NONA MANIES IN THE CITY OF SYDNEY

My Birthday this year was not only one of the happiest day, but it’s also one of the saddest day ever…

Happiest cos I have many people who care about me and love me had greeted me, prayed for me and celebrate the day with me… (a few who sent out their greetings are even still a total stranger to me… I’m BLESSED… Thank YOU )

And Saddest is because there’s someone that i LOVE the most and i thought love me back  has disappointed me in a great deal… Perhaps it’s also ME who disappointed that special person…  And what upsets me the most is the fact that myself and that special someone had to come to an agreement to keep the distance from each-other for a time being.. And in the meantime I think that would be the best thing to do for both of us…

IT amazed me sometimes the amount of anger, hatred, spiteful messages and other bad things came to a surface when we’re blinded by our own ego..

No matter how, we will always have that connection and that person to me will always be a special someone in my life… but perhaps it’s good too keep the distance from each other for the time being. And as for how long, only God knows… Maybe til we both realise the importance of having each other closely and accepting each others weaknesses/flaws… Maybe til we both becoming more mature and learn how to forget what has happened in the past rather than bringing that up in every argument we’re having (sometimes something that only based on rumors… it saddened me the most on how someone can trust others more than his/her own)…  Maybe til we both learn to stop judging each other and just accepting each other as it is and continue supporting each other in every situation…

I dont hate, I no longer feel angry (the fact that special someone has ruined my bday mood) and I try not to hold grudges… but I cant help to feel disappointed coz these things happening too many times already…

I believe there’s a lesson learned in every kind of situations… 

and I m still in the process of learning at the moment cos I do realise how far myself from being a GOOD person when I have a huge falling out with a person that means the world to me…

Dear All,

Would like to thank you all for your greetings via my blogs (Multiply n Friendster), SMS, phonecalls and emails…

Thank you so much, that’s very thoughtful of you all… I couldnt thank you one by one coz there were so many warm greetings received from everywhere… Thank you… Thank You.. Thank you…

As usual for the past 2 years, I’ve been having my birthday with Matthew only, due to Nick’s work commitments outside of Sydney (Melbourne last year and this year he’s in Perth).

But around 10am someone knocked on the door, and voila a lovely lilies bouquet from Matthew and Nick has arrived… (Thank You my Lovies)

Matthew and I had a great time yesterday coz we’re having my dear friends Pali, Beck, Annabel and Aunty Fay (Pali’s mum, who’s here from Melbourne and I havent seen for about 4 years) coming over for brunch and lunch, together with their kids: Chloe, Charlie & baby Madisson and Liam at around 11am.. Matthew had a ball with his little friends for sure.. (*Thank you girls for coming over with the kids, you all  have made my day even more special!*)

We didnt take any photos (surprisingly) coz i couldnt be bothered (only managed to take photos of the cake, the champagne and the flowers)… But we had a great time. For brunch (in between breakfast and lunch kinda thing), we ended up having croissant, lamington, snails, danish and sponge cake (yes, afterwards we were all stuffed including the kids) plus banana birthday cake from Annabel…  and drink champagne mix with strawberry juice… (should try it…it was yummmy) mixed by Ms. Woodruff (Pali)…our bartender for the day as for Lunch, we were having Bakmie Ayam that i cooked the nite before… very refreshing especially with cold weather outside…   

Beck left with the kids at around 1pm (so she missed my lovely mie Ayam ) while Pali, Aunty Fay and Annabel with the kids stayed behind.. and at around quarter to 2, Matthew, Liam and Chloe all went to sleep/nap after they’re having their lunch (chicken/ham sandwiches). The adults continued drinking and had  our lunch… Had  lunch a bit late coz we were pretty stuffed with our big brunch…

So we did have a nice day… Thank you all once again…

My 31st turned out to be pretty special..

Sadly today i have to be at work… got up with a massive hang over this morning (yes ladies, i continued drank champagne on my own during and after dinner… it’s nice to celebrate on my own in silence too though… )

Love you all…

xoxo

Our Christmas was definitely unforgetable for all of us (well maybe not for Matthew…hehehehehe).

