Disconnecting

Photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash

There was a time where I had several social media accounts and I was overwhelmed by them. Which account should I update?! Because ideally I'd want to update everything at once. And that's also around the time when all of the social media platform finally introduced 'linked accounts' and there were also third party apps that will help you update your social media accounts all at once although you update from only one of them. Eventually, one by one my account had less and less activities either from me or my connections so I started to let them go. I'm just going to quickly share the reasons why I'm disconnecting and why you should consider (or do it) too.

HOW OTHERS WOULD FEEL ABOUT MY POSTS

One of the main reason why I started to disconnect because, other than stalking other people's activity, is that I'm not active much. Why? Because I think too much before posting. Why? Because I don't want to be seen as bragging and showing off. So, I always think of these before posting: Does my post will cause envy or jealousy? Is my post benefitting anybody?. If it can potentially cause envy or jealousy and it doesn't benefit other people's lives then I would pass (most of the time). I know I've been guilty of posting Omar's photos where he eats without fussing though (which I know can make other mothers so jealous😫). 

I BECOME LESS DEPRESSED

Haha. This is probably one of the biggest reason why people quits social media. Let's face it, it's very rare that people go on social media without comparing their lives with others and starting to get jealous, envious of other people's lives. I've lost count at how many times I've become so depressed and envious of other people just by scrolling through Instagram. It literally gave me headaches so the extent that I had to uninstall it to keep myself sane.

(I need to) Remember that most of the time, what you see on social media is only the good side of people's lives. That may not be even the 90% of them. And people rarely expose their flaws. Some people like Kara is an exception. She actually shows the hardships and normality of being a mom of three in Melbourne. But I wouldn't be able to be like her though as I'm just not

comfortable at 'vlogging', talking to a camera, it's just too much hassle for me, and it's just such a time waster for me.

MAKING TIME FOR OTHER THINGS THAT REALLY MATTERS

For me, this is my main deal breaker for staying active on my social media accounts. When I complained that I don't have enough time to do the things that actually matters to me, it really boils down to the time I spent in the social media world. I was constantly checking my phone. I think I would be spending 3-4 hours in a day on my social media accounts. Most of the time it's just me checking what other people are up to. I wasn't even uploading photos on Instagram nor posting statuses in Facebook. Anyway, that 3-4 hours doesn't actually have any effect on my life. So it's just time wasting away.

***

I'm not totally against social media as they are still one of the best platforms for me to engage with  my family and friends. But for my current needs and priorities, I do have to really disconnect rather than just limiting my self to only an hour a day.

I only have two social media accounts that are still active: Instagram and Facebook. Meaning, I still open them and post stuff once in a while. And in the case of Facebook, it means that I still scroll through the timeline and comment and likes my friend's posts once in a while but not posting myself because people that are on Facebook are so judgmental!

I'm currently logging off from my Instagram because I was just constantly on it, unlike Facebook which I have started to grow very weary of. Anyway, the result of me disconnecting is that I finally have time to write in my blog which I think it's more meaningful for me since I can write super long posts without having to stress about the screen size and being pity to my thumbs for doing such hard work for me to type stuff.

Halal Poultry!

Photo by Michał Grosicki on Unsplash

Saya ngerti banget susahnya jadi Muslim pendatang yang nggak tahu apa-apa, jadi kali ini mau sharing tentang daging halal di Australia. Sekalian, karena beberapa waktu yang lalu barusan nanya ke teman tentang daging ayam, bebek, dan ayam kalkun setelah mendapati Bebek Peking kesukaan saya dengan merek Luv-A-Duck tumben-tumbenan tidak ada sertifikasi halal di kemasannya. 

Produk-produk yang saya jabarkan di bawah adalah produk-produk yang bisa ditemukan di supermarket. Jadi, kalau nggak sempat ke tukang daging (butcher) untuk beli daging ayam dan kalau khusus pingin ayam kalkun atau bebek bisa langsung aja cuss ke Woolworths, Coles, IGA, dan supermarket lainnya. So, here we go...

