My Life My Story

Going on Vacation to Garut, West Java (Part III)

2011-01-29T19:58:00.004+07:00

WRONG CHOICE

For lunch this time, we tried to choose a restaurant located on the main road in Garut. Actually we wanted to eat at the restaurant which was recommended by a friend, but because it was far, we were so reluctant. Finally the choice fell to a restaurant with the slogan "Eat at gazebos above the water". Actually, it was a pretty place, in the main street, there gazebos above-water with big fish swimming around, there were wooden houses in the background that looked sad, but the atmosphere was quiet. There were no other visitors there.

Then we ordered food. Like other Sundanese restaurants, the menu almost the same. We ordered white rice, karedok (Sundanese vegetables salad), tamarind vegetables, grilled chicken, fried squid with flour, avocado juice, soursop juice and milk tea.

After a long wait, the food came. I tasted them. Unfortunately they did not taste good. Too much salt on karedok and fried squid; plain taste of tamarind vegetable; there was a strange taste, even bitter on avocado juice. Ho ... ho ... no wonder no other visitors stop by here. Because of hunger, we ate them all…. Ha..ha…

When paying at the cashier, I saw the waitress at the restaurant were sitting, dazed awaits visitors. The atmosphere was grim. In my heart I also felt sorry for them, if there’s no visitor came, and it happened on and on, they might lose their jobs because restaurant got bankrupt. Maybe the management should think about a new proficient chef?

DODOL GARUT

The next event was traveling around the city of Garut. We went around the town without any direction, turn right, turn left, and went straight ahead, enjoying a cool little town. Passing by Great Mosque of Garut, schools, offices, and shops, we tried to find something unique. When we saw the stores that sold souvenirs, we stopped. The shop owner greeted us with his big smile. We were invited in, and he said we could taste various kinds of dodol Garut. Dodol was a traditional snack made from brown sugar, glutinous rice flour, fruits, and other ingredient.

When I was little girl, my relatives often gave me dodol Garut. Dodol was inside the box, it brand was “Picnic”. It wrapped in paper. The color of dodol was dark brown, sweet, but I did not like the taste. It happened on and on, always the same dodol.

But this time, there were many kinds of dodol stored in the transparent boxes. There were colorful. There were dodol wrapped in clear plastic, some are wrapped with leather corn "This dodol made from potato, this is made from strawberry, this is made from mango, and then this is made from soursop." The shopkeeper said. "And this is the best choice; this is very good, made from red beans. There are also made from green beans, and there is also the black sticky rice. "

I and children ate many kinds of dodol. The taste were so good, so different with dodol Garut I ate when I was a kid. I like the red beans dodol the most. But potato dodol and green beans dodol were also yummy.

The price were various , start from Rp. 18,000; Rp. 20.000,; Rp. 22,000, -; Rp. 24 000, - to the most expensive Rp. 32 000, - per kilogram.

After buying dodol, leather crackers, nut ting-ting, bajigur and bandrek (beverage made from ginger and brown sugar), we went back to the hotel.

Going on Vacation to Garut, West Java (Part II)

2011-01-24T18:21:00.004+07:00

DANAU DARIZA HOTEL AND RESORT

After eating, we continued our journey to the hotel. In Cipanas area, there were a lot of hotels. There were large and small hotels. The hotels offered hot spring to pamper visitors , it's no wonder because there was natural hot springs from the mountain in Cipanas.

On my opinion, large hotels and small hotel looked very different. Most large hotels were visible from magnificent and spacious building, while the small hotels were simpler; there was even a small alley entrance location. On average, large hotels such as the Kampung Sumber Alam, Danau Dariza, Tirta Gangga, and the Sabda Alam already "advertised" on the internet. So that visitors from outside the city could find and booked the hotel via internet or phone. Not surprisingly, in front of large hotels lettering "ROOM FULL" or "SORRY, ROOM FULL", while the small hotels did not. In front of the small hotels lettering the words "EMPTY", there were even special officers who stood in front of small hotels which the job were to offer people on every passing car to stay at their hotel. "Come, sir .. Please stay at our hotel, complete facilities at a low price ... " they said. So whenever visitors came to Garut without prior hotel booking, not to worry, because the small hotels could accommodate them.

When we arrived at Danau Dariza hotels and resorts, located on Jl. Raya Cipanas Tarogong Kaler Garut, we were greeted by quite unique scenery. The hotel lobby shaped just like Toraja traditional house, complete with cow's head on it. The rooms were also provided in the form of traditional houses. There were traditional houses such as Padang, Batak, Sundanese, East Nusa Tenggara,Bali, etc.. The rooms were set overlooking an artificial lake. Each room was equipped with a boat, so that it can be used for boating on the lake.

After checking in, we rested for a while in the room. But children could not wait to get a boat ride.While my husband and kids going around the lake by boat, I took the picture by camera. In the lake,there were many big fishes. Most of them were gold fishes. The fish came and gathered near the porch steps. When the children spread peanut,the fishes crowd eating the peanut. The fish seemed to be tame, they took the peanut from Dea’s and Rafif ‘s hand. Truly a unique experience!

Unfortunately the weather was less friendly. It rained.. Children, who were easily bored, beganimpatient. Finally, in the rain we walked to the swimming pool. There were two swimming poolsavailable at this hotel, a pool of cold water and a pool of natural hot water. Despite the rain andcold, many hotel guests swam and soak in hot tubs. Because it's too late, the children chose to playthe water ball. Beside the water ball, there were also another game for children such as flying foxand waterbike, but due to rain the kids could not do it.

As we passed the gate of swimming pool, Dea smelled delicious pastry. Apparentlythere was a small shop that sold croissants there. Her stomach was so hungry. She bought a few pieces ofcroissants, or “hollow bread “; that’s the way Dea called them.The price was Rp. 5000, - per piece.It was quite tasty, really inviting appetite.

That night we went out the hotel, looking for a place to eat. Because the kids want to eatnoodles,then we eat at the Mie Alladin.

The next morning, I and the kids tried bicycle water. Anin and Dea pedaled the bike enthusiastically around the lake . Once satisfied, the children went to swim straight until noon.

Going on Vacation to Garut, West Java. (Part 1)

2011-01-08T17:41:00.004+07:00

A friend recommendedGarut, West Java became one tourist destination. He told at a glance about the beauty of Garut. At that time I was not so interested. But when I saw his vacation photos posted on Facebook, I got interested. Immediately, I browsed the internet searching for more data about Garut.

Another friend then gave me the brochures for hotels in Garut. There were two interesting hotels, the Danau Dariza hotels and resorts and the Kampung Sumber Alam resort. So we booked the hotel via telephone, as it was already in the holidays, we almost missed the place. Kampung Sumber Alam was already full. Luckily, we got a room at Danau Dariza hotel.

After packing and preparing for all purposes, by having a hotel brochure with a map to the location, we went to Garut. To avoid traffic jam, we chose to go to Garut on wednesday. It was at 9 pm, the sky was bright and travel was smooth, no traffic jams. We chose to go through Cipularang toll-road. Along the road to Garut , the beautiful scenery of hills, valleys and mountains spoiling our vision. We spent 3.5 hours trip happily. Although had to wonder which direction should we go, we finally arrived in Tarogong Kaler Cipanas ,Garut, without difficulty. Rafif, my youngest child vomited and was pale face, so we decided to stop into a restaurant first.

NASI LIWET AT CANGKUANG KURING RESTAURANT

A roadside restaurant catch our attention. Its name was "Cangkuang Kuring". The menu offered were Sundanese Food. One of them was rice liwet. This restaurant offered dining in the gazebos with the view paddy field and mountain.

Dea and Rafif the swing that was available there. Rafif ‘s pale face was no longer visible. He laughed and swung his body on the swings.

It’s time to order a meal. There were some menu options, all of them were Sundanese and Indonesian cuisine. For example, fried and grilled carp, liwet rice, oxtail soup, fried chicken, grilledchicken, rice oncom tug tug, and others. We booked 2 servings of oxtail soup, 3 servings of white rice, 2 packages liwet rice, grilled chicken on bamboo, and hot sweet tea . The children ate avidly. It was delicious cuisine as well. Rice liwet was tasty, we ate all of themravenously until its crust-descale. Ha .. ha ...

Rumah Air Restaurant

2010-12-12T04:26:00.006+07:00

While jogging in the morning at my residential environment(Bogor Nirwana Residence, Bogor-Indonesia), I and my husband saw the area near the Aston hotel where many gazebos were built. At that time I wondered, what the place it would be. A few weeks later, I got the information from a friend that the place was called “Rumah Air”, a restaurant with the fish pond and playing ground for children.

On one occasion when my father-in-law from Palembang was visiting us at Bogor, we decided to have dinner at the “Rumah Air”.

When entering the area Rumah Air, I was fascinated with the comfortable atmosphere there, the sound of gurgling water flowing, and beautiful lights that seemed to form a painting in the night. The waiter who greeted us asked if we wanted to sit at restaurant’s room or to sit and eat at gazebo. Soon we chose to sit at gazebo. There were many beautiful gazebos-over-water. The size-of those gazebos were different. There were large gazebos and small gazebos. The large one was suitable for visitors who bring a lot of friends . For example, visitors who were having a reunion, or having an office event, etc.

Cold mountain wind blowing and hit us so we increasingly felt hungry.

After choosing a gazebo, we ordered food. Menus available were Indonesian cuisine, especially Sundanese cuisine. For example, nila (tilapia fish) soup served inside a coconut shell. Then there was fried and grilled gurame (carp fish), fried chicken and grilled chicken, ribs soup, assorted satay, sayur asam ( vegetables with sour spices) and many others.

That night we ordered white rice, tilapia soup served in coconut shell, grilled chicken, vegetables, and sayur asem. Beverages were hot tea, while children chose vanilla milk shake. From the menus, tilapia soup taste so good. Beside tilapia fish, the soup consist of unripe coconut. It was unique, because unripe coconut was usually added into beverage such as coconut ice or fruit ice. But the soup was not suitable for children, because there were also spicy chili on it. Roast chicken was pretty good. But the children like vanilla milk shake the most.

Two days later, because we were still curious, we went back to eat at this restaurant. This time we came in the late afternoon. We want to enjoy the beautiful atmosphere of the afternoon with a view of Mount Salak at this restaurant.

