why don't I pass this one to them too?!

Not for me this time...feel uncomfortable to bug people to do the homework...

More Snowy Places

2008-04-15T22:02:00.000-06:00

As I've promised on the earlier post, here are some pictures of more snowy places...

The first two pictures were taken on early January 2008 after a snow storm in Montreal. The snow piling up on the road and pavement. Pedestrian needed to walk on the street together with cars and other vehicles since the pavement had not been cleared yet. For car owners it was not so nice way to exercise and build muscles.

Look at the white car covered by snow below...At that time, some cars got scratched by snow remover truck since they were not visible to the truck driver. It was not the driver's fault though..the car owner should move the car before the street was cleared out, but they did not do it.

The next four pictures were taken in Mississauga, ON during our Christmas holiday visit. It's at my in law's neighborhood.

It is spring time now in Montreal..however the weather is weird..two days ago we still had some flurries all day long. Fortunately it did not stay on the ground. We are expecting more warmer days and greenies to come...hopefully we are not going straightly to the next winter!

A Cold Windy Day in Quebec City

2008-04-15T21:05:00.000-06:00

During Easter long weekend, Christian's parents came visiting us. They came over for spending some mutual times with Bianca, our daughter. They arrived on March 22, 2008 early in the morning. It was quite cold morning in Montreal.

Since they were in town, we wanted to entertain them and as they have been familiar with city of Montreal already, we decided this time we're gonna take them for a ride to Quebec City.
So we left on Saturday morning, we did not expect that Quebec City could get so cold on this time of year. When we got there, cold and strong wind welcome us. We could not bear the cold, thus we took a short walk to a cafe and stayed inside for sometimes. Apparently it was a wrong choice since the foods are so expensive there. None of us order food, except me..lucky me, pregnant woman..I got a privilege of ordering main menu, and I had fetucini alfredo, shared it with Bianca whilst every body else just got a cup of coffee.

After warming up, we took a walk again to take some pictures, but I could not stand for cold too long. We did it quick and the results are not that great. We went back to our car and headed back to Montreal. My father in law said that he wants to visit Quebec City again during summer. And yes...it's a great idea..Quebec City is a nice place to visit especially when it is a little warmer.
At the end...enjoy the not so great pictures!

Laugh Our Way

2008-04-02T08:22:00.000-06:00

Simply Irresistible
After a party, as a couple was driving home, the woman asks her husband, "Honey, has anyone ever told you how handsome, sexy and irresistible to women you are?" The flattered husband said, "No, dear they haven't." Then the wife yells, "Then what the hell gave you THAT idea at the party tonight?"

from: conectique_newsletter@conectique.com
Wednesday April 2'2008

Tag From A Friend

2008-03-20T15:04:00.000-06:00

Got this homework again from Febrie...

I'm Passionate about :
1. My little happy family
2. Cooking
3. Blogging and internet thingie
4. Singing and Music (I let my hubby playing the music..)
5. Fashion and shopping

Mostly I say :
1. Babe, Daddy, sayang...all of the dearest-soft voices call for my hubby and my lil princess
2. No... with my serious expression to warn Bianca
3. Mesti kok gitu...kalo lagi sebel sama sesuatu
4. Hello, thank you, please, bye...on the phone
5. Good morning sayang...pas Bianca bangun tidur
6. Ati-ati daddy...pas suami brgkt kerja

I've just finished reading :
1. Our daily bread
2. Today's Parent
3. A card from good friend

Before I die, I want to :
1. Pleasing God
2. Buy a house
3. See my kids grown up and have good education and life
4. Traveling around the world

I love listening to :
1. Lighthouse Family
2. Josh Groban, Charlotte Church, Andrea Bocelli
3. MLTR
4. Kahitna, Glenn Fredly
5. Jim Brickman
6. Praise and Worship
7. David Archuleta (the 2008 American Idol top ten finalist)
8. and many more...

What my friends like about me :
I am a good listener and never judge people easily, and generous...