LUV-A-DUCK

Ini merek bebek favorit saya untuk bebek Peking. Yum! Seingat saya dulu di kemasan bebek Peking yang selalu saya beli ada sertifikasi halalnya. Tapi terakhir mau beli kok tidak ada. Agak sedikit merasa janggal sih karena setahu saya semua produk Luv-A-Duck itu halal. Jadilah saya bertanya-tanya pada kawan-kawan dan menemukan infonya juga di websitenya. 

 

Daftar produk lengkapnya bisa dilihat disini. Berikut beberapa contoh produk Luv-A-Duck. Dan favorit saya adalah Peking Duck with Pancake kit! Karena disini nggak ada Chinese restaurant yang halal jadi satu-satunya harapan saya untuk bisa makan Peking duck adalah dengan membeli produk Luv-A-Duck. Luv luv luv!

***

STEGGLES

Ini satu-satunya produsen yang juga menjual ayam kalkun selain ayam. Produk halalnya juga cukup lengkap, dari ayam dan kalkun utuh (whole chicken and whole turkey) sampai produk dengen nilai tambah misalnya ayam yang sudah dibumbui, ditepung, atau diproses lebih lanjut menjadi nuggets. Untuk daftar lengkapnya bisa dilihat disini.

***

LILYDALE

Terakhir, yaitu merek Lilydale. Dulu pernah lihat di Instastory-nya Kara (hijabers di Melbourne) pas dia vlog tentang grocery shopping-nya dia dari Coles Online. Dulu memang pernah dengar kalau Lilydale halal tapi nggak yakin 100% karena kalau nggak salah waktu itu pernah baca kalau tidak semua supplier Lilydale menyembelih dengan cara halal. Entahlah betul atau mata saya aja yang siwer bacanya, hahaha. 

Anyway, akhirnya cek langsung ke website Lilydale dan ada di FAQ-nya kalau ayam-ayamnya memang halal. Uhuy! Jadi, bisa lah nih beli ayam kalau tempat langganan saya (Red Lea) udah keburu tutup karena jam bukanya hanya sampai jam 5 sedangkan saya hanya sempat belanja setelah jam 6 sore atau akhir pekan aja.

***

Semoga informasinya membantu ya!

4 Alasan Garuda Indonesia Maskapai Terbaik Untuk Flight Sydney-Jakarta

Sebagai residen tetap Australia, tentunya saya selalu kangen kampung halaman dan sebisa mungkin sering pulang ke Jakarta (finance permitting, hehehe). Ada tiga airlines yang bisa saya pilih untuk pulang ke Indonesia, yaitu Singapore Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, dan Qantas. Di antara ketiga pilihan tersebut, pilihan pertama saya adalah Garuda Indonesia. Di postingan kali ini, saya ingin mem-point out kenapa saya cinta dengan maskapai Indonesia yang satu ini setiap saya pulang kampung ke Jakarta.

1. Pesawat-Pesawat Baru

Adik saya bekerja di GMF sebagai project manager untuk quality control setiap ada pesawat Garuda yang baru datang dari produsennya, yaitu Boeing. Dan dia pernah bilang bahwa Garuda Indonesia memang banyak melakukan perbaikan beberapa tahun terakhir ini, termasuk menambah armada pesawat-pesawat baru. Terakhir kali saya naik Garuda Indonesia, 2 tahun yang lalu, memang pesawatnya jauh lebih bagus daripada Qantas yang terlihat tua.

2. Direct Flight ke Jakarta

Beberapa kali saya memang tergiur ingin mencoba naik Singapore Airlines karena melihat harga tiket promo di Netfare yang memang tidak jauh dari tiket Garuda Indonesia. Namun sayang sekali, walaupun Singapore Airlines termasuk maskapai paling top di dunia dalam hal keselamatan dan pelayanan, tidak ada direct flight yang langsung terbang ke Jakarta. Harus transit di Singapore yang berarti ada tambahan waktu perjalanan untuk sampai ke Indonesia. Sedangkan Garuda Indonesia menawarkan direct flight ke Jakarta beberapa kali seminggu yang hanya memakan waktu 6-7 jam perjalanan.

3. Full Entertainment

Saya puas sekali dengan entertainment yang ditawarkan oleh Garuda Indonesia (dibandingkan Qantas ya, kalau dibandingkan dengan Etihad ya lain lagi ceritanya, hehehe). Layar TV-nya besar dan touchscreen, dan film yang tersedia pun termasuk film-film baru. Beberapa kawan saya juga mengatakan Garuda Indonesia menawarkan beragam entertainment untuk anak-anak. So, sepertinya memang recommended juga untuk travelling dengan anak-anak :).