The atmosphere in the afternoon at Rumah Air was not less beautiful compared to the atmosphere of the night. Mount Salak was blue, the cool air, the scenery of Aston hotel which was located besides Rumah Air, gorgeous gazebos, gurgling water and fishes that sometimes jump in the pond under gazebos created a comfortable atmosphere. While waiting for the meal to be served, we took some pictures.

This time we ordered white rice, 3 servings maranggi satay (satay with sweet spice), chicken satay, fried carp fish, vegetables, sayur asam, hot orange, and vanilla milk shake.

For children's playground, there were water balls, water bikes, mini motorcycles, fishing areas, etc.. My kids had tried the water ball, but there was no time to try something else because of the rain drizzling down, so they must quickly took shelter in gazebo. For a comfortable lunch and dining atmosphere, Rumah Air could be a good option.

Visiting Kuntum Nursery

2010-11-17T14:20:00.004+07:00

To see the Indonesian Version of this article click here

After taking Rafif to school, as usual I hang out with friends who are the parents of Rafif’s friends at TK Ibnu Hajar, Masjid Raya Bogor. For me, hanging out with friends is fun because we can exchange stories, experiences, recipes, shopping info, education info, and all things about housewife’ s concern.

That day the weather was rather cloudy at Bogor. We talked in the shade of a tree in the courtyard of the mosque. Our small talk was flowing, as I said that I wanted to plant betel and aloe vera, a friend offered me to visit the Kuntum Nursery in Tajur, Bogor, Indonesia.

Because it was still early and we still have time while waiting for the children , We decided to go there. Actually, I have never visited the place.

My friends showed me the way to the place. From Padjajaran street we go towards Tajur. Bud Nursery is located on the right of the road. Entering the parking area, we have been already feel the coolness of the place. On the right there was a small shop that sells seeds, honey, herbal medicine, flower pots, compost, growing media, fertilizers and others.

There was a path from the front of the store toward the back of the nursery area. When we got through it, the green scenery of plant set in pots or in plastic bags to greet us.

There was a unique little shop called "Cemal Cemil". When we entered, we saw various small-wooden toys organized in bamboo trays . There were

wooden windmills, wooden drums, bekel balls, small soldiers made from plastic, a small gamelan and others. Then there were also various vintage snack that were often encountered when we were kids. There were Brem (made from the essence of fermented cassava), ginger candy, cookies with various colored sugar on top, chocholate, and others. I'm interested in buying brem, the price was Rp. 5000, - each box. When I was a kid, I loved to enjoy eating brem which melt when inserted into my mouth.

We continued to look around. This time we went into a kind of semi-permanent building, which was filled with the potted plant. Then, there was one more semi-permanent house that full of some kinds of small cactus. Then there's the small bridge and a artistic wooden building with beautiful fish pond in front of it.

The fish pond was filled with beautiful fishes such as koi and goldfish. Just like understood, the group of fish approached us, hoping that we would throw food.

In the artistic wooden building, there were furniture , household knick-knacks from wood and stone being sold. There were also food fish sold at Rp. 2000, - each small plastic bag. So visitors can buy it to feed those fishes on the pond.

When the fish food was spread , the fishes in the pond were getting crowded stampeding food untill their mouths gaping. Really funny!

There was another pool at the back of buildings. The pool was filled with Garra Rufa small fish, commonly used for Fish SPA therapy. When the visitor’s feet entered into the pool, then the small fish will eat the dead skin found on the feet. The Rates for Fish Spa was Rp. 25.000, - per 20 minutes of therapy.

There were various kind of furniture being sold. There were chairs and coffee table, chairs and dining table, unique drawers , console table with mirror, wooden shelves, cabinets, wooden fruit plate, wooden boxes, and wooden rice scoop. There were also rehal Al Qur-an from wood, frame, candle holder, bowl and trinkets made of stone.

I bought rehal Al Qur-an which the color was dark. The price is Rp. 60.000, - Then a set of scoop, and wooden sodet consists of 3 pieces for Rp. 7000, -.

On the left of the entrance there was another fish pond , which its fishes can be lured. Visitors may fish in the pond. They sould pay for Rp. 30.000, - per kg of the fish they got.

Beside the fish pond, there was a food court called "Teras Air". Unfortunately when we arrived, the place has not open yet.

Sitting on the edge of the fish pond, we has small talk. I wanted to come back to this place with my husband and my children, someday. Rafif must be very happy to see the fishes in the pond.

When it was time to go home, I took time to buy betel plants and aloe vera, along with pots and its growing media.

That day, I got new experience to find another interesting place to be visited at Bogor.

IT IS FUN BEING A HOUSEWIFE

2010-11-16T05:26:00.002+07:00

Once, after giving birth the first child, I had become bored housewife whose activities only at home raising child. Because I had worked before marriage, I felt that being a housewife wasn’t really something to be proud of. My life seemed to revolve there only, it was like walking but stand still. I felt just like left behind in the appeal of friends who work outside the home. I became more foolish day by day, that’s what I felt. I tried to find a job, but none that seemed appropriate.

One day I met a friend. She was a doctor who was continuing her education to obtain specialist medical degree. We hugged each other and laugh because it was long time no see. Our chat flowed. When I told her that I was only a housewife, she said, "How lovely, you make me jealous!. I am sad, because now I have to sacrifice my time with my husband and children. My husband works in another area, my son leave with my parents, and I ... I should spend my time in this hospital, even sometimes I have to go to another area doing research for months. Just imagine my family, what kind of family I have? ... "I saw the sorrow on her face. . then I tried to comfort her. "It’s oke, you do this for the better future, don’t you?”

Although the meeting was short in time, but it gave quite an impression in my heart. Humans are always unsatisfied with what they had. They always feel others are more fortunate. Since then I was determined to be the thankful one, so I can enjoy my life more.

Okay, maybe I did not feel comfortable with a routine at all. So I tried to find other activities, beyond the routine as housewife. I love English, so I chose to join an English course in a Language Institute. As a result, I felt my life more passionate. I finished the course until the highest level.

Beside English course, I do the aerobic exercise and body language at least 3 times a week. Then I also need to spend some time taking care of my self with the message, body SPA and cream bath once a week. Normally it takes about 3 hours doing those activities in the beauty salon. But since my husband complained about spending too much time there , I found the “win-win solution” . I decided to do the body care at home. Once in a week, a beautician come to my house to do the message, body SPA and creambath. Although the activities take 3 hours, but I ‘m still at home, with my three kids and also with my two maids which help me taking care of the kids.

Other activity is writing. So I write anything that comes in my mind on my blog. It was my friend the late Hendro Darsono who taught me to create a blog. Thank you so my, my friend. I will always remember you… I hope you live hapily there in paradise.

Now, I live my life as a housewife with sincerity. I no longer feel left behind with friends who work outside the home. With the internet, I can find the latest news, trending and various knowledge.

Like today, I start the day with great excitement. Get up early, do the morning prayer and cook breakfast for the kids. I help the kids to prepare them to go to school. The next activity is take a bath and have my breakfast. After taking my children to school, I go to the gym. Gymnastic and fitness workout are the activities that are very useful for me. In addition to health, exercise also made me feel happy. I am determined to stay fit so I can take care for children and serve my husband properly.

Shopping for daily necessities the next activity. I do that before picking up my children from school.

While waiting for the children in the parking area, I greet my friends on Facebook and Blackberry messanger. It is fun that I could still interact with my friends although we are separated by a far distance.

After praying dzuhur and having lunch, I "fell" into the kitchen. The children made the request of pempek and tekwan. Those are the traditional food from South Sumatra which made from fish and starch flour. So I create their order with joy, even let my youngest boy “help “ me swirl the flour. Actually he is just playing with the admixture. Ha..ha..

The most enjoyable part is when my kids like my cooking. Glad to see them eat pempek enthusiastically.

Shopping in the supermarket can be very exciting. I took my kids there and the they start racing to find stuff and put them on the trolley. Anin is busy looking for egg noodles, while Dea and Rafif seek their own milk. But they also do not miss the opportunity to buy their favorite food: ice cream.

In the evening, I accompanied the kids learning and doing homework. There are two things that I get. First, I can help children learn. Second, I could build a closeness to them. It is very important for mother and child relationship.

All and all, I really feel grateful for everything I have.. Good husband, healthy children , a happy life, Alhamdulillah. No more desire to work outside the home, leaving the children. Now, I really enjoy being a housewife.

Debt Problem

2010-11-09T17:08:00.003+07:00

That afternoon my phone rang, there was an incoming sms. Soon I red it, apparently from one of my friends whose her kid was in the same school with my son. Her sms was rather long, explaining that she was in trouble and need the loan money. Finish reading the sms, I felt headache. Was this the symptom of stress?

Have not replied the sms, my phone rang again. This time also from one of my friends, a new friend. "My family was in the hospital, so I need a cash loan of 3 million only. Can you help me? "As soon as she said. After I said that I should ask my husband first, then the phone was turned off. My stomach was queasy.

The total in this week there were 6 people who intended to borrow money from me. And all of them makes my head dizzy. It’s not without reason I felt so.

Starting from the previous years. There were dozens of people from various strata of life with a variety of reasons come to me and my husband. They owed the sum total to 9-digit numbers. And almost all did not or have not returned the money.

Some came with tears, and promised to immediately return the loan money, then disappear swallowed by the earth. There was a close friend like a brother, borrow money, then moved without saying goodbye. There was a childhood friend, borrow money, then there was no news anymore. There was someone apparently very pious, God was always mentioned from his words, the hajj has been many times, but it turned out when it's dealing with money, it was so hard to return the debt. In short, from the rich to the poor, from the pious to the infidel, from old to new friends, there's no debt on our that were successful being returned!
6563+

Because of those bad experiences, each time I hear the word "debt" or "borrow money", I get headache and queasy stomach. I and my husband were no longer able to increase the amount of money we owed. It is a dillema. If I do not give the loan money, the friendship is disrupted. But If I give it and then the loan money do not be returned, the relationship also goes bad . Indeed, debt can damage the relationship.

Finally I take the middle road. If there are friends who want to borrow money for reasons that make sense, then I would offer a certain amount of money that I give with sincerity as a charity, of course not at the amount of money to be borrowed. If he accepts, it could be a field of charity for me and my husband.

