A Modern Wife of Noble Character (Proverbs 31:10-31)

Dear All, 

I am not a woman of Proverbs 31

I am not as smart, as diligent or as hardworking as her

Even though I try, I can't

But I know some friends who are like her

One thing that I learn from her

is having a heart at home

And I pray that God give me a quiet spirit to be content at home 

and do my best for my hubby and kids

Ok.. now this is my modern version of Proverbs 31

A modern wife of noble character who can find

She is worth far more than the retirement funds

Her husband has full confidence in her

And lacks nothing of value

She brings him revenues, not expenditures,

All the days of her life

She selects winter and spring coats from the clearance racks

And works eagerly with her clipped coupons 

She is like the GFS or Sysco trucks

Bringing her food from afar

She gets up when the buzzer buzzes

She provides healthy breakfast for her family

And portions for her kids’ pets

She considers a second house and buys it

Out of her grocery budget savings (thanks to coupons), she sets up an online store

She determines to complete her to do list

Her arms (thanks to Pilates) are strong for her tasks

She sees that her Etsy shop is profitable

And her laptop does not turn off at night (to see her ebay listings, not her friends’ statutes on facebook )

In her hand she holds the Kitchenaid mixer

And grasps the attachment with her fingers

She writes a check to the World Vision

And volunteers in the soup kitchen

When it snows she has no fear for her household

For all of them are clothed in the North Face (which she got from clearance rack in an outlet)

She buys 1800 thread counts Egyptian cotton sheet for her bed

She is clothed in fine linen and cashmere

Her husband is respected in the Indonesian society

Where he takes his seat among the others

She makes beautiful crafts and sells them on Etsy.com

And supplies her amazon store 

She has a lot of confidence and self- respect

She does not worry about the future

She speaks with wisdom

And ready to give any advices when asked

She watches the affairs of her household

And not lazily being a couch potato, watching the reality shows all day long

Her children arise and call her “supermom”

Her husband also and he praises her;

Many woman do noble things,

But you surpass them all

Charm is deceptive and beauty is vain

But a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised

Give her the reward that she has earned

And let her works bring her praise at the Indonesian Community

Easy and Fun

Honestly I am rather tired...

of writing about serious stuff

Now, let's write about something easy and fun

maple bacon chocolate ...hmmm ..not bad

It's getting colder
The night's getting longer
The day's shorter

burnt banana chocolate chip waffle on an upside down dandelion picture

Food and books are comforting
Together, they are a pair of awesomeness

homemade clam chowder, hot green tea and a new wonderful book  

Chicken soup is good for your tummy and soul
Not for the chickens themselves, though

Indonesian turmeric chicken soup

Happy cows are from California, said the ads

I hope these beef used to be them

But I don't really care about eating locals though

What about Michigan cows ?

Are they happy or grumpy ?

teriyaki beef with some fixins

Muffins remind me of earmuffs

Biscuits remind me of mischief

cheddar biscuits and banana muffins

IMAGINATION MOVERS

No, it's not that one.

Do you want to know that I meant by imagination movers ?

Let me share my story

When I was expecting my first child
I did not shop for baby stuff until
I was seventh month along in my pregnancy

"And why ?" my husband asked me,
when we were shopping in Walmart that day.

"Because I am afraid that a calamity will befall on this child,"

"Well, it the worst thing happened,
we could always donate the baby stuff,"
said my kind husband

I was so relieved with his answer that I still vaguely remember
what I bought for my baby in Walmart .
A package of newborn diapers and a package of green onesies.
Daniel, my firstborn, looks good in green, actually,
while Timmy, my second child, looks good in blue.

I am someone who imagine the worst.
My imagination movers are fear.
I could easily be someone who look at the negatives,
then present them to a few good people who wanted to make a positive changes thus dampen their spirit.

Thanks to the Almighty for sending people to slap my face ,
to wake me up from my fear induced, negative stupor.

I am forcing myself ( because it does not come naturally to me )
to imagine the best, the noble dreams, the beautiful sights.

Today in facebook, an old friend reminded me about a reunion plan
( thanks Jenny Suriahayani ).
I am making a mental note to imagine a happy reunion before I go to sleep.

Let me share with you my personal beautiful images
which I hope happen in the future

1. Seeing my kids grown up to be the nice, decent people.
Seeing them walking in their adult life following their Creator
in the paths that specially prepared for them.

2. Seeing my husband , walking Sophie down the aisle,
handing her to her good husband.
( oh my, I will definetely ruin my make up on that day )

3. Seeing my self published books sold out .
Yes...dear readers, I have a plan to self publish two children books...
One is being illustrated right now by a good old friend in Indonesia,
hopefully by the end of this year. The other one is already edited by a friend.

4. Seeing myself type " the end " at an unfinished novel project

The list will go on and on.

