Journey of Happiness

T o Beijing, China. Why do time fly so fast when we are having fun? I can't believe it already comes to the last week of our holiday at my home... One month is truly NOT enough! :( Sunday afternoon will come so soon for us to leave Bali on the way to Beijing. I still am NOT excited. I really don't know what to expect... Maybe I'll just close my eyes and have faith that God knows what's ahead of us... Maybe. Please pray that things go well for us starting a new chapter there, in Beijing. Anyway, this evening, we went to Airport to send my beloved best friend and sister, Yulia, off to go back to Jakarta. She came since last Wednesday, for 5 days. Too bad I was sick, so we didn't get to go around Bali as planned. However, we had a great time at Tanjung Benoa; me taking photos and Lan and her playing jetskis, banana boats and parasailing. We also played UNO together, the four of us (Lan, Grace, she and I), and had way too much laughter! I'm so glad she came. ...

W e are back from being in Surabaya for a week. It's just nice to just be at home again, except that I am sick. Headache, runny and blocky nose, as well as fever. Ugh... I am feeling horrible right now. We were super busy in Surabaya. Meeting people here and there. The most important, however, was to renew my passport and apply for the Chinese visa. So now I got my new passport and Chinese visa. One thing that was so complicated is how to legalised our Indonesian marriage certificate. :( We had to send things to Jakarta (Departemen Hukum dan HAM + Departemen Luar Negeri) to get their approval stamps, etc. Super complicated! Until now, it's still not finished yet... I hope it's finished real soon, so that we can have stress-free holiday! How are you all doing? I hope I find you all well. Anyway, headache is killing my head, so I better lay down for now. xoxo

A fter a trip seemed to be forever and so tiring, we are finally back home. We slept more than 12 hours since last night and woke up around 1pm today! It's our first time seeing my parents' house since the renovation, looking nicer and spacious. Lan has been forever teasing Grace, our little sister and having a grand time giggling and playing with her. Another good news is that Internet is way faster now! We even have wireless! *woohoo* ;) Anyway, that's all for now. See you tomorrow. xoxo

T oday, I am writing about our anniversary celebration, before I forget all the details about it. We ended up having lunch at home, because we had a sleep-in and both woke up quite late. All the packing and tidying things up must be really tiring us down, not to mention it's been a nice hot week! It's nice outside, where you can feel the cool breeze, in our flat, not so much. It becomes really hot in our flat, because the window can only open very little (even that we have to wedge it with 2 thick shopping catalogue books!). So, we finally ventured out around 4pm. First destination was this new Pattiserie Valerie that we saw at Met Quarter (a shopping centre). They are specialised in cakes and desserts as well as serving some hot food and salad. We went there for the desserts. There were so many choices, but we ended up with 3: Black Forest Cake, Double Chocolate Cake and a Whoopy Pie. Iced lemon tea for the drinks. Mmm... Those cakes were heavenly! Sweet but not too sweet!...

T oday, for the first time since March, I drove again! Lan and I rented a car (we got a Ford Focus) and (I) drove to the McArthur Glen Factory Outlet in Cheshire Oaks. First time driving without instructor (since having the UK license). First time driving 70mph on the motorway. Boy I was NERVOUS!!!! We used the free Ovi map on my Nokia phone (Thanks, Mich, for this ;)) I missed a few turns, went on the wrong exit on a roundabout, but we eventually got there safely (and back!) It wasn't an enjoyable drive yet for me. I was trying real hard to make sure I drove properly. But overall, we had fun! Lan shopped lots more than I did. He got a nice pair of Timberland boots, a suit and a few other things :) It was nice to not have to carry our things around, we could just put them in the car booth and start walking again!! Ps. Thanks, honey, for believing in my ability :)

A s Lan was not back yet last week, my adventure on the Saturday with Michel begun again. This time, we went to Llangollen , which nestles within the beautiful Dee Valley in the North East of Wales. It took less time to drive there than Llandudno (the place we went the week before). As before, we went to ASDA first to buy some lunch to be eaten when we get to Llangollen. To me, Llangollen is a cute little town. It has little shops, varying from craft shops, bakery, pastry shop, ice cream parlor, butchers and traditional English tea rooms that look intriguing! It gave the same feeling as when Lan and I went to York last year, which I never got around to write on the blog. :( It's the feeling of what British towns should be. So, we, firstly, explored the town, which is not very big, and paid a visit to the tourist information there to grab some leaflets of the local attractions. It rained hard for awhile, but, praise The Lord, it stopped and from then on, the weather improved and t...