24th Dec’ 05

1st thing in the morning, Nick did the grocery at the supermarket (Coles) also picked up the fish (2kg Snapper), 2 doz of oysters and marinara mix. As for me, I did the fruits and veggies at Freshpoint Fruits & Veggies Market… I prepared all the ingredients for my cooking that need to be done first thing on Xmas day… I decided to make Pepes Ikan this time and Nick would make his usual Oyster Kilpatricks…

Later that nite, after everyone already in bed, I wrapped all the presents most importantly for Matthew (and Nick)… and afterward for my close friends and their kids (for those who has kids…)

At the end, the one who would receive the most presents is Matthew (who else anyway?)…    I didnt finish till around midnite and satisfied that everything ready for Christmas Day…

25th December’05

Nick woke me up just before 7. He told me that I better get up coz Matthew couldnt keep his hands off the presents… It’s time to open the presents, he said….Eventhough I was still very sleepy… I finally managed to get up and went straight to the bathroom to freshin up… Matthew was so excited, it’s like he knew most of the presents were for him…

Finally the opening presents began by Matthew start opening the present from his gran parents (in Melbourne) and it was a lovely funny looking orange ball (that hard to describe…) that smells good too….(even I love it). Next, a present from his uncle, aunty and cousins in Brissie and it was a bath toys… such a fantastic toys, a floating little island with coconut tree, whale and monkey on the island… (so cute)… and next from US… which there were 5 presents that need to be unwrap… first was a mini crocodile xylophone, second was a leap frog pad (great stuff, highly recommended for other mums…wink wink), third was a leap frog fridge farm magnetic animal set with few animal combinations and music, fourth was ELC fridge alphabet magnetic and last but not least was little teddy (Maisy)… It was so funny to see him opening all his presents with a lot of "wow and uuuuuuuuuuuuu"… For sure he knows what’s going on this time unlike last year… He loves all the presents. The thing is when we got the presents we didnt realise that our house will be getting even more noisy with all those new musical toys he received (on top of what he already got)!!! But we’re not complaining, the noisier the better!!!

Next, it’s Nick’s turn to open his presents… He received a lovely T-shirt from his parents and…. two CDs (of Damian Marley & Fela Kuti) plus 2 working Shirts (Herringbone) from me… And I open mine at last, from my inlaws i’d received a lovely diary + 1 year subscription for Womens Weekly and from Nick I’ve got an allowance to buy Nikon D50 at Duty Free in January (to replaced my Nikon Coolpix 5700 that was stolen in Bali early this year) plus a lovely top from Mango and Nicole Richie’s (first) book (The Truth About Diamonds..what a funny, wicked and witty piece of story..I love it!!!!)…

SO that was pretty much it… We were all pretty excited on what we’ve received… Especially for Matthew… He got into all his new toys pretty much straight away… I was (and still am) excited with mine as well and so was Nick but we prefer to concentrate with Matthew and showed him on how to play some of his toys…

I also let Matthew plays with all the boxes and wrapping papers before I start cleaning them up (fewwwwhhhh)… All the hardwork were definitely worth it!!!! Thank u LORD….

After shower, straight away I got into my cooking coz it would takes hours (including prep) to make my Pepes (Fish)…

Put Matthew back to sleep at around 11.30am coz lunch at the Robinson’s not til around 2pm.

Lunch at the Robinson’s were great. We’re all there by 2.15pm. The host Michael n Jill are parents of my dear friend, Annabel… Eventhough we only get to know them since Matthew and Chloe were few days old but we’ve been like family to each other and Annabel has been one of my best friends since… Michael & Jill just live across the road from us and always help us out in so many ways including lookin after our house when we’re on the vacation and vice versa…

Beside Michael, Jill and us, there were: Annabel, Lee and Chloe; James (the eldest son), his wife, Rowena and their newborn baby, Lily Beth; Mel & Pam (Rowena’s parents); Maisy (Rowena’s gran ma) and Kristy (Annabel’s friend)

As usual, Jill cooks loads of lovely dish… Almost every kinds: Chicken, Pork, Duck, Lamb plus of course my Fish… with various kinds of veggies and desserts…

BOth Annabel and I were exchangin presents as well, so were Matthew & CHloe (how cute)

Chloe wasn’t feeling very well that day (she got tonsilitis few days before) so Matthew was trying his best to play on his own. He ended up jump in to Chloe’s little pool and was very happy with it,,,

We’re staying at the Robinson’s till around 6pm

It was such a lovely Xmas days for all of us….

