100 Things I Want My Daughter To Know.

  
Dear Kamila,

Soon you will grow up and have your own life. The journey of life can be really confusing sometimes. So here is the list of 100 things you should know about yourself, family, people, love, and life. 

1. Don’t let the number on the scale and clothes size define who you are. 

2. Shallow girls caught in the beauty standard. Don’t be one of them. You’re beautiful no matter what.

3. Love your body. There is nothing wrong with it. 

4. Have ice cream at least once a week, it’s the best mood booster.

5. You can wear makeup but don’t let it replace how your face really looks.

6. Natural beauty is always better than that. 

7. Being beautiful is not about how you look, it is about having a beautiful heart. 

8. Be polite and respectful to others.

9. Always respect yourself, so everybody will respect you. 

10. Always be the best version of yourself whenever and wherever you are. 

11. Learn as many foreign languages as you can. 

12. Don’t let anybody bring you down.

13. Don’t ever care about what people think about you. 

14. Never explain yourself to anyone. Because those who like you don’t need it, and those who dislike you won’t believe it. 

15. It’s OK if you’re not so up-to-date with fashion. That will never make you any less cool. 

16. If something looks good but uncomfortable to wear, don’t wear it. Ever. 

17. Never think you are better than anyone else. You only have to be better than you were yesterday. 

18. Because you can’t be better than anyone else, and they can’t be better than you. 

19. Everyone is special in their own way, so are you. 

20. Do not ever compete with anyone. Especially other girls. You don’t want that worthless drama, trust me. 

21. Always be unapologetically honest. 

22. Be honest with how you feel about something and have a gut to say it. 

23. If you like it, you like it. If you don’t like it, don’t pretend like you like it. 

24. Smile. It makes you a happier person. 

25. Always look people in the eyes when they talk to you. 

26. Give a firm handshake. 

27. Sing out loud and dance when your favorite song is on. 

28. You have beautiful skin, so take care of it.

29. You can not please everyone. So don’t even try it. 

30. Putting yourself first is not selfish. 

31. Only date a guy who treats you with respect. I mean it, RESPECT!

32. If he never calls, do not call him. If he never texts, do not text him.

33. If he’s ever being rude to you verbally or or even physically, leave him. And don’t ever give him a second chance. 

34. Never say I love you when you don’t mean it. 

35. Never trust an “I love you” from any men without any proof. 

36. Action speaks louder than words.

37. Money is certainly not everything. 

38. Don’t ever waste your time on anything. You’ll regret it. 

39. Never live a life style more than you can afford. 

40. Help those who are less fortunate. 

41. Spread the love not hate. 

42. Education is important. Finish your school. Finish your study. 

43. Go travel so you can see how is it like on the other side of the world.

44. Explore! Be adventurous. 

45. Do not live inside a bubble, you’ll grow with a small closed mind. 

46. Always forgive. But never forget.

47. Not for revenge or to hold grudge, but as reminder for yourself to not make the same mistakes and let yourself be hurt again. 

48. Negativity is toxic. Stay away from it. 

49. Two faces and fake people are everywhere. Choose your friends wisely. 

50. It’s not the quantity of friendship that matters, it’s the quality. 

51. There is no coincidence in this life. Everything happens either for a reason or a lesson. 

52. When in doubt, pray. God always listens. 

53. When everything seems to be failing, believe that God has a better plan for you. 

54. Don’t forget to pray whenever and wherever you are.

55. Prayer is the best medicine.

56. Always be greatful. 

57. You’re too blessed to be stressed. 

58. Never judge anyone based on their appearance, race, nationality, ethnicity, and religion. 

59. Every human being in this world is God’s creation. And all humans are all the same in God’s eyes. 

60. Be brave enough to realize your mistake, admit it and apologize.

61. Never forget those who help you in your hard times

62. Never compare your life with others.

63. Always be humble.

64. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

65. Breakfast is very important.

66. Do a little bit of workout and eat healthy food. 

67. Read books. Any kind you like.

68. Dream as big as you want. Then wake up, and make it come true.

69. Save some money for the future. 

70. Always be brave and be strong. Don’t be a do nothing bitch. 

71. Be creative. Set your imagination free.

72. Don’t be afraid to try something new. 

73. Never stop learning, knowledge is power.

74. Love yourself. 

75. But, never give compliments to yourself. Let others do that. 

76. Be proud. But do not let your pride make you stuck up. 

77. Know that there is fine line between confidence and arrogance.

78. Confidence is trying to IMPROVE yourself, arrogance is trying to PROVE yourself. Confidence is knowing no one is above you, arrogance is thinking you’re above anyone else. 