T his is a long due post since last week, so since I am feeling a bit happy, I thought it's time to post the adventure I had with Michel last Saturday. :) It was such a beautiful sunny day last Saturday! The perfect Summer day here in the UK, such a rare day, if you know how uncertain the weather here. So, we went on our 4th week day-adventure. We went to Llandudno , a beautiful seaside resort in North Wales. It has a nice bay, pier and summit. When we got there, we went to ASDA (a supermarket) first for toilet and lunch. We figured, it would be cheaper that way. So, after we got our lunch sorted, we went to find a parking spot, which was quite hard, since there were so many people going there! We're lucky that one lady actually went out and we got her spot. We walked to the bay and had our lunch first, while making sure there were no seagulls coming near to steal our food. :p Afterwards, we walked along the bay and the pier. The wind was acceptable and the view was so brea...

I t's 10.23 PM here and I am so tired physically and mentally. I can't wait for the month of May to be over already... I don't know... It's just been such an awfully long month with all the things that could go wrong went wrong as well as being without Lan here. I am exhausted and who knows how long exactly I can handle all these any more. I feel like I'm pushing myself out of my limit already... Let's hope things are better next month. I talked to Lan today... His visa is still not out yet. A few more days to his planned return and I am SUPPOSED to be happy and excited! Yet, right now, it's just worry that I am trying to cover up. I am putting on a strong and brave act, telling Lan that it will all be OK, that his visa WILL be out on Monday. I am putting my belief in the faith that ' in the most dire time, God is the closest to us ', that ' when we both are completely giving up and have no more options to do anything, He acts and shows His gra...

Y esterday, Michel and I went to Wirral Country Park for a long walk. When I said a long walk, it was really a long walk... we walked at least 6km yesterday for more than 1 hour or so. The view was overlooking Wales on the other side of the water, it was beautiful. However, it was challenging for me! We had to do some rock climbing and walking on a piece of wood to avoid the mud. For him it was such an easy task, for me?! Gosh, did I not have a hard time! And about half way, (the time we were walking on the direction to go back to the car park) I had the urge for toilet. Oh dear... and there was no public toilet for the next 3 km! Michel did tempted me to just pee on the bush, ha! No way! If it was Lan, I might've said yes, but no, it wasn't Lan hahaha... So, we walked, FAST! That was almost an hour wait, only to find out that the visitor centre is CLOSED (as well as the toilet)!! Crap! Luckily, Michel has and drives a car. He took me to ASDA (a big supermarket), which was ...

W inter has come wayyyyyyy early this year to UK. It's way COLDER than I've experienced and it's more SUNNY!! We get to see more sunshine than ever this winter, but it's way colder and frostier than ever! It feels so icy no matter how much clothes I wear... And it seems that it might snow badly this year. Let's see what will happen. I am just glad that it's not a wet rainy and gloomy winter! I love the sun! I am aware that I haven't shared anything about my birthday celebration, yeah I've been too lazy hehehe... and been doing a lot of assignments marking as well as debugging. It was a simple celebration. We went for a delicious dinner and Lan bought me a beautiful cake, which mostly ended up in his stomach LOL! He gave me a Swarovski crown pendant that I had been wanting. Mama Papa bought me the awesome Bamboo Pen Tablet, which I have been using generously for my scrapping hobby. I got a special phone call from my family in Bali and lots of birthday...