I’ve finally finished decorate the house few days ago… Been very busy and only managed to do so then. We’ve decided that this year we’re not getting a Xmas tree coz it would be a bit hard to controll Matthew from touching it. Since we know our little boy soooooooooooooo well (so we should be anyway…huehehehe), we’ve come to a decision not to get a Xmas tree until at least next year (or maybe even a year after that)… it feels different without a Xmas tree but then again the last thing I want to happen is finding a falling Xmas tree in the living room…(or even worse). Like yesterday morning for example, when I got to the living room after being a few minutes in my room, there were few ornaments on the floor already and my cheeky little boy just smiled at me acted innocently as if he had nothing to do with it. He managed to reach those ornaments by getting a little help from his rider… So what he did was, he pushed the rider towards the shelf, climbed onto it and reach the ornaments that he wanted… So imagine if we’re having the Xmas tree at home!!!???? But it’s all good. I like things to be simple but meaningful. Beside I would be the one who’s doing the packing up after Xmas so i prefer to have it as it is now… Yesterday and the day before I had the nanny to mind Matthew while I was out and about doing the last minute shopping. And I tell you, I was glad that I didnt have Matthew with me coz all the shopping centres were packed with people… It was already a school holiday so just imagine how packed it was… Got a few more presents for Matthew, presents for Nick (still looking for one more for Nick) and few more presents for close friends and their kids… I also managed to sent out the xmas cards for friends and relatives here in Australia and Indo… I think I missed out on some people but I can always send them a greeting through email… As for our plan on Xmas Day: in the morning, we’ll go to the Uniting Church (try the Indonesian Service one)’s Christmas service and then we’ll have lunch at home (we’ll have seafood again this year…my favourite dish for xmas coz I am not a big fan of turkey and other meats either than seafood). And after lunch we’ll go to the Robinson’s (Annabel parents) who live across the road from us and always inviting us to join them in any festive/party. I think we’ll have more food there plus dessert as well… hehehehehe…

I’ll have my bestfriend, Rini, and her family visiting from Jakarta… They’ll be here to spend Xmas n New Year’s with David’s family (the Hewitt’s) at St.Yves (North Sydney) and they’re planning to stay with us for one nite, most probably on the 28th December… It would be great to see them again, coz we’re really lookin forward to see their son, Raffie… (we normally stay with them in Jakarta so Raffie is really looking forward to see Matthew as well)…

And as for New Year’s Eve and Day… we’re planning to go to see the fireworks at Cooge Beach after bbq with our best friends, the Curries (Marcus & Lou with their kids Georgie and Beckett) and other friends the Pepper’s (Garry, Wendy and kids Casey, Mitchell and Harry), the Yates’s (my lovely friend Beck n her hubby Jamie and son which also Matthew’s little friend,. Charlie) also Alex & Renny and their kids, Chloe and Billy…

And we might off to Melbourne on the 2nd of Jan… We’re definitely going, but couldnt really decide on the date just yet. So far we’re planning in going on the 2nd of Jan even though Nick prefers to go on the 8th when he has to get back to work the day after… He wants to spend his entire holiday at home here in Sydney which is fair enough. I let him decides which he thinks best… Anyway, tomorrow nite I’ll start wrapping the presents and Saturday will still have few more things to get for Nick and Beck’s son, Charlie…

Its all happening and I can not wait for Xmas to arrive…

FOR THOSE WHO CELEBRATE XMAS, WE WOULD LIKE TO SAY:

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE, MAY YOU BE BLESSED WITH GREAT JOY AND HAPPINESS… AND MAY OUR LORD JESUS WILL BE WITH YOU ALWAYS AND FOREVER…

AND TO ALL:

HAPPY NEW YEAR, THE JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES BEGINS WITH ONE STEP, SO WE WISH YOU THE NEW YEAR THAT IS FILLED WITH NEW BEGINNINGS, NEW PROMISES AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES…

AND AS THE NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR THE LADIES:

NEXT YEAR LET’S RESOLVE NOT TO BUY A SINGLE PAIR OF SHOE!

WELL THAT SHOULDNT BE TOUGH, WE CAN ALWAYS BUY TWO!!!