79. Be a black belt girl. 

80. Avoid conflicts, live peacefully. 

81. Don’t give any information to a total stranger. 

82. Use social media wisely. 

83. Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.

84. Have courage to step out of your comfort zone. 

85. Have courage to accept that you’re not perfect. No one is. 

86. Be passionate. Be very very passionate.

87. Do what you love and do it with passion.

88. Learn to play any musical instrument.

89. Get enough sleep while you can. 

90. Accept differences, you’ll see the beauty of it.

91. Don’t ever hate anything just because you don’t understand it.

92. Just because you were right doesn’t mean other people were wrong. Vice versa.

93. Never stop watching cartoons and animated movies.

94. Be a geek over something. 

95. You are more precious than any jewel in the world for your Dad. So, don’t ever be mad at him when he’s trying to protect you from jerks. 

96. Don’t ever stop being daddy’s little girl. 

97. Always remember family comes first. 

98. There will be a time when we argue and you might end up hating me. But always believe, anything I do is always for your own good. 

99. Whenever you need comfort and a hug, come to me. My arms always comforted you when you were a baby, and will always be here to comfort you even when you’re married and have your own baby.

100. The love your Dad and I have for you will never change. It will only continue to grow every single day. 

Love,

Mama ❤️

XO 💋

Happy International Dog Day, Kiah!

Today is August 26, 2015 and it happens to be an International Dog Day.

According to

http://www.yourdog.co.uk :

International Dog day is a global celebration of all things dog, from Affenpinschers to Zuchons and all the breeds between!

The day has been officially celebrated for 11 years, with the aim of generating awareness of rescue dogs and for those that work to care and protect them. It also recognises dogs in all aspects of our lives, from family pets to working dogs in the form of rescue dogs, guide dogs and sheep dogs. Marking the unique bond between humans and dogs in all its forms.

International Dog Day was founded by Colleen Paige, a pet and home lifestyle expert. The LA based author has also founded other days such as National Puppy and National Cat Day, again with the intention of raising awareness of the plight of unwanted pets.

In this International Dog Day, I want to celebrate the female dog we had in our family named Kiah.

Kiah is a pure breed bluetick bloodhound, the most beautiful one of her kind. She is playfull, smart, caring, loving, she is just the sweetest dog you would ever know.

Shawn found Kiah in the begining of October 2010. This is way before we met and be together. He found her in his uncle’s junk yard. He was in the garage at that junk yard and Kiah just ran up to him. So, he pet her and played with her a little bit, then he asked the worker in the junk yard who’s dog is this. They said, they don’t know. It just came earlier that morning and has not left since. So, He asked them if it was alright if he could take her home, and they said, “yes, sure!”. But, by the time he ready to go, Kiah has disappeared again lol.

So, he went home and got a phone call from the workers at the junk yard told him that the dog was back. As soon as he hung up the phone, he went back to the junk yard to pick up Kiah. They had a piece of rope and made a leash out of it to make sure that she will stay.
When he got there, she was tied up to the fence. Shawn took the rope and lead her to get into the car and took her home with him.

After they got home, Shawn had to introduce her to Rock, a dog his family had at that time, he is a mixed breed of a rottwiler and a labrador. Kiah and Rock became best friends the minute they met each other.

I asked Shawn where did he get the name Kiah for her, he said he didn’t know lol. He just picked it, like the name just came to him. I personally think it was a beautiful name and it suits her perfectly. So, we looked it up on the internet what Kiah means, and these are the first things that came up on google.

