Showing posts with label gift. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gift. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Week in Recap: Easter Care Package, Learning N Giving

 
This week...
 
I found this quote:
 
 
How many times have you felt that the world is so unfair since those who are obviously wicked and do bad deeds went unpunished, sometimes even thrived and unjustly rewarded - at least in monetary and recognition value - instead of others who obviously do good deed but went unnoticed because they're not good in self promoting? Too many times. How many times have you felt that all your good deeds were unrecognized and unappreciated? Again, too many times, I'm sure. It happened to me, too.
 
But remember, the thing is to be a good person, not proving that you are a good person. The Lord - who sees all - is not blind. Even if somethings it seems like He is not present in our everyday lives. He sees everything. Do good because you are good and because your Father in Heaven is good, not as a proof of your own goodness.
 
***
 
I realized that Michael is not so little anymore. I mean, hello, where did the baby go? Suddenly he grew so tall! Time does flies, as cliche as it might sound. On Saturday we visited a kindergarten where we plan to send Michael to. Michael is not old enough to enter kindergarten, but we want him to join some sort of preschool where he goes to a playgroup of ten toddler three times a week for ninety minutes, where he can socialize and play with children his own age. We are not the kind of parents who believe that children should be taught to read and write at a very young age. We believe that children should be active and play and do simple chores instead of being cooped up in classroom for hours. They can learn so much from such simple activities such as hand-eye coordination, motoric skills, manners, etc. However, we also realized that Michael lacks socializing with childen his own age. That's why we want him to join playgroup close to our house. It's within walking distance. Unfortunately, I didn't do enough research. We ended up at another children language center that is closed on Saturday. The kindergarten we were supposed to visit is located at the other side of the mall, but I didn't realize that. I phoned them again on Monday and made another appointment this coming Saturday.
 
 
 
Though sometimes I feel like Michael is no longer a baby, there are times I like to tell myself, "Well, he's is a baby, afterall!" At least when he talks he still sounds like one, hehehe... 
 
***
 
I was in the mood for doing spring cleaning and organizing, so I reorganized my purse, and divided the content of my purse into four small bags and pouches. I like using small pouches because it makes changing bags extra easy and you know where everything is. For example, if I'm looking for my phone, I know it's in my pink pouch. Wet wipes? The white flower pouch. House keys? In my pink bag organizer. The small trick helps a lot. No more rummaging around the huge bag looking for something.
 
 
I repurposed a Body Shop gift box from Christmas as body care container like this. I love repurposing things, especially containers, because I hate to waste the money to buy things as well as littering the environment with too many (cute) packaging. Nowadays, products and gifts come in pretty baskets and boxes, which in mind are perfectly okay to repurpose instead of keep buying new containers.
 
 
In this digital era, many people don't make photo albums anymore, because they keep all their pictures on computer. We have one album, which is our wedding album. After some pondering, I decided that the album did no good just sitting on the shelf gathering dust. So I took it down, wiped the dust clean, and put it on display on our living room coffee table. I created this photo album stand from a piece of company merchandise sample that is merely almost thrown away, which I decorated with these paper red flowers that came with a Christmas package.
 
Because the album is there for everyone to see, now Hubby and I remember to flip through it once in a while when we feel nostalgic. Michael loves to flip through it, too. The funny thing is, because he was not in the pictures, he said that he was "waiting in the car". He still doesn't understand that when his parents got married, he was not born yet. Guests are also welcomed to flip through the album, and it serves as a good conversation topic. Who knows, I might be inspired to create an album every several years or so and put it on display like this!
 
 
***
 
As parents, we try to guide Michael as well as we could. For example. how to be brave and try all sorts of games by himself (with our supervision, of course). And if he falls down, we encourage him to try again, but "Next time, be more careful!"
 
 
We taught him about grocery shopping and the value of money. He even created a game of ATM machine, mimicking me taking out cash from the ATM! So many things can be taught and learned doing grocery shopping with a child. We taught him to only buy things that we need, put those UHT chocolate milk back on the shelves because he's already got many at home, and we taught him to help carry a bit of the groceries.
 
 
Michael learned that he should not be selfish and only buy things for himself. I told him, "Let's buy some bananas for Daddy!" and that's what he did putting in the bananas inside the shopping cart! "It's for Daddy!" he said.
 
