It's Halloween...BOO!

My cute Medusa girl

It's 31st of October...or well-known as the Halloween day. As usual, there was Halloween event (a parade) at my girls' school and this year, my youngest was willingly to take part. OMG...whatta change...normally I have to persuade her with various benefits LOL. Perhaps, her previous participation on fancy dress event did something good for her. So, I started to work on the theme...forget bout the Harpot uniforms...or the witches...or the vampire...or the ghost...or the pumpkin...or the fairies...or the bees. All of them were so ordinary and I bet that almost half of the participants would turn up in these costumes (and I was right...there were sea of black robes and cloaks everywhere at the school's ground, of course with the pointing hat as well). Well, nowadays, it is pretty easy to find a costume to wear, unlike 5-7years ago, when you should reserve your costume at rental a month in advance. Now, you could find the Halloween costumes at any corner of the shopping mall. But I was wondering why I didn't see any Indonesian's ghosts costume LOL

The snakes that i used for hair piece

Back to the theme...I wanted something different for my girl. And since I just read Rick Riordan's The War of Athena book, I had an idea to impersonate Ariadne, the lady spider who was cursed by Athena (according to the RR's book). I pictured it on my head, my girls wearing a black veil with lost of tiny spiders on it plus a clothes with lots of spiderwebs and spiders. Sounds awesome right? I went to shop...I drew the design...and suddenly my girl said she didn't wanna be the Ariadne...she wanted to be a Medusa instead. So I abandoned my work on lady spider and started to browse Medusa.

The initial design for Ariadne

I found it on Martha Stewart website (geez...you gotta bookmark it, this site is so resourceful), a picture of a lady with snake hairpiece. So I went malls-hopping to find small yet flexible rubber snakes. I had difficulty to find it (where all those rubber snakes go when I needed them the most?). I bought some @Toys Kingdom at IDR 29k per piece which turned out unsuitable for the hairpiece purpose (too curly and not flexible at all). My sis got another @Asemka, at IDR10k per piece but again...unsuitable since it was too big and heavy, not to mention the super length. Finally, I got the perfect snake only a day before the day...geez...I (well - actually my sis) got a dozen at IDR5k only @ITC Mangdu...whatta bargain (compared to others who buy or rent the costume).

The snake pet in its basket

Here is how I make a Medusa hairpiece:

• Separate the hair into 2sections (ponytails) and plait it.
• Take some bang/fringe from the right side and plait it. Fasten the end of the plait onto the left side (let it hanging on the forehead).
• If your hair is long, then make a bun of the 2 plaited ponytails. Since my girl' hair is not long enough, I put one plaited ponytail on the top half of the head and another on on the bottom half of the head. Fasten it with pins.
• Start weave the snakes onto the hair. You can put any number as you like. You could secure the snakes with pin as well (I didn't since I weaved it perfectly ok)
• For addition, you could draw snakes on your face as well

The hair piece

Next, I bought this snapping snake (from Wild Republic @IDR35k) for the arm-band. I prepare a basket (adding some fake leaves and a bit of flower here and there) and I put the big and long squisshy snake inside. So my Medusa girl had a snake pet in a basket "̮˚°◦♡ώκωķ(∩_∩)◦°˚"̮  Since my initial intention was only doing the hairpiece, I didn't prepare a special costume. However, the homeroom teacher asked me to put on some suitable costume. Luckily, my girl has this long sheer flowing dress and I thought this dress was passable for impersonating Greek goddess.

The snapping snake for arm band

So there she was...my cute (not scary at all) Medusa in her pretty dress and her snake pet...doing her parade and trick-n-treat @school.

The Halloween parade @school

Ħªppy Halloween! May you all have a spooky and boo-tiful night (๑'⌣'๑)づ

Made from styrofoam balls with black paint

My top-5-fav mangas (all time fav)

Ehm…this is hard, to shortlist my fav manga into top 5. I thought and thought…changed and rechanged…addded then removed the titles. But at the end, (after a very serious consideration)…here what I have for my top-5-all-time-fav manga (manga that I always re-read and never get bored). All manga titles are based on alphabetical order.

7 Seeds by Tamura Yumi

The story is about the end of the world. However, few years prior the predicted end, the Japanese gov has established a program called 7 Seeds, which is supposed to be the survival and continuation of human being after the end of the world. It sounds so futuristic, but no worry…the environment on the manga is the world that we know (not something in the far future which is quite hard to imagine). So the gov selected 4groups of teenagers (around 6persons with 1 adult as the team leader) and put these persons to a long sleep in which will be woken up at specific time after the predicted disaster has passed. So the story tells us about the new world, how human and animal have to adapt to the new world, about the conflict between groups as well as between the group members, and many more which is very interesting to read.

