A Simple Gal Journal: Hello World...

Dear all of my American Friends...

Happy Independence Day! I hope you're having fun with family and friends and loved ones on this holiday! Anyone want to invite me for a BBQ? I usually had tons of BBQ invitations from my American friends back when I still lived in Texas. Yum!

Dear all Friends who have read and commented on my posts...

Thank you, thank you so much! I love reading your comments and learn from them and know what you think or your opinions on the subjects that I wrote. Especially on my last post about peanut who forgets its shell, I didn't think anyone would even bother to read it since it was such a lengthy post and basically just described what I thought. The fact that you do read really means a lot to me!

Dear F21 mint teardrop necklace...

You are soooo beautiful!! And even more so because you're a birthday gift from my husband on my first birthday after our getting married. I had been seeing you being worn by various fashion blogger and it was love at the first sight, but I didn't know where to get you since Indonesian F21 stores don't have you. So, thanks to Ebay, now I finally can wear these gorgeous strand of teardrop mints around my neck. Ow, you didn't look pretty when you arrived enclosed in that bubble wrap, but once worn, you do not disappoint!

Dear Dark Chocolate Toblerone...

Why do you have to taste sooooo good? Once I open your aluminium foil wrap, I cannot stop eating! My mouth is watering just writing about your deliciousness! Well, at least dark chocolate is healthy...

Dear Starbucks...

My brother said they should have named you Fourbucks, not Starbucks. How could you be so cruel stealing so much of my hard-earned money away! And I'm not even a coffee drinker, but that choc frappucino of yours is soooo difficult to resist! And more so, your cozy, homey, and warm environment is just so apt to hang with my girlfriends. I will avoid you from now on, as much as my will power will allow! And no more of your tempting pastries and cakes! No more of your hot beef and cheese quiche. No more espresso brownie. No more chicken and tuna puff. I'll just buy them at the local bakery for much cheaper price, thank you!

Dear money...

You're such cunning creatures! When I don't have any, just a little bit of you will keep me happy and thankful that I'm able to buy food and do not starve. But then, when I start to have a little bit more, then I want more and more of you to buy more clothes, more outings to fancy restaurants, better things to decorate the house, more and better of everything! I have to be careful to know when enough is enough. You are a possession that could buy many nice things and help other people and pay for good things like education and healthcare and gifts for loved ones. But I won't be possessed by something that should only be a possession! Anyway, don't feel bad. Many people badmouth about you when the fact is, you're just a tool. It's your owner who can either do good or bad thing with you!

Dear Little Black Dress chick lit series...

You are one of my guilty pleasures! Thank you for accompanying me during countless boring time waiting at the doctor's office, waiting for the food to arrive at the restaurant when I dine alone, when the flight was delayed for two hours at the airport, for light reading before bedtime... I'm glad that you came in pretty paperback, colorful covers with lovely illustration and that you're lightweight so I can easily carry you around in my purse. And thank God that you are light but not cheesy and weepy and silly like some of those romance novels!

Dear Mom and Dad...

Thank you for that sophisticated Madato juicer that you bought for us! My husband especially loves it, he keeps trying out making various juice from fruits and veggies. However, I think it's just a matter of time before he gets bored of experimenting with it, haha!

Dear all farmers and ranchers and manufacting and logistics people in the world...

Thank you for working so hard to provide us city folks with food and fresh produce. If not because of you, we city folks would have been starved! I always get this feeling of gratitude and awe and abundance each time I stroll along the full - almost overflowing - aisles of the grocery stores, seeing all those cereal boxes, cookies, colorful fruits and vegetables, bread, cheeses, milk, soaps, laundry detergent, all those colors and textures and rich smells that support our daily life - and many of them are in such lovely packaging - , seeing all those bounty, and I said to myself: "No matter what the news say, we are doing fine. Life is good. God provides."

Dear Boss...

I thank God that my CV somehow got into your hands three years ago. We didn't start off very well, it was so difficult to understand what you expect out of me! But over time I've learned to get to know you better, appreciate your generosity, like your quirky character, understand your elusive statements, try to catch up with your high standard and demanding nature, and respect your integrity. In you I've found a boss, a mentor, a friend, and sometime even a father figure, too. I've learned so much from you in the past three years. I hope I can be the best support I could ever be to you. Thank you!

Dear Husband...

Thank you for all your work in providing for our little family, and for striving to provide an even better and better life for us. I want you to know that I appreciate everything you have done and are doing, and I will continue to do so. Thank you for your trust in me to handle our family budget and finances, despite mockingly moaning and complaining that you have such a tightwad wife! Afterall, you said there's no way you would give all your income to your wife to manage should you married a spendthrift woman! ^_^

Dear Marks & Spencer Cocoa Butter Body Lotion...

I love the soothing feeling and the extra silky feeling after putting you on my skin. Your sweet scent always reminds me of a lazy, hazy, long summer spent by the beach, doing nothing but enjoying life and maybe some lemonade. Too bad you cost quite a lot for lotion with the currency and everything!

Dear Broadway musicals...

I miss watching you!!!! Enough said. Perhaps one of these days I can watch one of your great shows in the nearby country Singapore's Marina Sands. How I wish I could watch you in Jakarta. Well, if not I'd just console myself by watching Disney On Ice, which also is super awesome! I watched the ice skating shows when I was little, then again in college in the US, and I won't mind watching it again!

Jacket: DKNY. Skirt: cropped from Mom's old long skirt. Striped top: Phenomenal. Necklace: F21 (birthday gift from Hubby). Earrings and bracelets: old collection. Shoes: Yongki Komaladi. Purse: Les Catino.