 
In addition to learning how to haul and navigate a shopping cart, Michael also learned that he should wait patiently and guard the cart when Mommy was inspecting other produce.
 
 
Of course, when I do my biweekly grocery shopping, I go alone! I only carry Michael along when go shopping within walking distance from home to buy some neccessities that we ran out and it's not time yet to go for "real" grocery shopping. I schedule my grocery shopping twice a month, because the more frequent I go, the more money I tend to spend. For fresh produce, since they won't last two weeks, I buy additional vegetables from street sellers and this nearby grocery store.
 
***
 
Learning is not only for children. It's a lifelong process for us to grow continuously. Education doesn't stop at school, and it's not only about math, language, and science. You might know that one of my job is managing our Penthouse floors and in-house apartment. I have a team graduated from some of the well-known three-star, four-star, and five-star hotels in town. It's a good opportunity to learn some practical skills used in running a hotel that can be applied at home, such as housekeeping, pantry inventory system, fancy coffee making, etc. Last week, I had a bit of free time before going home, so I asked one of the girls to teach me to fold napkin for fancy dining. It took me a while, but I finally was able to make my own masterpieces. Here they are! I love entertaining at home, and next time when I do, I can add a little bit of fancy touch with my own newly-acquired fancy napkin folding skill! Thank you, Sandy! From left to right first row: fleur elis, Padang house, cove. Second row: Sydney, fan, and candle. I might be a career woman with my own track record, but I am still a homemaker at heart, and I love learning new skills that I can carry with me for many many years to enhance and beautify my home. ^__^
 
 
As a relatively new mom, I also learned one thing about this little human being I called my son. I think I have shared with you how a human being recognized beauty from a very early age, but I got yet another confirmation last week. Michael loves music and watching nursery rhymes on YouTube, and I let him indulge once in while. Once he asked to play the song "You Are My Sunshine" and since there was a new video that I wanted to watch first, I played this song titled "Love Story" by a beautiful Japanese singer Namie Amuro. She is a beautiful woman with small stature, powerful voice, and long thick mane of hair. I expected Michael to protest, instead he watched unblinking, mesmerized by Namie Amuro's lovely voice, pretty face, fabulous ballad song, and luxurious long hair. Michael likes women with long hair, perhaps because Mommy has long hair. After the song ended, I asked him, "Isn't she gorgeous?" And his answer was a definite yes.
 
 
Michael has a neighbor friend, Emily, who is a pretty child with shy demeanor. She is three years old, a year older than Michael. One afternoon, Hubby and I took Michael to play the swing at the park and we were joined by another little girl named Michelle. She is also three years old, but being a tall toddler, Michael is just as tall as she is. Actually, Michael is the tallest two year old among our neighborhood, people always assume he is three years old, until they hear him talk. An interesting story, we asked Michael when we walked home, "Isn't Michelle pretty?" Michael answered, "She is." Then I asked him again, "Who is prettier? Emily or Michelle?" And Michael answered again, "Emily is prettier."
 
Now, don't get me wrong. I don't intend to teach my child to judge a girl by her look alone. As precious as beauty is, it does fade away. What surprised me was, even a two year old can make such a distinctive comparison and preference. As a mother, I learned new things continuously which remind me again and again, as small as a child is, he is a full, different, separate human being. He is not an extension of yourself. He is an independent human on his own.
 
 
***
 
Being a 37 years old mom, and as skinny as I was before giving birth, my body shape changed. I'm naturally small boned, but I have gained some extra weight for the past year. Most of my jeans no longer fit me, and I need several pairs of comfy, stretchy, lightweight pants to wear for our upcoming summer vacation. So I went online and bought this pair of mint pants. They only cost about five bucks and turned out to be a good buy. The material is extremely lightweight - perfect for travel -, they are comfortable to wear, and the color is very pretty. I plan to give this pair a try out for several wears before making decision to buy some more pairs in different colors.
 

I wish I could get my old body shape back, because my skinny frame used to be able to carry many many styles of clothes, but hey, let's get everything into proportion, shall we. I'm not a celebrity who makes a living from my look. I can get away looking like a real mommy and a woman almost 40, as long as I don't let myself go completely. There are more other important things in life that deserve my attention than trying too hard to lose weight: God, family, home, work, reading a good book, preparing a healthy meal, decorating my house, hanging out with friends and family, writing a post for this blog, walking through the park on a sunny day, drinking tea with my husband, ...
 