Basara by Tamura Yumi

An award winning manga with epic story line. It’s about the future Japan after a catastrophe (which in a way, make it just like a place from hundred years ago). It’s about struggle, forbidden love and a long painful hardwork journey of Sarasa. Born as the boyish girl, Sarasa has to take after her dead/killed twin brother Tatara as the leader of her tribe. Pretended to be Tatara, she leads her tribe in fighting the oppressing kingdom lead by Red King. Sarasa promised her tribe and other people who later join her rebellion cause, to kill the Red King. But, who knows about the future fate? Sarasa accidentally meet Red King (who at that time, uses Shuri as the name). Fateful meeting leads to friendship, and then after helping each other escapes death few times, they find love. However, just when they realized that they are in love with each other, they find out about the true identity of each other. What would Sarasa choose, the forbidden love or a sacred promise to kill the Red King?

Glass Mask by Miuchi Suzue

Another old time fav…I first read it when I was in junior high (can u imagine…how long these series go on?) It’s not completed yet (even there were few years vacuum period since the author was occupied by other thing). But yet, I (and I believe…along with the other fans) am willing to wait month after month, year after year, for the new release. It is about an orphan, poor and simple girl, Maya who isn’t good at anything unless acting. Eventhough she has natural talent in acting, it doesn’t mean that the road to success and for her to play her-dreamt-drama is easy. There are lots of obstacle, from jealousy to envy, love triangle, and fierce competition with the beautiful, rich, and talented Ayumi. So, can Maya be the leading actress in the famous-drama of Plum Goddess? You just have to be very…very…very patient   J

Komatta Toki Ni Wa Hoshi Ni Kike! By Abe Miyuki

Another cute and lovable manga from Abe Miyuki. The story takes place in an all-boy-high-school dormitory when a new residence came in. Fujishima, with his baby face and petite body (in term of boy) is assigned into a room with Kiyomine, a rough handsome loner. Fujishima who grows up in a family full of love, found it is hard to deal with Kiyomine. Several fights occur, before both of them become the best buddy. It’s interesting to see how boy students in an all boy school treat the pretty Fujishima and how Kiyomine, with his possessiveness, will protect Fujishima. It is truly adorable and laugh trigger story. Caution: some of the scene might have tendency toward BL in a very light category (please google the meaning of BL he he he).

Skip Beat by Nakamura Yoshiki

Ah…I love this one (they have the anime as well as the drama). I love Ren…the picture/drawing is so good (I’m definitely head over heel with this). It’s about a country-pumpkin girl (meaning: a girl which is sooo ordinary) named Kyoko. There is not much story about her family except that her mom is quite strict and demands the best from her. Kyoko felt in love with her-childhood-friend, a rising singer, Sho Fuwa. However, it turned out that Sho had been using her and pretended to be in love with her (well, actually he is head over heel with this girl as well, but too shy to admit his feeling). So to revenge him, Kyoko enters the show-biz and unintentionally works closely with Ren, the famous actor cum model which is the no 1 enemy of Sho. As thing progresses, Ren fall in love with Kyoko and vice versa, however Ren’s dark past and Kyoko’s determination not to fall in love again, allow them to conceal their feeling toward each other. So, how’s the love triangle between Ren, Kyoko and Sho? Definitely not one to be missed   J

Please be kindly informed that the manga covers are taken from online manga reader site (sorry...i was too lazy to find it on my book shelves).

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

Ok...who was spending this long weekend doing nothing except malls-hopping? Well...I had planned few weeks for this long weekend and had browsed which hotel/villa in which area that we wanted to go but...my hubby got assignment which left us going nowhere huhhh. At least, Jkt traffic was more likable during this long weekend   :-)   Rather than talking bout our small family outing, it would be more interesting to talk bout the recent book that i read   :-)

Synopsis

Annabeth is terrified. Just when she's about to be reunited with Percy - after six months of being apart, thanks to Hera - it looks like Camp Jupiter is preparing for war. As Annabeth and her friends Jason, Piper, and Leo fly in on the Argo II, she can't blame the Roman demigods for thinking the ship is a Greek weapon. With its steaming bronze dragon figurehead, Leo's fantastical creation doesn't appear friendly. Annabeth hopes that the sight of their praetor Jason on deck will reassure the Romans that the visitors from Camp Half-Blood are coming in peace.

And that's only one of her worries. In her pocket, Annabeth carries a gift from her mother that came with an unnerving command: Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me. Annabeth already feels weighed down by the prophecy that will send seven demigods on a quest to find - and close - the Doors of Death. What more does Athena want from her?

Annabeth's biggest fear, though, is that Percy might have changed. What if he's now attached to Roman ways? Does he still need his old ƒяιєη∂? As the daughter of the goddess of war and wisdom, Annabeth knows she was born to be a leader - but never again does she want to be without Seaweed Brain by her side.

