Dearest 2016

Dearest 2016,

Thank you for all those wonderful and eye-opening moments throughout the year, when hardship and challenges would only make us stronger and shine brighter. When love and patience are the strongest virtues we all need to posses.

For the constant reminder of how blessed we all are to live our lives to this point. And to continue to live up our potential, to strive for excellence and to pray for my Rabb's continued blessings.

Thank you for teaching me, again and again, to be a better one.

Merci ya, Rabb.

Cheers, everyone...

All white in Zermatt, Switzerland

Bonjour!

Di hari-hari terakhir tahun 2016, saya semakin bersyukur diberikan nikmat kesehatan dan kesempatan untuk terus menjejakkan kaki di berbagai tempat indah ciptaan-Nya.
Waktu melihat foto album di berbagai platform media sosial maupun external harddisk saya yang asli udah mau penuh aja (lagi) rasanya terharu karena Gusti Maha Baik masih terus memberikan kesempatan untuk bersyukur pada-Nya.

Merci ya Rabb.

Happy to be back here with #MyItchyFeet story.
It's been quite sometimes as I returned from my last trip to Zermatt, Switzerland.
It was a business trip but I managed to use some extra time to have my rendez-vous trip to places I love and meet those close to my heart.
Napak tilas, as we said that in bahasa Indonesia.

Salah satu tempat tujuan terakhir  adalah kembali ke Swiss 
Dan bonusnya adalah menikmati Matterhorn.
Iya, Matterhorn..yang nangkring cantik di bungkus coklat Toblerone #bukaniklan.
Inget ngga :)

This time, I stayed for about 7 days in Geneve, CH.
Not that long but enough to fulfill my mission.
Mission: say hi to Matterhorn and visit Zermatt.

Have you ever heard of Matterhorn?

Or, if the name is not so familiar, do you notice the iconic peak you see on Toblerone, one of the famous chocolates from Switzerland?

Yup, that's Matterhorn.
And Zermatt, located in canton Valais, is the beautiful village lies at the foot of this Switzerland's highest peak.

Weeks before I arrived in CH, some of my friends and family living in Geneve went to Zermatt and rode up to Gornergrat, the highest part of the mountain. Along the way they stopped at the lake and took a lot of gorgeous pictures of Matterhorn.
I was instantly jealous huahahaha.
Then I wished I could visit Geneve soon so that I could make the same trip.
And just like an answered prayer, I was sent for a week meeting at the UN Office in Geneve.
Zermatt et Matterhorn, here I come :).

So I was so lucky to have Tante Nur, Tante Nora, Era and my dearest friend Rana came and accompanied me in this trip. 

thanks for joining the trip :)

We took the daily trip so early in the morning, using carte journaliere. The train is indeed very comfortable, although we took the 2nd class.

the train..

It took around 4 hours to go to Zermatt. 
We took the early train at 8 AM (although we intended to go at the 7.30 AM), heading to Visp then Zermatt. 

Along the way, our eyes feasted with breathtaking natural landscape of Switzerland.
I kept heaving and suddenly realized how I missed this place terribly.
And again, I was so blessed to be able to be back and enjoy those magnificent sceneries.

while passing Lac Leman in Montreux 

And of course, thanks to Tante Nur, we had delicious breakfast of 
a complete Nasi Kuning.
Can you imagine?
Having our tres delicieux petit dejeuner on the train while enjoying the magnificent view!
Precious indeed :).

Nasi kuning for our breakfast...I'm super lucky indeeeeeed :))

It was snowy and foggy at that day, so we weren't very lucky as Matterhorn wasn't clearly seen. But Zermatt itself is a lovely place and we still decided to go up to Gornergrat taking the red train from Gornergrat Bahn. So we took another train, paid CHF 40 for the return trip from Zermatt to Gornergrat and off we went up to 3100 m.




Again the trip up itself is rewarding as the view is amazing.
Looking down at Zermatt as we escalated to its summit is quite an experience.

enjoying my trip up to Gronergrat

We passed a few stop on the way up.
After Zermatt, we have Findelbach, Riffelalp, Rifellberg, Rotenboden then finally Gornergrat.
If you want to see Matterhorn and the lake, I think we have to stop at Rotenboden. But since the weather was not very friendly at that time, we went directly up.

its' the train taking us up to Gornergrat :)

And there we were.
At Gornergrat, 3089 m/10132ft above the sea level.
All white...and peaceful.

As the weather was not that friendly, not many people went up that day. 

But we were lucky that the restaurant was open, so we managed to have lunch and took so many pictures from the viewing point. It was freezing and the snow kept falling up there.

I guess the Klumhotel Gornergrat was closed as I saw no guests around.

In the middle of the day the sun came out a bit and we took even more photos :).