Irregardless, I still love to maintain my look. Haha! This is one of those selfies I sometime take to send to my husband at work. He loves to see his wife looking presentable everyday.
 
 
 
***
 
I have an auntie who lives alone. She has been having numerous hard times and trials for the past several months, and she was rather depressed about it. I thought I wanted to do something to cheer her up a bit. Easter basket is not a common thing here in Indonesia, but I thought I would prepare some sort of care package, an Easter gift basket if you will, for her, just to show that I care about her. She lacks nothing, and I don't want to give her "yet another thing that requires dusting"; so I bought some new things and gather several things around that house that I thought she might enjoy and won't create clutter at her house. Some girlie thing that she can actually use.
 
A bottle of shea body lotion. A new house dress in cheerful yellow color. A baby blue silk scarf with lovely flower pattern that is extremely soft to touch. Some necklaces - because I remember that her favorite accessories are necklaces. A fancy gold metal belt that she can wear to the office. She loves to read, so I gave her two books: one is one of my favorite reads - The Red Tent - a historical fiction based on a passage in the Bible. I have one myself and when I saw another one at a used book store, I snatched it, intended to give it as a present to someone who enjoy reading, though at that time I had no idea whom I would give it to. Hubby suggested a funny book titled My Stupid Boss. It's a collection of hillarious stories about life at the office that I bought for my own Boss - just for the humor of it. The later book is not new. I have one and Hubby also had one, so I gave his extra copy for Auntie. I hope it can make her laugh because the stories are quite funny and entertaining.
 
Preparing a gift basket or a care package is so much fun! I might write a separate post about this topic later on. 
 
 
***
 
Last but not least, happy belated Easter from our family to yours! Here's a picture of the three of us after Easter Sunday Mass. As you can see, Hubby wore a nice handpainted batik shirt with jeans and a pair and shoes, which made me quite thrilled because usually he prefers casual look with sandals! That's my Easter present, I guess, seeing him (a bit) dressed up for Church.
 
And no, none of us wore new clothes for Easter Sunday. We wore good clothes, but not brand new. We didn't feel like we needed purchasing yet another new things to celebrate Easter. After all, Jesus Christ has made us all new with His death and ressurection, hasn't He? ^__^
  
 
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Monday, October 20, 2014

Christmas in October





FOREVER 21 Romantic At Heart Earrings • Forever 21 • $2.99
Betsey Johnson "Heart Candy Boost" Gummy Bear Necklace, 19" • Betsey Johnson • $26.52
Rebecca Minkoff Mini Avery leather tote • Rebecca Minkoff • $162.50
Onyx Sequined Lace Midi Skirt • $69.00
Woolrich Constellation Jersey Shirt - Scoop Neck, Long Sleeve (For Women) • Woolrich • $39.95

Christmas in October? Are you kidding me? October is for Halloween!

Well, think again. It's only nine weeks and a half before Christmas, and time flies really fast. And I mean really fast. Don't you remember what happened last Christmas?

You forgot to buy present for an auntie who, on the previous Christmas, gave you a super expensive, super pretty, Tiffany brooch.
You ended up buying your husband a very nice, expensive tie, when you know he nevers wear tie, because it was a last minute gift.
You ended up buying your coworkerd either too expensive, or too cheap (and cheap-looking) gifts for Christmas party.
You screamed at everyone at the top of your lung because you had twelve family members and friends coming over for Christmas dinner, you still have five more presents to buy, and you forgot to touch up your roots, so the thought of the hostess looked smashing for the event went out of the window. Ouch.

If you love celebrating Christmas like me, you must know that despite all the hassle and stress, you still want to celebrate it big time. There are so many things and preparations for Christmas. Not to mention that before Christmas, came Thanksgiving! So, let's start preparing now while it's still nine weeks away, shall we!

At least get one thing out of the way: the Christmas presents. Yup. So you can scratch that thing off your Christmas to-do-list. Then at least you can still busy cleaning, cooking, shopping, dancing with the turkey and cranberry, and trimming the tree, but at least you are sure that everybody on your list have already had their gifts bought or made and wrapped nicely, tucked safely inside the big cupboard in the garage.

So, I urge you to start now in the Christmas gift department and get it done in eight weeks. So you can dedicate the ninth week and beyond for other things.

