I can do it myself.

One of the biggest challenges of parenthood to a toddler is, your child might have their own sense of independency. Sounds interesting, huh!?

The word, " I can do it by myself." followed by , " please don't see me, mummy." made me a real worry. But when to find out, that everything she did is just a mess, I completely gone berserk. Of course it will followed by my heart wanting to scream because she is taking so long or something is about to spill or break.

Still, It's significant to give her lots of opportunities to practice. Practice makes Perfect, right?
In the end of the day, my patience will be rewarded with Giselle who can do her own things independently.

So far what Giselle can do by herself are, changing clothes, wearing shoes, brushing her teeth, eating her meals with spoon and fork ( this activity is such a nerve-racking), drinking water from glass or bottle, colouring, singing, dancing (this her fave activity) and................videoing herself singing Aladdin's song using my ipad.

see..how cool is that!?  :-D



-Debora-

How to manage your Credit Card spending

Happy Chinese New Year, everyone!

Today I am going to write a post about how to manage the credit card. Firstly, I'd like to announce disclaimer: This post is basically actually concernly about how to manage the credit card. If you feel like, okie, Deb...I know what to do with my life (including manage my Credit card spending) then, please do not read the rest of the post. So without further due, Let's get started!

Before applying credit card, there are 4W and 1H questions you should ask yourself:

1. WHAT is the credit card for? is it for online purchasing? is it for buying something via installment?
2. WHICH bank offers good promotion? the credibility and reputation of the bank? promo that suitable for you?
3. to WHOM should you ask for queries? friends/ family/ bank representatives? find a third party opinion for better understanding.
4. WHY make you interest to apply Credit Card? To enjoy some discount? cash rebates? or (sorry for my straightforwardness) to show-off only?
5. HOW much the limit can I afford? HOW much the annual card-fee? double or triple up my monthly income?


The benefits:

1. Credit Card is useful when you want to track down your spending. With monthly statement send to your address, you'll know how much have you spent.
2. It is very useful for rainy days such as unexpected expenses, accident, overseas trip, and etc...
3. There are so many credit card promotions that allow you to enjoy discounts, cash rebates, earning points. At least you can still save ( a little bit) when you spend.


Okay, you got your Credit card on hand right now. How to manage your spending?

Tips to manage your credit card spending:

1. Always keep your receipt. This is to make sure that your monthly statement is tally with your spending. Unless you have a very good memory about what you've spent within a month, well...you can skip this. :-D

2. Think twice before swipe your card. Do build a habit of paying cash first and use credit card ONLY if there is a promotions. Your mindset must be, "well, I have enough cash to afford, there is no need for me to borrow from bank ( meaning swipe credit card)."

3. Pay on time and in a full amount. This is to ensure that the bank dont charge you for any late/ interest charges fee. If you only pay the minimum stated in your monthly statement, you will incur 24.96% interest charges per annum.


Identify warning signs:

1. You build a habit of swiping credit card for every purchase thus hit the maximum credit limit.
2. You do not keep track of your spending anymore.
3. Most of your salary goes to pay credit card bill.

Remember people normally not fall into debts overnight, it is a gradual process, so if you feel that you have one of a warning signs above, do remember that Self- control is the key word to tackle this. If possible, clear all of your debts at once and keep your credit card at home. Use it only when you need it.


Hope these tips are useful for you. Ciao!



-Deb-

Faith

Hebrew 11:1

Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.


-Deb-

Man in my daddy

I have a habit of not bringing along my bible whenever I go overseas. So I didn’t bring my bible back when I was in Jakarta. Till one fine night, something nudge me in the middle of the night, (scary nea), I wake up, go to toilet, come back to bed and try to sleep again...

Have you ever experienced, when you are awake in the middle of the night…your mind just wandering around….your eyes looking at the ceiling or every corner of your room…your ears listen to the clock ticking…you just cant go back to sleep anymore. Tons of thoughts slipping through your mind, your problem, your worries, your future, your past, any thoughts count and you feel very small, insecure, and suffocated inside.

Telling to myself, just shut engine and ignore those bad feelings, please! :-D I decided to pray to God. He asked me to look at my hand phone. Without asking too much, I reached my hand phone and look at the time ( it’s around 3 o’clock) and see the screensaver in the main screen. Jeremiah 29: 11. Reading that verse few times till I fall asleep.