Some of them are down here.. 

Matterhorn is supposed to be in the back :)

Here in Gornergrat, there are a few sky lines and hiking paths as well.

When the sun went down, we took our train back to Zermatt and had back to Geneve.
It was a lovely trip although Matterhorn was still hiding beneath the fog.
I guess I have to make another trip to Zermatt in a different season, right?
Can I get an amen for that!

And I hope 2017 will be filled with amazing adventures and wonderful trips with #myitchyfeet to the other corners of the world.
Cheeeeers..

Tiga Puluh Sembilan

Tiga Puluh Sembilan

Thirty-Nine.

That's how old I am now.

The numbers might look slightly intimidating but girl, how I feel so young at heart!

Alhamdulillah, sudah begitu banyak nikmat-Nya yang diberikan padaku dan keluargaku.

Dalm setiap hela nafasku.

Dalam seluruh butir peluhku.

Dalam semua bisikan doaku.

Dan Gusti Allah memang maha kaya dan maha pemurah.

Setelah dua tahun menyandang status sebagai survivor kanker payudara, salah satu nikmat terbesar dari-Nya adalah nikmat kesehatan. Betapa sehat itu tak 

tergantikan bahagianya. Dan untuk tetap sehat, kita memang harus selalu berjuang! I'm not saying that I am totally into a super healthy life style. A foodie like me, adalah satu tantangan terbesar untuk berhati-hati dengan makanan. But at least I try to live healthier. Physically and mentally. And that's the spirit!

But I'm not going to dwell on that.

Not in this post.

I just want to say how grateful I am to be here. Right now.

With all the greatest things God has bestowed upon me.

With all the love from my beloved family and friends surrounding me.

Happy birthday :)

Ada bisikan penuh cinta dan pelukan hangat yang diberikan ketika waktu berganti tepat tengah malam menjadi tanggal kelahiranku.

Dan kartu istimewa yang diam-diam dibuat oleh Bo, Obi et Bapak bertuliskan I love you Mom because you are special.

Juga senyum lebar ketika kado kecil yang disumputkan di bawah bantal dan diberikan di pagi buta.

Serta saat tiup lilin bersama rekan-rekan tercinta dan menikmati black forest lezat.
Plus banyak doa dan salam hangat dari teman-teman dan keluarga di berbagai media.

Ditutup dengan makan malam istimewa dan berburu Pokemon bersama.
I am blessed!

cheers

You see....betapa Tuhan begitu pemurah pada hamba-Nya ini.
Merci ya Rabb.
Semoga sisa usia ini bisa menjadi berkah dan manfaat di jalan-Mu.
Dalam cinta-Mu.
Aamiiin.

Happy Father's Day, Bapak

"Mama, is Bapak awake?" 

Whispered Obi that morning to me. 

Sleepily, I said no, not yet, and saw Bo et Obi were obviously hiding something behind their back.

"Okay.. We'll be back then. You know it's a special day, right?" Giggled them both while running out of the room.

Of course, I know.

It's the Father's day...

****

Last Sunday we celebrated father's day.

And how my heart aches and screams with joy at the same time.

Why?

Because I miss my Dad terribly.

My fun, easy going, love-to-sing, and bring-out-the-sunshine dad.

Our lives were indeed colorful, like roller coaster rides complete with strings of unforgettable events. But he was always be there, trying to find the solutions we need and keep our sanctity as one big family.

I know he has rested in peace with my Rabb up there. 
Al-fatihah for Papa :).

miss you, papa :)

As for the father's day celebration this year, the kids got so excited for sure. They have prepared these beautiful cards and gifts for Bapak. It becomes sort of a tradition at school to work on special presents for the best dads we all have. 

special gifts from Obi :)

And as I mentioned earlier, we all got so excited. 
Bo et Obi were ready with their gifts and I was ready with Udi's favorite food :). Check out the recipe of tempe bacem here in my blog.

I love this one from Bo :)

And Bapak Udi, my hubby, is indeed our best-est Dad!

We can't thank him enough for everything he has done to us. 

I can't thank him enough.

For being there whenever we need him and being himself, always! 

Bapak :)

As a working mom, I spend so much time at the office. I always try to go home early but the UN and my Mission don't always give me that luxury, so that I heavily depended on my hubby in taking care of my kids. And taking care of me as well :).

my angel

And he is my angel! 

Sent to me to help me raise my petite famille wherever we are. 
As we are away from home most of the time, it put us in the best position to find ways to deal with our unique situations. And without the courage, commitment and compassion from my hubby, I don't know how we can manage everything for the last 11 years.

How we all cherish all those late night hugs from Bapak at home. 
Plus a quick 'I love you, Pak' hugs and kisses before going to bed.