So many versions of what Kiah actually means. But, I think all of them have beautiful meaning and if you know Kiah, all of those meanings really suit her personality.

Kiah has been more than just a dog to Shawn. She was his best friend. She slept with him, played with him, followed him everywhere, and were always there for him whenever he needs someone. I know for fact, and I can see that they love each other. It is impossible to take them apart.

Shawn told me first time he brought her home she was trouble and un-trained. She is a type of hound dog, so yeah a lil bit wild and hard to control at the begining lol. Especially when you took her out for a walk, she will chase anything that moves in front of her. Her favorite is squirell lol. Escaped many times from home lol cause she was after something and just keep running after it until she got so far someone picked her up and took her to the spca or she just took forever to find her way back home lol. But, thankfully Shawn and Kiah always had a way to find each other again.

With love and a lot of patience, Shawn finally did manage to train her and surprisingly made her a very well behaved dog. Even though he had to put a dog training collar that has a remote to it, which if you press one button at the remote it can beep and shock the dog. Yeah, she needs to have that on her so she knows not to run away again. But, Shawn barely ever have to shock her cause he successfully trained her with the beeps and made her a dog who listens very well.

I met Kiah when I first came to Maryland, US for visiting Shawn and his family. Of course I’ve heard a lot about her before that, and when I finally met her, I fell in love with her at first sight. She was just so different with the other dogs I’ve ever met. She has personality. A very strong one. Even sometimes I wonder if she is actually a person lol.

After we got married, I moved to United States on December 18, 2013. And that’s when my relationship with Kiah became stronger. She was my baby girl. She slept with us, she followed me around the house when Shawn was at work. Wherever I was, that’s where she would be.
I always remember that Kiah loves to play in the snow. She also loves playing with a little frog. She always bounces when she gets excited. She will rise her little droopy ears everytime she heard someone open a wrapper of a candy bar. She loves food. She will be sitting next to you and stares at you the whole time you’re eating with her puppy eyes hoping that you will let her have a bite. And when you do, she is the happiest dog you will ever see. Do not tease her with food, she will jump on you and try as hard as she can to take the food from your hand lol. Shes scared of thunder. She will whine the whole time when there is thunder coming until it goes away. Rain makes her depressed. It is like the end of the world for her when it rains. She doesn’t like to be left alone. She loves company. That’s why shes always by my side. She knows I hate to be alone too.

When you are sick, she will be there taking care of you. She won’t leave your side not even for a minute. When you lay down at the bed being sick, she will be there laying down with you with her head on your lap. When she puts her head on your lap, you better pet her. She loves that. She is a spoiled princess. She loves attention that much lol.

When you’re feeling down, she will be there to make sure you will be alright. One day I was crying cause I missed home so much, she was there for me. She was standing in front of me with her paws on my lap, pushed her head against my head, and looked at me as if she’s saying, “Karin, please stop crying. Everything’s gonna be alright.”

She loves to stick her head out of the window when you take her for a car ride. It is always hard for her to stay still inside the car cause she got too excited, so the only thing that can keep her still was the window.

She loves Shawn so much. Of course. She will be the very first one to welcome him at the door everytime he came back from work. She also whines everyday everytime Shawn had to leave for work lol.

She was a good baby sitter to Kamila. Kamila was still too young when she knows Kiah. She only had time to spend with Kiah until she turned 4 months old. Cause after that we had to move to Jakarta.

It was breaking both of our hearts that we can not take Kiah with us. We did not have enough money to bring her to Indonesia. Saying goodbye to her was the hardest thing ever. I know she knew we were leaving. I can see it in her eyes. I couldn’t stop thinking about her since then.
She lives with Shawn’s mom now. We know she will take care of her really good, just like she takes care of her dog Diesel. But, thinking about her wondering and probably confused that we left and never came back is just killing me.

I miss her so much. I really do. Everytime I see a video on YouTube about a baby and a dog, I can’t help but to cry. On my mind, that could be Kamila and Kiah. I just miss her so much it’s killing me. I can only imagine what Shawn feels. I don’t know when can I see her again, when will we go back to United States again, and by the time we were there if she’s still gonna be there.