Narrated by four different demigods, The Mark of Athena is an unforgettable journey across land and sea to Rome, where important discoveries, surprising sacrifices, and unspeakable horrors await. Climb aboard the Argo II, if you dare ...

I say...

The third book in The Heroes of Olympus. I am impressed of Rick Riordan...as a historian lecturer, he managed to make ancient history (which sounds so dull to any other - unlike me - I am always get fascinated by history...the more ancient...the more interesting) sounds like a day-to-day-battle in online games these days. And I am amazed, as an author, he survived writing interesting series (2 series) at almost the same time. Even though most series dealt with almost the same plot - teens against God either in Roman, Greek, or Eigypt history - you name it). I bet, if there is any world-wide-famous-Indonesian goddess, he probably will turn it into another new series LOL.

And as expected, it had lots of twist and turn in the plot, with light jokes and sarcasm that blended pretty well in the story. I don't know how RR could come up with such a joke right in the middle of crisis...cranky LOL. Anyway, it was a really epic story...another thumbs up for RR.

My 2nd Sewing Project - Simple n Easy Bag

Like I told you last week, I was so into sewing nowadays so I spent almost all-of-my-me-time sewing various kinds of things. After success in sewing the gloves, now I made a very simple bag. I copied the design and followed the instruction from www.makeit-loveit.com (I love this site – lots of tips for art and craft). Since I still had the left over bolster sheet from my gloves…so I used it with a yard ribbon.

How to (if you are confused, pls kindly refer to the above site for more detail explanation):

1.      Draw 2 rectangles (let say A and B) with dimension of 35cm x 30cm and cut it (if you aren’t sure…you could draw it on the paper as the pattern first)

2.      Cut 2 pieces of ribbon with a yard long

3.      Sew the long sides of both rectangles together (do it inside out) but leave 5cm at the bottom part and 7cm at the top part

4.      Sew the top side (the 7cm one) separately (don’t sew the top sides of A and B together). Make sure, you have some space to insert the ribbon

5.      Turn inside out and insert 1 ribbon from rectangle A and continue to rectangle B. While insert another ribbon from rectangle B and continue to rectangle A.

6.      Tidy up the loose ribbons and turn the bag inside out again

7.      Sew the ribbons onto each side of the bag (at the 5cm part)

8.      Then sew the bottom of the bag

Now you have this simple yet easy bag…my girls are using it to put their aikido outfit J

Hotels around Bandung

Continuing the last week post about hotels around Lembang, here are some notes on hotels around Bandung area. I hope it’s useful for you…

Grand Paradise Hotel

The back yard

Ornaments around the hotel

Pretty awesome isn't it?

Pluses

§         Oh…it was kinda brand new and huge. I love the mixture between the beauty of nature among the human-made beauty of art (most of the statues were greatly influenced by Greek and Romanian goddess – I would say a Renaissance touch )

§         Offers lots of activities for children, from pony riding to outbound

§         Offers not only the outdoor-bone-chilling-pool but indoor-hot-natural-sulfur-pool as well

§         The size of the room is standard but well equipped (I loved the full-body-jets-spray shower). I loved the details inside the hotel itself (not the grande thing but more to their attention to details on every aspect inside the hotel)

The restaurant

The room

The spacious lounge

Minus

§         Non hotel guest could use the pool as well with a small fee…so it was not quite exclusive and private

§         Pretty far in term of location

Ceiling decoration and many more

View from the rooftop

Mason Pine

The greenery...love it

View from balcony

The balcony

Pluses

§         I considered the location as benefit (I didn’t need to go through the weekend normal traffic @Pasteur), however, for some people, it might be a disadvantage (since it is quite far from the city). It is located 1 exit prior Pasteur, the Padalarang exit, inside the complex of Kota Baru Parahyangan Bandung.

§         Close with Bale Pare, one stop spot for dining and children entertainment (you could find 3D show, library, outbound, etc here)

§         Close with Puspa Iptek Padalarang, which is a bit smaller but exhibits various and quite complete science-related-items. It has big sundial (the biggest in Indonesia – if I’m not wrong). I recommend you to drop by here…it’s enlightening place for all of us

§         Olympic size pool…yay   J

§         During the school holiday, the hotel offers various activities that can be enjoyed by the whole family. While during the normal day, you could do some biking, and selected activities as well

§         It is big and vast, with lots of greenery view

The kids' club

The olympic size pool

Minus

§         Ehm…I didn’t think I have complaint during my stay here…it was quite perfect unless again, if you intended to spend your whole day in the city, then you need to drive some distance

The stony path for reflexology

The poolside restaurant

Vila 78 Dago

Yes...we love green

The terrace

Pluses

§         It was roomy and spacious. If you come during the low season, you could have the whole villa to yourself