Or home works checking, and math as well as reading sessions with Bo et Obi.

Not to mention our morning walks to school, with Bapak bringing all the kids' bags. 

And as for kitchen department, we all are the big fans of Bapak's signature butter rice and  yummiest sambel goreng tempe. 
And last but not least, he has the best tickles in the world.
Sometimes Bo et Obi are especially volunteering themselves to be tickled by Bapak. I will be far a way from them when they start this tickling game as I can't stand it :).

Happy father's day, Bapak!

May Allah SWT bestow you with love, strength, bless, patience and warm heart, for always 💜💜💜

Stay fun, keep cool and forever be awesome!

Happy father's day

Happy Father's Day to all great fathers out there.

Midtown Manhattan afterwork

Having a long day following several meetings back to back is tiring indeed.

But despite the fact that I have tons of works to finish, I have one quick remedy for this work-related fatique 

Clear blue sky.

Clear blue sky..selalu membuatku menyebut nama-Nya..

Seringkali saya merasa lelah dengan jadwal kegiatan sendiri. Don't get me wrong, bukannya saya mengeluh ya. Hanya terkadang saya geleng-geleng kepala sendiri. Menjadi discussant di satu tempat, mengikuti negosiasi untuk persiapan High-level Meeting, mempersiapkan seminar kawasan tahunan dan endless phonecalls dengan counterparts dan kolega saya di UN. 

Asli seru.

Saat cuaca cerah begini, rasanya saya ingin sidang di luar saja. Di bawah langit biru yang membentang bersih. Yang tidak pernah gagal mengingatkan saya akan rahmat-Nya yang berlipat ganda untuk saya dan keluarga. Juga syukur saya untuk semua kesehatan dan kesempatan yang diberikan-Nya.

Meskipun melihat jadwal pertemuan padat merayap seperti antrian beras or lipstick gratis #eh, semua itu tidak membuat saya surut semangat. Justru membuat saya terpacu untuk bisa terus belajar dan memberikan yang terbaik untuk merah putih.

Dan hari ini, setelah memulai pagi dengan morning briefing yang disambung dengan working lunch dan interactive discussions, saya memituskan untuk jalan sebentar, keluar menikmati udara yang menghangat dan menikmati langit biru yang selalu saya cintai.

Dari Markas Besar PBB, saya terus jalan dan naik ke arah Broadway, sampai di Times Square. Lumayan juga jalan 7 blok. Sehat dan membuat hati senang :).

Saya lanjut menyusuri Midtown Manhattan hingga melewati Crysler Building. 

Dan juga Empire State Building yang menjulang tinggi.

Alhamdulillaaah...

Cara sederhana untuk bersyukur,  menikmati karunia-Nya dan insya Allah sehat. 

Teman-teman suka berjalan kaki dan menikmati langit biru juga?

Clear blue sky..selalu membuatku menyebut nama-Nya

Join us on Skywatch Friday and enjoy the beauty of skies in many corners of the world

It's a wrap...

Well, this is it..

To a fabulous 2016 :)

2015 is about to kiss us goodbye.

We are still counting down here in NYC by the time I write it :).

How times flies and I haven't even enough time to contemplate of what 2015 has presented. But for sure I am feeling super blessed all year long :).

And no.. This is not my end-of-the-year note, just a little scribble on our last day of the year. But for sure I will summarize my amazing 2015.. If time and my kids allow :).

I still have to go to work and start the day quite normally.
Except for the special heart-shaped pancakes specially ordered by my dearest Obi. 
After a quick morning happy-family moment, off I go to my subway stop.

heart-shaped pancake for the last morning in 2015

I purposely made a stop at Times Square, the intersection of the world, on the way to the office :). And I have to say this particular spot is already packed with people even in the morning. Later at 3, One Times Square will be closed and only open to those having the special ticket. Starting from $129 for general admission only (mind you, just the entry ticket :p, not yet the food etc), I guess I will pass that. I stop calculating if it is for the 4 of us. Besides, the weather won't be that friendly, at least for me 35-degree-C-all-year-long-Indonesian-body :). So, I am happy to make this brief stop before the real count down begin. And cloudy Times Square is quite a view.

Have a fabulous new year, everyone...

shopping at the end of the year? perhaps...

from this tower, the ball will be dropped 

selfie here and there....

The last day of 2015...

NYC 

Well, my brief stroll in this last day of 2015 is quite refreshing, I have to admit. 

I have been feeling so overwhelmed with works lately so anything out of my routines will always be welcomed. As I look up to the sky, I can't help but smiling.

Somehow I know deep down inside, 2016 will bring another round of happiness, joy, hope as well as more surprises. 

Now, it's a wrap and whatever life brings us, let's embrace it ...

With a big smile in our face...

To a fabulous 2016