Last year I've learned :
1. Not to take everything so serious
2. Not to trust anyone easily
3. Keep all of what I heard just for my ears
4. Not too sensitive
5. Indonesian living overseas is more into gossip than anything else..so be ware!
6. Not to get close to some people I noticed that have potential ruining my own life
7. That PhD is not everything and family should come first

Now I would like to throw the ball to Judith, Melanie and Tutut...love you gal!

You Have My Heart Award

2008-03-16T15:42:00.001-06:00

Another award I've got from Deetha..
Thank you dearie...

Award From A Friend

2008-03-05T11:05:00.001-07:00

Febrie gave me these two awards. And I have to convey it to my other friends. What a nice circle of friend we have!

And I am gladly giving it to Endah, Ayu, Judith, Melanie, Elyani and Deetha. You go girl friends!!

Humor of the Day

2008-03-04T19:55:00.000-07:00

courtesy of: www.cartoonstock.com

The Nice Husband
Bernie was invited to his friend's home for dinner. Morris, the host, preceded every request to his wife by endearing terms, calling her Honey, My Love, Darling, Sweetheart, Pumpkin, etc. Bernie looked at Morris and remarked, "That is really nice, that after all these years you have been married, you keep calling your wife those pet names." Morris hung his head and whispered, "To tell the truth, I forgot her name three years ago!"

from: Conectique_newsletter

Simply I Love You..

2008-02-14T22:22:00.000-07:00

It is Valentine's Day again, and it means we have spent 3 years together. I remember 3 years ago, we decided to become girlfriend and boyfriend...it was hard, since we lived far apart, but we managed to go through that rough and long road until we walked down the isle July 1, 2006.

As I mentioned on my previous post, I bought a card and a box of chocolate for my husband the day before February 14. Late at night while he was asleep, I wrote something on the card and hid the card and chocolate under our dining table. Early in the morning on the D-day, I woke up and prepared his lunch box and of course I did not forget to slip in the card and the chocolate. I pretended as it was a normal ritual helping him before going to work. I even asked him,"Do you want some chocolate for snacking babe?" (as he likes to bring chocolate coated biscuits to eat when he gets his morning break). He answered,"yes please". Before leaving he asked,"which chocolate you put in my box? celebration?" he mentioned a brand. And I full of hesitation nodded and smiled.

Around 10.20am the phone rang and it was him from work. He said,"Babe..thank you for the card and the chocolate..I love you wifey! Happy Valentine's Day". I could not respond anything but smiled. Then he asked me to put him on the speaker so that our daughter can hear him, and he said,"Daddy loves you Bianca..."

OK, to make it short, when he came home from work, he surprised me with red roses and kisses and simply whispering I love you to my ear. Then he took us to a Vietnamese restaurant as I craved for meatball soup-pho.

This year...again, I am just so thankful for what I have in my life. I thank my God for what He has given and done into my life. Thank you my beloved husband for wiling to share household jobs and take care of our little Bianca....that what partner really means. Please stay as nice as you have always been. I love you...

Rude, Ignorant or Selfish?

2008-02-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

courtesy of http://www.cartoonstock.com/

I completely aware that today is Valentine's Day. However, since the day is not end yet, I won't share a story related to it. Instead, I wanna share something that really irritated me.

