Showing posts with label Embak Ceria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Embak Ceria. Show all posts

Menyambut Hari Kemenangan di New York City


Hari kemenangan telah tiba.
The Victorious Day has arrived!
Eid Mubarak :) 


Meski diiringi dengan kesedihan berakhirnya bulan Ramadhan yang lebih baik dari seribu bulan, tapi Idul Fitri, Eid al-Fitr, sudah selayaknya disambut dengan penuh suka cita. 

Sebulan penuh kita mencoba 'berperang' dengan diri sendiri, melawan godaan terbesar yang datang dari hati dan pikiran. Meskipun raport kita beraneka 'warna', namun proses berharga yang kita lalui selama bulan suci semoga bisa memicu kita untuk menjadi pribadi yang lebih baik lagi ke depannya.

And how we're super excited preparing for the Big Day. The best idea is of course 'mimicking' the festivities we have back home. Bringing the taste of home to NYC. How we miss it.

The takbir parade, early-morning baking time, visiting the graves of your dearest family, praying together in huge open field, 'angpau' or money-in-the-envelope time, and never ending photo sessions. 

Di tanah air, memang banyak ritual atau tradisi khas Ramadhan yang dilakukan selama bulan suci ini atau menjelang hari raya. Sebut saja tradisi ziarah, ngabuburit, takbir keliling, taraweh bareng, sampai sholat Eid beramai-ramai di lapangan terbuka dan berbagi amplop uang lebaran. 

Just remembering it brings joy and happiness to my heart.

Eid al-fitr or lebaran day in Bahasa Indonesia is always special indeed.

So, although on the D-Day we will have an open house in my Ambassador's residence ( and I am incharge for the food department, yeaaah 😇), we still observe some lebaran traditions in our Astoria house.

First, lebaran cleaning time!
I know, I know... Whenever we have a special day coming, the house has to be tidied up first. And this time, I have the master of cleaning. My hubby! 




Rudi memang paling jago beberes rumah haha. Bukannya malas, tapi saya paling pinter membuat rumah berantakan. Apalagi punya jagoan and princess yang mainannya ada di mana-mana. Siapa lagi kalau bukan Abang Bo dan Neng Obi. Yang paling sering bertebaran adalah lego, kartu pokemon, bonek dan teman-temannya serta buku. Gemeeees kadang liatnya.

Namun seperti yin et yang, jago berantakan memang jodohnya dengan ahli beberesan :). Kalau begini aku jadi inget mba Uniek Kaswarganti, salah satu konco mumetku di group WA kami tercinta hihihi. Suaminya yang metal abis mirip-mirip dengan my munchkin. Apalagi kami pun punya 2 buntut yang sudah mulai besar dan hobi mengeksplorasi tempat-tempat seru. Mba Un, sudah beberesan belum :)

Dan sepulang dari kantor serta wisma Dubes untuk persiapan sehari menjelang Lebaran, kami pulang ke rumah dengan disambut ruang tamu yang rapi jali dan wangi. Begini nih kalau Bapak sudah beraksi. Kinclong semua. Makasiiih, Bapak.

Second, lebaran cookies time!



Lebaran without lebaran traditional cookies is incomplete. Kalau di rumah mama, paling tidak ada kue keju, nastar dan putri salju yang menggoda iman dari meja ruang tamu. Niat hati memang buat semua, apa daya waktu yang ada hanya memungkinkan kami memanggang kue paling favorit. Apalagi kalau bukan kaastengels atau kue keju.

ada yang mau?

Dibantu Bo et Obi, memanggang kue keju di tengah puasa 17 jam yang cerah ceria jadi seru dan cepat :). Mama Bo et Obi hanya tinggal mengocok mentega dan telur, lalu menyiapkan adonan. Sisanya? Sudah ada ahli mencetak kue alias Obi et ahli memanggang yang tak lain dan tak bukan adalah Abang Bo.

Alhamdulillah, kue lebaran pun punya walaupun satu macam. Cukup kan? Cukup banget.. Soalnya walaupun satu macam buatnya lebih dari 1 kilo :).

dibantu little chef handal :)

Third, lebaran food time!