Then, I don’t want to save money in excess amount in savings. It's better to pay the money in insurance premiums, property, or deposited. So if one wants to owe, I do not have to lie by saying "no money" because it is in fact there is no money.

One friend suggested, when giving loans, there should be a guarantee in the form of goods (eg car or house) and equipped with the agreement. The proposal was great, I think. But for now, I'm still traumatized to give more loans to others.

Too bad there are still many people who think is not important to pay their debts. Yet debt will be accounted for on the day of eternal life later. The obligation to pay the debts mentioned in the following hadith:

From Abi Hurairah r, a. Said that the Messenger of Allah said, "Whoever wrongdoer to his brother that faith of his property or part of it, he must finish it today (in the world) before the coming day when the dinar and dirham not give any benefit. If he has good deeds, the charity was given to his brother who was treated unfairly. But if he does not have a pious deeds so that his brother’s sin is inflicted upon him. "

(H. R. Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi and Abu Daud)

So remember the words of a friend "No property would be brought by the dead people, but there are people who die carrying someone else's property ..." very ironic.

What's Your Love Profile?

2010-08-22T06:24:00.004+07:00

I am Thoughtful

My positive traits:

I'm intuitive enough to know what's going wrong in a relationship early on
A total sweetheart - I'm often the most caring person anyone knows
I'm a generous and devoted partner to whoever you fall in love with

My negative traits:

Insecurity - I tend to need a huge amount of comforting from my partner
I tend to be overly sensitive and easily hurt, which make loving you difficult
It's difficult to predict my moods. One minute you're up - the next you're down.

My ideal partner:

Someone equally sensitive, who wants to take time to get to know you deeply
Dreams of an everlasting love - complete with marriage and a family
Loves to take care of me. Being a good cook and masseuse doesn't hurt!

Your dating style:

Slow. I enjoy dates that last all day, with plenty of time to talk and get to know one another.

My seduction style:

Quite tender and loving, once I'm comfortable in my relationship.
Coy. I tend to play it cool to drive my lover wild.
Orally talented -I'm known as the best kisser in the zodiac.

Tips for the future:

Be a little less sensitive. Not every little mistake should hurt you.
Spend time away from your partner every so often - independence is a good thing.
Find ways to take care of yourself. You'll be happier if you put yourself first.

Best color to attract mate: Aqua

Best day for a date: Wednesday

If you want to know what your love profile, just click HERE

I am 80% Happy

2010-03-19T23:37:00.003+07:00

I am a very happy person. Generally, I feel content and that all is right with the world.
Occasionally, I have a down day - but I have the ability to pick myself right back up.

Do you want to know How Happy Are You ? Come, click here

Happy Eidul Fitri 1430H

2009-09-20T14:53:00.002+07:00

To all Muslim bloggers, I would like to say:

Happy Eidul Fitri 1430 H
Please forgive me for all the mistakes I've ever done

Favorite Cuisine on Ramadan

2009-09-16T07:34:00.004+07:00

Ramadan, the holy month of Moslem is about to ended. The next 4 days Moslem in Indonesia will have Idhul Fitri. Ramadan is always a very special moment for me and my family. This Ramadan, my first daughter Anin experiences her first fasting. She also begin her 5 times shalat. That is great!

On Ramadan, we do not only doing religious activities such as fasting, shalat, and reading Al Quran, but we also do our daily activities with a new spirit. Cooking is a very special moment because I do it together with my husband. On Ramadan, he always gets ideas for the menu we have on our breakfasting. So, he is willing to cook for the whole family, and it’s so special!

Since we live in Bogor, we miss our favorite cuisine of Palembang. So, we decided to cook our favorite cuisine. This Ramadan, we cooked some cuisines such as martabak with cheese, martabak with eggs and vegetables, samin rice, curry, kolak, and many others.

Martabak with cheese is one of Anin’s favorite foods. It is made from wheat flour, eggs, sugar, salt, milk and yeast. The admixture should be kept for 2 hours before being ready to be cooked. I made the admixture and my husband cooked it. Good cooperation! Ha..ha..

Martabak with cheese

Martabak with eggs and with vegetables is also special. At other places in Indonesia, martabak with eggs is served with soy souce. But in Palembang, it is served with curry of goat meat. The making of martabak is unique, because it needs a special skill to shape the admixture become very thin and wide to be filled with eggs or vegetables. I see the making of martabak is a performance of art, because the chef should throw down the admixture and whirl it without damaging it. Very interesting!

Martabak with vegetable and egg served with curry

Samin rice is also one of my family’s favorite cuisines. Actually it is a Middle East’s cuisine, but it has become very familiar in Palembang. Samin rice made from rice, samin butter, milk, leek, tomato, pineapple, seasoning such as kapulaga, clove, cinnamon, ginger, garlic and many others. It is so delicious and spicy, served with raisin and fried onion. The complements of samin rice are roasted chicken, curry, vegetables and sambal (chili with pineapple).

Samin rice served with roasted chicken, curry of goat meat, vegetable, tempe, tofu, and chili with pineapple

Ramadan is so beautiful... Hopefully I and my family can enjoy the precious moment of Ramadan next year.

Euphoria of Independence Day

2009-08-21T09:18:00.005+07:00

Indonesia, my beloved country celebrated the 64th anniversary on 17 August 2009. August was the month when the red and white (the color of our flag) coloring everywhere in Indonesia. There were so many accessories dominated with red and white such as flags, balloons, ribbons, sparkling lamps, lampions, origami papers, were hanged along the roads, in the class rooms, on terraces, shopping arcades, and others.

In Indonesia, people celebrate the Independence Day by joining competition such as running with gunny sack, climbing betel palm tree, eating kerupuk (chips made of flour favored with fish or shrimps ), and other funny competitions. These competitions are held to keep the unity of people and also to express the euphoria of Independence Day.

Running with gunny sack

In my neighborhood, Bogor Nirwana Residence, the celebration of Independence Day was held at the Bukit Nirwana club house. There were a lot of people gathering there. Not only children, but also teenagers, and adults came to have fun. I saw a very old man with his rattan stick, sitting near the swimming pool, looked so happy to see the euphoria. Maybe the atmosphere here reminded him to the era when he was young and fighting for the Independence of Indonesia. Or maybe he was happy because he could feel the unity and confraternity as one nation although the people here came from various ethnics such as Javanese, Sundanese, Chinese, Arabic, Malayans, and Sumatrans. I, my husband, Anin and Rafif took a part by joining some competitions. Dea refused to join; she was just interested on eating ice cream and becoming supporter.

Anin joined the eating krupuk competition. She was excited because she wanted to be the winner. Last year, at our neighborhood at Palembang she got the second prize. But, this time, she wasn’t lucky. A bigger girl finished eating krupuk earlier then the others, so Anin lost.

Eating Kerupuk competition

Then, there was catching fish competition. Anin and Rafif took a part. They hold a plastic glass on their hand and were ready to catch the small fishes on the plastic pond. The committee blew the whistle and,” Go!” The children started to catch the fishes enthusiastically. I saw Anin collected many fishes, but Rafif found it’s so hard to catch one. Then, the sound of the whistle signified the time was up. Anin smiled and showed me her glass which was full of small fishes. But Rafif cried, he was disappointed because he couldn’t catch any fish. He cried loud and louder, and then Anin tried to calm him down by giving him one of her fishes. His crying changed into sweetest smile; he showed me the fish he got proudly. When the committee counted the fishes, Anin lost again. She got 12 fishes, and the winner got 13 fishes. She could be the winner if she didn’t give Rafif one fish. Anin was disappointed, but I hugged her, showing her that I was proud that she chose to share with his brother rather than to be the winner.

Catching Fish competition for children

Rafif and the small fish

The next was the competition for Moms. It was catching eel. Some woman refused to join because they were afraid of eel. They said “No, thanks! The eel remind me to snake, it’s terrified!”

Anin, Rafif and the eel

A woman tried to persuade me to join this competition. “You are not a coward, are you? Then join this! “She said, and it worked. Ha…ha… I decided to take a part rather than to be an audience.

So, I was ready. A plastic glass on my hand, and a lot of spirit on my heart, it seemed like a brave warrior ready to fight. The committee said,” Get Ready?? Go!!!” Then I started to collect the greasy eels. It was not easy! The eels were so greasy, that sometimes they could loose from my grasp. My kids supported me. “Come on, Mom! Catch them! Add more! You can do it!”

Here, I was catching eel with high fighting spirit

When the time was up, I saw my glass was full enough with eel and I was wet. The committee counted the eels. A skinny woman got 11 eels, a fat woman got only one eel, and some woman did not get any. I got 12 eels!! Ha..ha… then I became the winner.

Pulling Rope competition, looked at the faciall expressions, wow...

My husband joined pulling rope. Two groups consist of 5 people pulled the long rope towards them. The winner was the group who can pull the opposite towards them. The competition needed more energy because the key to be the winner were the power, the strength and team work. I did not hesitant my husband’s strength. So, the result was the same as I thought, his group became the winner.

Then there were another funny competition. Two people competed face to face walking on bamboo stick on the water, and they should hit the opposite using a pillow. The loser was the one who fell into water earlier. It was fun!

The ending of the celebration was the announcement of the winners. My kids were happy to see their parents got two prizes.I got the first prize of catching eel and my husband got the first prize of pulling rope. There’s one thing that disturbed, the prize for me was a tea set consist of six tea cups, so beautiful. But the prize for my husband was only a tea cup, only one, not a set. Ha..ha..ha… my husband got a little bit jealous of it.

The Happy Winners and their prize

This was the first time we celebrated Independence Day in the new neighborhood. We
I got the first prize of catching eel, we enjoyed it, very much.

Go for Sightseeing at Bogor ( I )

2009-08-15T12:48:00.006+07:00

The view along the path inside my cluster, Tirta Nirwana

Being in new town, I found many new experiences, new friends, new interesting places and those made my life more colorful.

One time, I and my husband went for sightseeing by riding motorbike. We just looking around Bogor, trying to be more familiar with the roads, finding places such as traditional markets, arcades, café’s , hospitals, paths, malls, salons, and other places. We plunged into the crowded and complicated traffic along the roads which were full of cars for public transportation. The crowded traffic was annoying, but we understood that we should habituate with this condition. We also went along some paths and sometimes feeling surprised to know that the end of the paths were some places we’ve already knew. But sometimes, we found that we were trapped to a new place we’ve never knew before. It was fun.

