freedom of speech

so sorry if i've been neglecting this blog for too long. i've been away, back, away, back, away and back again for many times this past 2 months. hubby got several interviews on the east coast and we try to go before i'm banned from flying. so we've been living out of suitcases (literally!) for quite a while, and only came home for a few days in between (sometimes a week) so hubby could work, i could clean up the house, and we got to see the poor boys who had to live in a kennel all the time we're gone.

glad to say that's all over now. i'm 37 weeks and therefore can't fly until i give birth, which is pretty soon said my obgyn. indeed, i've been feeling very bloated and had a lot of braxton hicks already, not to mention the back pain .. aahhrrgh.. i wonder how i could forget that.

anyway, today is one of those unusual day when i unexpectedly got a few hours of me-time. the house is pretty clean (at least i vacuumed the carpet), the laundry's been folded (still need to be put away though but that can wait, right?), and both daddy and son is napping quietly. bliss. so what to do beside browsing for some gossip?

i came across this article. who doesn't know kirk cameron? if you're up-to-date with your gossip columns you'd also know that he's now a pastor. so i wasn't surprise about his anti-gay opinion. what strikes me odd is the comments from readers.

i'd actually expected the comments to be harsh and condemning, following the footsteps of GLAAD. especially when nowadays there are more and more openly gays out there, and more states are permitting gay marriage. but i was wrong on this one. they (the comments, and people) are surprisingly understandable and i kind of agree with the commenters. it was Kirk's personal opinion and he was asked. who are we to condemned anyone for their opinion anyway? as long as he doesn't cause others harm, then so be it. i'm sure GLAAD thought protesting was the best action at that time, to defend themselves. but then again, (as mentioned several times in the comments) why ask us to understand you when you don't try to see and understand our point of view?

that's what i like about living in the US, i suppose. i can say what i feel without having to worry about being prosecuted by others who don't see eye to eye with me. and believe me, strangers can be mean. once i tweeted about charice, who got a botox in preparation for appearing on Glee. i commented how she's stupid to have done it, seeing as she didn't need any except that it was offered for free as part of a promotion of a beauty clinic. i got tons of tweets back saying nasty things about me. it's like hell had decided to raise an army to defend charice's decision. believe me when i say the tweets they sent gave me the chills. and to think i'm not even sure charice herself gave a damn. lol.

i wish i can have the ignorance to not think about what others say, though. words can be pretty hurtful, especially when paired with hateful acts. on this case, i agree with every beauty contestants. i just want world peace.

mudik

like every pilgrimage who has to go home and visit his/her home village every year, i did too, go home and visit my home in jakarta. for almost a whole month! :D

the trip home (just me and son) was very tiring. i got a good seat with a baby bassinet in front of me, but decided not to use it because i thought my son's too big for it. silly me! i ended up having to hold him on my lap the whole 14 + 4 hours flight. GRRR. by the time i got to indo i was so tired i couldn't even stand up straight. thank God for porters.

needless to say the trip was great. i ate a lot (any new news here?), patrick had great fun watching all the traffic (busses, bajajs, motorcycles and all those trucks.. oh heaven), and at the end of the trip when hubby was there we went to bali where we had some more great food (dear me!) and great fun (camel rides, anyone?).

i love

i love how he looks when he wakes up in the morning.

i love how he lets me kiss his cheeks thousands of times even when he's busy watching movies / playing games

i love how he'd crawl up on my lap and push my hands away from the computer when i'm typing something

i love when he wants me to hold him up so he can see what i'm cooking

i love how he makes silly face when he smelled his own stinky poop

i love it when he runs, although not when he falls and cry

i love reading books together with him on my lap

i love his toes

i love giving him tickles and hear him laugh

i love watching him asleep

i love it when he plays with his dad, or walking somewhere holding hands

and i love it when he eats chocolate and make a messy face like this:

the best things in life are NOT free!

this second time around i found myself craving for noodles again. it was bad the first round with my baby so i hope it won't be as bad. but lately i've been thinking about these noodles i used to eat in jakarta.

1. bakmi pinangsari - pinangsia


guaranteed, this is the BEST bakmi ayam ever. the noodles are perfectly seasoned and the chilli/sambal... i could eat just the noodle with the sambal. Usually I'd order the usual chicken noodles with some pangsit goreng and bakso, plus sweet ice tea.


2. lomie kangkung pinangsia



my family was a regular to this used-to-be-really-dungy street noodle stall. but then they moved location and probably split the ownership so we didn't know which one is the authentic anymore. But lately we found out they opened near our house. so YAY...!!

the main reason we like this dish so much is the rich thickness of the gravy, the crunchy bbq pork (or chicken if you prefer), and the kangkung (watercress?) which is not a usual combination for noodle dish.


3. hokkien noodle 61



the reason we call it bakmi 61 is because it's located at jl. hayam wuruk 61. i don't actually know what it's called apart from hokkien mie. it originated (i suppose) from Medan. my dad loves this dish so much because it reminds him of home when he was little. i love it because of the variety of the condiments that they put in the bowl. the soup is not as flavorful but with all of the action going on in the bowl, the soup is kinda perfect to balance things out.

4. bakmi emi pluit



another sweet noddle dish. the gravy is so thick you could consider it gooey. there's nothing in the dish except noodles, some beansprouts, a quart of boiled egg, lots of fried onions, and lots of shrimp crackers and emping. you can see pieces of shrimp in the gravy (yes the gravy is shrimp-based) but that's about the biggest meat you can find.

oh man oh man i'm sooooo wanting to eat these noodles right now.


note: images are taken from:
1. http://luvmumu.multiply.com/photos/photo/21/23
2. http://avocadolite.com/expiration/archives/001823.php
3. http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=143220922415461&id=58257844669#!/media/set/?set=a.152322524785795.31109.132589133425801&type=1
4. http://yummyfordummy.blogspot.com/2010_08_01_archive.html

sweet carolina

last week hubby had a few days off so we thought about flying somewhere. choices included washington DC (to visit my close friend), chicago (my sister), SF (another friend), NC (hubby's brother) or tallahassee, FL (hubby's oldest brother). Sadly the ticket prices to DC and Chicago weren't too friendly, so we ended up going to NC. Not a bad trip. We ended up visiting 4 states in 4 days: NC, TN, GA, and SC. that's some intense travelling.

a lake in NC's Chattanooga's national forest (at least i think that's where it is). I want to have a house there.... *yeah.. keep on dreaming!*

Tybee beach at tybee island, GA. way too crowded for my liking.

obligatory picture taken while baby's asleep in the car... lol..

anybody wants to go for a hike up to Maine (from NC)? seriously, this trail goes all the way to Maine. there's another entrance, which makes the trail goes longer than 1972 miles. it's amazing what the indians (or other people) did before cars or planes were invented.

While we're in Savannah, GA we took this video of our boy trying to get down from the bed. We've been teaching him how to get down from higher places but by far this was his highest. I'm not surprised he got stuck, but what made it so funny was how he'd smile to the camera while hanging on to the sheets like that. It's so funny it cracks me up all the time.

vogue

someone really likes to pose. one example:


another example:


i can't believe it's been 16 months since he joined our family. can't imagine life before him. well actually i do. lots of going to the mall, lots of (dvd-ing, going to the movie-ing, eating out-ing), size 6 jeans, and sleeping in.

and now?


*long awkward pause as i look at myself in the mirror*


let's keep the focus on the little guy. he's more fun to watch. :D

all in one weekend

- the girl married her prince charming.
- the bad guy is dead.

it's a disney happy ending.
meanwhile in the house i'm still stuck with a fussy baby. same ol' same ol'. :D