Yesterday, I went to see my chiropractor as usual for every Wednesday evening and Saturday morning. The treatment went well, the doctor was super nice. On the way home, I stopped by at a Chinese restaurant to buy some foods since I was not cooking yesterday. From the window, I saw that the place was empty, no customers at any scene, the light was a bit dim. First thought that came into my mind was it was close. Then I read the sign of the opening hours, 11am-10pm weekday..hmm..it was only 5.45pm. So with full courage I pulled the door and it was unlock which meant the restaurant was open. A gentlemen greeted me briefly, smiled and went inside. Another man came out, a skinny Chinese guy with yellow-colored hairs, no smile on his face. I said that I want to have a look at the menu book. When I was reading the menu book, his mobile rang and he answered the phone. It took a while, and when I was about ready to order, he was still on the phone. He took the order book and started to write my order and gave me a look of "what do you order?". He did not even bother to hang up the call. What the.....Okay...then I gave a sign "no no..I need to ask you something first". With a sigh he hang up and concentrated to my questions. I needed to ask about mixed vegetable, since the menu did not explain what it is. With peevish he said,"It is many kind of veggies put together". Then I asked again,"how do you prepare, stir frying or?" Quickly he said,"stir fry"...Okay...calm down man...so quickly I finished my order, paid the bill and before sitting down, I asked him if I could get a glass of warm water. I can easily get thirsty this time when I am pregnant, and because the weather outside was cold, I asked for warm water. He responded,"I don't have warm water", without even looked at me. Then I said,"ok then, plain tap water is fine" and he said,"just have a sit and I'll bring it to you".
As I placed my order, some customer arrived, two families. The skinny guy started busy serving them, while I was sitting around. I was waiting and waiting for the water, but he did not come to me. I saw he brought 3 glasses of cold water for the family on my left, without seeing me. And then he passed me by and prepared the table for the family on my right...again he did not look at me or I might be invisible at time. Normally at this time of situation when the service was not satisfying, I could blow up easily, but not at that time. I waited and waited, until he brought me my order. When he handed it to me I took a chance to say something to him...simply I was saying,"I'm waiting for my water but you never bring it to me". And he simply said,"I am just by myself here". What the...I can not understand...how can you be so rude and ignorant while you work at a place where people require good service and respect? oh please...do you have a right to ignore the customer for to-go and worship the customer for dine-in? what is so difficult to bring a glass of tap water? So I left the place shaking my head. Fortunately the cold air eased my irk.

I took the metro and tried to forget that rude skinny guy. I made another stop at a supermarket to buy a card and a box of chocolate for my husband and a carton of milk for me myself. Then I had to walk from the store to our apartment, app. 7minutes away. Piles of snow were on the side road as it was snowing early that day. The pavement was cleared out for pedestrian. I walked with 3 plastic bags on my hands, one on the left and 2 on my right hand. The cleared pavement was not that wide, it only permits like two people walking side by side. So with the bags, I had to twisted it when people passed by. About halfway home, I saw a car parked laterally on the pavement blocking the way for pedestrian with the lights all blinking. Imagine, both side of the pavement was full of snow piling up high about 70-80cm. I can not comprehend, how people can get so selfish and ignorant. Even though the light was blinking, it does not mean they have a right to do whatever they want to do without even thinking of others...how people can walk pass by? I tried to seek judgement from other people who happened to be on the same situation as I was. There was only one Spanish-looking guy who happened to walk behind me. When I shake my head and raised both of my hands, he did not seem to care of what's been happening. He was easily jumping over the snow piles and then walked on the street, yes I mean STREET where a car or other vehicles can run over you! But in my case, I am a woman, 7.5 week pregnant, and carrying 3 plastic bags not to mention my heavy overcoat...how can I jump over those piles of snow. I started to observe which pile was the lowest one and carefully dipped my boot on the snow. Eventually I managed to pass that 2.5meter space which was taken by the stupid car (well the car was not stupid though..the owner yes!). Another 3minutes remaining until I reached home. As soon as I opened my door while taking off my boots, I told every things that just happened to my husband and he was not able to understand either. How people can get so rude, ignorant and selfish? I wonder how...I wonder why...seems like I still can not get the answer...

My First Homework

2008-02-13T05:49:00.000-07:00

After awhile, I found some virtual friends over blogging. They are nice and I feel close to them, even though they are..kind of invisible..hehehe. This is my very first time to get a homework from my incredible invisible friend - Febrie (after almost 2 years without homework).

Anger is only one letter short of danger
If someone betrays you once, it is his fault;
If he betrays you twice, it is your fault.
Great minds discuss ideas;
Average minds discuss events;
Small minds discuss people.
He, who loses money, loses much;
He, who loses a friend, loses much more;
He, who loses faith, loses all.
Beautiful young people are accidents of nature,
But beautiful old people are works of art.
Learn from the mistakes of others
You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.
Friends, you and me…
You brought another friend…
And then there were 3…
We started our group…
Our circle of friends…
And like that circle…
There is no beginning or end…
Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is mystery.
Today is a gift.
So now, let’s see how many circle’s of friends we can make
by simply adding your link on this Friendship Meme!