 

I just wish she’s doing great now. I wish she is happy. I wish I can find a way to let her know how much we miss her. I wish I can hold her again and play with her again. I wish Kamila can get to know her. I wish she will always remember me.

I told Shawn I don’t want to have another dog. Because I know I will expect them to be just like Kiah, which no other dog could be like her. I just wanna be able to bring her here, so we all can be together again.

Happy International Dog Day, Kiah. You always be the best for us. We miss you bery much it hurts. Thank you for being such a great dog to us. Thank you for being our best friend. Thank you for always being there for us. Thank you for loving us unconditionally. I am sorry we could not take you with us. I promise we will be back for you. Please don’t ever forget us. I hope soon enough we can meet each other again. I love you, Kiah.

XO 💋

Kamila’s 1st Beach Experience

Hello, blog readers!

It’s been a while since the last time I wrote something on this blog. Yeah, I have too many things going on. Had some job interviews (again), some stuff to do with Kamila since she got more and more active every day, and besides that, there was nothing really exciting going on to write about lol. Well, let’s just say I was just being too lazy to write lately lol. I know, I have to motivate myself more!

Anyway, we went to the beach last sunday! Yeay! LOL. It was not the best, but it’s definitely better than nothing. We went to the closest beach from home. Yes, it was Ancol. Yes, it was for my mom’s highschool reunion. And yes, we were kinda tagging along again lol. But hey, everybody loves us! LOL.

Although it might sound boring lol, but we actually had fun. It was a nice weekend getaway. And yes, this time we actually went to the beach part and played with the waves!

(Oh, if you guys are lost please read my previous post : “The Beach Was So Close, Yet So Hard To Get! LOL”)

So, we were staying in a place called Putri Duyung Cottage Resort Hotel. My mom and all her friends were renting a cottage with 2 bedrooms and a good size yard for their reunion party event. Too bad I didn’t take a picture of the cottage and the party decoration to show you guys. I didn’t even take pictures of my mom and her friends when the party was going on. I was too busy with Kamila.

I have to say it was a fun party. My mom arranged and organized everything. The party was her idea. She also had some friends who were very supportive and helped her here and there to make this party happen. And yes, they were very successful with this party.
Anyway, I can not say we were 100% tagged along though lol. We were kinda busy with ourselves. During the party we were mostly up in the room relaxing and playing with Kamila. It was just more comfortable there, and easier so to speak. Cause Kamila hates being held, and I can’t let her play in the floor downstairs, cause it’s too dirty and there was just too many people there. Also, if she wants to lay down, I can put her in the bed without any hassle.

 

So, we got there around 10 AM, my mom and her friends prepared for everything because the party started at 12 o’clock noon. We were just hanging out there, eating some snacks, fed Kamila lunch, even took a nap, while we were waiting for the sun to stop being so rough lol. Cause it was so freakin’ hot, and it might cause us sunburn. And I don’t want Kamila to get sunburn.

Right on 3 PM we finally got bored staying in the room lol. So, we decided to get out of the room, mingle for a little while with everybody in the party, and walk around the cottage area to see what they have. It was a nice area, good view, and they also have cool looking pool.

I told Shawn, “Let’s go to the beach area after this, so Kamila can play with the waves and feel the sand in her feet.” And he was like, “Oh, I thought you wanna go swimming after seeing that pool.” Haha he knows me so well, I do love swimming that much lol. But, I said to him, “No, I think it will be better if we go swimming tomorrow morning before we go home, so Kamila can get her morning sun too. We can get up at 7, have some breakfast and get in the pool after that. What do you think?”. He said, “Sounds good.” So, the plans are all set.

We went to the beach area, it was around 4.30 PM when we got there. Fed Kamila dinner at the beach, so she can enjoy the view cause this is so exciting for her and for us. This is her first time going to the beach! I mean, the first time actually going to the sand and water part at the beach lol.