Have you watched this movie? If you haven't, I'd suggest you watch it! Lan and I went with no clue what the story is about, but we ended up laughing and loving this movie to pieces! Well, I won't spoil the movie for you, so that you'll enjoy the curiosity of watching it... but just so you know, this movie is not just for kids! The majority of the audience when we watched it was a parent with kids... and at the start, we felt like we're kids as well, but, after the movie was finished, we found out we, adults, got something to learn from this movie. Not just lesson, we got to laugh pretty hard and fun! I laughed until I cried hehehe... We chose to watch the 2D because it was cheaper and more enjoyable because we both feel uncomfortable for having to wear 2 pairs of glasses; our own glasses and the 3D glasses. Even so, I love the quality of the animation of this movie! So clear and cute! So, I hope, if you decide to watch it, you will enjoy it as much as we do. ;...

W hy... time flies and it's almost the end of the year soon! October and Autumn has arrived. The leaves turn brown and pretty, but the weather has become cooler. I've started this month with a sickness. I was beaten up by a very bad cold for at least 2 days now. It was so bad that I could hardly breathe and every part of my body aches... Now, let me share a little bit about our weekend trip to London. It was fun in a way, because we hopped on a bus that took us around to see the London bridge, fun unique buildings, etc... as well as very meaningful, because we got to hear a lot of sermons from Daddy Philip (he is an evangelist). It was 3 days of spiritual feast for us. On top of that, it was even better because Erwin came from Brighton for a night stay. So, we got to see each other at least for a bit. It is lovely to see your loved ones, always. We've got only a few photos in London, because we were so busy, so I scrapped them in one page. Mostly they are photos take ...

S ince the last post. It does not help either that the Internet at home died. *sigh* It's bank holiday today, and yet I am in the office, just because... of the INTERNET! I have to say I have a love-and-hate relationship with Internet. I want to NOT be a dependant of Internet, but I guess I can't. Yep, I need more than a daily-dose of checking emails and forums that I am registered in. So here is hoping that Internet will return soon! These several weeks after I returned, I have ups and downs... I was badly sick when I just arrived. Got well for a week and then my blood pressure got real low and acting up on me :( But, I've been going to office, doing work, and resuming my driving lessons! I'll be having my theory 'driving' test on 14th September and will be studying again and again until then so I can pass. I need a LOT of work on my clutch control practically! I stall the car so many times that I get so upset with myself :( Other than that I am pretty g...

W e had FUN! This trip was organised by the University of Liverpool for the International students with family; so there were lots of kids in the coach, but luckily it was not so noisy at all! Basically, we got to go to Conwy for free (The University paid for the coach hire) and we only needed to spend money on our entrance to the castle, lunch and some souvenirs. Thank The Lord for such a beautiful day! It was absolutely sunny day, bright blue skies, just PERFECT! We had great day there. We arrived at around 11 am, departing at 9 am in the morning. Conwy Castle is one of the World Heritage sites. It is overlooking to beautiful sceneries at every sides, built so close to the sea. So magnificent! Too bad, I have a faint heart! Hehehe... I have a fear of falling (yep, falling, not height!), so bad... that while going up the winding stair to the top, I was totally shaking. I was grateful that Lan was so patient with me and helped me a lot. We took lots of photos, ready to be scrap...

P aper is submitted to another conference (TIME 2010). Whether it is accepted or not, the MOST important thing is that I know I tried my best! The rest, only God can deal with it :) If I get it, I'd go to Paris in September... if I don't, well, try another conference ;) Well, back to my excitement! I am going to a one-day trip to Conwy Castle in Wales tomorrow with my beloved hubbie. I am super duper excited to have a one-day full of fun! I pray that the sun will be shining and the day will be warm, blue skies ahead. :) Yay!