Traditionally, we celebrate lebaran with ketupat, or the steamed rice cake with all its accompanying dishes.

Back home, we usually have the complete lebaran food, with a full package of rice cake or ketupat, opor ayam, rendang, sambal goreng ati and more (I will post the complete food list on the next post for sure).


Siomay time..

But as we are about to have those delicious culinary explosion on the next day at my Ambassador's house, I have some energy and cook other close-to-our-heart delicacies like tekwan or Indonesian fish soup, lumpia, siomay and perkedel. 

Ini adalah makanan khas yang mudah dijumpai di Lampung, kampung kesayangan kami. Mau jajan siomay? Ada Stadion Pahoman yang ngetop dengan jajaran jajanannya, mulai dari bakso, siomay, pempek sampai es kacang merah ( Gustiiii ... Saya kangen ;)). Jadi buat kami, meskipun makanan ini seperti jajanan hari-hari, but they remind us of home.

At home, it's not as fancy as the royal ketupat family, but it's super delicious as well.



Bon appetit!

Fouth, lebaran attire time!

Baju baru untuk lebaran? Boleh juga sih, but it's not a must. Some might relate the victory day with a new beginning, including in the form of new clothes. For us, the most important part is a brand new heart.

But again, lebaran is a super special day. Wearing something nice won't hurt so I manage to prepare our attire for the big day. And here's what we have, all chosen by each and everyone of us.


our choices for the big day :)

I chose to wear my special lavender embroidered long cardigan beautifully designed by Anniesa Hasibuan, combined with baby pink and blue tenun Atambua. While Udi set his heart on wearing an earthy color classic Batik shirt, Bo unmistakanly stood for traditional baju koko in maroon. Whilst Obi, as princess as can be, decided to showcase her A-line Endek Bali skirt with white top, not shown here.

Aren't we all so colorful for Lebaran day!



Fifth, praying time!

The last day of Ramadhan is surely a perfect time for whispering our prayers to The Most Gracious and Merciful. Hoping only for Allah SWT's blessings.

Hampir semuanya ibadah sholat sebisa mungkin kami lakukan bersama keluarga. Sholat berjamaah di rumah tepatnya, kecuali saat jam kerja. Taraweh yang dimulai pukul 10.30 memang lebih banyak kami kerjakan di rumah daripada di masjid. Apalagi anak-anak masih sekolah yang dimulai pukul 8 pagi. Kalau tidak mengatur jam tidur dan sahur dengan baik, akan tepot jadinya. Insya Allah ibadahnya tetap khusu' dan ikhlas.

Hanya pad-Mu ya Rabb..

Hopefully we meet Ramadhan again next year. Insya Allah.
And may peace, prosperity and joy be upon us all.

How's your preparation for the end of Ramadhan. 
Do you have a special preparation as well?




Throwback Tuesday: Fascinating Budapest, Hungary


I cannot help but rekindle my joy to wandering around Europe as I open my album at Facebook.
Such remarkable days as we enjoyed our first posting in Geneve and had a chance to actually explore this part of the world.

This time, I have Budapest.


This capital city of Hungary is truly a living proof of the grandeur of the past and the inexplicable elegance of nature.



Bo and I enjoying the night scene at Budapest :)

The trip was made in 2009.
Almost 7 years ago.
That summer break we decided to visit the city of bridges and stayed there for 5 days. Flying from Geneve with EasyJet, Bo was only 3.5 years at that time.
But he proved to be a great companion, happily traveling with Mama et Bapak and took his pram whenever he was tired.

We had quite a full itinerary here.
Pretty much using Trip Advisor as my 'private guide', we managed to see most of the highlights in this beautiful city.
Castle Hill, Buda Castle, Fishermen Bastion, Heroes' Square, St. Stephen Church, Citadel, Chain Bridge and so many more.

We strolled along Danube, which has been dubbed as one of the most beautiful rivers in Europe.


We took the tour to the famous Parliament house. I remembered vividly that it was rainy that morning. But we got our 45-minute tour inside this magnificent building. I couldn't recall the details but it was lovely.