Bogor is cool. There are many big trees along the roads. And the place I love most is the environment around my house and cluster. In the morning at weekend, I enjoy the beautiful scenery along the path to the swimming pool.

And sometimes, when I drive my car home from the market and find beautiful view, I stop the car and take the picture.

The main road of Bogor Nirwana Residence

Nirwana Epicentrum, Bogor Nirwana Residence

Having Lunch at Resto "Mie Sehat" at Jl. Surya Kencana, Bogor

Here in Bogor, I find many interesting cuisine. Two days ago, some new friends asked me to go to Jl. Surya Kencana. It was one of many places that became food court for people in Bogor. There were various food being sold along the road such as oriental food like noodle, capcay, kwe tiau, ngo hiong, siomay; traditional food like toge goreng, ketoprak, gado-gado, asinan Bogor, soto kuning, lontong, bakso (meat ball), sate, kupat tahu, batagor, and many other.

On Jl. Surya Kencana, I could also find many stores that sold products such as clothes, organic vegetables, groceries, tools, accessories, anything.

"Mie Sehat" cafe, at Jl. Surya Kencana, Bogor

I was attracted to a café, where I saw “ Mie Sehat” (Healthy Noodle) written on the advertising board in front of the café. The maid welcomed us with her sweetest smile. She said that they made noodle mixed with organic vegetables such as spinach, and carrot. She said they cooked them with natural organic spices, no MSG, and other preservatives.

So, a bowl of spinach noodle with mushroom and a glass of orange juice with fruit sugar had become my lunch that day. The taste was good, and the price was not expensive although it was not also cheap. Someday I will take my kids there to enjoy the healthy noodle again.

Shopping at Pasar Bogor

On the next day, I went to Pasar Bogor, a semi traditional market. My friend showed me the way to the parking lot on the top of the building. The place was not really good; it was a little bit dirty and crowded. Downstairs, I found many stores selling various goods on grosser, so people buy those goods and resell them.

My friends bought many things for the kids as the gifts on our celebration of Independence Day. There were rulers, sharpeners, pencils, pens, binders, bags, frames, etc. The prices were cheap, much cheaper than those of at other stores.

I will write other interesting things around Bogor, next time.

Having Fun at The Jungle Water Adventure

2009-07-05T08:16:00.006+07:00

The Entrance

Still on vacation, my kids asked me to play at The Jungle Water Adventure, near by. So, last Friday, 3 July 2009, we did it. That was the second time we got there, but the kids looked enthusiastic the same like the first time. Like any other kids, Dea and Anin were really fond of playing with water.

Dea and I

The Jungle is located on the center of Bogor Nirwana Residence which called Nirwana Epicentrum. The area width is 2.5 ha and consists of many facilities for having fun such as kiddy pools, 3 kinds of racer sliders, Bird Park, stage for music and entertainment, fountain futsal court, food court, and gazebos.

Happy Kids

Kiddy Pool

Fountain Futsal Court

Racer Slider

The special thing that differ this water-park from the other water-parks like Ocean Park at BSD, Atlantis at Taman Impian Jaya Ancol, and water boom-Lippo Cikarang at Bekasi is the view. The Jungle has mount Salak view on the background, so beautiful…

The view of mount Salak as the background
source:

http://bagja2000.multiply.com

I and the kids also visit “The Haunted House” there. The kids were curios to see many kinds of “ghost” (not the real ghost, of course). It’s fun for me, but scary for the kids….

Anin and Dea,before entering the Haunted House

Anin and the "ghost" face on the entrance of The Haunted House

Hendro Darsono in Memoriam

2009-07-01T14:54:00.007+07:00

Yesterday morning, when I prepared breakfast for my husband, my phone cell rang. ” Hendro Darsono” was showed on my phone screen. I was glad because I thought it was Hendro who called me. But, when I picked the phone, I heard someone crying, it was Hendro’s mother. “ Dewi, Hendro have just passed away just now. Please contact other friends, told them. Can you do that for me?”

Oh my God. Couldn’t stop my tears from falling, I felt my legs supple. I told my husband, and I cried and cried.

Hendro Darsono was one of my best friends. I knew him since we were senior high school student on 1988. He was an outstanding, smart, creative and diligent student. He was stolid, calm, and introvert, but he was willing to help friends anytime.

I remembered, every time we had physical exercise, such as athletic, and gymnastic, he never joined. I wonder why, but some friends told me that he had problem with his spine and bone.

Years passed by, I heard about him once in a while, that he was resigned from University, but then he finished his strata 1 education from The Open University, a distance learning Government University. He never lost his passion of learning.

In the end of 2007, I heard that he had been an author. He wrote 9-10 books. When I got his phone number, I called him. He was still the same, calm and steady. He told me about his daily activities. It was amazing that he could do many things without going out from home. He taught English and Computer for junior high school students, senior high school students, and even University Student strata 1 and 2. When he asked me my daily activity, I was ashamed telling him that I was just a housewife. Then he offered me to learn about blogging. He told me how he could get money from blogging.

In the early 2008, I and two of my friends started to learn blogging from him. It was excited experience. He was willing to answer, even any silly questions we asked, and assisted us at any problems about internet and blogging. I owned him much. Sitting on his wheel chair, he taught me to keep learning and learning. He shared many tips and software and also his experiences on the world of blogging and internet.

After underwent surgical operation, his condition was getting worse not only physically but also mentally. He called me, and told me how sad he was. I could feel what he feel, he was down, so down….

Time passed by, sometimes I visited him. His emotion was up and down. Once in a while, I saw him so excited to undergo physical therapy, but some other time he looked so hopeless.

One day before moving to Bogor, I visited him. He was sitting on his wheel chair, looked so pale and skinny. He said that it had been two weeks he didn’t do blogging. His mother explained that he got fever. Hendro didn’t talk much. That’s the last time I saw him…

Good bye, my dear friend Hendro Darsono... May God give you a lovely palace in Heaven. I will remember you as my dear friend, teacher, and inspiring person.

Home Loan Modification: A Big Help to Avoid Home from Foreclosure

2009-06-23T12:25:00.003+07:00

One day Ben Johnson visited her friend, Sally Peterson. But, when he arrived at her home, she was so busy packaging her stuff. It seemed that Sally would move to other place. Sally was surprised of Ben’s coming, she told Ben that she had received a foreclosure notice, and she faced a big problem due to her monthly mortgage payment.

Ben was very sorry to hear what had happen to Sally. But then he told Sally a chance to get solution for her problem, it’s HomeLoanModification.

Home Loan Modification can help people who face the same problem as Sally. The professional consultant of Home Loan Modification will assist the lenders to modify the term of their mortgages so that the payments can be reduced. Besides that, the lenders can have the interest rates lowered, and other ways to stop foreclosure.

The step to get help is so simple. The lender should act as soon as possible before they get the final notice of foreclosure. Just filling out the form of Get Help Right Now at Home Loan Modification , and a big help will come.

Family Entertainment from Direct TV

2009-06-23T11:10:00.003+07:00

Talking about home and family entertainment is talking about DirectTV. I can say that it is a good way to keep the kids stay at home instead of playing out side.

The kids really enjoy the family entertainment program of DirectTV with over 45 channels that suitable for all ages. Besides the educational program, there are also religious and entertainment program that is very interesting for the kids and the whole family.

Not only family entertainment program, Direct TV also offer other various packages such as Premier ultimate entertainment, Choice Extra for TV lover, Choice Basic entertainment, and many other with lower price starting at just $29⁹⁹per month.

Why Direct TV? With so many benefit such as the first costumer satisfaction of Direct TV Service, the best and most channels in HD, the most sport in HD, all 64 games with NCAA MEGAMARCH MADNESS, and many other benefit; DirectTV has proofed that it is one step ahead compared with Dish Network and Cable.

With digital Direct TV system, the customer can experience a stunning crystal-clear and 100% digital-quality view.

So, do you want to keep the family get together at home? Just order Direct TV.

New Morning Activity

2009-06-22T23:47:00.005+07:00

Morning view looked from my balcony

Since 17 June, 2009 I and my family and also my two maids live in Bogor Nirwana Residence, Bogor. This is our first week becoming the citizen of Bogor. What an excited experience!

We enjoy new environment, new house, new atmosphere and also new daily activity. In the morning when the sun rise in the East, we can see the beautiful mounts Salak and Pangrango from our terrace and balconies. I felt just like starting a new life with a new spirit when I see the stunning view.

Today, my husband, Dea and I spent the morning by riding bike around our cluster, while Anin and Rafif still sleeping. After foresight-seeing we went to the club house. Dea and her father couldn’t deny the temptation of the beautiful swimming pool with the “blue” water; they swam happily until they got exhausted.

Dea also played at the children playground near the swimming pool. But then she felt hungry, so we went home to have breakfast. I don’t know why I always feel hungry here, in Bogor. When I was in Palembang, breakfast was not a must, because I didn’t feel hungry. But now, it seems that I don’t want to miss my meal time, I want to eat and eat and eat… wow, any food taste delicious here in Bogor!

Preparing to Move to Bogor

2009-06-13T05:47:00.004+07:00

On next Wednesday, I and my family will leave Palembang. I can’t exactly express my feeling, because it is a mixture of sadness, but also excitement.

I’m sad because I have to leave my parents, my parents in law, my sisters, my brothers and sisters-in-law, my nephews, my nieces, and the other kin and also my friends. I’m sad because I have to leave my houses, J-3 and J-7, especially J-3, my lovely home where so many sweet memories happened.

I’m excited because I will have another experience living in the new community in Bogor. I can decorate my new house, I can have new friends and neighbors, and something new makes me feel conscious.

My husband will arrive this evening. On the next day we will check the stuffs that should be brought and also supervise the packing of the stuffs. All the big stuffs such as piano, and motorcycles will be brought by cargo.

My sister –in law, Wati and her family will live at J-3. That’s something makes me relieve because I know Wati will maintain it carefully. But J-7 will be sold, since I have bought a house in Bogor, it’s too hard to maintain 3 houses.

Rafif enjoyed his last meeting with Miss Maria and Noel.