1. Catsy Carpe Diem.
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Happy Valentine's Day!

Our 2nd Baby

2008-01-30T13:07:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling hungry and a bit of nausea since last Sunday. And the fact that I have not had my period for this month makes me think that I might be pregnant. However, another part of my heart says that it could not be since we managed to use the ovulation calendar for more than 6months and since my chiropractor on Saturday said that by doing the alignment treatment could interfere my cycle. By the way, I have had problem with my vertebrae which cause severe backpain, migrain and constipation, and I have visited chiropractor twice a week to do the treatment.

On Monday after seeing my dentist, I bought a home pregnancy test and tested right away. Strange..the result came invalid, there was no blue line as it expected in the control window nor in the test window, even after 10min waiting. So we just had dinner and talked about the weird test result. Christian said that I might not use enough urine to test.

The next morning, remembering what my husband said the night before, I urinated the stick again whilst the stick is supposed to be used once. The result came out positive. But since it is meant to be used once only, I doubted. Therefore I asked my husband to purchase another brand of home pregnancy test kit. Later that day, Christian came home with the kit and I tested eagerly. No more than 30seconds the result came out, and it was positive. I showed it to him and he responded by rubbing my tummy.

The baby dues on Sept 28, 2008 and he/she will be 1.5 year younger than Bianca. We are thankful for the God's blessing and for the opportunity and trust to nurture another kid.

Let it snow...

2007-12-17T17:29:00.001-07:00

We did not get to play around with snow the other day, since Christian was not able to go home before it's too dark. Like I said, inventory could take up his time a lot and indeed he spent the whole day staying in the company.
The snow that we got in the last two weeks was nothing compared to what we have it now. We had snow storm on Sunday, Dec 16 '2007. Early morning on that day around 7.40am, I looked out through my window, and this was what I saw. Christian's bike was almost invisible. I could only see some part of its saddle. You may compare it with the picture I put on my previous post.

And if you take a closer look to the right of the bike, this is all snow, and it is not the whole pile. Since I was not able to shot the whole pile, I took two pictures separately. The picture below was the top of the snow pile. The top is higher than our balcony fences.

Next time I will post more snowy pictures in this blog. For now, let's enjoy what I have around our apartment.

Let it snow..let it snow..let it snow...!!

Bright White Monday

2007-12-03T12:10:00.000-07:00

We've been having snow since two weeks ago. However, the initial snow from two weeks before does not stay long. Last night we started to get some more snow, and it gets really serious at this moment. The snow is just like white cotton candy shredded from the sky.

Most of elementary schools in Quebec is closed due to snow storm that we may experience today. Christian is doing inventory job at work, so he has to go to work no matter what. He called from work, telling me how high the pile of snow is out there. He thought that I did not see anything since I did not go out. In fact, I saw the bright white snow piling up every where. From my window, I saw some kids playing around outside our apartment too. They threw snow into each other and then giggled...what a nice view.

We are planning to go out and play outside if Christian could go home a bit early today. Well, not so sure though...coz inventory normally takes a lot of his time. Finger crossed then!
I will tell you if it really happens...okay? For now, I just stop here and show you the picture of Christian's bike at our balcony. Enjoy!

Laugh of the day

2007-11-28T07:15:00.000-07:00

picture courtesy of: http://www.kersteins.com/blogdepuree/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/bouche_toothbrush_02062006.jpg

I read this joke on conectique newsletter this morning and really put smile on my face...

Husband: When I get mad at you, you never fight back. How do you control your anger?
Wife: I clean the toilet...
Husband: How does that help?
Wife: I use your toothbrush.

A good way to start off my day...but I would never do it to my husband though...

Ex=annoying???