Before, I am always timid and shy
to tell others about myself and my dreams.
Because I have a fear that I will not deliver my own dream
then others will judge me " She is just another loser,"

These days... I don't ( or try not to ) think about what others think of me.
I imagine hearing myself say " Whatever !" while rolling my eyes, if by accidents I hear people mock me , which usually not happen.
My circle of friends are very nice and polite, you know...

Isn't that written in the Bible
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, 
the evidence of things not seen."

Imagination is the evidence of things not seen. 
By God's grace, I forbid myself to let fear move my imagination. 
Because I remember two beautiful promises in the Bible

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, 
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, 
plans to give you hope and a future.

( Jeremiah 29:11 )

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, 
but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
( 2 Timothy 1:7)

A Conversation Starter T-Shirt

Well, this is the t-shirt which often starts a conversation

It had been three times that people talked to me because of it
Two times during the Zumba class
One time in the elementary school
All of them were ladies who were fans of Downton Abbey
Then we would talk about the characters in Downtown Abbey,
like they were our friends

" Oh, I don't like that Mr. Barrow ( the clever, gay, backstabbing valet)"
" I doubt that Lady Mary ( the beautiful first daughter who is rather snobbish ) will change,"

I love the show. I like how the characters display a restrained emotion toward each other ( it fits the era of the drama, of course ).
I especially love the clever, t-shirt slogans worthy, dialogues.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the first episode of 5th season
( I watched it via internet streaming ...so spoiler alert !)

"It's good to have more than one string to your bow,"

" See ...she lost her confidence because of it.
And no mathematical skill is worth that ,"
( I personally can relate to that, another idea for a new post )

" I want to live my life in the present,
not regretting the past or dreading the future ,"

"I do love you, you know...in my cold unfeeling way,"

"Nobody needs to know everything,"

"Only imbeciles are happy all the time

"How does it help to answer rudeness with rudeness,"


And my favorite character..of course...Maggie Smith, the dowager countess

Why do you always have to pretend to be nicer than the rest of us?

A Different Season for Me

All of my kids are in the school full day
I have about seven hours uninterrupted time by myself
A neighbor asked me
" What will you do ?"
I answered, " I will enjoy myself !"
Another friend asked me
" Don't you feel lonely, all alone by yourself ?"
I said, " Not really, "

There are always house chores to be done
Yesterday, I did two loads of laundry
Vacuumed and cleaned up the bedrooms
The kitchen is always in need of a quick tidy up

Sometimes I meet a friend or two,or have a chat with a neighbor
I exercise twice or three times a week

I go to the groceries , stores and library regularly

I eat meal by myself , sometimes accompanied with a book , or a laptop or a friend or two. Sometimes I eat out but mostly at home

yesterday lunch at home
iced coffee, black bean stew with tortilla chips, tomato and egg soup,
boca burger sandwich, 

I read the Bible , pray , and write my favorite verses in a piece of paper or in a notebook. I jot down ideas for some future writing or blog post

I chat with friends on facebook or telephone

Well, those are things that I do daily now...uninterrupted, for about seven hours
And, I quiet enjoy doing them

Visiting Ghibli Museum

Fourteen years ago, I bought a pirated VCD of 

“My Neighbor Totoro”, a Japanese anime. 

I picked it because the cover was cute . 

Do not judge a book by its cover is not applied to movies, I thought. 

When I watched it, the anime really delivered the promise. 

More than cute, it was a beautiful . 

The story was simple yet moving, 

and the details was amazing. I loved it.

Two years later, a friend let me borrow his VCD of 

“Kiki’s Delivery Service”. 

His was an original one, not pirated version like my Totoro. 

Again, the movie was wonderful. I enjoyed watching Kiki, 

a little witch, zooming through the sky in her broomstick, 

long before Harry Potter rode his Nimbus 2000. 

That wonderful animation was made by Studio Ghibli, 

a Japanese animation company.

After I moved to USA, I became a full-fledged fan of Studio Ghibli. 

I can easily borrow the movies in the library 

or buy them at amazon ( dotcom not the jungle ). 

The Grave of Firefly was a tearjerker.

I emptied my Kleenex box while watching it. 

Whisper of the Heart made me nostalgic 

about the middle school years. 

Pom Poco and Porco Rosso were rather bizzare 

but still captivating. The list of the movies is still going on, 

I keep watching them again and again, also looking for their new ones. 

This summer, I finally able to visit Ghibli Museum, 

in Mitaka, a Tokyo suburb area. 

Thanks to God, hubby, Sandra, and Aoi

It's a dream come true.

The museum is very interesting. 

The building was a cheerful yellow with vegetation growing on the roof . 

Stained glass everywhere, depicting scenes 

from the many of the Ghibli movies.

The décor is rather Victorian era with Japanese cleanliness 

and touches of Ghibli’s cuteness

There is a cat- bus playground , from Totoro’s neko-bus. 