4. Bagasi 30 Kilogram!

Garuda Indonesia sangat generous dengan baggage allowance-nya dan ini sangat penting bagi saya dan orang tua saya yang suka mengisi koper-koper kami dengan berbagai macam makanan khas Indonesia dan hasil belanja murah selama di Jakarta, hehehe. Bagasi 30 kilogram ini berlaku untuk semua penerbangan kelas ekonomi ke luar negeri (untuk ke Amerika bisa sampai 40 kilo dan ada beberapa pengecualian - untuk lebih lengkapnya dapat dicek disini: https://www.garuda-indonesia.com/id/id/garuda-indonesia-experience/on-ground/baggage/index.page?), namun untuk student (one-way ticket) kita bisa request untuk menambah baggage allowance menjadi 40 kilogram (menurut pengalaman ketika menjadi exchange student dulu).

Dari Pak Anies: Nilai Yang Perlu Ditanamkan Pada Anak

Photo by Robert Collins on Unsplash

Beberapa hari yang lalu jujur aja kaget bahwa telah terjadi re-shuffle kabinet Jokowi di Indonesia. Saya bukan pengamat berita Indonesia, tapi saya pengamat setia timeline Facebook (siapa bilang Facebook udah ga jaman? hihihi...). Dan dari timeline Facebook itulah saya mengetahui bahwa presiden Jokowi "memecat" pak Anies dan pak Jonan dari posisi kementerian. Sangat disayangkan sekali sebetulnya karena kedua orang itu adalah orang-orang yang kompeten di bidangnya masing-masing. Tapi yah, namanya juga politik, banyak lah agenda-agenda terselubung dan orang-orang titipan. Entah kenapa pemerintahan Jokowi ini gampang sekali ditebak (re: "orang-orang titipan"). Kadang jadi gemas sendiri. Untung dulu nggak milih Jokowi (tapi nggak milih yang satunya lagi juga).

Lalu, di timeline Facebook itu pula saya menemukan pesan berikut dari pak Anies yang menurut saya sangat relevan untuk semua orang tua, apalagi di zaman sekarang orang tua sudah meng-outsource-kan peran orang tua ke gadget dan memanjakan anak-anaknya secara berlebihan - termasuk terlalu banyak mengintervensi kehidupan anak sehingga anak tidak mampu menyelesaikan masalahnya sendiri.

Anak anak yang dididik dalam keluarga yang penuh kesantunan, etika tata krama, sikap kesederhanaan akan tumbuh menjadi anak anak yang tangguh, disenangi, dan disegani banyak orang... 

Mereka tahu aturan makan table manner di restoran mewah. Tapi tidak canggung makan di warteg kaki lima... 

Mereka sanggup beli barang-barang mewah. Tapi tahu mana yang keinginan dan kebutuhan... 

Mereka biasa pergi naik pesawat antar kota. Tapi santai saja saat harus naik angkot kemana-mana... 

Mereka berbicara formal saat bertemu orang berpendidikan. Tapi mampu berbicara santai bertemu orang jalanan... 

Mereka berbicara visioner saat bertemu rekan kerja. Tapi mampu bercanda lepas bertemu teman sekolah... 

Mereka tidak norak saat bertemu orang kaya. Tapi juga tidak merendahkan orang yg lebih miskin darinya... 

Mereka mampu membeli barang-barang bergengsi. Tapi sadar kalau yang membuat dirinya bergengsi adalah kualitas, kapasitas dirinya, bukan dari barang yang dikenakan... 

Mereka punya, tapi tidak teriak kemana -mana. Kerendahan hati yang membuat orang lain menghargai dan menghormati dirinya... 

Jangan didik anak dari kecil dengan penuh kemanjaan, apalagi sampai melupakan kesantunan, etika tata krama...