AS A NEW YEAR BEGINS HERE’S TO PUTTING, YOUR BEST SHOES OOPS

FOOT FORWARD

AND HAVING A GREAT TIME EVERY STEP OF THE WAY…

LOTS OF LOVE,

-THE GRIFFIN’s-

Saturday was a pretty full on day. Called Helen first thing in the morning to  say Happy Birthday and to re-assure her that afterall being 30 is not a big deal. Sounds like she’s so excited with the party that I’ve organized for her later on that nite and not really worried about the age thing (good girl!!!). There were a few people couldnt make it for dinner (including my dear beloved hubby who wanted to just stay home…that’s fine with me coz that means I can party a bit "longer"…he he he) but since Helen got so many friends and there were some still queing up to be invited, it didnt really matter…:P We tried not to have more than 20 ppl coz we’re afraid it’ll be difficult to get a table for that many people (it’s not a booking system like other "normal" resto…)

Nick went to Clovelly Beach Surf Club for a beach patrol (the fun community service work that he did over the the weekend once in a month… but dont think of Baywatch sort of things ok…this is a real thing!!! he he he)… He got a patrol at 9am so he left around quarter to 9. As for me, I took Matthew out for a walk after his morning sleep and as usual we had our breakfast (for me and brunch for Matthew) down at the beach.. it was such a lovely day that day (27c..not too hot and not too cold…just right…) 

A Good Day for Partyyyyyy for sure

Nick got back just before 2pm. I left straight away after he arrived coz I’ve had a haircut  appointment to go to. Speaking of haircut, I wasnt so sure of doing it until that Saturday morning. Been thinking of doing it for quite a while tho but not so sure on how short will I have it cut to. Nick wanted me to go really short like I used to back in 99 but I wasnt so sure that I wanted to go that far… So when I got to the hairdresser, I then decided to have it cut on medium short only coz I dont think I was ready for any dramatic changes… And I choose a bit more funky style a bit more like my friends in Jakarta (Nita and Wendy) type of style (Sorry Nit, ka Velly ikut2an yach… heheheheheehe)… And in result, I LOVE EM!! Really really happy. Money well spent for sure…

Arrived back at home just before 5 but both Nick and Matthew were out for a walk to the beach. Which is good coz I can then start to get ready straight away. Got a text message from Lydia saying that she’ll stop by to pick me up around 6.30 and from there we’ll pick up Helen and her parents and all together to Cookle Bay, Darling Harbour where the restaurant is… Fantastic arrangement!!! I was going to wear a pants but Nick suggested to change to a skirt to make it less casual for Helen’s party…

Lydia arrived right on time and by the time we got to Helen’s place they (Helen and her parenst) were all ready to go as well. Both Helen’s parents were looking very well… It’s been a year since last time I saw them. It’s good to see them again. As usual both Tante Netty and I got plenty of things to talk about ([pretty much about anything…)

We arrived right at 7pm at Cookle Bay, Darling Harbour. Went up straight to the Restaurant (Chinta Ria) and put our name down for 15 people… It took about 45 minutes before we got a table which is fine by us coz we filled our time with taking photos and chatting away outside the lovely resto with an incredible views… One by one our friends started to arrive… David n Anthon, Pauline n Heno, Irene n Roy, Iwan n his girlfriend (I forget her name was) and last but not least Henny and John…

We (me with a big help from Pauline n Irene) ordered: Chicken Blues (3), Beef Rendang(2), Chili Fish (2), King Prawns(3), Octopus(2), Currie Veggie(3) and  Chili Spinach (2) with Rice of course… And believe it or not, the food were all gone…nothing’s left!!! I was so happy with that… which means everyone were enjoying it and apparently they were… It was such a delicious food and great choices too (thanks to Pauline and Irene for helping me out as well). It was a successful dinner party…a magnificent food accompanied by 5 bottles of red wines, a bottle of rose wine and 2 bottles of champagnes plus 3 birthday cakes!!!! For sure we’re not short of food and drinks… Some were totally smashed!!! Even Helen’s father, who doesnt normally drinks had few glasses of wines and 3 pieces of cake… He was so happy for his daughter (his favourite one apparently…hehehehehe) and couldnt stop thanking me for organizing the party for Helen… (your welcome Om and Tante… after all Helen has done so much for me since we’ve become friends)

