A Simple Gal's Journal: Random Things About Me

Just some random things...

 

These pictures were taken when I was twenty weeks pregnant. Which, explains the weird, super high waist position of my checked wrap skirt.

 

I'm writing this while listening to Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love of All". I think the late Whitney had an uncomparable powerful voice, that has the ability to touch so many hearts. It's just so heartbreaking how she ended up because of drugs and personal problems, so she could not use up her God given gift anymore.

 

Yesterday I paid for a three-month membership at the local gym. I paid for three months for two reasons. One, it's pay 3 get 1 month free promotion. Two, knowing that I have paid so much, there's no way I will not take advantage of it. It's my little trick to push myself to exercise!

 

If you are 100% sure that you have done your best, yet there are still people who still moan, whine, complain, nag or scold you, just keep doing your best, and pity those particular people for being THAT unhappy.

My favorite Bible verse is Matthew 6:33 "But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides."

I cannot use mascara or eyeliner. Even the waterproof version smears on my eyes, even when applied with top drawer primer and by professional make up artist. It's a pity, since both cosmetics can do wonders to one's look. Yet most of the time I feel fortunate because I don't need to deal with those two products at all!

I love my job, and I don't plan to quit work anytime soon. But my family and home are in higher priority. When there's a threat they will switch place in my priority list, I will stop working on the dot. For that matter, I'm lucky that I'm not the family breadwiner. I know some women simply have no choice, no matter what people say.

I try to not being judgemental, but it's just human nature to have opinions about everything. There's nothing wrong with that.

I always, always, love two story house. I love working in a tall building. I think the view from above is just fantastic. Everything looks much more beautiful when you're higher up.

My favorite color was blue. I disliked the color pink. I trained myself to be more feminine after many years of struggling, then I fell in love with the color pink. Odd? I still found myself surprised.

I'm a dog person, not a cat person. Some might judge me for this, but I have no love for cats except for Hello Kitty. Haha! And yes, I still wear Hello Kitty, in a subtle way of course, eventhough I'm a mother now. In my personal opinion, no one is too old to add some cuteness into their daily lives. In moderation of course, because an overdoze of cuteness can be dizzying.

I have lived in two countries: Indonesia and the US. It's nothing compared to some people's experience who have lived in 5 or more countries, but I feel so priviledged to be given that opportunity. If there are two countries that I would be interested to try living for a year, that would be: Japan (in Tokyo) and France (Paris). What about New York? THAT, I don't mind living for the rest of my life, if I were single. Now, I'm not so sure anymore. Maybe yes, maybe no. *laughter*

 



Pastel Mood N Pink Caddy

It's almost Valentine's day. My husband and I have been married for almost two years now, so we practically newlyweds. We lead busy lives and we have an active one-year-old, but we always try to find ways for date nights. Even just going for a movie at a mall five-minutes-drive away for a casual jeans-and-tshirt movie night at nine o'clock in the evening (our baby sleeps at eight o'clock every night). We enjoy being at home, so we don't go out as much as when we were still in a courtship. 

For Valentine's, we planned a romantic dinner at a fancy restaurant at a five-star hotel. It's not for us wanting to be fancy. The restaurant has a special meaning for us, because it was there where we had our first real date. We haven't been there fot a long time, and because this year's Valentine's Day falls on Friday, and we have been blessed with some extra money to spare, we decided to be fancy for a change. ^__^ 

Of course, the weather has been terrible lately and we always worry about flood and storm, so, we'll just wait and see. If the storm hits again in the evening as it's been for the past couple of weeks, then we'll just celebrate at home, which is fine with us. 

About a week ago, I got this very cute, hot pink, heart-shaped, plastic bucket from a store at a nearby mall when I went to lunch with some coworkers. What do you call this thing exactly? Toiletries bucket? Shower caddy? I don't know, really. But anyway, I used to use a used Kentucky Fried Chicken plastic bucket to stash all my toiletries. It has been like that for about four years, and the KFC bucket was just practical and effective, but it's not very pretty! So, after four years, I thougt I would treat myself and get a new one!

At first I thought I would get the usual round one, but this one stole my heart with its Valentine-y shape and cheerful color. Also, I was thinking about practicality and usage. The heart shape is actually perfect for my shower corner when you position it like this. It works much better than the round circular shape. I really love how it turns out.

Anyway, these are old pictures taken when I was twenty weeks pregnant. I can't believe how time flies! We can't even imagine what life was like before we had our baby! It's like he's always been here with us, always the three of us.

Getting Organized: Mini Projects

Since January,I've been trying to do one small project every week or so, either for myself, for the home, or for my family. It's nothing big. Arranging my dressing drawer. Arranging a pretty centerpiece for the living room table. Writing one blog post. Nothing big or overwhelming that might scare me into not doing it at all, or actually tackling it then not finish it because I got swamped. 