My kids also feel sad because they have to leave their friends and teachers. Rafif said good bye to his lovely teacher, Miss Maria on his English class yesterday. And Dea also enjoyed her last meeting with friends and her caring and kind teacher, Miss Irmah. But I don’t know how Anin feel about her last meeting with her friends and teacher. It seemed that she didn’t feel sad. Even she refused when I wanted to take the photo of her friends.

So, on next Wednesday 17 June 2009, I will say good bye to Palembang, my lovely city. And then, Bogor! I’m coming!

Business Loans for any Businessmen

2009-06-07T08:06:00.004+07:00

Business Loans can be very helpful for any people who want to start a new business, and for any businessmen who want to expand their business. Nowadays, the procedure to get the loans is simple and easy.

First Amerigo Funding offer a wide range of loans to meet anyone needs. Through a simple and easy process which can close within two business days and with little documentation, Businessmen can get fund to add their capital, and expand their business. People can obtain personal loans, a smart way to borrow money for any personal purpose such as home improvement, vacation, educational expenses, debt consolidation, and any emergency needs. First Amerigo also put the customer satisfaction on the first priority by giving the same day decision, free consultation, great terms, secure and confidential.

How much people can obtain unsecured loans? Can they get a 20000? Or a 60000? First Amerigo Funding can approve unsecured loans for up to $ 100,000.00!! Interesting, isn’t it ?

What Primary Color Are You?

2009-06-02T21:25:00.003+07:00

I'm Blue

I'm a philosophical and often inspired person. I'm the master of ideas.
I'm open to many points of view. I believe that it's important to communicate and not judge.

I have a worldly perspective, and I'm always looking to broaden it.
I'm a true people person, but I also value my solitude and personal space.

Click here to know What Primary Color You Are

Swing Sets and Playground Equipment to Cheer the Children

2009-06-02T11:35:00.006+07:00

When I visited Meta, one of my old friends, she was looking after her kids Reva and Rama at the playground at her backyard. Reva and Rama were playing glider and swingset. They were laughing exhilaratingly and really having fun.

Meta said that she was just bought those playground equipment and she was contented because the products were beautiful, strong, and also safe for kids.

I was interested to get more information about the products so Meta told me about swingset.com.

Soon, when I browsed, I visited this site. Meta was right, it was interesting! I found many products such as swing sets, slides,bike racks, daycare indoor, daycare outdoor, glides, tire swings and many more.

The most important thing is that swingset.com provided the equipments which were no arsenic, no chromium wood, so they were safe for children.

Bed Rails and Other Home Safety Products at KidSafe

2009-05-31T09:57:00.002+07:00

Last night, while sleeping, out of the blue I woke up because of Rafif’s crying. He fell down from his bed, and cried because he was shocked. Fortunately, he’s ok. I hug him then he stopped crying, but then I couldn’t sleep anymore, keeping him from falling again.

I thought I should do something to keep him safe. So I browsed internet, searching for home safety products. At KidSafe I found Bed Rails. The Bed Rails at KidSafe were made of a high quality furniture grade hardwood, with easy installation and can be used for children aged 18 months – 6 years old. It’s the best choice for Rafif.

There were home safety products such as child safety locks, electrical safety, furniture safety, kitchen safety and many others products that can make the home a safe place where children can play, learn and explore.

At KidSafe, I found not only the products, but also safety tips that were helpful as guidance to create safer homes for kids. The safety tips gave people knowledge to keep children away from being the victims of accidents at homes.

Spending Sunday Afternoon with My Family

2009-05-22T08:56:00.006+07:00

The happiest moment in life is when I spend time together with my husband and kids. Last Sunday we decided to go to Palembang Trade Center Mall to buy some stuffs. The kids were excited because they could get what they wanted. Rafif got his favorite toy: Hot Wheel car. Anin bought some DVD of Barbie and Dea bought CD of Play Station.

Still busy with his cell phone..

Forget my diet program for a while, couldn't resist the temptation of chicken noodle, ha..ha..

Then, we hung out at our favorite café, to enjoy our favorite food: Chicken noodle.

Look at Rafif and Anin. The photos shows how a bowl of chicken noodle could raise their appetite. Ha..ha..

Yummmmy...

Is Your Life Boring?

2009-05-18T19:44:00.003+07:00

I Live an Interesting Life

I may not live the most exciting life, but I'm actually pretty fascinating.

I keep busy and active. I try to enjoy life at every turn.

If I feel like things have gotten a bit boring lately, I may need to shake it up a bit.

Try visiting a new place, eating a new type of food, or listening to some new music.

Novelty makes for a more interesting life!

Is Your Life Boring? Find out Here

Farrey’s :The Unique High Quality Products for Home

2009-05-16T14:45:00.005+07:00

Thinking about our new house is an excitement. I always think about how to make our house more comfortable to live in. So, as usual, I browse the internet to find what I should do to our new house.

I just think to equip the house with the unique high quality product. What kind of product? This question is tangle in my mind until finally I find Farrey’s online store that sell many beautiful products for home.

The Ceiling Fans at Farrey’s are amazing. There are so many options such as Casablanca ceiling fans, Craftmade ceiling fans, Emerson ceiling fans, Hudson Valley lighting ceiling fans and many others. I think it’s smart to choose ceiling fan instead of air conditioner because the ceiling fan does not only reduce the heat but also can be a beautiful element of decoration. And one thing, it is safer for the world deal with the global warming issue.

Farrey’s offers not only ceiling fans but also a wide range of unique high quality products for home such as bathroom products and bathroom hardware, kitchen products, doorware, lighting and lamps, and ventilation and vent fan products.

Those beautiful products give me a lot of ideas to make my new house be more comfortable to live in.

Having Fun at Fun World

2009-05-11T13:21:00.003+07:00

Last Sunday, after attending a wedding party, I took my kids to have fun at Fun World, Palembang Trade Center. My mother, my sister Rika and her kids, Dilla and Raihan also joined us.

Playing was really fun there, at least for the kids, that what I saw on their faces. Rafif and Raihan laughed and waved to me and Rika while they were sitting on the moving small- train.

Anin, Dea and Dilla enjoyed playing ship coaster. Then they tried fishing toys. Each of them got a necklace pen, but they were not satisfied. They tried another game to get more reward, such as crocodile punch, crazy crab, catching doll and many others. But, it seemed that they were unlucky, they only got few cards to be exchanged to a reward: a sticker. Oh…poor girls! ha..ha..

Raihan and Rafif took another action. They played at the Toddler Play Ground. They swam on the ball pond, climbed the stair, slide down and hopped happily.

Raihan and Rafif seemed so big among the kids who played there. Of course they were, because these kids had the same hobby : eating!. ha..ha...

After playing, the kids felt hungry. So, we went to our favorite café “French “downstairs, on the lower ground. We enjoyed chicken noodle and tea while chatting and sharing happiness and joy. I love hang out with family!

Swimming at Butterfly Swimming Pool

2009-05-08T18:58:00.002+07:00

Swimming is really fun. That’s what my kids, Anin and Dea, think. They can’t hold themselves from plunging into swimming pool. This time, I saw on the newspaper that there was a new swimming pool at Grand Garden.

We went there. It’s located on the Grand Garden residence, Palembang. Actually, it’s the sport facility for the people who live at the residence but it’s opened also for public.

The atmosphere there was quite cozy. There were two swimming pools, one for kid and the other one for adult. On the floor of the pool, there was a blue butterfly pattern. It made the pool looked nice.

There were only a few people there. Some kids were being trained to swim on the big pool. Some other just played around the small pool. It’s not crowded just like any other swimming pool on the week end. So, the kids really enjoyed swimming and playing in the pool.

While watching the kids swimming, I and Wati, my sister-in-law, ordered food on the menu list. There were not many options, just fried rice, chicken porridge and noodle. But, we had to wait for almost two hours! (oh my God), to enjoy our meal. I didn’t know why they took so long to prepare our order. It seemed that they were not ready, since the place was newly opened.

I thought the management of this swimming pool should give a better service for the visitors, so they could attract more people to come to this place.

Having Dinner with Family

2009-05-05T13:50:00.003+07:00

Wati, my sister in law celebrated her birthday last night. We went to our favorite food court at PUJASERA, Jl. Veteran Palembang. I, my husband, my kids, my father in law, my nephews and nieces, my brother in law and his wife and Wati enjoyed our dinner there.

There were wide ranges of food in the menu list such as many kinds of noodle, fried rice, sate, Palembang food, many kinds of soup and soto, oriental food, etc. But our favorite food was “konro bakar”. It’s a kind of steak with Indonesian spices, but it’s originally from Makassar.

Our favorite beverage was “ jus kacang hijau” or greenpeal juice served with coconut milk. We always order this food and beverage every time we visit this place.

Konro Bakar and Jus Kacang Hijau

We enjoyed our dinner and our togetherness. It’s something I’ll miss if I move to Bogor on next June…

Gold Made Easy for Gold Investment

2009-05-01T10:25:00.006+07:00

It’s time to think about investment. Some people came to me and offered me some options. One of them told me that spending money to buy property such as house and land will be beneficial. Some other gave more options such as Stocks, Bounds, Mutual Funds, and Money Market Funds which sound too sophisticated to me.

I bought 600m2 lands. But then I had a bad experience when someone else claimed that the land was his. I was surprised how it could be. How the land could have two certificates with different version. Although finally I could get my money back, but I didn’t think buy land was a good investment.

Buying houses was a good choice, but I had to spend a lot of money to maintain the houses.

These experiences lead me to search for the best kind of investment, which can bring wealth, security and satisfaction. Finally I’ve decided to choose gold ownership. In the current investment world, with yields still running below the inflation rate and stocks and bounds still suspect, gold remains healthy and safe alternative for investment. Gold has been the standard currency which is accepted in almost anywhere in the world. Its value tends to rise continuously. Since 2001 gold has tripled in value.

Browsing the internet, I find Gold Made Easy, an Aurum Advisors website which is known as well and trusted gold brokerage house. It gives me much information about acquiring a gold and precious metal portfolio.

Gold Made Easy offers certified and bullion gold coins with many types and prices, such as The American Gold Buffalo, The American Gold Eagle, $20 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle MS 65, Australian Gold Nugget, and many more. Other precious metal such as platinum and silver are also available.

Gold Made Easy also offers portfolios such as personal security portfolios, family security portfolio, collector’s portfolio, precious metal acquisition portfolio, retirement portfolio and Aurum wealth portfolio.