After dinner and plenty of Kodak Moments (giggle) we then continued our party. We’re heading towards George St. where all the clubs are.  David (the youngest one among those who stayed behind to party: Helen, me, Henny, Lydia and Anthone) wanted to go to a club called Star Bar… Good choice (if you’re about 21!!!). I felt so old being there… young people in their early twenties were everywhere…arrgggghhhhhh!!! But at least they’ve played a good music and there were pool tables as well (plenty of dancing and pool games)… It was fun still (the security still asked for our IDs which makes us feel good about ourself) although I would prefer to go somewhere else. We were going to continue our party at Karaoke World but unfortunately (fortunately for me to be honest) it was fully booked. So, we then decided to call it quit for the nite… beside it was almost 2am and I’ve a family to go home to… The only thing that I hate the most of going out right in the middle of the city is how difficult it was to get a cab.. We walked so much til I ended up taking off my shoes for a while (after we’d been walking around the city from one place to another for probably almost 3-4km in total). Finally Lydia and I got ourself a cab while Helen and the boys still waiting for theirs… (mind as well before I got blister on both feet…fewwwhhhh)

I got home just after 2.30… I was tired but happy coz I’ve had such a lovely day n nite… I am glad to see Helen was so happy on her birthday…

Happy Birthday my dear Helen and I really hope you feel blessed and loved from all of us and most importantly from the Big Man above!!! I love u girl!!! xoxo

*to see Helen’s Birthday’s photos click on word Kodak Moments*

Why is it that if there’s something to be climbed, grabbed, thrown or dismantled, boys are always the first on the job? Sometimes (only sometimes not all the times) I look enviously at my friend’s daughters who are perfectly happy and content (and quietly) playing with their toys n fairies while my little Matthew somewhere nearby trying to climb on to something. It didn’t take him long to turn his room (and other rooms) in to such a big mess… As soon as he’s up, that’s it…speedy gonzales get in action straight away!!!

Sometime I wonder where all his energy are coming from… All the running around, climbed up, goes under the bed, pulling things out and throwing things around etc and you wonder how come a 15 months old can do all that!!!!  Surely it would take so much energy out of him… But yet, he never seems tired of doing any of that…

And also, the more I say NO to something, the more eager he becomes to do the opposite coz it seems like he loves watching my reaction. So from then on, I hardly say NO anymore… All I did was either pick up the pieces or just simply pull him away from the situation.

But then, I do really love having my boy. I love his boundless energy (that helps me burn my calories) and bursting enthusiasm. My boy was having a ball when he’s doing his thing and I was having fun watching him too. All that cheeky grins and smiles would always make my day no matter how tired I was at that time. And most importantly, he’s such a healthy little one who eats well and sleeps well (so far…fingers cross!!!)

Let it be said there are a number of things in life that appear to be a good idea back then. Going out at nite with friends and drinking cocktails up till 2am (or sometime 4am, depends on who I was going out with) is an excellent example.

When i was still working for Production companies, I felt "obligated" to drink with my "so called" clients that happens to be friends as well. I entertained a lot… That was one of my "unofficial" job descriptions… to entertain n make sure the clients (read: friends) are all happy and would consider me (read: the company that I was working with) would be the first to get the storyboard. So.. the drinking session happens: prior to pitching, pre production, shooting break and wrapping… so, for 1 job we did at least 4 drinking sessions… fewwwwhhhhh… and on top of that, I would go out drinking for no apparent reasons when the clients (again read: friends) asked me out…(which means most of the time I/the company I was working for, would be paying for it!!! he he he) 

Well, dont get me wrong… I was never an alcoholic… Back then when i entertain i drank in moderation… I was really sick back in 97-99 (will go to the details next time) and since then I should cut down my alcohol intakes "BIG" time… And when I was out and about with my "clients", beside making sure that they’re having a good time I also had to make sure they can still go home safely… Which means, I can not drink as much as they did otherwise no one would be able to control anyone…

But no more of that now…(dont know for how long tho..he he he)… I stick to my wine (red or white) but that also happens occasionally. What do I drink the most these days….emmmm… water of course!!!!! Back in those days, I only drank water when I got really hang over the next day and had to go to work… and of course after every meal that I had (so i wasn’t as bad as i thought…)

Things have changed since I have Matthew. Well, I was breastfeeding for over a year so alcohol was the last thing in my mind then (unless I wanted to put Matthew to sleep for 20 hours in one go… KIDDING!!!). And now that I am no longer breastfeed (for the last 3 months now), I still have no desire to drink more than 2 glasses of cocktail/wine when I was out with hubby or friends… The thought of me being hang over when I get Matthew out of his bed in the morning is not so ideal… Since I havent been "drinking" for quite a while, if I have any alcohol more than 2 glasses/bottles guaranteed I’ll get hang over the next morning!!!

