An Ordinary Saturday : Makan Mie Aceh di Resto Meutia Benhil

Assalaamualaikum,

Hi guys! How's your weekend? Well, I had a relaxing ordinary Saturday. I was meant to go to a book launching on 2 pm, but then I couldn't go there because of an electricity trouble we had in the morning in our house. Alhamdulillah, my hubby fixed it by noon.

Since I needed to shop for new scarves, we went to fX Sudirman on 3 pm. Now I love going to fX because there are several muslim wear stores at this mall; MUSE 101, Pick 'n Choose, la moie and some other stores. Each of them has famous muslim clothing brands we know on the Internet. 

Oh I just love the idea that we, the women who wear hijab, can have a one-stop-shopping point that enable us to find many choices of muslim clothings in one place. And in addition, it's always better to try on the clothes you see on the internet rather than predict whether the clothes you see on model will perfectly fit on your body shape or not and whether you like the fabric and the color of it or not.

For example, yesterday I needed to find a particular dusty pink scarf, and I could search for the right 'dusty pink' color I wanted in several muslim clothing stores here. I went to a store on the third floor and when I didn't find the scarf I wanted, I could straightly go to other stores in another floor. How convenient! And I'm so happy that I found the right dusty pink scarf :).

In the evening, we had dinner at Meutia restaurant, in Jl. Bendungan Hilir (Benhil). I was craving for Mie Aceh since yesterday I saw my Hubby's friend shared the picture of his Mie Aceh lunch in social media. 

The picture reminds me of how I craved for it during my pregnancy on 2010. We used to live at Jl. Setiabudi 1, still in the Sudirman Area, and so my Hubby bought me Mie Aceh from this particular restaurant.

Meutia, an Aceh restaurant at Jl. Benhil.

According to my opinion, even though Mie Aceh at Meutia is pretty famous, it only tastes good, but not really good. When I was in college my friends and I used to eat mie Aceh at some Aceh restaurant in Buah Batu, Bandung, and it was really good! But oh well, that's what I thought according to my taste only ;).

The wall inside. Full of pictures from Aceh.

The Spicy Mie Aceh. 

And Teh Tarek. It's a little bit too sweet for me,
but I love it because it has the scent of cinnamon.
Do you see that long stick beside the straw?
Well, it's not chocolate. It's cinnamon.

So that's my ordinary Saturday. How's yours? Have a nice weekend everyone! :)

Make Up Review: The Body Shop Vitamin E Cool BB Creme

Assalaamualaikum,

Hi, Girls! How are you? Today I want to write a review I've promised you: The Body Shop Vitamin E Cool BB Creme.

So, as you probably know, I've been using the Caring Colors BB Cream Everlast (I wrote the review here). But about a month ago, I bought this new TBS BB Cream just because I'm curious if I can have a better BB Cream product :p (women!).

This TBS BB Creme is pretty expensive compared to my Caring Colors BB Cream Everlast. TBS Vitamin E BB Creme price is IDR139.000,00. I got a 20% discount on this product just by redeeming 20 of Telkomsel points (my friend's Telkomsel point, not mine:p), so I bought it for about IDR99,000.00. That's cheaper than the real price, but still more expensive than my Caring Colors BB cream. Hehehe..

I've been using this TBS Vit E BB Cream for about a month now. The first time I used it, I wasn't really impressed with the result. This cream is for all skin types but I thought it's a bit greasy on my oily skin type. And when I used it for the first time, one of my friend said that my face looked darker. 

That's not a very good sign :(. Though I actually like the light texture of this cream on my face, but it's too light that it seems like I don't have any better benefit than a foundation.

On the other hand, I remember a few weeks ago I asked Ajeng (my best friend who also bought the same product) what she thinks about it. She has a very dry skin and she said she loves it. 

Oh well, maybe it's not very good on my oily skin type but looks good on her dry skin type. Now that I've already bought it, I just tried to apply loose powder with  a fairer color tone and I think it looks okay. Since this product has a light texture, I now use it for daily use because I don't like wearing heavy make up every day. 

So, conclusion: I think I love Caring Colors BB Cream Everlast more than this one :).

Pengalaman Rafting di Sungai Citarik, Sukabumi

Assalaamualaikum,

Udah lama enggak posting liburan. Ini adalah cerita saya rafting di sungai Citarik, Sukabumi.Ternyata Rafting itu seruuu... padahal saya enggak bisa berenang, lho. Tapi ternyata Rafting itu cukup aman.