2007-11-15T09:23:00.000-07:00

Picture courtesy of: http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/e/ex-boyfriends.asp

To be honest I do not really want to talk about what I am going to say in this writing, coz I do not sweat on small things. However, something really makes me giggling and I thought it would be good to be written.

My husband and I, both of us have our exes. And as normal human being, each of them behave differently. Most of my exes cut off our communication after I got married, and I also do not make a move to contact them or else they still communicate with me as friends, genuine friends-relationships. Some of them got married and we can talk freely about family matters, supporting each other for good.
Some of my husband's exes are still contacting him, mostly through friendster. They are married too, and they live far away from us. Oh well, I just want to mention two of his exes (coz they really make me giggling), two extremes...opposite to each other.

The first one, like I said before she's married, got a kid. She was from his high school time. She sends messages to my husband every now and then (even though my husband does not respond). She acts like I am never exist. She does not really want to know me, who I am, what's my name, etc. It's completely fine with me though. She is still day dreaming about what they did/went through when they were couple. My husband always shows me her message before making any decision about what he's going to do with it. Some of her comments were approved, and some were not because we think that they are inappropriate. I really do not have problem with her comments/messages, but my husband feels uncomfortable every time he received her message. And I know what he feels, I would feel the same way if I were him.

The second one, she's married, has a kid too. I said two extreme before coz the first one does not really want to know me or does not care, but the second one wants to be close friend with me.She knows that I am here with him, she tried to be nice to me from the very first time we knew each other, but she tried too hard and it was sickening sweet. As for me normal-nice would be just enough and if only that were what happened I would have been just fine with us being good friends. But since it was too much, I am not comfortable with it. Unfortunately, she took it hard.
One day my husband (at that time was my fiance) asked me to check his account, and I found her message wishing him a happy birthday. On behalf of him, I sent a reply message saying thank you for her wishes. At that moment I was so genuine, really appreciate what she did (in wishing my husband a happy one), I even did not take it hard of what she said in that message. Too bad, from that day on, she keeps assuming that I am always checking on my husband's account. At first I only smiled when my husband told me that she assumed that I read her message for him (yeah..my husband always tells me when he got a message from her). But after many times, it is quite annoying. Even if I were checking on my husband's account, so what? any problem with it? (Orang Indo bilang: "makan siomay di pesawat, so what gitu loh?" hehehehe..). My husband never complaints if I check his account, there are days that he's too busy and he will ask me to do it for him. And if I check his account, it does not mean that I want to control him and that I do not trust him or that I am curious of what he does behind my back...NO!! I 100% trust him. He is a good husband, he loves me so much, and above all...he is in God, this is the key that he won't betray me.

Once my husband wanted to withdraw his friendster account, because he wants to protect my heart, but I said that it is absolutely okay with me...I do not have a problem with it, and why bother of what his exes did and thus he has to lose contact with other good friends? So I encouraged him to keep his account.

I want to be a very understanding wife. Just think a positive way..they love him so much and it makes them not realizing what they did.

Hm..what else should I say as a closing?
Well, at the end of the day I can tell you folks..it is good to have exes, really makes your day..

Note: for all exes, I never hate you personally..it is not a war that I offer..nor a battle. It's only small-little things we might ponder before going to bed, what would you feel if you were on my position?
Have a good day and God bless you!!

Posted on Friendster by Lidia Ratnawati on January 24, 2007 at 09:13 PM

You are a masterpiece..

2007-11-15T09:16:00.001-07:00

It was a new experience and definitely an amazing one for us as parents. We got to see the doctor and she let us heard our baby's heart beat and saw His beautiful creature. With the tiny hands and quite big heart for his/her body size. No doubt No more...I love you my baby...

And Christian said,"yes you are there love..papa loves you and loves mama..you both are precious gift from God".

I think this following song will be suitable of what I am feeling about my baby...(I cut it off in the middle for special purpose, and will post the rest of the lyric when the baby grown up)

Before you had a name or opened up your eyes
Or anyone could recognize your face.
You were being formed so delicate in size
Secluded in God's safe and hidden place.

With your little tiny hands and little tiny feet
And little eyes that shimmer like a pearl
He breathed in you a song and to make it all complete
He brought the masterpiece into the world.

