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Reclaiming My Zen Morning

I don't know what planetary alignment happened when my alarm went off today, but I finally claimed back my zen morning. Since moving to a new place, my morning routines have felt a bit like trying to catch a greased pig in the dark. But today, I woke up at 5:00 AM, stared down my to-do list, and essentially became the main character of a highly efficient productivity montage. Here is the 5:00 AM to 10:00 AM play-by-play of pure, unadulterated adulting victory: Soul Care: Started with prayer and reading the Bible. Getting the spirit grounded before the world starts screaming at me. Creative Flow: Drafted and posted a blog entry. Writing before the sun fully wakes up hits entirely differently. Cardio: A slow jog. Emphasis on slow. We’re honoring the body here, not running from a bear. Iron Therapy: Hit the gym for some weightlifting. Pumped some iron so I can carry the heavy weight of being this fabulous 45. Mom Time: Called my mom and talked for a full, glorious hour. She insi...
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Back to the Blank Page: Notes After an 8-Month Hiatus

Hello, world! It feels a little surreal to open this blog dashboard again. I can’t believe it’s been eight whole months since my last post. Time flew by so fast that this place almost started collecting digital dust. If you were to ask me where I’ve been for the past eight months... the short answer is: everywhere, doing everything, all at once. A Whirlwind of Chaos and Adventures Life lately has felt like a high-speed rollercoaster without a pause button. So much was happening simultaneously, and the pace barely let up: Moving Cities & Changing Apartments: Packing up my entire life, relocating to a central city, and settling into a new apartment closer to our daughter's university.  The One-Month Sorting Marathon: Spending an entire month sorting through boxes, decluttering, and unpacking until the new place finally felt like home. Major Family Milestones: Both of my daughters started university this year! One has already begun her classes at KKI UI (International Special ...

Year End Reflection Ritual : 2025 - 2026

I came across Mel Robbins’ year end reflection ritual, six questions she has been answering for the past twenty two years. Six questions sound harmless, almost cute. Like a magazine quiz that ends with “you are a sunflower.” But once I started answering them honestly, I realized this was not a personality test. This was an emotional audit. Let’s start with the hardest one. The low points of the year. There were some. Actually, quite plenty. I can say this without drama now, but 2025 has been my lowest year since 2013. That year taught me survival. This year tested endurance. One of the heaviest moments came quietly, from a place I never expected to reach our home. It felt like standing in the middle of a storm that wasn’t ours to begin with, yet somehow found us anyway. My husband chose to stay when it would have been easier to leave, to keep holding the bridge together so others could cross safely. Opportunities passed by, shiny and tempting, but he remained where he believed responsi...

2026, Let's Go Easy

It’s 1 a.m. as I write this, tucked inside a hotel room in Blitar , freshly back from a New Year’s Eve celebration at Aloon-Aloon Kota Blitar . Yes, that is the actual name. I didn’t make it up. The photos will prove it. 😀 We left the hotel at 10 p.m. sharp with intentionally empty stomachs. Strategic hunger. Because where else should one welcome a new year if not in the middle of a giant field filled with food stalls selling everything edible, drinkable, and probably regrettable in large quantities. Skipping snacks would have been morally wrong. After circling the bazaar in our best food-hunter mode, we finally docked at a humble tent stall with carpets spread out for lesehan seating . Dinner was rawon rice and chicken soto rice , both at the very comforting price of ten thousand rupiah per portion. The flavor, however, was elevated by a surprise plot twist: salted eggs pulled dramatically out of my mom’s bag. Emotional support telur asin , clearly. We had forgotten to bring UNO...

Roadtrip With No Deadline and Plenty of Snacks

Road trip day! We hit the road at 8 a.m., thirty minutes later than planned. But honestly, who cares? There was no deadline, no race to win. As long as everyone was accounted for and nothing important was left behind, we were good. Bonus point: I actually slept well the night before, which meant as the navigator of this journey, wasn’t half-asleep behind the wheel feels like small but crucial victory. Our first stop was at 9:30 a.m. at KM 57 rest area . The reason was simple and non-negotiable: coffee. My husband also needed to stop to do some office transfers, because work apparently travels with you now. While he was busy, I took Coffee Kenangan promo : buy two Toffee Nut Lattes , get one Americano free. Perfect timing, because my mom had specifically requested an Americano. Total damage: 50k. Cheap joy is still joy. While my husband was still glued to his phone, I dragged my mom to participate at Jasa Marga survey . The prize? An umbrella. She was ridiculously happy because, surpri...

Christmas, Cake, and a 45 Year Old Legend

Merry Christmas and happy 45th birthday to my amazing husband! The yin to my yang. The calm app to my permanently open tabs.  Year 2025 really said, “Let’s test you,” didn’t it?   Testing limits, patience, and faith all at once. So here’s my prayer for the new year. More luck. More ease. More people loving you. And above all, God’s blessing wrapped around you like bubble wrap. Amen. The day started exactly how every memorable family day should. With chaos. From BSD , we had to swing by Jagakarsa first. The main mission was innocent enough. Pick up pre ordered bread from my former neighbor. Secondary mission, collect a giant burger from Ken’s Burger for birthday candle blowing purposes. Because nothing says “happy 45th” like a burger pretending to be a cake. But of course, upon arrival, another neighbor was about to leave for mudik . So we talked. And talked. And kept talking while repeatedly saying, “We really have to go,” yet not moving at all. Our Dutch tenant had alrea...

Full Plates, Full Agendas

Ladies’ day out with Mba Fit usually begins with me doing nothing but being picked up. At around 09:20, she arrived in the lobby carrying not gossip, but food. The best kind of opening. She handed me a Wegogrill package filled with frozen chicken sausages and their signature smoked chicken—no flour, no sugar, no MSG, no eggs, no milk. Healthy and genuinely tasty. Thank you, Mba Fit and Wegogrill! Next stop: Itjeher Salon . The plan was straightforward. I did creambath and blow, Mba Fit did creambath and manicure. Unfortunately, this time my experience was not as good as the usual. The massage lacked soul, the blowout lacked commitment, and the final result lacked longevity. By the time I stepped outside, my hair had already given up on life. Better remember the good therapist's name next time! After that, hunger took over, as it always does. We headed confidently to Ramu Saji by Ashoka , our usual safe space. Only to be greeted by a sign that said Tutup. Closed. So we pivoted, li...