This week project is getting rid of my old books. I'm an avid reader and boast a huge collection of books. Some books, though, I decided that after reading them once, I don't care to keep them in my treasure chest. These books I collect, I put them into a small A4 paper cardboard box, and once the box is full, I sell them to a used book store. I also sold about a dozen or so to friends via my facebook. They are happy about it because they can buy cheaper than at the bookstores.That way when I'm looking at my book collection, I only see the ones that I know I'll enjoy reading over and over again, and not just a bunch of random books which reminded me of "wrong buys". At the same time, I'm providing extra space to buy new books, AND make some pocket money. Not much, but better than those books just sitting there collecting dust.

I found that finishing small projects like that give me satisfaction and a sense of achievement. It makes me feel good and productive, and encourages me to do more projects and get even more organized. So yeah, I believe in taking baby steps. Start small. And before you know it, by the end of the year, you would have finished 52 mini projects. That doesn't sound so small, isn't it?

So don't think just because this is not January anymore, it's too late. It's never too late for self improvement. Start now. You'll be happy that you did later on. I did. I do. ^_^

I'm wearing fuschia pink and camel brown today. I love the bird detailing going on this medalion style necklace. It's so dainty and cute.

Navy N Horizontal Technicolors

Note: I finally succumb to the temptation and open an Instagram account! I know, I know, I'm so late, but better late than never, rite. Haha! The thing is, I usually don't have good internet or wifi connection, so uploading pictures on Instagram takes waaaayyyyy too long! But wifi is a little bit better now! If you'd like to know what's going on in my daily life, please find stylenseason on Instagram. ^__^

I'm having a writer's block, so I have no idea what I'm going to say in this post. Therefore, I hope you'll enjoy the pictures here of my maternity ensemble, worn when I was in my 18th week. When I was pregnant, my body inched slowly. I ate, but I didn't have uncontrollable appetite. Strangely, I'm ravenous all the time now, that I don't breastfeed anymore. I look chubbier now than when I was pregnant. Oh well...

Last Flower Standing: 2014 Resolution!

I don’t, well, didn’t believe in New Year’s resolution. I used to think that starting a good habit, or anything good really, doesn’t need to wait for January 1. Well, I still do, actually. However, many things happened in the past couple of weeks which forced me to do a lot of thinking of rethinking in my ways and habits, and I decided to improve myself.  Also, Hubby does believes in NYR, so it’s just convenient to start over, sort of pushing a reset button, for 2014 with him.

Some time ago, I made a list of winter resolution, whichyou can read here. Now, some I have kept successfully, some I have not. Here’s the summary:

Eating more fiber, daily

I’m happy to report that I succeeded! Well, relatively speaking anyway. What I did is the lazy way. I prepared vegetable and fruit smoothies every night before bed time, and drink it first thing in the morning when my stomach is still empty. I make smoothies for my husband as well. Before starting this healthy habit, I usually catch a cold like four times a year. My husband usually has a problem with his throat about every other month. Now, the number of sick days have gone down to almost non existent.

Arriving at work a little bit earlier, everyday

Happily, this one works, too! I set my alarm one hour earlier everyday. It took me a while, but after about a month I got used to it. I guess my boss is happy with this one, too! Lol.

Keeping up with my daily dose of Bible reading

Failed. Since I had my baby, I very rarely open the Bible. That’s why I include it here again in my 2014 Resolution.

Anyhow, here’s my 2014 resolution and most importantly HOW I plan to stick to them.

Going to Church regularly

Hubby used to attend mass weekly before he married me. I didn’t go to Church unless I felt like I wanted to, which was very rare. Hubby tried to invite me to get into the habit of going to Church regularly, but I was too lazy. Sadly, finally Hubby succumb to my bad habit of skipping mass, since he didn’t like to go to mass without his wife.

Last year in September, we had our son baptized. Then my husband said: “Honey, since our son has been baptized now, don’t you think we should be a good example of living a good, proper Catholic life and attend mass every Sunday?” Hmmm… Yeah, what can I say? I know it’s the right thing to do and that’s my Father in Heaven speaking through Hubby, inviting His prodigal daughter back to His home.

So, I’m happy to say that I’ve been attending Church quite regularly eversince. We thithed regularly, too. It has become such a part of our life now, that the laziness has decreased by 90%. It’s still there, but with much less power of seduction, if you know what I mean. Even this morning, it was cold and rainy, and we still went for mass.

As soon as my son can walk on his own, we will bring him to Church on regular basis, as well.

Reading the Bible every day

Sadly, as my attendance to mass skyrocketed from almost non existent to 99%, vice versa for my Bible reading! I skipped Bible reading almost completely since I had my son. I started to read the Bible regularly since I learned a method called lectio divina, which is goes like this: before you open the Bible, you pray to God to brighten you heart, mind and soul, so that His words will make sense to you, and plant  a seed of faith in your heart. Trust me, it works.