After she finished eating, we took off her flip flop and let her stand in the sand with bare feet. As soon as her feet touched the sand, she stared at her feet and just gazing around as she normally does when she sees something new, and she tried to wiggle her toes lol. And then she looked at me and smiled. I know that she got excited by then.

 

So I took her closer to the water. Make her stand just enough to feel the water comes through her feet as the waves blowing. She was confused and so curious at the first, makes so many faces too whenever the water touched her feet, and then laughed. She looked so excited. I was so glad, she loved it!

 

We were only staying there until 5.15 PM, and then we had to go back to the cottage for dinner. It was quick, but it was worth it. We just wanted Kamila to have her 1st beach experience so we will know what to expect if we take her to the beach for vacation some other time. Well, she did and enjoyed it very much, so we were very happy for that.

 

So, we went back to the cottage. Most of people were already left when we got back there. I took a bath with Kamila, had dinner after. There were 2 of my mom’s friends who were staying there at the cottage with us. They are all exhausted from the party lol. It’s good though, that means they had so much fun. So, we were just all relaxing and hanging out until one by one fell asleep.

My poor Shawn got a horrible stomachache that night. It was weird because he didn’t eat anything different than usual. He has a sensitive stomach and he knows that, that’s why he only ate my mom’s spaghetti just to be safe. I was assuming he got that stomach problem because he ate too much that night lol. It happened sometimes though. But, God he hates it. He hates stomachache. Of course, who doesn’t?

The next morning, I was really glad that Shawn’s stomach felt a lot better. So we got up at 8.30 o’clock, an hour and a half later than our plan lol. Then, we went to have breakfast. We didn’t go to swim though, cause we didn’t have enough time. We had to pack everything cause the check out time is at 12 o’clock. It’s a bummer we didn’t go to swim, but because I promised Kamila that we will go swimming, I had to make it up to her by giving her longer time playing in the bath tub. She is only 9 months old, some people probably think she is too young to understand promises, but I like to treat her better than that. I wanna treat her as if she understands my promises are a big deal, and I have to make it up to her if something makes me unable to full fill my promise. I want her to trust me always. I don’t want her to know me as a mom who likes to break their promises and act like it was nothing. I don’t want that. I want her to trust me, I want her to know her feelings matter, and my promises are never a lie. I just want her to always be happy. She is a happy baby though, and that makes me really happy.

 

XO 💋

Photo Challenge Fail.

I know, I know. I’ve been blogging about the August Photo Challenge, but I didn’t post anything for Day 11 and Day 12 of the photo challenge. It is just too hard to keep up with! Anyone that can finish a photo challenge for the whole month, you have my respect! Cause I know it is not as easy as I thought. You gotta keep your mind going to develope some ideas for the everyday challenge, you gotta be creative. 

My excuse is I have too many things to do with Kamila lol. She keeps me so very busy everyday. So it is hard for me to keep up with the photo challenge. That’s my excuse lol. 
But, still I might not give up 100% for the photo challenge. I will still do it here and there, just maybe it is not going to be in order, and I will not do it every single day lol. So there will be some days I blog about it, some days I don’t. Depends on the chance I get to follow the photo challenge list, lol. So, we’ll see! 
Anyway, for those of you who are still doing the august photo challenge, I hope you guys can finish it until august ends! 😁

  
XO 💋

The Beach Was So Close, Yet So Hard To Get! LOL

Hey Ho!

Is anybody still visiting my blog since I didn’t blog for like couple days? Lol. Yeah, I had too many things going on with Kamila. She is a handfull kind of baby. For the past couple days she refused to sleep lol. All she wanted is to play. So I kinda had to stay up late with her, and by the time she fell asleep, I was already too tired to do anything, so I just decided to fall asleep with her. But not tonight! She is too tired to fight her sleepiness. She had a very busy day, which is good. It made her fall asleep early lol. 

Today we went to the beach area of Jakarta called Ancol. They have amusement park, hotels, apartments, restaurants, clubs, mall, convention center, gallery, etc inside the Ancol area. We went there today because my mom had a meeting with her friends for a highschool reunion they’re going to have next week. So we kinda tagged along lol. 

