Showing posts with label corner office. Show all posts
Showing posts with label corner office. Show all posts

Monday, August 10, 2015

A Month in Recap: July and first week of August

Hi, Lovely Friends!

Finally! Another week in recap post, or in this case, month in recap!

Let's start with when I took Michael on a short flight to my hometown. As you know, every year Hubby and I travel for about two weeks so I ask my parents if they would take care of Michael for us while we're gone. My parents didn't mind at all, in fact, they were delighted to take care of their grandson!

But first, let me share with you the story of Jemima Giraffe. It's a cute small clothdoll in the shape of a giraffe. The cloth is batik, so it's a very Indonesian giraffe! One of the secretaries in the office received the doll as well as the tosca green pillow shown below as a gift from one of our vendors. She doesn't have any children just yet, so she gave both presents to me, for Michael to play with.
 
 
 

The pillow is very useful! I put it in the car for Michael to lean on, and it's very soft.
 
In Indonesian language, giraffe is "jerapah" and that's how I introduced the doll to Michael, yet somehow he couldn't say "jerapah" and instead calls the doll something that sounds like Jemima. So Jemima it is!
 
 
Back to the trip that we were about to take to my hometown. Michael loves flying, and he never fusses on the plane. He loves watching the many planes parked on the ground, and this year he already commands his own seat, since he's over two years old. Time flies. It feels funny to see his little body occupied the plane seat, and watched his demeanor: so self-assured and content to sit quietly and watch everything around him. Besides, the flight is only an hour. If Michael could sit quietly for a 90 minutes mass, of course he is able to sit sweetly for an hour flight!






We feel secure that Michael will have loving grandparents to take care of him. My parents live in the hillside of my hometown, so Michael will have plenty of fresh air, exercise walking up and down the hill, and fresh vegetables and produce from the farmer's market to eat. And he loves vegetables! Michael hates eating fruit, he kicks and screams if we try to make him eat apples or bananas, but he loves loves loves green vegetables!

Michael had a lot of good time playing with nature! Good, we don't want him to grow up playing gadget all the time. Hubby and I have seen how the younger generation who breaths technology and gadgets growing up, and we don't think it's right to socialize mainly on social media or with gadgets during meal times. I mean, if you have friends and families sitting next to you, why should you focus your attention to people faraway through social media, people who might not care so much about you as much as those being there with you? Not to mention the sedentary lifestyle! We want our child to jump and run and play and roll in the mud, so to speak.




His grandpa was so happy that he made Michael his very own dining table made of used sewing machine table! The height is just perfect for Michael, since the dining table for grown ups is still to high for him to eat comfortably. With a table of his own, slightly lower than that of grown ups', he could easily eat on his own.



Michael was a bit upset that his parents "left" him for quite some time, so we decided to pick him up together - Hubby and I -, so he knows that though Mommy and Daddy might leave him for vacation from time to time, we love him very much. So both me and Hubby took a day leave from work to catch the earliest flight to my hometown, and went back to Jakarta on the latest flight. We were exhausted since we just got back from Europe, but seeing Michael's face lighted up when he saw us made everything worth the effort.

Hubby even took Michael to pick Mommy up at the office the next day!




To celebrate the first day of work after a long holiday, I treated the main members of my team to lunch. I gave them several options of restaurants to choose from, and yet again, they picked the most expensive one! I think everytime I let them choose, they always ended up choosing The Duck King, an upscale Chinese restaurant specialized in roast duck, which is very very delicious! When I asked them why, aren't they get bored of choosing Duck King again and again everytime I treat them out to lunch, they said, "Well, Mam, we cannot afford to eat there if we weren't going with you, and since you included Duck King in the list of restaurant options, we thought.... why not?" Alright, so Duck King it is. It is expensive, but it is within my range, I did offered the option to them, it's only a couple of times a year, and it seems to make the whole team happy, so I don't mind. Besides, I receive a 20% discount from my credit card as well as getting reward points from my Duck King membership card, so yeah, I said yes! ^__^



This week's projects:
  • Read and contemplate on the Bible's Psalm 27 and 28.
  • Read Part 3 of "Lizzie's War" by Tim Farrington.
  • Read Chapter 3 of "Downtown" by Anne Rivers Siddons.
  • Finish "The Wife Who Prays" by Stormie Omartian.
  • Purchase new contact lense for 2015.
  • Check BPR investment possibility.
  • Edit two sets of outfit pictures for fashion blog posts.
  • Scan mine and Hubby's university certificates, undergrad and postgrad.
I'm linking up to these wonderful Ladies:

Monday


Tuesday

Wednesday


Thursday


Friday

Saturday

Sunday
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Monday, May 19, 2014

(Frugal) Mommies Don't Get Corner Office?


Well, this Mommy does! 


I got my corner office last year right after giving birth to Baby Michael. Now, pliiiiiizzzz don't think I'm a mini Marissa Mayer or something like that. I just happened to have climbed the corporate ladder for years before getting married and having a baby. It was unexpected, me getting married and everything, since I was not the marrying type, but God lead me to having a family, being a wife and mother, and I don't want to trade that with anything else. Not for the biggest corner office in the entire world!