Hal hal sederhana tentang kesantunan seperti :

• Pamit saat pergi dari rumah

• Permisi saat masuk ke rumah temen (karena ternyata banyak orang masuk ke rumah orang tidak punya sopan santun, tidak menyapa orang orang yang ada di rumah itu),

• Saat masuk atau pulang kerja memberi salam kepada rekan, terlebih pimpinan

• Kembalikan pinjaman uang sekecil apapun,

• Berani minta maaf saat ada kesalahan

• Tahu berterima kasih jika dibantu sekecil apapun...

Kelihatannya sederhana, tapi orang yang tidak punya attitude itu tidak akan mampu melakukannya. Bersyukurlah, bukan karena kita terlahir di keluarga yang kaya atau cukup. Bersyukurlah kalau kita terlahir di keluarga yang mengajarkan kita kesantunan, etika, tata krama dan kesederhanaan...

Semoga bermanfaat :). Sekalian nge-bookmark :D.

Ramadan Day 14: Tips for Fasting While Pregnant

Alhamdulillah we're entering the second half of Ramadan now and alhamdulillah bubba is still very cooperative while I fast.

I do often get questioned, "do you still fast even though you're pregnant?". I understand their concerns, especially from people outside of Islam, but the answer is yes, of course. BUT if you're not strong enough until the time to break your fast or concerned with the baby's well being, then you may not fast." So, there are conditions that needs to be met before you can break your fast before Maghreeb time, which are:

• Mother not strong enough - for example: you would often vomited, felt dizzy, feeling like you're going to faint, etc
• Concerned with baby's well being - for example: baby is not moving a lot

This year, in Sydney we only fast for less than 12 hours and weather is cool enough not to make you overly exhausted - so I'm very thankful of that. Sometimes I do get tempted to break my fast when my stomach growls and I would start getting sleepy around 11am. But usually all I need is a bit of walking and a trip to the washroom, and I should feel better. Baby's still moving around actively, so that also gave me a peace of mind to continue with my fast.

Some tips that I could share with fellow mommies to be for fasting in Ramadan while you're pregnant are:

• Make sure you have suhoor. This is a must! Preferrably with something that can make you full for the whole day - so, carbs is a must. An ideal balanced breakfast/suhoor should consist of 50% carbohydrate, 30% protein, and 10-20% fat. Don't worry, I don't really follow this :D as long as I eat one portion of food, no less.
• Drink a lot of water. It is highly recommended - a must, in fact - that pregnant women have enough water/fluid intake. Just because you're fasting, doesn't mean you're allowed to drunk less water. Plan your water intake throughout the night, make sure you and baby are always hydrated.
• Take your supplements. I remember before I even got pregnant, I used to feel very tired everyday, until one day I decided to purchase the Blackmores Stress Relief capsules (because I thought it could help reduce the stress). That supplement worked wonders on me. So, since then, I promised myself to regularly take supplements to improve my stamina throughout the day. While you're pregnant, obviously you will need extra energy for you and the baby, so don't skip on your pregnancy supplements!
• Don't get too tired. Look after yourself. You know yourself better than anyone else. Remember that now you have a precious cargo in your belly that you have to take extra care of. So, don't push yourself too hard to achieve your Ramadan goals (well that's if you're making ambitious goals). I'm already way off track with my tilawah, but I have to be mindful of the baby. You don't want baby to get too tired then decided to come out early!
• Break your fast as soon as possible. Baby needs food after a day of fasting! And this is actually the sunnah, so I think no further explanation needed :). Just make sure you have something sweet to boost your sugar level.

Ramadan Day 7: Giving of Alms

Based on the article published in Huff Post in 2013 (http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/21/muslims-give-most_n_3630830.html), Muslims are the most generous, ahead of Christians and Jews. Why? The answer is simple... because giving charity is prescribed in our religion and also in our religion there is an "obligatory" alms called zakat. Please note that it is OBLIGATORY :).

THE POOR OWNS SOME OF OUR WEALTH

In Islam, we are taught that within the wealth that we own, the poor owns some part of it. The poor have rights over some part of our wealth. If we don't pay our share of alms, how else can the poor access their rights if we don't open the way? Think of it this way, not everyone is born privileged. When we were born, we can't choose our family, our parents, the environment, etc. Some people will be born into low socio-economic family, while some others are luckier to be born into wealthy families. Don't say that poor people need to work their a** off to be rich. Some people may achieve success through a combination of hard work, perseverance, and miracle; but some people just can't no matter how hard they try. So, try to put yourself in other people's shoes. Giving alms will not make you poor. In fact, it will make you richer - mentally and financially.

