My Birthday

I've never been big on fussing over my own celebration expecially these recent years, maybe because I have been so drained from sleep deprivation and exhaustion since I gave birth to my daughter 2 years ago, that I am more focused on try to find time on more sleep, sneaking into bathroom having manicure or pedicure or just soak my feet into bubble foot spa. This is not a 'complaining' ...I love my life at home and my role now. And the other reason is why in the world the bomb was exploded in Bali in 2002 right on my birthday...?..it's so sad..!..sometimes it make me sluggish when I remember that.
There's excitement when I was younger about my birthday, but never cared too much about it, probably because 'the tradition' which a bit different than in America where I live now.

Mini Strawberry Turnovers

I like this mini bite turnovers, and using my food proccessor made this job easier..
Dulu di Solo ada yg jualan semacam turnovers kayak gini  di daerah Laweyan, isinya selai nanas, dduuuh enak sekali..!

Ingredients
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 Tbs butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
6 Tbs cream cheese, chilled and cut into small pieces
2 Tbs ice water
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup strawberry preserve (or cherry or crabmeat-cream cheese or whatever your favorite filling)

-Using a food proccessor, pulse together flour and salt. Add the butter and cream cheese and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle with the ice water and pulse until the dough forms a ball; flatten into a disk, wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
-Preheat the oven to 400F, Flour the dough and roll it out 1/8 inch thick. Using a 4 inch round cookie cutter, cut out the disks, then reroll the scraps and repeat until you have 10 disks. Brush some egg arround each rim,spoon 2 teaspoons preserves into each center and fold the dough over to cover. Press the edges to seal and and crimp with a fork.
-Transfer the turnovers to a parchment-lined baking sheet, brush with the remaining egg and cut 2 small slits into the top of each turnover. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes; transfer to a rack to cool.
(got this recipe from Rachael Ray's Mag)

Our Pumpkin Patch

It's Tradition
..for English read below
Bulan Oktober di Amerika biasanya berhubungan dengan dimulainya musim gugur, musim panen, dan terutama menjelang perayaan Halloween pada 31 Oktober, banyak sekali panenan buah waluh (pumpkin), udah jadi tradisi disini terutama keluarga yang punya anak kecil, untuk pergi ke Pumpkin Patch, biasanya sich, ladang pumpkin yang bersamaan dengan ladang jagung, kemudian ada farmer market, yaitu hasil panenan para petani yang dijual murah. Adapun pumpkin pumpkin ini biasanya dibawa pulang ke rumah untuk di ukir membentuk wajah 'Jack O'Lantern', yang agak seram, dan dipajang di muka rumah, beserta hiasan hiasan 'horor' laennya, yang dulu dulunya bertujuan untuk mengusir roh jahat, kebudayaan ini berasal dari bangsa Celtic di Irlandia, sampai sekarang Halloween dirayakan di Amerika Serikat, Canada, Irlandia dan Inggris.

Fall In The Northwest

Fall is my favorite season in the Pacific Northwest, United States, where I live. I don't know why?, maybe because I was born in October or the breathtaking panoramas make me feel peace, or because October 22nd is my anniversary of my arrival in the United States, after one year long-distance engagement then my husband (my fiance at the moment..) picked me up at Sea-Tac airport, so my first impression of America was Fall Season.

Anyway, it's been crispy sunny days lately in Western Washington, even couple days ago it's 65 F (about 18 C), it made me and my daughter continue our outdoor playdate mostly at Vassault Park close to our place.

Having Fun in Seaside

Grace's cute toes covered by sands

We had the great chance of recently visiting Seaside, Oregon on September 19th until 22nd. It was the first time for Grace, our daughter to see and touch the Pacific Ocean and actually the main purpose of this trip was for our little gal to see the ocean. Eventhough we live near The Commencement Bay in Tacoma where the peninsula surrounded by the water from Pacific Ocean, but the beaches such as Owen Beach and Titlow Beach and the waterfront are not sandy beach and of course a 'bay' is different than 'big ocean'.
As usual like many road trips we had before since we have Grace, preparation is very important when you bring a toddler, her clothes, milk,juice,snack on the go, pilow neck, some animal stuffs, favorite lovey doll, diapers, potty chair...etc. I have to admitt, I'm such a terrible packer (I forgot to bring comb and brush when we went to Mexico),  I wrote 2 page note every details that I need to bring, even I made note what we wear since day one, that way, I can be a bit relax, just follow the note. Having Grace in our life really change me. I really try to be more organized, yet simple.

Passport Picture

When we went to Canada in September, 2009, we need passport for our daughter, so, her daddy took some picture of her. I thought I would prepare nice dress for her to put on, but when I took a break and had cat nap on lazy Sunday sometimes in May (Grace was 8 months old), her daddy put her in dining chair, with my white bath towel as a background and Grace wore her play dress (well, actually it's not dress but cute romper)...turned out it was cute picture of her in her very 1st passport, a little girl doesn't need, eyeshadow, lipstick or other beauty stuff when she need passport shot, a fun daddy who make her smile and laugh is enough..

Precious Time and Mommyhood

7/10/2009,the day when the 1st time
Grace was able to do 'clapping'

One day, I asked my friend who lives in Kentucky, she is a mom to 21 months old little boy:'Do you still exercise..?', she said that she wants to, but everytime she's getting prepare the workout mat on the floor to do 'pilates' then her son would bug her,..ha..ha!, it happend to me too. Time even more precious for her as she tried to devide it between her son, husband, household chores and working at night time.


Mother-daughter moment,
I talk about everything to my kid
in any occasion

 While I'm not working right now, but the time management still a challenging for me. I was aware about the ups and downs of 'mommyhood' way before I give birth to Grace, my daughter, but when the mommyhood finally arrived I was overwhelmed. There're so many things that I have to do!,...I really admire and respect to other moms who have two, three kids even more because for me having one kid is (already) hectic. As you guys know, am not living in Indonesia or other Asian Countries which the culture is totally different, in there we can rely even to a strange neighbor to watch our kids when nobody at home and when we need to take shower or do some errants which we need to do that by ourself without kids or babies arround. In America, the term of mom and housewife, meaning you have to do everything by yourself. Even so, I like to think of 'organized chaos' in a good way!.