And please don't think I'm bragging about my career accomplishment. I just want to share that each and every one of us received a different gift from the Lord. For some women, it's the gift of being single and travel all over the world as a philanthropist, like a friend of mine. Or being an older single woman who channels her love by teaching children, caring for the elderly, and always lending a helping hand for her family, like a dear aunt of mine. Some have the gifts of being famous celebrities, or even one of those beautiful mommy bloggers, who inspire women to get fit, take care of their bodies, and get back into shape after babies. For some others, it's the gift to being a homeschooling mommy of more than one child  - sometimes five or six - without losing their mind, like many of you, wonderful Friends in the blogosphere. Some women has amazing skills in cooking and getting organized. And some others, - the ones I envy the most, the ones who often make me feel inspired and  also inferior at the same time - have the most amazing fingers that can sew, paint, knit, crochet, embroider, use hammer and nails and glue guns and whip up arts and crafts from even the simplest materials possible, or turn a shabby drawer into a chic-looking cabinet just with a pot of paint, like so many wonderful ladies I found on Pinterest.

For me, it's being a wife, a mommy, and a career woman who happens to love being fashionable and dressing up everyday. Or on most days. ^__^

Aaaand also being a frugal mom, which I will talk about in this post.


Vintage flower-shaped bag, find similar here or here.

What do you think of my cabbage-like, flower-shaped bag? When I got it several years ago, everbody was like: "It's very cute, LeeAnne, but how in the world are you going to pair it with?" My answer: with so many things!

I love unique purses that can "stand out" on its own. You carry one of these catchy, cheerful bags, and you don't need to worry about the rest of your ensemble. Just throw on a T-shirt and a pair of jeans, and you're fashionable. So practical for busy women. Look at this beauuuuuutiful Anusckha flower tote here. It's really something! I can imagine myself wearing all black and carry one, or wearing jeans, a simple pink top, and carry it for weekend errands.

Anuschka Bag (Buy)

My brother told how how many of his lady friends in Austin carry Vera Bradley purses. We don't have Vera Bradley in Indonesia, so I do some window shopping online, and I'm practically drooling over the fun, cheerful, colorful purses! I especially fall in love with this one. It's called Curvy Tote in Flower Shower. I found it here.


Vera Bradley Curvy Tote in Flower Shower (Buy)

And this one I especially like, because it's a basic black with a twist. The black color means the purse can go with any outfit. You can dress it up with a blazer or a simple cocktail dress, or you can dress it down with jeans and a simple top, or just a plain colored sundress. The pop of colors also will match any outfit color easily. It's definitely more fun than just a basic black tote!
M&F Western Paisley Peace Cross Bucket Tote (buy)


I've always been a frugal type and enjoying finding new tips and tricks to save money. In term of grocery shopping, now that I shop for a family instead of a single household, I spend more and aim to save more. One thing that I always do is stocking up when I find amazing deals. Especially if it's "buy one get one free" promotion for products that my family use on a daily basis, like toiletries, hand soap, laundry detergent, oatmeal, powdered milk, etc.

Like these baby wipes. I don't use baby wipes on my baby and use washable cotton wipes instead, but I always carry a pack of these and use them as wet ones in my purse. They are very very handy in situation when you need to wipe off your hands and there's no place to wash you hands. Hand sanitizer is nice, but sometimes you still need to wipe off your hands with some... fabric, I guess. These are "buy one get one free", so I stock up. I refuse to pay full price for something that I know will be on promotion regularly! All you've got to do is watch for the cycle and stock up accordingly. Trust me, it saves a lot, and worth spending more in the beginning. Stocking up also means you can avoid those unnecessary trips to the store because you run out of something unexpectedly.


I use bar soap, but Hubby likes liquid soap. This is a different variant than the one he usually uses, but they come in "buy a refill of 450 ml and get a small bottle of extra 100 ml product" promotion, - which is like a 22,22% of free product - so I got some. Last time I also bought different variants for him, whichever that was on special promotion. Luckily, Hubby's not too picky, as long as it's liquid soap. I never pay retail price for this brand, I always, always, stock up until the next cycle of promotion, because I noted a long time ago that they have promotion on a regular basis. 


You might think to yourself when you see this picture, "Woman, you have a problem!" Yep, I use lots and lots of baby oil. On me. Not on Baby Michael. My son uses baby lotion and baby talc, but his delicate skin somehow cannot stand baby oil. Mommy is the one uses TONS of baby oil, as beauty product. I use a little bit everyday on my neck, I mix a bit in my body lotion. AND I use A LOT of body lotion because I lotion all over my body, from neck to my feet, not just on my hands and legs. To me, baby oil is a bit expensive. I don't like paying full price for it. So I always stock up, A LOT. Regularly, this brand will have "get 100% more product" promotion, which is like "buy one get one free" so I always buy like a dozen or so to last me until the next cycle of promotion which happens twice a year.


I have a drawer full of toiletries and bath supplies for my whole family in my closet. So, no worries, Hubby and son! You will never run out of soap, Mommy's got you covered!

So, what are your tips to save on grocery shopping? Please do share with me! I love learning on how to save money!
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