ALMS IS THE BEST INVESTMENT

Allah himself has promised, if someone want to give alms  then surely Allah will replace it with a minimal amount of 10 (ten) times . And that is written in the Qur'an Surah : 6 , Verse : 160 , where Allah promises a return of 10 fold for those who want to do good . Even in the Qur'an Surat: 2 , Verse : 261 , God promised a reply to 700 folds.

Allah's maths is beyond our logic and I think it's the best investment you could ever make. In Allah's maths, if you think 10 - 1 = 9, then you're incorrect. It should be 10 - 1 = 19, the result is based on the statement that Allah with replace with minimal amount of 10 times. If you invest or deposit your money in the bank, bank will only give you return of 10% at most. You can get more returns if you invest your money in foreign exchange or shares, but the risk is also very high. But if you invest in the bank of Allah, you will be guaranteed a minimum ROI of 1000% and with no risk at all. In order to make this work, there is one key thing that you must do: keep your faith in Him. Sometimes you can get the return immediately, sometimes you have to wait. And sometimes you get the return in the form of money or wealth, and some other time you're protected from bad things. Either way, you will definitely still profit. Just remember that He always keeps His promises.

***

So, after reading this, do you still want to pile up your money in the bank? Think again ;)

Ramadan Day 1: My Ramadan Plan

Can't believe Ramadan is here now! I know I haven't preparing this Ramadan quite well this time around because I have been feeling overwhelmed with the pregnancy. Yes, this Ramadan is different than the usual Ramadan for me because I will pregnant while fasting! So I do have to be very mindful of my health and baby's health, hence why planning a routine is very crucial to keep baby healthy and still fasting without any issue.

I can still remember how my last two Ramadan went like - exhausting. Usually in Ramadan I will be all out in giving my best effort in everything e.g. prayer, reading Quran, i'tikaf, tarawih at the masjid, etc. I never mind being too tired because Ramadan is such a precious month that you don't want to pass the time just doing nothing. This is the special time of the year where the rewards of all your deeds are multiplied by multiple multiple times! This year, I have to be very realistic... make sure I don't get too tired so I can still be fasting during the day.

EAT HEALTHY AND DRINK MORE

It is important that your body is getting enough food to feed the baby. Don't worry about gaining weight due to midnight snacks or meals, you have to eat and store some fat so the baby can stay healthy while you're fasting at daytime. I eat a couple of times throughout the evening which consists of snacks and big meals. Because we always break our fast on the road, I always packed a light snack for ifthar, like croissant or bread with chocolate sprinkles. Then when we reach home, we'll have a light meal that doesn't take long to prepare (or you can also make a big batch beforehand to avoid extra cooking time), for example scrambled eggs with red bell peppers or spaghetti bolognaise (eat in small portion of course :)).

And don't forget to drink lots of water because baby needs water to keep his 'home' comfortable and also to keep you hydrated. I'm really bad at ensuring that I drink at least 8 glass of water, but I can get quite close to that. So, I usually drink one glass at ifthar, another glass or two after light meal, another one or two after the big meal or while reading the Quran, another one when doing midnight prayer, and another one at sahoor.

SORRY, I HAVE TO MISS TARAWEEH AT THE MASJID

Taraweeh at the masjid is one of my must-do thing during Ramadhan. I will try my best as much as possible to follow the taraweeh prayer at the masjid. I remember back to when before I got married, usually after work I would run to the nearest masjid from my office follow the taraweeh prayer. And last year I tried to do taraweeh at IQRO as much as possible in the cold winter nights. But because now I'm working full time, pregnant, and I didn't want to get overly tired, I now prefer to have taraweeh prayer at home. Sometimes my husband would become the imam if he couldn't make it to the masjid.

GOAL: KHATAM DURING RAMADAN

This month is one of those crazy month at the office. I'm really afraid I couldn't complete the Quran like last year. Last year I think I was pushing it too hard on trying to do everything at the masjid (taraweeh, listening to the lecture, etc) everyday and at the end I got very exhausted so I wasn't able to keep up with my Quran by the end of Ramadan. It made me really sad and disappointed. So, this year I want to make sure that I khatam the Quran during Ramadan. What I've planned is... while doing taraweeh at home, I will just read the short ayat from the book which this will help me to complete the Quran (it's like sekali menyelam dua-tiga pulau terlampaui). In 8 rakaat I can finish 8 pages, and then the remaining 16 pages I can read throughout the day/evening like after subuh or before bed.