You are a masterpiece
A new creation He has formed
And you're as soft and fresh as a snowy winter morn.
And I'm so glad that God has given you to me
Little Lamb of God, you are a masterpiece.
(song by: Sandy Patty)

Posted on Friendster by Lidia Ratnawati on October 15, 2006 at 06:46 AM

Mama knows you are there..

2007-11-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

Friday, August 4' 2006 I took my home pregnancy test. It was a nice surprise for Christian, when the result came out positive. He smiled and from that day on we both have been praying for this little one inside my tummy. To be honest, we did not really expect the baby comes so fast, but we did not prevent that to happen either. I did not get my period after getting married, so it was like "bam"...we did it and the baby is on his/her way!!

For several days prior to it, Christian always teased me every time I mentioned that I felt lousy and I said I could be pregnant. He said, “No you're not...", but other times he said," Yes, you are". Even when I decided to buy a home pregnancy test, he acted plain. I remember when we got home Thursday nite, he said, “how if the result came out negative?". This question made me nervous when the next morning I sat in the bathroom holding that stick. As for me at that time, he seemed not supportive at all. Later on I realized that he was nervous too. He does not want me to be disappointed if the result is negative. That Friday was a joyful morning for both of us.

From that day on I have been watching over what I eat and trying to get enough sleep/rest and also taking maternal vitamins. I diligently browse over the internet everything about pregnancy, baby and expecting mother. I get Christian to see and read all the interesting pictures and articles on the internet. He gets so excited about the baby and tells the whole family and friends that he is soon becoming a father! He is also busy choosing name for baby boy and girl. He takes over some of major household jobs, including doing laundry, groceries shopping, cleaning up and sometimes cooking too (especially when I don't feel like cooking).
However, for me, I want to keep this pregnancy for myself, until I am sure that I am pregnant. Well I told this good news only for my sisters and closest friends. I waited until we saw the doctor on Sept 13 '2006. It was the earliest date I got from my appointment with the doctor in a clinic. To my surprise, unlike in Indonesia, in Canada the doctor will wait until you are sure that you are pregnant, or at least your pregnancy is about 8weeks. I remembered, when I called for an appointment the receptionist asked me whether I am really pregnant or not, and she suggested me to go to a pharmacy to get a pregnancy test. She also questioned me when was my last period, and when I answered she said, “Then you are pregnant" and there she set me for the appointment date.

The doctor was so nice, but at that first check up, I did not get any evaluation/test due to lack of facilities. The doctor only checked my blood pressure, my breathing and tried to listen to the baby's heart beat. However, the baby was only 10 weeks old, so we were not able to hear his/her heartbeat. The doctor said that normally she will listen to the heartbeat at 12 weeks, so it was a bit early. She referred me to a doctor in a hospital for next check up, considering there are lots of equipment in the hospital compare to the clinic. She also mentioned that the cost probably is cheaper in hospital. Oh yeah..in Quebec, pregnancy is under government cover, so you need to get a status to be able to be covered. Even though Christian has a family based private insurance from his company, I am not able to use it for visiting doctor because I am still under tourist visa. So as you know, we had to pay 105$/ visit, it is a lot considering I am not working now. Well, but we trust in Him, He gives us this little one, we are blessed, and we believe that we are provided!

As I promised to keep this pregnancy for myself until I got to see the doctor, I should have written something in this blog right after I saw the doctor. However, since I did not get to hear the baby’s heartbeat on that first check up and no ultrasound taken, I was still in doubt. Despite the fact that I do not have my period for these 3months, that my tummy is getting bigger, and that I feel nausea every now and then, deep in my heart I still could not believe that there is a little human being growing inside my tummy. I was worried if it’s not a baby, I was worried would he/she be okay? (Long time ago, I read an article in a magazine, a woman did not get her menstruation and her tummy got bigger and bigger, at first she thought that she was pregnant, but at the end doctor found out it was cancer, a severe one). Oh…I was terrified!!