Next morning, I went to living room to have a breakfast.  Seeing my father’s bible on the table and asked his permission to borrow it for a little while. I touched that old bible. Its still quite neat, well...still taken-care of like before. It has been with my father faithfully since I was a little baby. Its like almost 20 years, I guess!?

Flipped over the pages, just to found out that the pages almost worn out, almost all words marked with either highlighters or bookmarks. It’s a proof that not only every Sunday He goes to church to attend service, but He also reads a bible every day.  Thumbs up, dad! 

Here I found Jeremiah 29: 11. “For I know the plans I have for you, Plans to prosper and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future.” Without fail, Jesus speaks to me again and again, the assurance not to worry with every single problems and challenges ahead. Instead of worrying human's provisos and all the stuffs, just humbly surrender to Him and He will definitely provide for his children. (Amen)

And for my dad. It's been a fortunate to have you as a father, a brave and strong one, a silent hero in our family. A patient one especially to a rebellious, stubborn, *I-know-what-I-wanna-do-in-my-life, papa-please-don’t-preach* girl like me.  Many mistakes and shames I brought to your face, but you never ever give up on me. In my little prayer, someday how I wish I could find a God’s man like you, who always fear of God and live accordingly to His Word. Thanks, Dad.

-Deb-

It's all written on your face

When you like someone, you can’t hide it inside your heart…Maybe you still can deny it, but sure someone will notice it eventually by how you dress up yourself, how you smile sweetly (if you are girl) and laugh handsomely (if you are guy) when your crush’s around. How you express yourself speaking up your opinion in order to get noticed….or how you act shy because you don’t want to be noticed but you’ll get it in the end of the day, ( remember you are freaking beautiful, dear :-D  ) It’s all there written on your face, you are falling in love.

When you hate someone, you can’t hide it inside your heart…you can’t deny it why you don’t like this particular person. People will notice it and probably that person will notice it too through your body gesture. How you interact with her, how your indirect- blunt speaking towards her, how you see her with your 100% hatred fool-proof sight:-D.  When she gets embarrassed in public, shout victory in your heart, eh?  Saying to myself, hey I dont need to be as noisy as she is, to get more attention. Screwed you, attention-seeker!! I’d wish I can stay away forever from this person. So Buzz off! It’s all there written on your face, you are having a war.

It’s all there, written on your face.

Ps: *I am still struggling Christian...pretty one though. :-D

Bad experience- Sushi Groove Grand Indonesia

Disclaimer: This post is about my annual visit to my hometown, Jakarta. Normally I don’t really blog about food but I had a pretty bad experience with Sushi Groove thus I decided to share here.

One fine day, we decided to eat some Japanese food after watching Puss in Boots in Grand Indonesia. We planned to go to Tairyo international buffet restaurant. But for some reasons, we changed our mind and tried Sushi Groove instead.

I ordered sashimi, sushi, and other raw stuffs….Just to find out  ( after about 15 mins waiting) that the sashimi is not ready to be served. I was like, OMGHHKP, complaining to the waitress, what kind of Japanese restaurant is this,  they have sashimi in their menu, very pretty and tempting pictures, but it’s not even ready to be served!? Its explained when I look around, almost all the customer ordered everything except raw foods. Okay that’s fine. We just proceed with the rest of dishes then…*sigh…

The food came; okay it’s time to eat! Here is their food’s review:

Their wasabi is pretty bad. It was the WORST wasabi I’ve ever tasted in my entire life. No taste at all, I was like scooping a huge scoop literally to my sushi and feels like, hello…am I eating wasabi!? where is the stinging sensation around the nose *you know, especially when you eating wasabi too much, lols...

Their ocha is the WORST; it is not ocha come on, taste like a normal tea! And they charged us quite expensive for a normal tea.

Their food: salmon sushi, the salmon on the top of sushi is not fresh at all. Other sushi, too ( I forgot its name) the avocado/ salmon roe not fresh, taste ordinary, the rice not solid (easily drop when you take it by chopstick)

Their service: Very bad, very slow when we asked to refill ocha ( well, its refillable normal hot tea, I can say) but very fast to clean up our empty plates or asking bills (okie this is my personal feeling very subjective, yeah!)

Last but not the least, there was some promotion going on, which is Sumo Santa's Surprise Socks. WIN Free dine in, product vouchers, and Cashback voucher at minimum spending Rp.200,000. We spent about Rp.400,000+ at that time and were asking if we entitled to this promotion. Guess what, the conversation goes like this.

After paying and find out this promo.

