Brighton Trip

Last weekend we went to Brighton for two days. I was there for a conference, but we brought the kids as well so they can explore more places in this country.

We catched an early train at 05.30, which meant leaving at cold morning at 04.30 while you just finished cleaning and packing at 03.00 = zero sleep ;)

All of that was very much worth it, as the city was warm and beautiful! We had so much fun there. I'm not a person who travel a lot, but since I have kids I kind of think that it is necessary to expose them to new experience every now and then. 

Brighton is well known for its beach, and it is packed with tourists everywhere. While I attended the conference, Anto and the kids spend the time in the beach, just having fun.

Of course, the obligatory odong-odong ride in front of museum in Brighton Pier...

Played in a stoney beach, whoa! brighton beach was nothing like any beach I have seen before. It is completely covered in small pebble stones instead of sands.The kids were completely amazed, they could have played there for hours picking all those stones!

As it is a beach city, the main food is obviously the good 'ol fish n chips. The kids ate it as well as chicken nugget and tasted mayonnaise for the first time--they licked every single drop of it, Anto had to go back to the restaurant to ask for more mayo.

The kids also ate a giant choco and banana crepes, it was very delicious...and VERY messy. Nandra loved every single bit of it.

We stayed in the cheapest accommodation we could find that allow us to take children (most of cheap b&b or hostels only allow for visitor aged 18 or above). The view from the hotel's window in the morning was breathtaking.

We also found a very nice and quite authentic Indonesian restaurant in there, that makes it a very complete trip. We shared the meals with other Indonesian colleagues from the conference. Their gulai, rendang and ikan bumbu bali were beyond fantastic.

We head home completely tired--the kids spent most of their train ride sleeping. I had a deadline though at that day--so no chance of sleeping together (boo!).

Last but not least, here's another photo of Brighton by the beach, the 'postcard' photo of the city:

(can't help but thinking, why all of UK cities had to have at least one giant 'bianglala'?)

In between deadlines

My upgrade report deadline as PhD student is looming in, and with that comes the cloud of anxiety that never left in the past two weeks.

Cooking spinach becomes a gargantuan task, and I managed to accidentally spill half bottle of salt to the pot.Needless to say,the spinach was out of the window and we eat 'telor ceplok' instead.

My brother, who also has to submit his second year report for performance review, made a hole in his wife's skirt as the iron was too hot. He later joked that it is still wearable. Unfortunately for him, it was his wife's favourite skirt.

My kids spend most of their times in local parks, one of them is located near my campus building. I can feed them during lunch hour while watching pigeons and swan in front of a small lake. It was pretty fun most of the time, until a flock of pigeons started to feel interested at your kids lunch.

Although every morning I wake up feeling stressed, every time I looked at my growing kids face, they also remind me that everything is only temporary. Only a few things really matter in this life, and we can always buy some more spinach :)

Independence abroad

Today is our family's first independence day abroad. Just like other indonesian events, we ate and play too much :)

It was a clear day (with occasional raining)..

First we gathered around the nasi tumpeng and started singing our national anthem twice...all heads were turning at us.

Then we jumped around...

mbak Rully feed (many,many) pigeons...

To warm our bodies from very chilly wind, the boys played football for a while. Anto played like crazy and didn't sweat at all.

But after some time we would just like to chill before going home.

We brought some souvenir home for the kids to play :)

Happy independence day folks!

Settling in

After a few months, We are finally settling in Sheffield again, me, Anto and the kids.

And now we are trying to make this house just a little bit homey.

 

But there is one thing remains the same wherever you are.

 

...piles of the kids' laundry.

babies on board

they've been here for two months and 6 days.
Kanaditra Deshari + Kianandra Deshira, welcome to the (blogger) world, kids.

*smooches

#22 november is....

novel's birthday!

in this birthday plane of yours, i just want to say that although the skies outside may seem cloudy, there will always be more pictures to capture, more places to visit, more prosperity to come for you out there...
but most of all, i wish you happiness throughout this year, and years after!

#21 to dearest grandpa

My dear grandpa, or Eyang Atung, celebrates his 82nd birthday yesterday. Although I couldn't be there for him yesterday, my thoughts and prayer goes with you, Grandpa. Your love and spirit for the family are the things that I will cherish forever, other than your crafty hand and that green thumb of yours! You took care of me when I was a child, made me all my doll's furniture and taught me how to draw and plant a tree. Even now you're still making miscellaneous things for me and your two upcoming great-grandchildren! I wish you good health and more happy years to come, Gramps.

_your eldest granddaughter