READ QURAN AT TIMES WHEN I'M ALLOWED TO EAT

Perhaps this is only me, but I my throat can get dry easily by reading Quran and I would have to drink after reading a couple of pages or otherwise my reading pace will slow. Also, I tend to get really sleepy when reading, thus if I don't have snacks with me I will just fall asleep. My problem with reading Quran while fasting is that I can't drink or eat! And somehow daytime just pass really fast and I don't quite have time to read during the day due to my workload during this month (like I've mentioned, it's one of the craziest month for me!). So, the only time I have is night time, so I try to complete my juz for the day at night and before fajr.

SHIFTING WORK HOURS

I'm fortunate enough that my workplace is quite flexible. So during Ramadan I opted to come early to the office (8am) and leave early (4pm). Why? Because sunrise is at 7am and there's no point of sleeping again after subuh which is now starts at around 5.30am! So, I thought I'll just leave for office early at 7am. And since we also need to catch up with maghreeb, isha and taraweeh (all within a very short time window!) which is around 5pm - 7pm, it will also be good if we can leave the office early so we don't have to look for a masjid or prayer place while on the road.

***

Planning really helps to achieve your Ramadan goals and helps you to make the most out of your time. Just bear in mind that you have to be realistic. If you're pregnant, don't push yourself too hard because you need to think about the baby too. If you're single, don't forget look after your health, because you don't want to get sick during Ramadan in these winter days as it will definitely affect your ibadah! 

Beratnya Tidak Penting

Buat kamu yang merasa hidup ini penuh permasalahan, beban, berbagai kepelikan, dan lain-lain, coba deh tonton video di atas.

"Sebenarnya, beratnya tidak penting. Beratnya tergantung seberapa lama kita memegang gelas tersebut."

Kalau dipikir-pikir, betul juga ya.  

Jumat lalu aku baru saja menyadari bahwa aku melakukan kesalahan fatal di dalam pekerjaanku. Jalan keluar sebenarnya sudah ditemukan, tapi I still feel bad about going over the project's budget (what budget?). Ada satu hal lagi yang juga masih nyangkut di pikiranku dan ga akan lepas sebelum seseorang itu memberi kepastian. Hmmhh... dan aku harus membawa rasa penasaran itu selama weekend. Rasanya? Nggak enak.

Perkiraan cuaca hari ini dan besok hujan. Nggak memperbaiki mood, pikirku. Tapi kalau rasa penasaran itu aku pendam terus selama weekend, maka habislah waktu santaiku hanya untuk memikirkan pekerjaan yang sebetulnya sudah menyita waktu 40 jam (lebih) dalam seminggu. Jadi apa yang harus aku lakukan? Seperti video di atas, put the glass down. Let it go. 

Masalah akan selalu datang dan pergi - regardless, karena itu lah hidup. Namun penting bagi kita untuk tetap positif dan nggak membiarkan energi kita habis untuk memikirkan hal-hal yang tidak perlu/negatif. Toh rezeki itu sudah ada yang ngatur, bukan? :)

***

What I'm telling myself now: Take a deep breath. Go for a warm shower. Make yourself a cup of tea. Turn on the TV and enjoy the weekend because work can wait til next week. Happy Saturday, world! 

My First Super Splurge

Apologies if this post may offend anyone. I am not by any means trying to brag, just wanted to share my experience about getting my first high end designer item.

APPRECIATING HARD WORK

Everyone has their own way of appreciating their hard work. It can be with a vacation, dinner at a fancy restaurant, movie night, or splurging on expensive items. I don't normally celebrate achievements by splurging because I'm pretty much a frugal spender all my life, but once in a while I do have desire to own nice things (blame this on Youtube review videos).

I know it may sound very materialistic, but I did put one goal in my 2015 goals which is to obtain an item from this one particular designer. The items that this fashion powerhouse sell is not cheap at all, so if I were to get something from them, I must have worked my a** off and have real achievements to be proud of. I think for the hard work, charity donations, and the frugal spending that I have done in the past 2-3 years, I deserve to splurge a bit this time.