Then these days came, when I got really really bad nausea. It struck me! We prayed that nite and I told my husband after praying that God wanted to tell me something. I spent my days worrying and with this bad nausea God wants me to see that the baby is really there and that he/she is okay. I rubbed my tummy and whispered, ”It’s okay baby…mama knows that you are there, I am sorry for worrying too much and for being doubtful. Mama should trust God, I am sorry for being hypocrite, while every night and morning mama prays for you, mama still holds on not let God takes good care of you, not believe that God forms you from the very first time. Mama learns that everything from God is beautiful, that including you…”

And I cried to God, please forgive me oh Lord…

Thank you Lord for this wonderful gift!

Posted on Friendster by Lidia Ratnawati on September 30, 2006 at 07:31 AM

Inspired by You

2007-11-12T07:42:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I wanted to create a blog. My first blog on Friendster is a lil messy, coz I was a beginner and am still.
There are some people that really inspire me in this blogging thingie. They are very productive that I can not imagine how they manage to balance between family, career, themselves and still have time to write. And it is not just writing, they produce great quality of publications that people can read and take the good out of it.

Mentioning names, first I want to say that I envy one of my good friends - I Made Andi Arsana. He is a very productive writer, you can find a lot of his article on the Jakarta Post, popular yet scientific articles. He published his book. Recently, he received two prestigious scholarships for doing his PhD, while he is away from home and his beloved family, he also produced a brilliant idea to be in touch with his students by distance teaching using sophisticated technology...what a WOW...!! I am inspired by him, indeed!
I am also inspired by two Dewi...Dewi Joris and Dewi Setiawati. The first Dewi is my good friend from my youth years. She is a busy woman, a mom of two kids, a working mother, runs a home business, yet she manages to write two blogs. The second Dewi is my new acquaintance who has become my little sister. We have similarity, we love to cook. She is young, busy with her study, job and of course social life, yet she organizes a group on Facebook.
I am also amazed of what Ayu Husodo has done. She is a mother of two, working in a store, living temporary overseas to accompany her husband, owning an online business and is also able to maintain blogs.
I could not imagine how they are all juggling between work, life, family and personal thingies..yet again they produce very inspiring writing.
My husband also inspires me, while he spends most of his days working in a company, when he gets home he takes time to play with our daughter, even though I know he is tired. He also tries to read news online every day. I remembered one day when I asked, he said that he wants to keep up with the world's situation.
So then...the envy pushed me to start up my blog with the hope that people might get the good out of it. Thank you for inspiring!! All the credits go for you...

The Romantic Maritime

2007-10-31T18:41:00.000-06:00

Our wedding was a blast. We enjoyed the time spent with families, especially because it has been a while Christian did not see his aunties and uncle. We even did not realize that we should had some time for ourselves as a newly wed. Until two weeks after the wedding that we decided to have this special time only for us. Christian took 2 weeks off, therefore we went for our honeymoon.
We chose the maritime - east part of Canada as our destination, considering that I had never been there before and that it was met our budget. So there we were...leaving Montreal early morning on July 16, 2006. We preferred land route since we would be able to see more of the sites by doing so. We spent 5 days in 3 provinces (New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia). I liked PEI with the Anne of Green Gables thingie at the most, since it brought the book I read long time ago became real. I think Christian liked Peggy's Cove with the romantic lighthouse and the calm waves or maybe the maritime museum where he had an opportunity to sit on the Titanic's VIP wooden seat. The magnetic hill and the reversal falls was amazing, the confederation bridge was spectacular, the citadel was unique. Well too many beautiful places to mention...

The highlight of that trip is the adjustment we'd made toward each other and the togetherness (we are physically and emotionally closer and closer... even more)..not to mention the lobster that we ate during those 5days...such a heaven!! And I suspect Bianca was formed and given to us during those trip...thank you Lord!

A New Stage in Our Lives

2007-10-30T14:26:00.000-06:00

I would like to start this blog with an old posting from my Friendste r blog. And all started here..when I say I do to him in front of His people...