It's been quite a long time since the last time we got away on a vacation, especially after we have a daughter. Since my hubby's family is in Bandung, my own family is in Tasik, and we have a house at Cimahi, we visit families when we have holidays, most of the time. 

I think I desperately need a vacation but there's only little chance of doing that. My sister in law is going to be married in a week and there's Idul Adha holiday  coming ahead, so we'll need to go home by then, and my hubby's only have 2 days-off left this year -_-'.

Well, yesterday I saw pictures of our holiday on my folder and found some cute photos of us rafting at Citarik, Sukabumi, with my Hubby's friends from work. Oh, how I love these pictures :D.

These pictures were taken on 2009, about 5 months before we got married on 2010. I don't know whose these pictures are belong to. But we got them from my Hubby's office documentation.

It was really fun :D. Just to see those big smiles over our faces reminds me of how it feels to be on that raft :p. Okay, maybe I was exaggerating. Maybe because I desperately want to go on vacation. But it's true, it was really fun rafting! Hehehe... :D

Oh, and there's someone took a candid picture of us. This is us 4 years ago :).

Pelajaran dari Hidup Pepeng

Pada pagi sekitar dua minggu lalu saya nonton Pepeng di segmen Michael dan Merry Riana Menginspirasi di salah satu acara berita pagi di RCTI. Jadi, Pepeng memiliki penyakit langka yang disebut multiple sclerosis yang membuatnya mengalami kelumpuhan. Hebatnya, meski tak bisa berbuat banyak dan harus menghabiskan sepanjang waktu di tempat tidur, ia selalu produktif dengan pikiran-pikirannya dan bersemangat. Ia mampu mengalahkan rasa menderita dan tidak terjebak dalam rasa sakit itu. Alih-alih menghabiskan waktu dengan menyesali penyakitnya, Pepeng malah menginspirasi banyak orang, memberitahu mereka bahwa lumpuh bukan akhir dari segalanya.

Saya sih sudah lama tahu mengenai sakit yang dideritanya, tapi baru kali ini saya mendengar apa yang dikatakannya untuk menjadi luar biasa dan terus saya camkan dalam-dalam kata-katanya itu. 

"Rasa syukur tidak membuat sakit itu hilang, tapi itu bisa menghilangkan penderitaan kita." - Pepeng.

"Feeling grateful will not make the pain disappeared, but it can prevent us from being miserable." - Pepeng.

Hm... bener juga yah. Siapa bilang kena penyakit langka itu ngga sakit? Yang dibikin bete sama orang, siapa bilang ngga sakit? Yang nemuin hambatan-hambatan dalam mengejar cita-cita? Yang lagi butuh banget uang? Yang lagi terdesak? Dan sederet ketidakpuasan kita lainnya. Sakit kan normal yah buat dirasain.  Tapi kan kita bisa memilih untuk merasa menderita atau tidak. Yah minimal walopun sakit, kita kan bahagia dan bersemangat untuk terus berkarya dan yang pasti kita jadi ngga menderita. 

Mas Pepeng.

Gampang banget emang yah diucapin, tapi susah buat dijalanin.  Hehehe... hayu ah mulai belajar bersyukur seperti Mas Pepeng :).

Bebe's Toilet Training : Pengalaman Toilet Training Bebe

Jadi Emak-emak itu sulit. Finally gw ngerti sekarang kenapa emak gw itu suka rempong. Hahaha.... buat mamah, buat semua ibu, maafkan kadang tidak menghargai jerih payahmu dalam mendidik, dan bagi kalian teman-temanku yang masih single, maafkanlah kami yang sudah jadi emak-emak dan berubah menjadi rempong setelah punya anak. You'll get there, and you'll understand :p. Hihihi...

Kenapa tiba-tiba ngomongin rempongnya jadi emak-emak? Karena kali ini gw mau cerita tentang toilet trainingnya si Bebe. Bebe udah 2 tahun 7 bulan sekarang. Sebenernya udah mulai diajarin pake training pants sejak usia 2 tahun kurang, tapi maklum emaknya ini kurang telaten. Jadi masih on off aja training pants-nya. 

Ngajarin anak agar bilang kalau mereka mau pipis tu ternyata susah ya bo. You teach them, and teach them, trus mulai skeptis. Kok masih ngga bisa-bisa? Trus kadang cape karena bocor dan ngepel lantai terus dan memilih jalan paling cepat dikasih pampers *jangan ditiru*. Hm.. ternyata toilet training itu bukan cuma anaknya yang harus siap, tapi emaknya pun harus siap.