My friends in Jakarta couldnt believe that on my birthday dinner with my friends in Sydney, I didnt have any alcohol that day. Not even a glass of wine… (it was weekday to start with and everybody else gotta go to work the next day…)

So those days pretty much gone… for how long? I dont know… we’ll see about that… I still can have a great time without being tipsy while I go out with friends… As a matter of fact, I have more fun for not being tipsy coz I m more aware of my surroundings… (whatever that means…hehehehehehe)

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH 2005

As usual when Nick’s home over the weekend he would look after Matthew "exclusively" … And all I would do was just relaxing, relaxing and relaxing… But we did walk to beach together after Matthew’s up from his morning nap… It was a pretty funny weather then… as we walked out the house the weather was a bit chilly and we didnt see any point of putting the sun-screen/cover over Matthew’s pram but then half way to beach it’s getting pretty hot with lots of flies flying around (arrrggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh…I hate flies…)

We’re thinking of going for a swim to Maroubra Rock Pool but we changed our mind coz the sun got right to Matthew on the way to the pool… so we ended up stoppin by for coffee (hot chocolate for me and babycino for Matthew), carrot cake and muffin instead… (naughty)

It was a lovely day tho… the beach wasnt too busy so we can really enjoy the view and the surfing. Perhaps people might think that the weather would be chilly the whole day… I like it when the beach is not too busy… Since summer will be here soon, we have started to see many tourist around… The good thing about Maroubra Beach is the locals are very protective over their beach. They didnt want Maroubra beach turns out like Bondi Beach or Coogee Beach…  so the Bra Boys (most of them are well known surfers) are out there to make sure it’ll stay that way…

Anyway, our day was so relaxing… it was nice… Nick asked me over coffee on what have I received for my birthday and I told him what I’ve got from my girlfriends (such a lovely presents…thank you girls) and myself (he he he). I bought myself a special something for my 30th (because I just did 2 kine transfer projects from Jakarta, so there’re some "extra"). So i bought myself an LV handbag (why not???)…. Nick teased me by saying that there are no longer rooms for it… he he he…(very cheeky!!!).

I then asked Nick what’ll be the other "little" present he’s going to give me… but he asked me to be patient and wait till dinner… (the word "patient" doesnt exist in my dictionary)

When we’re back at home, I called Emma to make sure she’s still ok to babysit Matthew n it’s confirmed she’s still up for it…

Dinner were booked for 8.30pm and we try to leave just before 8pm which we did… I put Matthew down at 7.30…

Surprisingly Bondi wasnt too busy… It’s busy but not too busy like the usual Bondi on Saturday nite… which is good…

The food at Hugo’s were fantastic…(modern fusion type of thing… it was nice). It’s worth the money for sure…(not that i know how much money Nick’s spent for it)…  after dinner, we moved to the couch and Nick presents me with a special 30th Birthday present… And it was such a lovely Omega Constellation watch…Thank you darling… I was very grateful for that even though I would be happy with just the flowers…..

.. coz for me I’ve got the best presents in my life already…

Amen.

*Photos can be seen on http://matthewsmummy.multiply.com/photos/album/17*

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8TH 2005

Got up really early in the morning… Matthew had call out for me right before 6…(cheeky little bubba). Check out my mobile phone as soon as I got up and I can’t believe there was no text messages from my Mum. She would normally text me first thing in the morning (after she prays at 3am) on my birthday. But it’s ok, she’s probably had a very busy day or she might not want to remind me that I am now 30 years old…(he he he)

For some reasons Matthew was acting a bit funny that morning. He was so clingy and constantly seeking for attention by crying and being a bit difficult… ("just because it was Mummy’s birthday that doesnt mean you wont be the centre of my attention my darling baby…"). But it was all good after I took him out and about…

Got phone calls, text messages and emails from family/relative and friends from all over … lost count on that…(thank you all… i Love you all). Nick called at around 7am to congratulate me on being 30…(he he he…funny!!!). He asked me whether I had a plan to go anywhere and I said Yes… I need to take Matthew out coz he’s acting a bit funny (not funny funny… you know what I mean). Beside, I already promised myself that during a day on my Birthday I will only celebrate with my little man (who’s a bit crancky that morning).