Something that I love so much about Budapest is its purple sky. When the sun sets, sparkly purplish and orange sky is certainly a feast to my eyes.


Walking around the city was such fun as well, as we found so many beautiful statues and landmarks.
Like this super cute police officer :).


We managed to visit Szent Istvan,  also known as  St. Stephen Church.
Indeed, it is the largest church in Budapest with its 96-metre-high dome and incredible interior. Undoubtedly, this church wows each and every one of its visitors.
 



staying outside


I love the colorful marble mosaic outside, though it's not really the original part where the church was first built in 1845.
And once we stepped in, this is what we see.



And finally, we made a brief stop, twice actually, at the Buda Castle. We didn't take many pictures inside but when we waited for a while to catch our breath, the Castle turned amazingly beautiful with the lights on. Take a look...




So, that's the recollection of my memories in Budapest, Hungary.
Now that we reside in the US, we kinda miss Europe and its beautiful cities. 
Looking at all those pictures certainly make you feel nostalgic :).

I remember discussing Europe trip with my friend, Fita Chakra, who made the trip with her husband last year. We discussed a lot about the best route in Europe and cities that she should not miss. Being a great children books' writer, I believe traveling and exploring the world will be very beneficial for her. For sure it will inspire her more on her upcoming books :).  They didn't manage to visit Budapest but I know they had so much fun visiting Paris, Brussels, Vienna, Venezia, and so many more. Those are the cities I have visited as well.  So I guess I will certainly come back with more stories and photos from those cities.

What memories you love to share with us today?

Check out more of my stories at #Steller :)



Fun at the Rink

Anybody here loves ice skating?
I bet some of you really enjoy it.
As for me, well... I think I really have to think twice :).



Ada yang gemar ber-iceskating di sini? Olahraga yang satu ini memang seru ya, dan pastinya tidak mudah, apalagi buat saya :). Di Jakarta iceskating pun cukup populer, karena arena iceskating memng tersedia di beberapa mall besar di ibukota.

Ice skating is certainly not my cup of tea.
Two wooden legs, weak knees and slippery ice are obviously not match made in heaven. Oh boy, I am just not built for this. Bring me the deepest part of the ocean and probably even shark-sighting, but not this rink of 'horror' hahahaha :).

However, we managed to go out and have fun with the kids and some friends with UN Hospitality program at the rink in Brookfield Place, NYC. 

Oh ya...we had fun. 
Lot's of laughters and some selfie, with a bit of falling here and there :). Which is indeed a pack-and-parcel when you learn iceskating.


Some enjoy it, some continue to struggle finding one's long lost balance or trying to get intimate with the skate. Like me, for example. :). I was fully struggling with almost everything for two full hours. So much for hours of watching ice-skating for beginners in YouTube hihi. 


Bo was enjoying it :)
But with Hudson River in the background and sunny sunshine under the Freedom Tower, it was indeed a lovely Saturday :). While I have no soft spot for ice skating, selfie and photo sessions are inevitable. And that's exactly what happened. One round trying to find my balance, a half round smiley face for photos.


Thanks for Udi for capturing all these happy faces :)

Cheeeers..







Dan entah kenapa, saya jadi ingat salah satu teman baik, Silviana Noerita. Mungkin semangat mencoba olahraga baru dan menjelajahi pojok kota yang lain yang membuat saya ingat pada Silvi  yang juga gemar menjelajahi banyak tempat baru dengan motornya. Gadis manis asal Kediri ini punya hobi yang sama denganku, traveling dan fotografi. Dan belum lama ini, dalam salah satu keseruan kuis berhadiah beauty products di grup ceria kami, Silvi bantuin aku banget dengan keahlian dan ketelitiannya menghitung. Oke banget pokoknya. Cocok jadi asisten pribadi niiiih Sil :). Sayang aku ngga punya foto berdua dengan Silvi deh. Nanti kita foto sambil main iceskating yaaa Sil. Cheers..



Do you like ice skating as well?
How long does it take for you to learn it?