CHOOSING THE 'RIGHT THING'

I have always wanted a high end designer 'thing', but not sure what 'thing' I should get. I did a lot of research here and there, and put a lot of thoughts and considerations into it. I asked myself several questions:

           "what type of item are you going to purchase? is it a bag or SLG (small leather goods)?"
           "what brand are you getting?"
           "how often are you going to use it?"
           "how are you going to care for it?"
           "what size are you going to get? and what colour?"

From early on, I have decided to get an item from Chanel instead of Louis Vuitton, because it is still difficult for me to see their monogram print as something beautiful. I knew that if I'm going to spend a lot of money on something, I must use it often and I'm not going to 'baby' it. So, I was thinking of getting a card holder/wallet (not a wallet with cash compartment) because that's pretty much the 'thing' that I use most often (in fact, almost everyday). Why not a wallet? Because I hardly need to bring cash and I'm happy just carrying my cards. I checked Chanel's website and saw that their prices have recently rise. The card holder that I was eyeing was around $560. I was ready to spend that much money in the boutique until I found something else in Reebonz website.

PRELOVED DESIGNER GOODS

After deciding what I wanted to get, I contemplated on the options whether to get brand new or preloved. I actually wanted to feel the experience of actually going into the Chanel boutique and coming out of the store holding the black Chanel shopping bag for my first ever high end designer goods, but then I thought "if I'm gonna use the item so often that I may leave scratch marks here and there which will quickly decrease the value, might as well just get the preloved one." So, on the basis of that, I tried to find a preloved Chanel.

Finding preloved Chanel items is difficult! I have tried eBay, but I won't risk of getting scammed by a seller, so I turned to Reebonz. Surprise, surprise, when I was checking their website, they had a Chanel small wallet in pristine condition with the price tag close to the original card holder/wallet that I have been eyeing but it's almost 50% off the original price of a new small wallet. I thought this might be a better option: small, wallet, pristine - except for the type of leather, because I was initially looking for a caviar, but will settle for a lambskin as well. I asked my husband for the final approval (although I'm paying with my money, I have developed a habit of asking for his permission every time I'm making a 'big' purchase). We had few disagreements, but he finally gave the sign off!

And here it is, my 'new' preloved Chanel small flap wallet...

TIPS ON GETTING HIGH-END DESIGNER GOODS

• Use it as an incentive to encourage yourself to work hard. I don't recommend getting high-end designer goods when your brain said "I just have to have it". Remember, don't get trapped in debt just to appear like you live a life you can't afford.
• When deciding on what to get, reflect on your lifestyle and do a lot of research before spending your hard earned money.
• Preloved items are just as good, if you can find the 'right' one and you're on a budget. Many people buys preloved items as well. You can find preloved on websites such as Reebonz.com, Yoogi's Closet, or Fashionphile.com. 

How to Plan Your Ramadan Meals

Hello readers! How is your fasting going up to now? Can't believe that 1/3 of the Ramadhan month has passed us. So sad, isn't it? Since we only get to encounter it once a year. Anyhow, due to the month of Ramadhan, I might not be posting up recipes because I'm doing less cooking, but I will share with you some tips that I got from my halaqah to make the most time for your ibadah in Ramadhan.

COOK LESS

Who loves to cook and spend hours in the kitchen? I'm one of them, hehe. Well, in the fasting month, every minute is so precious that it is even too precious to be wasted just for cooking. So, in the fasting month, try to spend less time in the kitchen. If you usually cook for almost 2 hours (or more) and even had the time to bake cakes or cookies, please hold the urge. Try to cook less than an hour and only bake cakes and cookies when you are on your period.

PLAN AHEAD

This is very important in order to achieve efficient cooking and effective grocery shopping. I know how painful it is if you have to think what to cook every other day. Save your time and pain by planning ahead your menu; what you would like to cook during Ramadhan. So you will have more time to concentrate on your ibadah and not flipping cooking books nor browsing for recipes. It helps you to spend less time for grocery shopping as well, and you know when to restock.