So, think about investment is think about gold ownership and Gold Made Easy.

Rafif’s Cooking Class

2009-04-25T15:25:00.001+07:00

On Wednesday, 23 April 2009, Rafif and his classmates from 3 to 6 English Course had a cooking class. This was the first experience for Rafif, so he was enthusiastic. The cooking class was held at Bogasari Kitchen near the PTC mall.

The Chef, Mr. Suyanto from Bogasari welcomed the kids by giving them chocolate wafer. After giving explanation, the Chef and teachers assisted the kids to make mini pizza.

Rafif and his friends were excited when they put mushroom, beef, sausage, cheese and paprika on the mini pizza. They can choose the topping they want for their pizza. I laughed when I saw Rafif ate a piece of mushroom, but then he said,” Yuck! What is this? I don’t like this!”

When the pizzas were ready, they seemed so delicious. The kids ate them and brought some pizzas home. Rafif gave the pizzas to Anin, Dea, and his Nanny. He said “I made pizza by myself.” proudly…

Choosing Special Gifts for Children

2009-04-24T15:22:00.002+07:00

Andy, one of my old friends called me this morning. He wanted to come to Palembang on the next two week to see his mother, his sisters and also his nephew and niece. Andy, a handsome man who has been living in Australia for 9 years, is still single. I don’t understand why he hasn’t decided to marry someone; although I know he really want to have his own happy family.

He said the main reason he came to Palembang is to see his nephew and niece, Deny (3 years old) and Farah (2 years old). He has never seen them before. His sister sent him their photos through e-mail.

Andy told me that he wanted to give something special for Deny and Farah, but he didn’t have any idea. He wanted to bring the gifts when he comes to Palembang. So, I told him to shop at Shop Wiki, a site where a shopper can find anything sale on the web.

I suggest Andy to buy children books which can stimulate reading interest of children. He can read them story book to build uncle-nephew bond and creates a fun experience together.

There are a lot more options he can choose for the gifts. Toddler Clothing is a good option, but since he has never seen the children, maybe he would find difficulty to choose the clothing size.

Toys and Games could be the best option. He could find toys which are not only safe for children but also have educational element.

Andy said he couldn’t wait to come to Palembang, he promised me to see me too. He thanked me, because he had already knew what special things he would bring for Deny and Farah.

For my Beloved Husband on His Birthday

2009-04-11T05:28:00.005+07:00

My dear husband,

When I was a little girl, I imagined someday I would marry a prince who loved me.

In my naïve mind, I imagined he was so handsome, the most handsome man in the world.

Yes, it was my dream. It was only the immature longing of a little girl who loved romance.

But when the reality comes, I find more than just a dream comes true.

Although you are not a prince and you are not the most handsome man in the world, but …

You are the one who makes me happy

You are the one to hold me when I’m afraid

You are the one who made me a Mother

You are a man among men

You are my love, my soul mate, my leader, my hero

Happy birthday, my husband…

Thank you for making my life more beautiful than my dream

With all my love,

Dewi Sutedja

Direct TV and Its Preeminence

2009-03-20T14:43:00.003+07:00

Has bad weather disturbed the signal of your Cable TV? Do you pay higher cost for Cable DVR? Do you want 130 HD channels and Counting? If your answers are” yes” for the questions above, so it’s time for you to order Direct TV.

With digital DirecTV satellite system, no matter how bad is the weather, you can still watch all the programs without any disturbances. You can also experience an amazing crystal-clear and 100% digital-quality view.

Direct TV offers package that gives you over 150 digital channels for only $52.99/month including your local channels, while you’ll get only 60-90 analog channels with Cable for the same price.

Direct TV provides 130 HD channels while the Cable TV and Dish Network do not do the same thing.

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Rafif Got Asthma Relapse

2009-03-11T20:42:00.003+07:00

Last Sunday, Rafif got asthma relapse. The day before, he ate a bar of chocolate while he got cough. It was my mistake. I shouldn’t give him chocolate until he is fit. I didn’t have the heart seeing him breathed, seemed so hard. He refused any food I gave him. That was never happen if he’s healthy.

I called Doctor Aditiawati, the pediatrician. She didn’t answer the phone. Then I sent her sms. Several minutes later she replied, she said that she was in Jakarta.

Soon, I took Rafif to the Emergency Unit of Charitas Hospital. Susan, his nanny and Anin accompanied us. The nurse there helped him to get inhalation trough nebulizer. The doctor gave me prescription. Then we went to the drug store to get the medicine.

His condition wasn’t getting better although I had given him the medicine twice. That evening, I took him again to the Emergency Unit. He got inhalation again, and again. “Mama, I want to go home…” H e said. The doctor suggested me to continue to give him the medicine.

“Honey, if only I could substitute, let me bear the illness..” I cried in my heart.

Thank God, now he is getting better. I’m so happy to see him smile and laugh again.

Anin’s Birthday

2009-03-08T00:48:00.005+07:00

Bogor, 25 February 2009

Anin has been waiting for this day. It's her birthday. Actually she wanted to have a small birthday party with the whole family, but we couldn’t do that because we were still in Bogor. So I asked her what kind of birthday present she wanted. The answer was so simple; she wanted to play at “The Jungle”. The Jungle is an adventurous water park located near our new house, at Bogor Nirwana Residence.

So, we went there. The first time I took the picture of this place, but then, when I was inside the area of The Jungle, I forget everything. I forget to take the picture of many fun things there because I was too excited and too busy enjoying the racer slide, leisure pool, lazy river, etc with my husband and kids. Next time I will write about The Jungle and post the photos of this adventurous water park.

On the afternoon, I and my husband went to furniture store to order beds for our new house. On the way home, we saw “Michele Bakery”, a cake shop which was recommended by Ori the day before. So we bought a small birthday cake there.

Anin was happy when she saw the cake. I put a “9” candle on the cake, and then Dea and Rafif were so enthusiastic to blow on the candle. We celebrated Anin’s birthday in our new house. Happy Birthday Anin!

Home Safety Products for Kid

2009-03-05T16:19:00.005+07:00

It’s about my new house and also my kid’s safety. Since I heard the bad news from my neighbor that her kid, Lita (2 years old), had fallen from the stair at her house, I was worried. I was afraid the terrible things like that would happen to my kids.

Next June, we will move to our new house in Bogor. There are a stairs and two balconies there in my new house. That’s what makes me worry. Rafif, my youngest boy, is really active. He likes playing at the stairs and near the balcony. I couldn’t stop thinking about what to do to keep him safe until I found KidSafe.

KidSafe offers a satisfied solution to ease my anxiety. There are wide range home safety products to keep the kid and baby safe. The products such as baby stairway gates, deck shield, child safety locks, electrical safety, toilet lock, bed rails, and many more seem to be the solution to keep my kids safe at home.

It’s great, because as long as I know it’s difficult to find the home safety products on the ordinary retail stores and supermarket. The other interesting thing I got from KidSafe was the child safety tips to prevent the household accidents.

Now, there’s no more anxiety. Just like the motto of KidSafe “Safer homes for kids. Peace of mind for parents”

Technorati Tag dewi0907

Having Fun at the Club House

2009-03-05T13:53:00.004+07:00

Bogor, Monday, 23 February 2009

Anin and Dea asked their father to take them swimming. So, after having breakfast at Taman Kencana, we went to Bogor Nirwana Residence (BNR). It was sunny day, so from the entrance of BNR, the view of Salak and Pangrango mounts as the background of BNR looked so amazing. It was beautiful!

When we arrived at the club house near our new house, Anin and Dea ran towards the swimming pool. They did warming up and stretching at the pool side. I laughed when I saw Dea acted like an instructor and taught her sister how to do stretching. Then they plunged into the swimming pool joyously. Rafif was reluctant to swim. He was afraid of water. So he just played at the playground and ran excitedly around the club house.

I, my mom and my husband enjoyed the sight seeing and the fresh air. Near the swimming pool, there is an artificial river with its artificial water fall extend outward along the center of the cluster. The sound of water fall was enjoyable and soothed my mind.

When I went upstairs to the club house, the view looked more beautiful. My husband sat on the sofa and began to work with his laptop. He could finish some report of his job but then he yawned. The peaceful atmosphere made him sleepy.

After swimming, I helped Anin and Dea to take a bath. We went to our new house to clean it up. It was a beautiful day I’ll never forget. Hopefully we will be happy living in this beautiful place next June.

Reverse Mortgage

2009-03-04T15:20:00.002+07:00

Life turned to be complicated for Derrek Knighton, 65 years old, since he retired from his job. He was on a fixed income but the costs of his necessities tend to increase. Some parts of his beautiful house needed to be repaired. Besides that, he needed more money to pay someone to clean up his house since he couldn’t do it by himself. His rheumatism kept him from doing it.

He thought about starting his own business to get extra money to fulfill his need. But he didn’t get any idea how to get the other source of cash for the capital.

One day, his friend, Ben Johnson told him about reverse mortgages. Johnson said Knighton could use his home as collateral for “loans you don’t have to repay”. At the first time Knighton was skeptical. He tried to get more information about reverse mortgage from internet. When he knew that he could receive money and he would still own his house, he took out a home equity.

Now, Knighton feels relief. He can pay his bills, he still owns his house, and even he is starting his own business. Besides extra cash, he got one more thing from reverse mortgage. It was medicare supplemental insurance which was the solution for his health problems. Life soon turns to be so beautiful for him now.

Visiting Bogor Episode 3

2009-03-01T10:52:00.006+07:00

Saturday 21 February 2009

I and my family plus My Mom went to Bogor again. This time our agenda were to settle the process of purchasing the house and also to find school for my kids.

We went by car at 6.30 in the morning. I was worried of two things when we left from Palembang. The first, I was worried about the road. Last time we passed trans-Sumatra highway, the condition of the road was so bad. The car should move slowly and choose the path to avoid big cavities on the road. And the second, I was worried about the sea waves. I saw the news on, there were a lot of Ships couldn’t sail because of the high sea-waves.

Thanks God, everything was ok. The trans-Sumatera high way had been repaired, although the condition wasn’t 100% good, but it was adequate. And, we could across the sea smoothly because the sea waves were in the normal condition.

We arrived in Bogor at 9 in the evening. The cool atmosphere of Bogor welcomed us, so that we felt comfortable. We stayed in our favorite hotel, Terra Nostra Boutique Hotel on Jl. Salak no.8. The cozy room made us got sleep well so that we could wake up in the next morning freshly.