There is a display about a short history of animation. 

There is a moving reel display of a scene from Totoro 

but with figurines instead of drawing.  

Not to mention a replica of Mr. Hayao Miyazaki’s work room. 

It was very nice to be able to view where the master worked.

Hayao Miyazaki is a director of many of Ghibli’s movies. 

Different from Disney's where many brains contributes to the story 

and development of the movies, 

Studio Ghibli is mostly one man show. 

Mr. Miyazaki draws the storyboard, writes the script, 

creates the characters, and directs the movies. 

He was the driving force behind most Ghibli movies. 

My. Miyazaki has an interesting opinion which he stated in an interview with with David McNeill from the Indipendent

Humans face a basic choice between love or money, he believes. "A five-year-old understands that in a way an adult obsessed with the economy and share prices cannot. I make movies that can be understood by that five-year-old, and to bring out that purity of heart."

Kudos for him. Whenever I tried the creative endeavors, money unconsciously become the major concern or motives. Even, when I want to create something nice for my own family, I worry about money, while the Bible steers away from the thought of money.

Phillipians 4:8 says 

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, 

whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, 

whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable

—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—

think about such things.

I often forget that My Heavenly Father is rich beyond measures, 

full of kindness, wisdom and understanding. 

Visiting Ghibli Museum inspires me to be bold 

in expressing myself creatively without worrying about 

or being limited by money. 

It’s somehow ironic to learn that from a secular person 

like Mr. Hayao Miyazaki. 

Things We Found out in Japan

1. Lushness of greens

around Meiji Shrine

around Harajuku

a curious single vine growing on a tree in 

Open Air Museum of Old Japanese Famrhouses in Osaka

2. Polite greetings are common everywhere, even the

    ambulance speakers says " Pardon ! Pardon ! or sumimasen"
    when they pass the street

3. Foodie Wonderland

Selection of ramen toppings at Instant Ramen Museum in Osaka 

Omurice at AKB 48 cafe

taiyaki from Osaka

4. Vending Machine Wonderland

5.Over abundance of cuteness ( an escape of formality ? )

Pokemon Center , Tokyo

Ghibli Museum , Mitaka, Tokyo

Instant Ramen Museum, Osaka

6. Convenient store are really convenient

one of many cute ice creams sold in convenient stores

7. Some Japanese guys shape their eyebrows,,really !

8. Indonesian culture on Kids Plaza Osaka

9. Koi Fish

Shinjuku Gyo-En

Inokashira park

10. Flowers on entrance , local gardens

hardcore or not hardcore indonesian ?

Which one are you ?

1. Eating steamed rice with your bare right hand....hardcore
2. Using fork to eat rice...not hardcore

3. Having instant noodles for breakfast...hardcore
4. Milk and cereal for breakfast...not hardcore

5. Having KFC with ABC and rice...hardcore
6. What's ABC ?...not hardcore

7. Dishwasher to drain your dishes...hardcore
8. Dishwasher to wash the dishes...not hardcore

9. Having ice cream in a cone ...not hardcore
10. Having ice cream in a slice of white bread...hardcore

Summer Corns

just showing off Dani's craft

My kids love steamed corns with butter and salt....
We eat steamed corns all the times
If they are not in season,
I just buy the frozen corns,
microwave them until done, then mix with some butter and salt
Tim usually squeals in delight to see a bowl of the buttery sweetness 

During summer, of course, I will buy fresh corns
They taste very sweet,
thanks to the smart people who genetically modified them

Although the kids eat homemade corn fritters
they love steamed creamed corn better
Hahaha, less work for me

KIDS MEAL

Not the ones at fast food chains
I got the inspiration when eating in a cafetaria style Japanese restaurant
Their kids meals are : udon/ ramen noodle, onigiri/ fried rice, juice, fruit, snack, and a cheapo toy

Tim and Sophie love it. While Daniel orders adult menu now
So, at home, we created kids meal without the cheapo toys
( since we have tons of them already )

breakfast : cinnamon brown sugar bread, orange juice, fruit with yogurt sauce

rice,cucumber slices, tofu omelet, boiled egg, corn salad, beef and boiled egg rouladen

 

 

baked chicken from Boston Market, wheat bread, lettuce, blueberries, chocolate

 

MORNING REARRANGING

Today I had a dentist appointment for pulling a tooth
Feeling nervous, I started to do something to keep
my mind out of it...
So, I rearranged the furniture in my living / formal dining

Because my family did not have any use for a formal dining room
I decided to make it a study for my kids

Anybody interested in this little dining set ? Let me know.
It's free, otherwise I'll just donate it

one table and four chairs ( one's away in the kitchen )

Then I went to the dentist
The pulling procedure went okay
Not as bad as I thought