M: Do we entitled to this promo? we spent quite alot....
W: yeah, we have this promo, but you should informed us before making payment.
M: hello, I think It would be nice if you can inform us about this promo WHEN making the payment should your restaurant are the one who made this promo. You SHOULD TOLD us by initiative.
W:  To which waiter you make a payment, Okay let me check with ....*don't know who lah*

Then she came back again.

W: Sorry, the promo is for *dont*know*what* credit* card* holder* and you should made a payment via that credit card.
M: Oh yeah, but I checked in your promo T&C, there was no statement about using that credit card.
W: yes, but this promo is for this particular credit card.

End of conversation. The waiter didnt even bother to explain to us nor apology but It really, I've checked thru again the T&C and confirm, there is no credit card merchant being mentioned in that promo.

I highly recommended NOT to patronize Sushi Groove anymore. Especially Sushi Groove in Grand Indonesia.  I swear that would be the first and the last time I gave them business.  Well, I still prefer Sushi Tei in the end of the day :-D

Philippians 3: 13-14

I'd like to share this verse. Gotten this verse from my friend yesterday, right after our short catch-up dinner. Somehow I feel like God is, without fail, encouraging me again and again.

Thanks God, for your word.


Philippians 3:13-14

¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.


Amen.

Bobble Water bottle

One of my new year resolutions is to say NO to soda drinks and YES to mineral water. To motivate me, I decided to buy this bobble

Just a normal water bottle, eh? There is a story behind it....It was started by the founder, Richard and Stephanie Smiedt in 2008, which moved by the facts of massive waste of single-served plastic water bottle in USA. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to know that it's better to use the reused water bottle to reduce waste instead of using a single-served plastic water bottle, right? So do they. Here they are to create a reusable water bottle with the filter on it.

My pink bobble

There are 3 size of bottles, large 34 Oz/1L, medium 18.5 Oz/ 550ml, and small 13 Oz/385ml. There are many colours of filters as well, which can be fit into all bottle sizes. Its stylish, reusable, sleek, and most important is, its filter water as you drink. By using an ingenious replaceable carbon filter, when water through filter, the carbon removes chlorine and other contaminants, so its safe for you to drink. Every filter equals to 300 single serve bottles. Good news, bobble is free of BPA, Phthalates, and PVC, too!

So far in Singapore, I only can find this bobble in Takashimaya and Carrefour PS. Ohh you can sign up for their filter reminder, too. Happy bobble day!

Ps: at first, when I google this product, I accidentally typed "booble" and it link me to a porn site, no joke!


-Deb-

New Year 2012 Resolutions

It's good to be back to Singapore. Yeah! welcome 2012 with brand new resolutions and brand new life! hahaha....well, still stuck in same company, same home, same friends, same community, same family :-D

I'd wish everything will be just fine, I am a kind of person who like everything just as what it is and happy just the way they are. Simple, rite?  :-D

As usual, although now its already second day of 2012, I just started to think of my new resolutions. It will be added or adjusted during the whole year, well! hmmm...here we go:

Health:

1. Eat healthily. No more strict diet! Eat more frequent but in small portion, please. 

2. Exercise twice a week.

3. No more soda+ ice lemon tea. all replaced by mineral water or fruits. (oklah beer once a month, hehehe) 

4. Medical / dental check up, whatever check up it is, I've got to maximize my company's allowance every year!

$$$:

1. Save monthly

2. Buy clothes/ shoes/ bags limit once a month ONLY or if there is any occasion, try to recycle clothes by mix and match.

Career:

1. Increment in salary

2. Enhancing and implementing good customer service. No more urgent leave. 

Spiritual:

1. Read a spiritual book + verse to ponder quarterly. 

2. Teach Giselle a Christianity background

3. Build relationship with God. Seek and involved God in life. 

Study:

1. Enrol N4 preparation class

2. N4 test in June/ Dec

Relationship:

1. Pray for family, mention their name in every single prayer.

2. Holiday trip with family

3. Keep in touch with family. E.g Facetime/ calls/ bbm/ msn. 

4. Involved or be more active in community. example, blogging!? be more active in blogging so in which part should I put this one? relationship or study? yeah whatever, anyway blogging for me, its a media to have fun and an update to my sis/ friends only.

Wow, last part: Beauty:
1. Apply SPF religiously everyday! especially hot sunny day, please.
2. Scrub/ Exfoliate once a month.
3. Train my hair to be washed every other day, not every day. Save shampoo save water, too!
4. Cut down beauty expenses. Finds more DIY/ natural treatment.