D on't worry, I won't spoil the fun. But, I'm sorry I might make you all jealous... I had so much fun today!! Gosh, I loveeeeeeee New Moon! It is so so much better than Twilight! The seats were full and overflowed with people, who were cheering every now and then at the scenes. It was such an exciting atmosphere! Amazing! And as gorgeous as Jacob's new look could be, I am still team Edward! *woo hoo!* I would love to watch it again and again, but Lan said, wait for the DVD... *sob sob sob* But I have to agree with him! No way I can beat the queue! It was a crazy bunch of crowds there! Well, I know that the New Moon fever is not over yet, but here I am honestly saying: I CAN'T WAIT FOR ECLIPSE!!! 30 June 2010, bring it over, baby!!! Ps. Oh man, I'm crazy! Ps2. after the movie, we had dinner at Yo-Sushi ! Yummy yum! I got a 30% off voucher for my birthday! We, of course, took our camera with us and got to play with the new lens (aka 50mm)! That lens, baby, is one ...

A fter so much contemplation and googling, I decided to tow Lan along to Warrington. There was a 'pumpkin day' at Kenyon Hall Farm, and I'd love to go and see what it looks like. Lan was hesitant, he didn't really buy the idea of going to a farm just to see a pumpkin patch! Not interesting, as he said, but he still went for me... Bless him for that! So, Saturday morning, we headed to Lime Street Station at around 10.10am, to catch the 10.22am train to Warrington. Guess what? We missed it just by seconds! Thank God the train passing Warrington runs every several minutes or so, we did not have to wait long. The journey on the train between Liverpool and Warrington is around 20-30 minutes. As soon as we got to Warrington, we got on a 15-minutes journey to the farm by taxi. Well, the farm is actually at the outskirts of Warrington. The taxi driver was very kind to give us his mobile number, so we can ring him when we are done... I can't imagine getting a taxi there. ...

I 've been wanting to continue writing about my holiday, but gosh... I've been in limbo! My body feels like it's not mine and keeps giving me this weird unhealthy feeling. Well, luckily, I found this medicine that really helps me to rest, it knocks me out to sleep soundly (and it gives me hard time to open my eyes in the morning!) It's like a drug, but a good drug! LOL! Anyway, I insist to write about the important things that happen during our vacation this year, although it's been gone far, because I don't want to forget any bits of it... It's too precious to me! If I remember correctly, Yulia arrived at my home on 27th August 2009 by BMW Travel Bus from Surabaya. She had been on TNI-AL ship for 3 weeks by then on a diving mission. Forgive me for making you wait for me to get up, sist! I was so tired that I did not even hear that you've arrived! I was so happy to see you! I even could not wait to give you the gifts Lan and I had for you; one very s...

T his year my family celebrates the Silver Wedding anniversary of my parents. Well, it's the first time we ever celebrated their wedding anniversary at all! From the us, the kids, Papi and Mami only wished that the whole family can gather together for them. It means a lot for them to have us the kids gather up together... ever since I landed in UK, it was hard to have my brother Erwin and I going home for holiday at the same time, so the family was sort-of never been whole for awhile. So, this year, we made efforts and, thank Jesus that He planned everything according to His will, my parents' wish was fulfilled! It was fun to be together again, 7 of us make us a big family, but my parents are so happy to have their children gathered up together at home. And, honestly, even that I am married and have my own family, it still feels a lot like home to be with my parents. I do like to have the time to be the little girl of my Papi Mami every now and then. :) Well, let's brief...

L et's continue with our holiday story before I forget it all together... So, after having a yummy Lebanese food dinner, we went to watch the water fountain shows several time. The Dubai Mall made quite a big pool to accommodate these water fountain shows. The shows run everyday starting around 6pm for around every half hour until 10pm. Each show has different background song and different arrangement. They were all breathtakingly fantastic! No matter how many shows we watched, we seemed to never watch enough and we were always in awe... I was even having goosebumps! It's a must watch if you ever visit Dubai! Feeling that we should move on after watching several water fountain shows, we hired a taxi for a night-city tour. We were blessed that we got a great taxi driver too! So, away from Dubai Mall, we started our journey visiting the infamous hotels in Dubai. First stop, Burj Al Arab, also known as the very first seven star hotel in the world. So famous that getting IN the...