Sunday, 22 February 2009

In the morning, we went to Taman Kencana near the hotel. There were a lot of people sold many kinds of food there. We could find bakso ( meat ball), gado-gado and karedok ( salad ala Indonesia), siomay, batagor, cireng, soto, rawon, sate and chicken porridge.

On the center of Taman Kencana, there is a group of artist performing traditional dance and wayang golek show. Wayang golek is wooden doll puppet operated by someone which is called “dalang”. The show was funny and entertaining!

Traditional dance and Wayang Golek Show at Taman Kencana, Bogor

After having breakfast and enjoying the show, we went back to the hotel. Mamah Ar, my Mom’s niece came to the hotel with her daughter, Nella, her son-in-law, Suhartono, and her two grandchildren, Qashmal and Vira. Then, aunt Yati, the other niece of my mom, also came with her son, Bima. Soon, our room was crowded, and became an arena of family reunion. What a pleasure!

LifeLock: The Best Choice to Avoid Identity Theft

2009-02-16T00:27:00.003+07:00

Henry White didn’t realize that his identity was stolen until one day he received invoice of credit card with a very huge amount, the amount which didn’t make a sense for him. He wondered how someone could use his credit card to buy those expensive things as mentioned on the invoice. The impact was so bad. Henry was left on the hook for debt that was not his. He had been spending hours and hours trying to clear his good name.

Henry is not alone. There are many people have become the victims of identity theft. Identity theft occur when someone uses someone else’s personal information such as birth date, address, financial information, etc to apply for credit card, loan , bank account and even to get document like driver’s license. Those terrible things won’t happen if Henry and those people become the customers of LifeLock.

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My Experience during Hajj Pilgrimage 2008 (14)

2009-02-14T16:43:00.002+07:00

The Pigeons

Around Masjidil Haram, at the flat yard near the row of stores there were a lot of pigeons. It seemed that those pigeons had become the pet of people in Makkah. Every morning, there were some men fed the pigeons. The seeds were spread on the yard and the pigeons gathered to enjoy their meal.

The pigeons looked a little bit fatter then those I usually saw in Indonesia. They also seemed healthy. The people in Makkah didn’t afraid of being infected by Avian Virus. The weather there was extremely hot and dry so Avian virus can not live there in Makkah.

I spent some minutes to observe those beautiful creatures every time I passed by the yard. They seemed so tame but when I tried to get closer to them, they would fly away.

My Experience during Hajj Pilgrimage 2008 (13)

2009-02-12T15:30:00.002+07:00

Slaughtering Place, Jabal Nur and Jabal Rahmah

Our first destination was a place where the goats and camels were slaughtered, and the meat would be given to the needy people.

Here we saw so many camels and goats from pilgrims were slaughtered. The people who butchered were professional; they could do their job very fast. It took only a few minutes from bringing the camels in, executing and cutting them into pieces of meat. I didn’t have the heart to see the process, so I let my husband took the photos.

Next, we went to Jabal Nur. On the top of Jabal Nur there’s Hira cave (Gua Hira) where the prophet Muhammad SAW received the first revelation from God, which was Al-Quran surah Al Alaq 1-5. Unfortunately, we couldn’t climb the Jabal Nur to see Hira cave, because it was too risky.

Jabal Nur

The most interesting place we visited that day was Jabal Rahmah. It located on Arafah field. It was the place where prophet Adam AS and Siti Hawa, his wife, were re-united after separated for a long time.

Jabal Rahmah

Stone for jewelries in Jabal Rahmah

In this place, there were many people sold stone for jewelries in various color. They were cheap and beautiful.

Dea and Computer Games

2009-02-12T09:45:00.003+07:00

My second daughter, Dea, is very fond of games. Since she knew that she could download computer games from internet, she became a game addict. She always plays computer games on her leisure time.

One day I saw her played games enthusiastically. She said that she downloaded mac games and iphone games, and she really enjoyed those fun games.

Well, I don't mind she plays games as long as she still does her homework, study her lesson,and get good score on her examination at school. Playing games is a kind of refreshment for her, and I believe it also stimulates her brain to be more creative.

My Experience during Hajj Pilgrimage 2008 (12)

2009-02-04T04:37:00.003+07:00

Masjidil Haram and Ka’bah

I felt my heart beat rapidly, when finally we arrived to Masjidil Haram. “Oh my God, I can’t believe what has happened. Finally I’m here, standing in front of the greatest mosque in the world. The mosque surrounds the Ka’bah, which is the most sacred spot in the earth. I just can wait to see Ka’bah with my own eyes!” That’s what I thought.

Masjidil Haram today covers an area of 356,800 square meters including the outdoor and the indoor praying spaces. It can accommodate up to 1.2 million worshippers during the hajj period.

When we entered the mosque, I tried to calm my heart down, but it was highly affected by an emotion, a very strong emotion that was hard to describe. The climax was when I saw the Ka’bah, I cried. I just can’t hold my tears from falling. I felt I was so close to God.

So, this is it. The most sacred spot on the earth is a black-draped square shrine called Ka’bah, which stands in the central courtyard of the vast Al- Haram mosque. The whole building is constructed out of the layers of gray blue stone from the hills surrounding Mekkah. The four walls are covered with a curtain ( Kiswah ) which is usually black brocade with Shahadat outlined in the weave of the fabric. About two-thirds of the way up runs a gold embroidered band covered with Qur’an text.

My husband and I after performing Umrah

Ka’bah symbolizes unity in worshipping one God. Ka’bah is the Qibla or the direction that Muslims turn to in their prayer. And it is the goal of every devout Muslims to make a pilgrimage to Ka’bah at least once in a lifetime.

My Experience during Hajj Pilgrimage 2008 (11)

2009-02-02T18:47:00.002+07:00

Mekkah and Syaukiah/ Ka’kiyah

Mekkah is located in Sirat Mountains of central Saudi Arabia and 45 miles inland from the Red Sea port of Jeddah.

Compared with Madinah, the weather in Mekkah is much hotter. The distance between these two holy cities is about 447 km which takes about eight hours by bus.

A high building in Mekkah

View at Saukiyah/ Ka'kiyah

Our maktab or hotel in Mekkah was located on Syaukiah/ Ka’kiyah. We were not so lucky because the hotel was far from Masjidil Haram. The distance from Masjidil Haram was eight km. We needed bus to get there, while other pilgrims could go on foot.

Maktab and Mosque in Syaukiyah

My Experience during Hajj Pilgrimage 2008 (10)

2009-01-31T07:04:00.002+07:00

Bir Ali Mosque

After spending 8 days in Madinah, we went to Bir Ali mosque and then we continued our journey to Makkah. It’s time to perform Umrah. From Madinah we went by bus to Bir Ali mosque.

Bir Ali is the place for Miqat (starting to perform Umrah). We were amazed by the beauty architecture of the mosque.

My Experience during Hajj Pilgrimage 2008 (9)

2009-01-30T19:57:00.002+07:00

Indonesian Food in Madinah

Every time I visit a place, no matter where, the first thing I want to try is its special food. In Madinah I‘d tried eating Briyani Rice, and Kebab for the first three days. But still, I missed Indonesian food.

Walking along the street near Masjid Nabawi, I was excited when I found a man, an Indonesian man, were standing in front of a building offering people to come to Indonesian Restaurant.

I and my husband came to the restaurant. We found bakso (meat ball), rendang (spicy meat, traditional food of Padang, West Sumatra), rempeyek kacang, and tempe (Indonesian traditional food made of soybean), and many more. That’s good enough to cure our longing of Indonesian food!

Kitchen Appliances for my New House

2009-01-20T09:48:00.004+07:00

On June 2009, I and my family will move to Bogor. We've found a beautiful house there in Bogor and we couldn't wait to make it our own. We will buy the house at the end of this month.

I'm so excited, because decorating a new house is always challenging. I feel that decorating home is my authority. So I can't wait to buy proper furniture and appliances for living room, bed rooms, dining room, kitchen, etc.

The most important part for my activity as a house wife is kitchen. Since I really like cooking, kitchen appliances are something urgent for me. Appliances such as range, refrigerator, oven, juicer, blender, mixer, fryer, food processor, and grill should be there on my kitchen.

Browsing internet, I found it was well-pleasing to find a site that had Kitchen Appliances Buying Guide. It was helpful for me to decide the best appliances to buy.I could find not only a wide range of kitchen appliances but also the related products such as dinnerware, cooking tools, and even cookbooks!

Wow, I can imagine how exciting it will be when I and my friends have a barbeque party on my backyard equipped with a grill as seen on the site.Awesome!

My Experience during Hajj Pilgrimage 2008 (8)

2009-01-14T04:44:00.001+07:00

Mantakotul Baido ( Jabal Magnet )

The most interesting place that has an amazing natural phenomenon located outside the Holy City of Madinah is Mantakotul Baido, or Jabal Al Baido or Jabal Magnet. People said that any car or even bus can run fast there although the engine is off because of its magnetism.

We were very curious to see the phenomenon by our own eyes so that our chef de mission, H Yunani took us there.

On the road in Jabal Magnet, the driver stopped the car, turned off the engine, and rested the gear and hand brake. We wait for seconds, and… the car started to move gradually, faster and faster. Wow, it was such amazing experience, being inside the car that ran by magnetic attraction!

Jabal magnet was so beautiful. It was the place were people in Madinah and around went for refreshing and picnic. We enjoyed the beautiful views and hoped that someday we would visit this place again.

My Experience during Hajj Pilgrimage 2008 (7)

2009-01-13T12:02:00.002+07:00

A Cozy Park in Madinah

Acctually, I didn’t know the name of this place. I found this place when I was walking for sightseeing around the stores and hotels near Nabawi mosque. It’s a small park, with palm trees, decorated plants, and gazebos for sitting down. The roof of those gazebos were unique, they seemed like white tents. Many people spent time there, eating, chatting and jesting with their family and friends.

After praying subuh, I and my husband went there. We bought Briyani rice, roasted chicken and kebab, and we enjoyed our breakfast there. Nice place!

My Experience during Hajj Pilgrimage 2008 (6)

2009-01-12T17:56:00.002+07:00

Madinah Date Market

After visiting the mosques and historical places, we went to the central date market. For date lovers, this was indeed a favorite place to buy many kinds of dates locally grown in Madinah area.