I can't believe it's almost two weeks we have been entering a new stage in our lives..it is a married lives..and it is wonderful. Times to times God has proven His faithfulness..our relationship was a very long meaningful journey..this journey taught us to value this married lives at the best.

Once I was down, once I doubted..could he be the one from God? Many difficulties along the way before walking down the isle..our differences make it hard for us to adjust to each other...we have different habits...for example I earn money easily and am a big spender, buying things and things I do not really need..he is a hard worker and good in managing money..I love details and am a perfectionist, but he does not and is not...not to mention things liked family interference...lot of things kept me pondering, is it a bad sign? But these drew me closer to God..I want to trust Him..in my prayer I said,"oh God please..show me..please..if he is the one, we will make it..God.. but if he is not the one, please prepare my heart and his to accept it. Let Your will be done". The question got bigger and bigger as it approached our wedding day.
Encouragement came at the right time from the right person..a letter from my sister reminds me to keep trusting God and His wonderful plan in my life. Keep trusting Him that he is the one for me. She has seen many good things and miracles happened in our relationship and she is so sure that he will become a good husband, head of family and father as well. And you will be surprised if I am telling you now, my sister has never met him in person..how could she say such thing. But that was it...my sister accepts him as part of our family and gives him trust, even though she's never seen him face to face. I still have her letter with me and it feels so good that your family has no doubt in the decision you made, especially if you come from a family that is not so easy to let you date someone that come from different background (for you to know, I come from a Chinese family which known as a very strong-bound family and won't let their daughters to go out with guys who come from different background. And my husband comes from batakese family, which also known as a very strict family and want to keep their sons marrying girls from their own tribes). To our surprise, we do not face these difficulties relating with parents' approvals.

To make it short....we planned for a small simple wedding party..but it turned out to be a beautiful and bright party..(and noisy too..hehehe..)..one of his aunties said it was a perfect wedding (wowwwwww....I am so flattered). We are so grateful to have family and friends that really support and help us. I could not imagine how we can handle that party without their helps. The headache paid off!!

We learned alot during this moment:
1. Not only based on religious thingies, but practically and technically getting married is so exhausted that you will never want to do it again...once is enough! (imagine all the headache you have to face during the preparation, alot more with arguing among relatives and in laws). Arshinta..you were rite!

2. When everything is not perfect, it is a good opportunity for us to really seek God and depend on Him. So as a perfectionist I may say..thank you Lord for making it imperfect, otherwise I would have been so proud of myself.
3. Man should leave his parents to be with his wife and become one. But it is never easy to let your own son go, even if he married to an extremely good girl, the girl that you like so much..
so girls be prepared of your mother in law's jealousy...it could be very tough and may become your first nightmare..Do not hate her for doing it, just comprehend..it may be beyond your understanding, but put yourself in her position, I am sure you will understand.
4. Communication is the key..use the time before going to bed or after waking up to talk openly with your spouse. Solve the problems you have on that day, do not keep it until the sun sinks down.
5. Take your spouse hands in yours, and say prayer everyday (for us, we do it every morning and nite). Place God as the head of your marriage!

6. Once I said that I live to please everyone around me. I know now that at the end you can not please anyone..You have to draw the line, and be sure to not hurting others badly.

7. this is a lesson for me, once I was afraid to live inconveniently, it scared me to have limited access to money...but now I realize how good it is to be able to live at the least, how good it is to be able to differentiate what you want and what you need..

So...it's been wonderful folks!! I am happy...he is happy...everybody is happy...
Lord we give you thank, for You are faithful!! We walk with our hands in You oh Lord..We will trust in You and not be afraid, for we know You will be there..this is wonderful day that You have made!

And as a closing we want to share this beautiful song from our wedding ceremony..enjoy!!

As we come into Your presence Lord
Lifting our heart as one
And with one voice we sing
Promise to be faithful till the end
Forever love You our God

As for me and my house
We will serve You Lord
Together forever we will love You more
Your love is higher than the heaven
Knitted us as one
Great is Your unfailing love

Posted by Lidia Ratnawati on July 14, 2006 at 01:06 PM