Gara-gara gw yang suka maju mundur ini, akhirnya gw bertekad, Bebe umur 2 thn 6 bulan udah harus pake training pants terus, minimal siangnya aja. kalaupun pipis di training oants ya biarkanlah dia pipis. Yang penting gw sebagai seorang ibu harus siap mental meskipun berkali-kali ngepel. Walopun pake training pants itu ngga tembus pipisnya, tapi kadang anak kan pipis waktu duduk di lantai, di sofa, di kasur sehingga tempat-tempat tersebut jadi basah dan tetep butuh penangan najis alias thaharah kan? Inilah yang bikin cape. Hihihi...

Akhirnya setelah lebaran gw biasain diri Bebe pake training pants. Gw berusaha merubah paradigma gw bahwa ngajarin pipis itu repot (ya memang repot yah, tapi kan anaknya nanti ngga bisa-bisa dong kalo gw mikirnya repot melulu). Gw ajarin Bebe,

Mama: "Aira kalo pipis di W...?"
Bebe  : "WC..."
Mama: "Kalau mau pipis bilangnya gimana?"
Bebe  : "Ma, mau pipis..."

Pinteerr! Tapi ternyata dia baru hapal teori aja tuh, belum ngerti praktek. Karena prakteknya tetep aja dia pipis di training pants. Hahaha... 

Gw kadang suka ajak dia pipis di kamar mandi, tapi biasanya setelah 30 menit berakhir tanpa pipis. Kalo soal ngajak pipis ke kamar mandi secara berkala ini gw nyerah deh. Ini pekerjaan yang bikin bete. Hihihi... aku adalah ibu yang kurang sabar ngajarin pipis.

Nah, karena gw udah terlanjur bertekad ngajarin toilet training, gw tetep jalan dong program training pantsnya. Gw mikirnya, biarlah belajar pipisnya rada lama yang penting sampe mana gw pelan-pelan menyesuaikan diri dan ngerasa nyaman sama rutinitas baru, yah biar gw juga ngga ngerasa berat ngejalaninnya. Jadi kalo anak pipis mulu pas siang, ya disabar-sabarin aja, kan abis magrib sama kalo pergi juga masih pake pampers *ngehibur diri*. Cuma kalo Bebe pipis di training pants, gw suka bilang, "Aira kalau mau pipis bilang ya, Aira kan anak pintar." Sambil gw bacain lagi deh mantra teori toilet training yang si Bebe udah hapal banget seperti tersebut di atas.

Semuanya berjalan seperti biasa aja dua bulanan ini. Pake training pants, pipis, pake training pants, pipis. Tau-tau tiga hari yang lalu si Bebe bilang dia pipis. Dia dengan gusar bilang,"Aiya pipis Mama!"

Langsung deh sama emaknya didudukin di potty spongebob kesayangan. Dan beneran dia pipis! Alhamdulillah... emaknya hepi banget walopun masih skeptis apa cuma kebetulan. Siangnya ternyata dia minta pipis lagi dan juga beneran pipis. Waa mamanya seneng banget.. ternyata Bebe udah ngerti konsep 'pipis' itu seperti apa. 


Kemarin juga sepanjang siang si Bebe bilang kalo mau pipis dan begitu pun dengan hari ini, si Bebe selalu bilang kalo mau pipis. Pinteeer :D *emaknya jingkrak-jingkrak*. Doakan ya teman-teman, semoga toilet trainingnya sukses. Aamiin...

Hm... jadi Ibu tu emang rempong yah. Menanamkan kebiasaan baik itu perlu banyak usaha. Kadang suka pengen nyerah kalau yang kita ajarin ga sampe-sampe ke anak. Tapi ketika mulai ngerasa menyerah, ternyata anak itu ngerti apa yang kita bilang, cuma dia butuh waktu buat mencernanya. Betapa waktu dikorbankan orang tua untuk mendidik anaknya itu nggak pernah sia-sia, makanya sebagai orang tua kita ngga boleh menyerah. Cepat ato lambat anak akan belajar. Cuma gw sebagai orang tua emang harus belajar bersabar dan ga menyerah.

Hiks.. jadi inget orang tua sendiri. They've given me the best thing in the world: the luxury of their time  teaching me how to be good. Makasih ya Mamah, makasih Papap. Huhuhu... ternyata jadi orang tua itu berat. Betapa bangganya jika bisa melaksanakan tugas sebagai orang tua dengan baik :').