At around 11am just before I left the house, I received a lovely flowers from my hubby and bubby (the love of my life…thank you loveys)… Nick was saying on the phone there’s one more little present from both him and Matthew that will be given on Saturday nite when we’re out for dinner… 

Anyway, I took Matthew out for a walk to the beach…(we both need that)… The weather was fantastic that day, it’s not too hot like the day before.. We had our brunch (and lunch believe it or not) and after i took him straight away to the playground by the beach that we normally go to… Matthew was having a ball whenever he’s outdoor (esp at the Playground or the Beach).  It was so cute to watch him trying to get older kids attention…he always do that actually…

Got a call from Louise that morning, unfortunately she couldnt make it for dinner coz she wasn’t feeling very well… and later on Annabel called and apologized for not being able to make it as well coz she’s having some "internal" problems that she need to sort out… (I fully understand that)…

Back at home for Matthew’s nap… And when he had his nap, I also had mine (where I rarely did)

Emma called at around 3pm to confirm on babysitting Matthew… and i told her it’s still ON for sure..

The day before, I received a phone call from my ex-boss, Eek Kee (Axis Films Jakarta). He’s in town for some meetings with few Post Production Houses (Cutting Edge in particular). I told him about dinner (which was supposed to be for girls only but i made an exception for him) and would love to have him around. But unfortunately he had to fly to Brisbane that day for a meeting at Cutting Edge main office. But he promised that he will make up for it in January when I am in Jakarta… 

Emma arrived at around 6.45pm. She hasnt seen Matthew in a while coz she’s been away to the US for couple of weeks (where normally Matthew would sees her at least once or twice a week). Matthew was so excited seeing Emma again after quite a while…(in baby’s world 2 weeks might seems like our 2 months…he he he). I already plan to put Matthew down a bit earlier than usual. So by 7pm I have to put him down coz I need to be at the restaurant by 7.30pm. He was not happy with that, especially he hasnt seen Emma in a while and  wanted to continue playing with her… But, rules are rules… I want him to be in bed when I leave the house and he’s not happy at all with that… So when I left, he was still crying… I called Emma when I arrived at the resto and she said Matthew just stop crying then…(after 10 minutes…poor little darling).

Mary was already there when i arrived… and then Beck… after were Suz and Wendy and last but not least my dear beloved Helen… Beck and Mary have never try Indonesian food before… So they’re so looking forward for it…  As for the rest, Suz and Wendy are both have had Indonesian food many times already (some were with me)… also because they both have an Indonesian connections.. (Wendy’s sister in law is Indonesian and so is Suz, her brother in law is also Indonesian and she also used to live in Bandung for a little while when she’s a child…). And for Helen, she’s an Indonesian so no need to explain…

The reason I choose Ubud was because none of them (except Helen actually) been there yet… The resto was pretty busy tho but that’s ok…

The food that I ordered were: Rendang (2), Udang Bakar (2), a whole Ikan Balado and Ayam Goreng Ubud… as for Veggies i ordered: Cah Kangkung (2), Gado Gado, Cah Brokoli Daging Sapi (2)…

Dinner was OUTSTANDING!!! Believe it or not, we ate the whole thing so nothing’s left!!!! Everyone was so pleased with the food… Beck n Mary think that Indonesian food is better than Thai… (abso bloody lutely!!!)

After dinner, the girls started to sing Happy Birthday and Helen brought out the bday cake… It was such a yummy cake… mango and light cheese cream wrap in crepe sort of thing… just sooooo yummyyyyy… and most importantly… it wasnt too heavy (you know what I mean girls!!!)…

We’re there til around 10.30… and everyone had a great time… Since we’re seein each other pretty often so there were not much new things to talk about… but still, knowing us,  there were stilll plenty of things to talk about… Wendy is in the middle of arranging the Christmas Drinks for early or mid December… Lookin forward for that one!

Got back home just before 11pm… and I am glad that I was having a great day…

Thank you all for making my day… I love and cherish the day I turned 30… I feel so happy and content being where I am now… and I THANKED GOD FOR THAT…

*Photos can be seen on http://matthewsmummy.multiply.com/photos/album/16*