Week 1: List all the names of recipients of your Christmas gift

You can always edit this along the way. Don't forget to list recipients who live out of town. Decide this week who is going to get gifts, how much the budget you would put aside for each, and who is going to get only cards. Jot down the gift ideas, as well.



Week 2-5: Make your gifts, hunt or shop for them!

Some ideas:

If you, and the recipients, are comfortable with the idea of regifting, search around the house for things that you don't want or need, but you know might bring delight to other person.
I'm not talking about junk, but nice things. For example, one time in college, a friend of mine received a black Esprit wallet from her boyfriend. She doesn't like huge wallet, I do. So she almost never used it, and once she broke up with the guy, she gave the slightly-used wallet to me. I didn't care it wasn't a bought present, I loved it and have used it up to now, eighteen years later.
Another example, last year I bought a book about the world of socialites, because I was curious. It was an interesting book, but I didn't care to keep it to my book collection. Some friends of mine wanted to read it, but didn't want to spend money to buy the book. Now the book had been regifted more than twice among friends. It's better than it sits in my corner collecting dust.
What about that huge picture frame with eighteen slots in it that you bought three years ago, but then you realized that you have nowhere to hang it? Give it to a friend who have three children who will love to hang it on her living room.
The coffemaker you received as a wedding present when you already had two of them already? Give it to your dear single friend who loves coffee but thinks that a coffeemaker is too much of a luxury buy for her.
The fancy embroidered dinner napkin set that you bought in a fleeting moment of Martha Steward, but then you realized that you didn't really care for fancy home entertaining, prefering casual BBQ instead? Give it to your friend who loves to hold dinner parties.

Get everyday items as stocking stuffers! Whenever you go grocery shopping, and you see a good deal or marked down on favorite items, buy something for some recipients on your list.
That way, you won't be "trapped" in buying all your gifts full price during last minute gift shopping just for stocking stuffer, or buy kitschy knick knacks that look cheap and not very useful! Small items on sale like stationeries, soaps, beauty kits, small sewing kits, nail polish, socks, toiletries, etc. are great as stocking stuffers.
If you see your husband's favorite aftershave on 'buy two get free razors' at Walmart, snatch a couple of those. Tie a pretty ribbon around one for stocking stuffer, and keep the rest, and the free razors for everyday use - with no ribbon.
If your and your sister's favorite lipgloss in on 'buy one get one free', get them. One for her stocking stuffer, one for yourself.
Everyday items are well appreciated as stocking stuffers, because people can actually makr use of them. They are thoughtful gifts, also, because it shows that you really know what the recipients use on a daily basis.

the most of Black Friday shopping
Get the big-ticket items when they are marked down! That's pretty self-explanatory!

If you want to give small gifts to a lot of people, like for neighbors or coworkers, the most efficient way to go for it is to buy them in bulk then decorate them individually, or make them yourself.
Bake a big batch of cookies for everyone early, then freeze them. Later on, all you need to do is to wrap them for each recipient in plastic pouches and tie a ribbon.
Make colored bath salts or fancy vinegars. There are a lot of instructions and how to's on the internet on how to make these easy bulk presents.
Buy the gifts in bulk. It doesn't have to be expensive. The key is presentation. You can simply buy two dozen bars of soap with pretty packaging in Costco, then decorate them with ribbons. Yes, you can do a lot with ribbons! And trust me, I would love to receive fancy looking soap as a gift at my office Christmas party. It is certainly something I can use! What if I don't like the scent? Big deal. I can always use it as decoration, or use it to wash my hands in the kitchen. I mean, hello, who cannot use a bar of soap?


Week 6-7: Wrap them!

If you need to write Christmas cards, do it during these weeks, as well. Just do a little each day, within two weeks you will have finished wrapped lots of gifts and written lots of cards!

Week 8: Keep the gifts somewhere safe, or send them.

If the recipients live out of town, send the gifts now instead later. You don't want them to receive your gifts late. Who knows they might start their holiday early and leave the house for out-of-state trip days before Christmas? You would want them to receive your present before their holiday!
Now you can rest asure that all the present-related matters is done. Don't worry, you will still have plenty of things to fuss about for Christmas. Haha!





image is taken from www.punchbowl.com
 
I'm linking up to these wonderful Ladies:

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