So, I’m determined to get back to the habit of reading a little bit of verse everynight. Perhaps even writing my favorite verses in my journal, so I can reread it throughout the day. 

What I did was, I got gadget freakiness and installed NAB Apps to my iphone. Therefore, I have the New American Bible practically at my fingertips at all times I’m carrying my phone, which is a lot of hours during the day. It works. So far, so good.

Getting back to exercising

My husband goes to the gym regularly. I used to go to the gym regularly, twice a week, many years ago, for yoga or dancing classes. I took a break for about a month, and all hells break lose. I stopped going to the gym completely.

Now I want to start again. I plan to look for gym membership close to home, so I would be more motivated to stick to my resolution. Twice a week is what I’m aiming.

So, that’s my meager list of 2014 Resolution. I will keep you posted on how I make progress. Or how I don’t make any progress. Haha! What’s YOUR 2014 Resolution? Share with me, please!

"Beloved, I urge you as aliens and sojourners to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against the soul. 

Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so that if they speak of you as evildoers, they may observe your good works and glorify God on the day of visitation." 

(1 Peter 2:11-12)

This is how I worn this skirt with a scarf worn as a belt. (Read the post here.)

Actually, these are old pictures from my pregnancy days. I was 17 weeks pregnant in these pictures, hence the red flats.

Monochromatic With A Twist

Today I aim for monochromatic look in red hues. Yes, pink is a lighter shade of red! My wardrobe doesn't include pink or red blazer though, so I have to make do with black instead. If you notice, here I'm mixing patterns of diagonal stripes on my skirt, and checked on my bag. This kinds of detail make me happy, even if I'm the only one who notice its subtle beauty!

The weather has been all cloudy and rainy lately. The sky is grey and overcast. Hence I opt to dress up in cheerful, bright colors to give me a little lift. Red is a happy color. Pink is a feminine, pretty color. By throwing black on top of the red and pink combination, this ensemble look feminine, yet bold.

I really love this bag. I like bags that are big and have a structured form to them. I don't really like floppy bags, though I have some of them in my purse collection. I love bags more than shoes because bags will never hurt my feet!

A New Year: One Downtown Sunday

Happy New Year, everyone! This post was actually written a loooong time ago, just at the very beginning of my pregnancy. Somehow I decided not to post it, until now. ^__^

“ ‘Girls, I’m sorry, but I won’t have time for you anymore. I’m married now.’ LeeAnne, if you ever, ever even imply that to us your friends, I’m going to kill you!”

That’s what a friend said to me when she found out I was engaged.

Have you ever felt like your married friends imply those sentences to you? I have. Not only from married friends, but also from girlfriends who just got into a new relationship.  An older unmarried girlfriend in her 40s also told me the same thing. An unmarried auntie in her 50s said that she got her “girls” back only many many years later, when all their children are grown up and their houses become empty. Not all married women are like that, of course. But I have some who are.

Having been recently married, now I’m in the position to understand that even now, when the children have not yet arrived, a husband occupies a lot of my time. He needs care, he needs attention, he needs ears to listen, he wants me to be constantly by his side.  But, I believe that a healthy marriage doesn’t equal being cooped up. It involves a lot than just me and him: parents, extended family, friends, community, and of course God. Each of them has a place in my priority list.

“I’m too busy for you” basically just means “You’re not in my priority list.”

Being married, my husband is on a higher position of my list of priority, compared to my friends. Of course, and I hope I am too, in his. BUT, my friends ARE on my priority list. Therefore, I make time for them. Because what is more precious gift I could give to my friends than time? Time, afterall, is what makes life.

Today I’m meeting a friend, Dian, for lunch. Dian is a yoga lover, so we arranged to meet for lunch at her favorite restaurant near her gym, at Oakwood, downtown Mega Kuningan. My husband kindly gave me a ride, then he waited at Loewy, reading book and had a cup of coffee.  We planned to attend mass at a nearby Church afterwards. He has had a huge brunch at home, thus he could just skip lunch altogether. I’m  very thankful for that, because Dian and I would have had less fun having our little girltalk and chit chat if the husband were present! Thank you, Hubby!

I really like this rather edgy, electric blue sequinned purse. It's not my usual feminine style, but I love to cross the border once in a while.

This is what Mega Kuningan looks like on the weekends. During weekdays, it's a traffic jam nightmare, but when it's empty like this, the area is actually quite nice and tranquil.

Dian is a yoga lover, healthy eating freak, jewelry maker, and researcher. I've done some part-time research work for her before. And she helped me to fix to this bracelet I got online. It was broken when the package arrived, and Dian came to the rescue. I'm so glad since the necklace is so cute with the flower, sea shell and stuffs.

 

We met at Penang Bistro restaurant, Dian's favorite restaurant at Oakwood.

I had 'ayam goreng blacan' or spicy friend chicken.

And today I'm just wearing these red flats instead of heels since, well, since I just found out that I was pregnant, of course!

Overall, it was a nice, lovely Sunday.