Review Toddler Game: Marbel Huruf

Assalaamualaikum,

Halo, selamat hari Senin! Pagi-pagi ngeblog dulu yah biar semangat ;). Kali ini gw mau review game dari seri Marbel (Mari Belajar Sambil Bermain) bikinan Educa Studio yang berjudul Marbel Huruf.

Kenapa tiba-tiba nge-review game? Karena beberapa hari terakhir ini si Bebe (2 tahun 7 bulan) suka tiba-tiba membaca huruf-huruf secara berurut walopun ga nyebut dari awal sampai akhir. Misalnya I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V atau A, B, C, D, E, F, G. Padahal dulu kalo diajarin dia nggak mau ikutan baca.

Bebe ini emang anaknya susah kalo diminta melakukan sesuatu. Misalnya mengucap "Thank you," itu adalah hak prerogatifnya dia. Biasanya dia mau mengucapkan terima kasih kalau dia berterima kasih. Tapi kalo diminta bilang makasih justru suka nggak mau. 

Begitu pun urusan belajar. Dia lebih suka freestyle mengucap yang dia inginkan saat dia menginginkannya, walopun pas diajarin dia sepertinya ngga merhatiin ato ngedengerin, tapi ternyata dia belajar dan mengerti.

Nah, tadi malam Papa bilang kalo Bebe udah bisa ngenalin huruf. Masak sih? Gw agak ragu. Soalnya ni anak kalo diajarin suka ga ngikutin apa yang disebut Mamanya. Tapi memang dia suka otak-atik game marbel huruf yang di section 'Belajar' dimana ada opsi-opsi belajar yang mode otomatis dengan narator bersuara anak-anak menyebut huruf satu persatu, dan ada mode manual yang mengharuskan si anak memilih huruf dan kemudian si narator menyebutkannya.

Nah, selain section 'Belajar' ada juga section 'Bermain' di mana si anak diminta memilih huruf dari tiga huruf yang disebutkan si narator. Kalo benar, si narator bilang "Pintar!", kalo salah dia bakal bilang, "Yah, salah."

Seinget gw, terakhir dia main game-nya, kadang ada yang benar dan seringkali banyak salahnya. Nah, tadi malem gw kaget banget dong ternyata si Bebe bisa jawab semua pertanyaannya, walopun dia nunjuk huruf dulu trus nanya mama n papanya, "Ini?" Trus setelah kita ngangguk baru dia pilih. Pintarr! Hehe.., bangga juga emaknya :p.

Berhubung ngalamin sendiri, makanya  direview deh game-nya. Lumayan buat memperkenalkan huruf sama anak-anak kita yang masih kecil. Dan ini game bikinan anak negeri lho :p. Animasinya memang sederhana, tapi ternyata berhasil juga buat anak saya. Yang berminat bisa langsung download di Google Play yah :).

Have a nice day everyone! :).

Jalan-Jalan ke Puncak : Review Restoran Cimory Riverside

We went to Puncak, Bogor, last weekend. Puncak means 'peak' in English, so the weather there is always colder than Jakarta. So when last week we wanted to go somewhere near to freshen up we decided to go to Puncak.

On 2008 and 2009 I spent months of studying in management trainee (MT) program in my former company's learning center located here in the area. During my stay in Puncak, my hubby who was my boyfriend back then, used to visit me on the weekend and we hung out in some places at Puncak or Bogor. 

It turned out that going there brought not only memories of us, but also the memories of my days during the program and the friends I was studying with. As we went on in traffic jam (there's always traffic jams in Puncak), I saw places I used to stayed in, the learning center and the inn. I can't believe that it was five years ago :). 

This is Wisma Bogor Indah Nirwana, the Inn I used to stayed in with friends during the program.

That afternoon, Hubby and I decided to have lunch at Cimory Riverside. Cimory stands for Cisarua Mountain Dairy. They had the dairy and beef products sold in the restaurant and supermarket, such as, milk, yoghurt, yoghurt set, cheese spread, milk pao (bakpao made with milk), sausages and some Bogor local snacks like the spinach chips. 

Beside the the products they had, Cimory Riverside is a pretty cozy place for a family to hang out. They have big parking lot, playground for kids, clean toilets, and not to forget, the nice and green view of the riverside :).

Here are some photos we took there,

Cimory Riverside.

Cute cow statues welcoming us :).

Fishes in the pond.

The lower area of the restaurant.

This is the riverside. It's so fresh and green, isn't it?.

The playground.

The supermarket.

Last shot before we went home.

Enjoy some warm milk pao on our way home. The red bean and chocolate filling.