STOCK UP AND PREPARE YOUR SPICE MIX BEFOREHAND

If you can't cook from scratch in less than an hour, stock up some ready made pasta sauces or instant spices (such as soto, rawon, balado, etc). By stocking up, you're saving your time from grocery shopping! If you love your own recipe, you can whip up a big batch of blended spices and freeze them in one-time-cooking portions. When you need them, just take them out of the freezer.

SOUPY FOOD

A member of my halaqah said that in Ramadhan her husband likes to eat soup-y stuff. When I thought about it, I think that's a great idea because it helps your throat to swallow the food (especially for sahur). So, during this Ramadhan, the menu I have planned is all soup based.

ORDER YOUR LEBARAN COOKIES 

My friend say to just order Lebaran cookies from your favorite shop. But if no one makes the same good cookies as you, you can still make your own cookies but NOT in the last 10 days of Ramadhan. The last ten days is the time when we should make the best of our time, the best of our prayers. So, while there is still time left, hurry make the cookies now! :)

Dealing with Yeast

I always take it easy (or underestimate) when dealing with yeast. I've made some food with yeast back in Indonesia and there's no problem at all. But in a couple of fine moments in Sydney, I failed big time when making my pizza crust! The batter did not rise at all - bantet. It didn't happen only once. It happened twice! I can't accept that, given that I had no problem at all back in Indonesia. So, I had to find out what's causing it. Is it the yeast? Or the water?

First rule that you must know: if you mix sugar, yeast, and warm water, the mixture MUST form foam. If it doesn't form any foam, then there's something wrong with either your yeast or your water.

After Google-ing, I found out in a website that some of the cause of dough not rising is that the yeast is old or the water is too hot. My yeast can't be too old, I just bought it for a couple of days. What might be wrong is the temperature of the water. I wanted to check whether it is true. So, I came up with this experiment:

Each cup contains 1/2 tsp of yeast and 2 tbsp of water in different temperature. In scientific term, the water temperature is the variable here (man, I feel like going back to school).

• Top cup: hot water (almost boiling)
• Bottom cup: warm-to-hot water, your finger can stand the temperature for 15-30 seconds until you have to pull it out
• Left cup: room temperature water
• Right cup: just slightly above the temperature of the left cup

From all the cups, only the top cup with hot water didn't form foam. The foam appeared about after 30 secs to 1 minute, but I think it took longer for colder water. The top cup was the mixture that I got when I first made my pizza crust! Ok, so now I realized that the water was too hot for the yeast. And now you too know that foaming the yeast require the right temperature.

Conclusion: even though the yeast will still foam with water around room temperature, it's still very recommended to use warm water.

For other troubleshooting tips for bread yeasting: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/yeast-breads-10-troubleshooting-tips.html.

Freezing Spices

My mom was once a housewife who lived abroad as well. She knows how it feels like living with difficulty to find hometown spices. And now she's transferring her knowledge to her daughter who is living a life that she once had.

My freezer is not only filled with meat and frozen treats, but it's also full with frozen spices!

Yes, my mom taught me to keep every fresh spices that could dry or rot in refrigerator to be kept in freezer.

What spices did my mom suggests I keep in my freezer?

KAFFIR LIME LEAVES (DAUN JERUK)

If you don't keep in freezer this will definitely dry out. So, to keep it "fresh", put the lime leaves inside plastic bag and freeze it. Every time you need to cook with it, just take it out of the freezer and it will defrost in no time.

LEMONGRASS (SEREH)

The first time I was able to find lemongrass was in Sydney's Paddy's Market. And because I was afraid that I couldn't find it someplace else when I ran out of it, I decided to buy 3 bunch (each bunch consists of 7 sticks). Keep it in your freezer, no need to put it in plastic bags. Every time you need to cook with it, just take it out of the freezer and it will defrost in no time.

CHILLIES

I keep a lot of chillies in my freezer. In addition to that, I also keep basic cooking mix made out of red and green chillies. So you can imagine the amount of chillies in my kitchen! Meaning that I can't live without it. For chillies, I prepare cleaned ex-takeaway transparent food containers (or you can use plastic ziplock bags). Clean the chillies under running water and cut off the stem, to make it more effective when packing it. Put the chillies inside the containers and close the lid. If you want to use the chillies you can defrost it about 15 seconds in the microwave.