Thank you, 2016

Have you ever written a flashback?
Sort of a short review of what happened at the previous year.
All the good, bad and just so-so things occurred last year.
The ups and downs of your live. 
The highlights of  your life in 365-day.

I gotta admit that I am not good at looking back.
I tend to move forward and bury the hatchet, although for sure I took good mental notes of all those lessons learned in life.
But I can always try, right?
And here I am now, trying to have a good look of what 2016 has brought me and be blessed!

Pernah menulis kilas balik satu tahun yang baru saja dilewati?
Terus terang, saya ngga pernah hahaha.
Beneran!
Sepertinya ini semua karena perpaduan rasa malas dan tidak (pernah) punya cukup waktu karena awal tahun kantor selalu 'dihajar' dengan tumpukan laporan yang antriannya ngalah-ngalahin pembagian samples lipstik Sephora.

Kalau kali ini memutuskan untuk menulis segala haru biru dan perjalanan di tahun 2016, bukan berarti saya ikut-ikutan ya :).
Well, ikut-ikutan juga ngga papa deh.
Hitung-hitung sekalian menikmati memori daun pisang dan melihat kembali keseruan 2016 :).

Kalau bicara pencapaian, terutama di blog, mungkin tidak ada apa-apanya dibanding teman-teman blogger lainnya. 
Well, I am still working on my blogging skills and I have to admit I' m an amateur!

But that certainly doesn't stop me from learning more and more from you all.

Tapi, again, kalau bicara pencapaian, buat saya bisa bangun setiap hari dengan sehat, bahagia dan penuh semangat adalah pencapaian yang sebenarnya.
Apalagi ditambah bonus peluk hangat dan ciuman sayang anak-anak dan Bapak :).
But on a more serious note, blogging has once again offered many wonderful opportunities for me.

Meskipun jarang banget ikutan lomba blog, alhamdulillah tulisan penuh rindu saya untuk Lampung berhasil menang juara 2 di lomba blog Lampung Krakatau Festival.  Hadiah uang tunainya sangat bermanfaat untuk mama dan hadiah tur gunung Krakataunya saya berikan kepada teman baik yang memang berada di tanah air. Berkah lain juga banyak saya nikmati lewat pertemanan baru di arisan blog, berbagai posting berbayar (termasuk dalam USD :))), dan aneka hadiah dari giveaways yang saya ikuti, including auto steam machine (thank you, Theresa!) and books (thanks a million, Karen and Linda).

So indeed, 2016 proves to be another fantastic year for me and my loved ones.

Ada banyak 'pengalaman pertama' yang mewarnai 2016.
So many 'first time' experiences for me in 2016.
Let's see...

First time visiting Yosemite National Parks and enjoying some of those wonderful parks in the west part of the US with my petite family.
First time hiking in Grand Canyon.
First time visiting Jordan and awestruck in Petra.
First time riding a donkey and giggling along the way.
First time joining a 5K run and finished it.
First time enjoying front row in New York Fashion Week.
First time taking a selfie with Stevie Wonder *and he said, "isn't she lovely?" to me :).
First time fully joining 5 miles (around 8 km) strides for breast cancer awareness and finished it with a smile.
First time watching Beyonce and Coldplay amazing concerts.
First time having a clean mammogram and getting injection to kick away those cancer cells.
And the list can go on and on and on.

Aren't I so blessed?
We all are!

Satu hal yang pasti, saya tidak pernah berhenti bersyukur untuk nikmat kesehatan dan kesempatan yang Gusti berikan. My itchy feet certainly enjoyed some of the most beautiful places on earth and I sincerely hope we can continue to do so in the new year.

So here's a little round-up of my 2016..

JANUARY

I always start the new year celebrating the birthday and wonderful life of my beloved late father. I know you rest in peace up there, Papa. 

And you are looking down at us all with a big smile.

Last January, we also enjoyed a little 'happy new year' gift. Jonas storm!

FEBRUARY

This month of love was filled with exciting fashion adventures!

New York Couture Fashion Week with Anniesa Hasibuan's PearlAsia collection and have-fun-go-mad repertoire with her fantastic team were quite an experience.

It was the first time for us as well to have a full-day photo session at ..guess where? Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Yuuup..that's the one! Good thing headless knight decided not to join us that day >_<

eerily beautiful :) 

MARCH

Petra, here I come!

One of my dream-come-true trips happened in March, 2016.

After collecting those piles of flashy, colorful travel brochures and peeping so many websites about Jordan and Petra, I finally arrived in this beautiful country in March. And the whole trip was for free! Oh yeaaah...

Read the story here: One day in the Lost City, Petra, Jordan

APRIL

Spring break is officially our favorite time for an unforgettable road-trip! 

12 days on the road, 10 cities (and probably more :)), 7 States, 5  National parks and once-in-a-lifetime precious experience. 

Drop dead tiring but undoubtedly reinvigorating our body and soul.

From Las Vegas to Route 66, from Lower Antelope Canyon to Lake Powell, from Grand Canyon to the Death Valley, from Mesquita Flat Sand Dunes to El Capitan and Tunnel View in Yosemite, and from Muir Woods to San Fransisco.

Truly a wonderful trip we had here. 

MAY

Still continuing our Spring Break road trip, our beginning of May was started with the fantastic view of Yosemite, from Glacier Point.

After enjoying its fields of gold at the valley, driving up to 2199 meter to see Half Dome and the surrounding nature is the perfect adios to this beautiful park.

I wish I could go back here again!

JUNE

Reality bites and days were filled with works.

But, guess what. I had a chance to see Queen B, BEYONCE, on her fabulous Formation concert here in NYC.

 I slay, my queen :). the concert was FABULOUS!

At the some month, my princess Obi graduated from Kindergarten, as the best student in her class!

Yaaaaay...congratulations, love.

JULY

Well, summer was officially there but I didn't have some days-off to start our annual summer trip. Besides June and July was Ramadhan, so we had observed the solemn Holy month and celebrated Eid Fitri. 

We managed to see some fantastic murals in Astoria as well.

And, COLDPLAY was coming to town!

Oh my God...their concert was also fantastic!

10 thumbs up :)

AUGUST

My birthday month and I had wonderful time at home with my munchkins.
We also revisited Pocono, Pennsylvania and had a great time there.

SEPTEMBER

Another 'storm' was here as the UN General Assembly was coming but the real highlight of this month was the New York Fashion Week, where I witnessed and became part of history for Anniesa Hasibuan's show in NYFW.

The first Indonesian designer in NYFW Main Show, first modest collection in NYFW and first all-hijab models. How cool is that! 

OCTOBER

The breast cancer month!

And I had, once again, joined Making Strides against breast cancer and walked 5 miles with family and friends.

I felt so blessed to be surrounded by my beloved and continued my campaign for a world free of breast cancer.

NOVEMBER

I started this month with joining 5K run.

Never ever before I joined such thing!

And although mixed with brisk walking, I finished it with a huge smile :)

Got a chance to go back to Switzerland and Zermatt was where I was heading to this time.

I just share the story in my blog and check it out in All white in Zermatt.

DECEMBER

Sweet December!
All the birthdays and our 12th anniversary!
And we ring in the new year at the intersection of the world, Times Square, with millions of others. I shared that a few post before this :)

So, that's 2016 in glimpse for me.

How's yours?
Surely as colorful as mine.

I sincerely hope we all have a fabulous 2017!
Have a fantastic 2017, everyone...

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.