There are 170 varieties of dates. The two well known varieties are the black rounded Ajwah; believed to the Prophet’s favorite and the other, the long brownish ambar.

I could also get fresh dates here and these desert fruits were sold along with their ripened golden stalks.

Fresh Dates

The good thing was, in this market customers were allowed to eat as many samples as their liked. Mmm… yummy !

My Experience during Hajj Pilgrimage 2008 (5)

2009-01-08T08:00:00.006+07:00

Ijabah Mosque

Our chef de mission of Nurindayu hajj leadership, H. Yunani, told us that there was a mosque called Ijabah or Al- Ijabah that was worth visiting. He said when a worshipper prayed there on the mosque, It was a big chance that Allah SWT would grant his prayer.

So, I and my husband took the opportunity to visit the Ijabah mosque. After doing shalat Subuh in Nabawi mosque, we went in hurry to Ijabah mosque on foot. The location of the mosque was not far from Nabawi mosque. It was on the eastern of King Faisal road (route 60). I enjoyed walking down along the road, hand in hand with my husband, reminded me to the time when we fell in love.

Well, let's get back to the mosque. Ijabah or Al-Ijabah mosque is also known as the mosque of Banu Mu’awiyah, due to its location in the district of Banu Mua’awiyah from the Ansar.

As for the reason for its being named Al-Ijabah, It was because the Prophet Muhammad SAW supplicated Allah SWT three times and Allah SWT answered two of his supplications and forbade him the third. It was reported by Muslim that Amir bin Sa’d narrated from his father:

One day, the Prophet Muhammad SAW came from Al Aliyah. He passed by the mosque of Banu Mu’awiyah, went in and offered two rak’ahs there. He made a long supplication to his Lord. He then came to us and said: “ I asked my Lord three things and He has granted me two but has withheld one. I begged my Lord that my Ummah ( follower) should not be destroyed because of famine and He granted me this. And I begged my Lord that my Ummah should not be destroyed by drowning ( by deluge) and He granted me this. And I begged my Lord that there should be no bloodshed among the people of my Ummah, but He did not granted it. “

( Reference : History of Al-Madinah Al Munawarah, By Safiur-Rahman Mubarakpuri, Nasiruddin Al-Khattab. Translated by Nasiruddin Al-Khattab. Published by Darussalam, 2002 )

The mosque consists of a roofed building, whose area in 1,000 sq, height is 13.7 meters and it has a minaret whose height is 33.75 meters, in addition to the adjoining buildings.

My husband and I spent time to pray there. Hopefully Allah will grant our supplications.

My Experience during Hajj Pilgrimage 2008 (4)

2009-01-07T11:47:00.003+07:00

Jabal Uhud

The most emotional part of our itinerary was to visit the Uhud battleground with its graveyard located about 5 kilometers north of Madinah. This is the mountain where the battle Uhud happened.

Mount Uhud extends from east to west with a slight slope towards the north. Most of its stones are red granite, and some parts of it are almost dark green and black.

Jabal uhud has an attractive look. The Prophet Muhammad SAW felt relieved on seeing it, and the people of Madinah also loved it very much.

My Experience during Hajj Pilgrimage 2008 (3)

2009-01-06T12:44:00.005+07:00

Al-Qiblatain Mosque

After doing prayer in Quba mosque, we continued our tour to Al-Qiblatain Mosque. Masjid Al-Qiblatain or mosque with two Qiblas is situated a few kilometers from Masjid Nabawi. It is one of the oldest mosques in the world and uniquely contains of two mihrabs; one in the direction of Bait Al- Maqdis (Jerusalem) and the other toward Mekkah.

This mosque was originally built by Bani Salamah, who were of the Al-Khazraj tribe on a small hill near Wadi Al-Aqeeq. Over time, the design and structure of the mosque changed greatly.

Qiblatain mosque can accommodate up to 2000 worshippers. The main prayer hall adopts geometry and symmetry which is accentuated by the use of twin minarets and twin domes.

When I took ablution before doing shalat, I found an identity card on the floor of the ablution room. It was belong to someone from Thailand. So, when I saw a woman with dark blue veil, with the word " Thailand" written on her veil, I gave the identity card to her. I tried to explain how I found the card, but she did not understand English. She smiled when I used sign language, and she took the card, nodded at me and then she went away.

Well, It seemed that my English was not very useful, because many people here couldn't speak English. But I knew there was an universal language which could be understand by anyone. It was smile!

My Experience during Hajj Pilgrimage 2008 (2)

2009-01-05T12:47:00.006+07:00

Al-Baqi

On the second day we stayed in Madinah, we joined a tour to the historical and interesting places in Madinah. The first place we visited was Al-Baqi.

Al-Baqi or Jannat Al-Baqi is a cemetery, located across from Masjid Nabawi. This cemetery contains many of Prophet Muhammad SAW’s relatives and companions.

Jannat Al-Baqi means The Garden of Heaven. These graves continue to be visited by numerous pilgrims and burials continue at the cemetery up until this day.

The visiting of graveyard is recommended to remind one of the hereafter.

Quba Mosque

We continued our tour to visit the Quba mosque. Quba mosque is the first mosque built in history of Islam. Its foundation stone was laid by the Prophet Muhammad SAW himself when he reached Madinah.

After the building was finished, on the following Friday, he led his Muslim’s congregation in prayer. This premier mosque continued to hold a special meaning for Prophet Muhammad SAW who made it a practice to visit it every Saturday.

My Experience during Hajj Pilgrimage 2008 (1)

2009-01-04T10:35:00.005+07:00

Doing hajj pilgrimage was one thing I’d been dreaming of since I was single. It is one of Muslim’s duties as described in five pillars of Islam. This is a pilgrimage to Mekkah (Mecca) in Saudi Arabia which should be done at least once during a Muslim’s lifetime.

I was so grateful, finally my dream came true. I, my husband and the other 261 pilgrims from Palembang, leave to King Abdul Azis airport in Jeddah on 7 November 2008 at 15.00 WIB. The trip took 9 hours. We arrived on 12.00 WIB or 8 pm Saudi Arabia time.

Our next destination was Mekkah (Mecca). We went there by bus. Actually, going to Mekkah was not a part of Hajj ceremonies. The pilgrims went there to visit Nabawi Mosque and doing shalat Arbain (40 times shalat) and also to get more knowledge about the history of Prophet Muhammad.

Staying 8 Days at Madinah

We arrived at Madinah at 3 am SAT. The weather was so cold. We stayed at Haramain Hotel, about 400 m away from Nabawi Mosque.

I stood in front of Haramain Hotel

Madinah or Al Madinah- Al Munawwarah is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah province. It is the second holiest city in Islam and the burial place of Prophet Muhammad SAW.

We stayed 8 days in Madinah in order to do Arbain or 40 times shalat fardhu by jama’ah in Nabawi mosque. In the leisure time we visited many historical places in Madinah such as Nabawi mosque, Baqi, Quba mosque, Qiblatain mosque, Jabal Uhud and other interesting places such as Dates market, Jabal Magnet, Ijabah mosque, etc.

Nabawi Mosque

After getting some sleep, I and my friends, Yati, Latifah and Widya went to Nabawi Mosque, the second holiest mosque in Islam, enthusiastically. We walked to the mosque together with many pilgrims from all over the world.

The view when we got there was so amazing. The Mosque was so big, beautiful and artistic looked from inside and outside. I spent time to admire every detail of the beautiful mosque.

Nabawi Mosque is also called the mosque of Prophet Muhammad SAW. It is the final resting place of Muhammad SAW.
The original mosque was built by Muhammad SAW. Subsequent Islamic rulers greatly expanded and decorated it. The latest renovations took place under King Fahd and have greatly increased the size of the mosque, allowing to hold a large number of worshippers and pilgrims and adding modern comfort like air conditioning. He also installed 27 moving domes at its roof and decorated the mosque with the best quality marble.

The mosque enclosure is 100 times bigger than the first mosque built by the Prophet and can accommodate more than half million worshippers. The shiny new Prophet’s mosque contains the older mosque within it. The older section has many colorful decorations and numerous small pillars while the new section is in gleaming white and grey marble and is completely air conditioned.

Here are some photos taken by my husband to describe the beauty of Nabawi Mosque.

Coming Back after Two Months off

2009-01-03T07:37:00.003+07:00

Hello everybody!!
I’m happy to be back again after 2 months off from blogging. For about 40 days I and my husband spent time at Madinah and Mekkah, Saudi Arabia for hajj pilgrim. We went back to Palembang on 16 December 2008.

Then my mother told me that my father was hospitalized because of heart attack since 15 December. He was on ICU (Intensive Care Unit) and his condition was bad. I took care of him, together with my sisters and relatives. Thank God, finally he could survive. He was getting well and now he has already been at his home.

On 27 December- 31 December, I and my family visited Bogor again. On my post before (Visiting Bogor), we decided to buy a house on Harmony-2 cluster. But since the global crisis came, there were many companies got the bad effects, especially the companies in the field of property. We got a lot of input from our friends. They informed us that it is safer to buy a house that has already built. So, finally we decided to find the other house. We start from the beginning again.
Some other time I will write about finding house at Bogor.

I really wanted to write again, but there was one thing. My Internet connection was broken. I didn’t know why it took so long to fix it.

But now, here I am. I went back here to see you, all my blogger friends.
Happy New Year 2009 to all of you!

Going to Madinah and Mekkah for Hajj Pilgrimage

2008-11-06T05:04:00.000+07:00

Today, my husband and I will stay in Hajj dormitory ( Asrama Haji )for a while, waiting for the time to leave Palembang to King Abdul Azis airport at Jeddah on 7 November 2008. We will go to Madinah from Jeddah by bus.

This is the first step for us to do Hajj pilgrimage, something I’ve been waiting for years ago. I can’t exactly express my feeling but I feel excited, anxious, touched, nervous, a little bit sad, and happy.

I’m sad because I have to leave my kids for about 40 days. I know I shouldn’t worry because my parents and my parents in law will take care of them. The nanny and my maid will also look after my kids.

To all the bloggers and friends, we would like to apologize for all the mistakes we’ve ever done before. Hopefully, everything will run smoothly and we will be hajj mabrur.