§         The view was breath-taking (especially at night with lots of far-away lighting)

§         It is pretty cold…so my girls could run around without sweating

The living room

Minus

§         The location was quite difficult to reach, zig-zag-ing and uneven road. Not to mention, there were inadequate information on the road name ( I remembered we have to stop and ask around few times before reaching the tight place)

§         You gotta sharpen your driving skill *grinning*

§         Since it is a villa, so don’t expect responsive staff will be available upon your calling and of course, no breakfast too. Sometimes, you gotta do it yourself (like filling the drinking water)

§         Since the location is not strategic, it was quite difficult to find a restaurant (there are few restos nearby but pretty pricey, like The Peak)

You wouldn't find this elsewhere :-)

Cozy couch inside the bedroom

The bedroom

Baked Pumpkin

Remember the last time I dined @Collage, I was pretty hooked with its baked pumpkin. Seeing how simple yet tasty, I tried to make my own version of baked pumpkin. I used a quite small orange skin pumpkin (the one that you normally carve for Halloween Jack o’lantern). People said, the small pumpkin has sweeter taste than the big ones. Choose the one with a hard skin (try to press the skin around it – if you find some soft spot or cut on the skin, then you’d better choose another one).

The baked pumpkin - fresh from the oven

I peeled its skin (but I guess you could bake it with the skin intact – the one I had @Collage had the skin but just make sure you clean the skin thoroughly). I cleaned the seeds as well (including those ‘tangled-hair-alike’ stuff). Don’t throw the seeds away…just set it aside for temporary. Then I chopped the pumpkin into a bite size square chunk. Prepared and mix the following: salt + thyme + oregano + cumin + grinded pepper + dried chili + olive oil + water. If you dislike spice, then you could use water + olive oil + salt only. Then put the pumpkin inside this mixture and let it marinating for about 30mins. Preheat the oven.

Preparation for marinating

There are two ways to bake the pumpkin. If you want a crunchy baked pumpkin, then after 30mins, drain up all the water. Put the pumpkin on the pan and sprinkle the olive oil and salt evenly. Cover the pan with aluminum foil then bake for 30mins (medium heat). But if you want your baked pumpkin to be a little bit moist, after 30mins of marinating, drain up the pumpkin but leave about 1cm (in height) of the mixture. Put the pumpkin and the mixture into the pan, cover it with aluminum foil and bake for 30mins (medium heat). It could take longer if your pumpkin is big in size.

Cleaned and rinsed pumpkin seeds - ready for marinating

For the pumpkin seeds, I cleaned and rinsed several times. Then I mixed water + salt and put the seeds into this mixture for 30mins. After that, I drained up all the water and dry the seeds (tap softly using tissue paper). Put the seeds into the pan and sprinkled some salt evenly. Baked together with the pumpkin   ;-)

The crunchy roasted pumpkin seeds

Now, you could have this simple snack of pumpkin seed (which was eaten up by my girls in less than 10mins) and baked pumpkin. Yummy and healthy   J

Halloween craft with the girls

Second monthly exam has passed and now it’s the season for school’s projects. My oldest daughter had a felt project for her art subject, making something (can be anything - free to use your imagination) to be hang in the car-rear-mirror. Since it’s almost Halloween day, so I thought about Halloween theme for the project. Here was what I designed for her originally (I helped her drawing the pattern and stitching part, the rest was done by her…she took forever to stitch 1 body phewww).

Yay...we are ready for Halloween

What do you need:

§         Ribbon

§         Various colours of felt clothes

§         Glue 

§         Needle and thread

Step 1 - 4

The mini plushies

How to:

1.      I make and cut pattern based on the design drawing (one animal was about 5cm height).

2.      I cut 3pieces of ribbon, each 50cm. I leave the first 15cm loose and then wave/plait for another 20cm and leave the rest loose. I make a knot to fasten the plaited ribbon

3.      I cut 2pieces of rectangle (white felt) for the name plate. I sew the name on one piece and the class on another. Then I sew both pieces together, by attaching the knotted ribbon in the top middle of it and let the loosed parts out from the bottom of the name plate

4.      Then I make another knots from the loose ribbons (to be inserted into the mini plushies)

5.      Cut the felt clothes based on the pattern (remember to cut the front and back bodies).

6.      Glue the eyes/mouth/beak/feet/wings onto the body. For girly touch, you could add eye lashes (stitch it using either black or white threads) or ribbon. You could stitch the mouth as well instead of gluing the felt cloth.

7.      Glue (or stitch it) together the front and back bodies. Remember to attach the knot ribbon into the top middle of the head. Leave some space to insert the polyester fiber and then fasten it.

8.      Now you have Halloween ornament ready to be hang around in the house…or in the car   J

For my youngest one...to be hang on her lunch box bag