I was very excited, cause this would be Kamila’s first time going to the beach! So, I was kinda imagining Kamila playing in the sand with a beautiful breeze blowing through her face, and bla bla bla lol. BUT, that’s not what happened lol.

We went to the mall inside Ancol area to meet my mom’s friends. Me and Shawn ordered vanilla and chocolate milkshakes (Tasted so yummy! Possibly the best one we ever had lol), while my mom was gathering with all her friends talking about their highschool reunion stuff. The mall was right in front of the beach. You can literally walk out the door and boom! You’re at the beach! Lol. Beautiful view, of course! So, me and Shawn were having our milkshakes and chit chat a lil bit and playing with Kamila. Geez she cannot stay still as usual lol. I was like pointing at the beach while we’re sitting drinking our milkshakes and said, “See babe, we’re gonna go there after this!” and he was like, “Oh, cool!”.

After a while my mom came and said, “Let’s go we gotta get going. I need to check the venue for the reunion.” (The venue is going to be at one of the hotels in Ancol area). So, I was like “Oh, but I wanna go to the sand area.” And my mom said, “Why didn’t you go there when I was having a meeting with my friends? The reason I choose the meeting place here is so you guys can play in the sand area while I’m having the meeting!”. Boo-yah! Yep. I didn’t know that. Or should I say I didn’t think about that! Lol. I know I feel so stupid and Shawn was just laughing at me lol. But, that’s okay though. We can always go back there. It’s only one hour drive from where we live. So, it is not going to be a problem to go there again.

But for sure next time we have to prepare for everything, especially prepare for the time. So we can have enough time to do stuff and enjoying the beach.

XO 💋

My Lovable Pink Socks

August Photo Challenge. Day 10 : What You Wore 

 Pink Socks! 

I love them so much! They’re from Victoria’s Secret (always love their product!), they’re so soft, so comfortable, and keep your feet nice and warm. Yes, I still have to wear socks to sleep even though we don’t have cold weather in Jakarta lol. I wear socks to sleep because the air conditioner we have in our room is really good at making the room cold enough for us to sleep. Shawn likes to keep it chilly in the room, cause he doesn’t like to sweat while sleeping. Well, I don’t blame him! 

Shawn’s step mom gave it to me last year for christmas. She really is a wonderful person. I am so glad that I got to know a person like her and actually became family with her. So, thank you Annette for the socks! I love them so much! Love you and miss you! ❤️ 

So, how about you? What did you wear today? 

XO 💋

August Photo Challenge; Day 9.

August Photo Challenge. Day 9 : Transportation 

  
This is our lovely family car. Our favorite transportation. We go everywhere with this car. So, this is more than just a transportation for us. This car has a sentimental value to us, therefore this car is a family member. It has good gas, and it can fit 7 people inside it. Just a perfect size for us since we are not really a fan of small cars, and we have so many family members in the house! 

What’s your transportation?

XO 💋

August Photo Challenge; Day 8.

August Photo Challenge.

Day 8 : An Activity You Love 

 
Swimming! 

Yes, I do love swimming. It is fun and healthy! I just love being in the water. Swimming always made me happy, and even happier now because I take Kamila with me to swim and she really loves swimming too! 

Do you love swimming?

XO 💋

What’s In My Bag?

August Photo Challenge.

Day 7 : In Your Bag

  
These are the things I always have to have inside my bag no matter where I go. 

1. Zebra Wallet 

2. Xiao Mi cellphone

3. iPhone 5s

4. Happydent Xylitol gum

5. Pocket Mirror

6. Apple Earphone

7. Sun Glasses

8. The Healer (Perfectly Posh)

9.  A Pen 

10. Power Bank (My Bolt)

11. Aloe Gel 

12. Sparkle perfume (Rue 21)

13. Pocketbac (Bath & BodyWorks)

14. Body Lotion (Victoria’s Secret)

15. A Hair Clip

Yep, that’s my daily survival kit. What’s yours?

XO💋