• Journaling slump

    Another post, mostly because it got so great of an itch and I really need to jot this down here.

    I have been dabbling in journaling for quite some time (Journaling: How to?), but for the life of me, I can’t seem to find a method that sticks with me. I tried bullet journaling, buying myself Hobonichi Techo, and the likes, and somehow, it feels like things are adding up instead of helping. I wonder if I have been approaching things with a wrong mindset.

    You know how things usually are: It’s the end of the year, and folks got so excited. Prepare for new notebook(s)! Get the shiniest pen! Get those washi tapes! I have so many plans for next year and I am so gonna crush it! Watch all Tiktok videos!

    It’s the same with me. I was so excited at first, too. Heck, I even drew on it. Then, just in a matter of weeks, things fizzled out. I would blame it on my health that suddenly dropped at the beginning of the year, but you know, excuses excuses.

    Honestly, it hurts. Not only because Hobonichi is quite pricey and I hate if it goes to waste, but more so on me looking at myself and asking, “why aren’t you able to keep things up? Isn’t this supposed to be easy as this is essentially a part of self-care, too?”

    I finally took a step back and did some brainstorming with myself on what I actually need to manage my life better, especially as a housewife. So, yeah, with my usual dramatic flair, I hereby announce that I decided to stop using Hobonichi and journaling in general. However, I am keeping myself on track by:

    • This blog for record-keeping including TILs, bookmarks, Good-To-Knows, and the likes. I’m planning to use this blog for my book-reading tracking, too.
    • A notebook for weekly menu at home (cooking and grocery list).
    • A notebook for notetaking of any Islamic lessons/courses (I’m subscribing to BayyinahTV).
    • I already have my Garmin for tracking my exercise.
    • Google Calendar for events and appointments.
    • MoneyLover app for financial tracking and bill payment.

    This might seem overwhelming for some, considering how things seemed “spread out”, but I found that this is the best method for me right now. I don’t think I could ever have a One for All notebook, as it ended up making me feel overwhelmed. Having things scattered in different places with different purposes did help me, though. Let’s see how it goes. I’m planning to revisit this post after 3 months.

  • Mother’s Day brunch

    With the risk of being called a “pick me”: I am not one who usually is celebrating Mother’s Day. Without dwelling on details, Mother’s Day has not been an integral part of my life growing up. The whole thing has been… Complicated.

    That said, I am now a mother of two, and Rey, the youngest, has always been the champion of Everything Sweet, Nice, and Beautiful in our life. She’s the whimsy in the family, even more so than I do. If you think I’m whimsy, she brings it tenfold (to be fair, we are bad influencers to each other because whenever we go shopping, we always go, “OMG ADEEEEEK, LOOK AT THIS CUTE MUG!” “IBUUUU, THIS DUCK LAMP IS SO CUTE!”) Rey then set her mind that she’s representing all of us and decided that a brunch is an absolute event for Mother’s Day. Hence, the brunch at Kenny Hills Kuala Lumpur.

    I had an excellent watermelon lychee salad and a spinach with feta cheese quiche (my favorite.) I always appreciate Kenny Hills’ kitchen team skills in combining and balancing the taste and flavors. I have been increasing my salad game, and I found that watermelon, leafy veggies, lychee, and (air-fried) tempe are actually a good combo!

    Ari and the kids tucked in on their delicious meals, too! Wira ordered a Big Breakfast, Ari asked for a plate of Reuben Sandwich, and Rey wanted a plate of pancakes with berry compote and honey.

    Also, since we are at Kenny Hills Bakery, there is no chance we would miss their excellent selection of pastries! Ari and the kids settled down on a slice of butter cake, fruit tart, and jalapeno bagel.

    Here’s to all the mothers out there. Those who choose to be one, those who had to, those with furbabies, those who actually had the opportunity to step away but then decided to step up and take the role, even though they might be too young or too inexperienced for motherhood. Those who are still waiting to be one. Those who experienced loss and grief. Those who are hopeful. Those who healed, those who are still healing, those who are yet to ask for help. You all are our sisters, our aunties, our dear mothers.

  • Stepping out, one at a time

    I have been stepping away from social media (Threads) little by little recently, starting with registering on Mastodon, and I genuinely enjoy their non-algorithm timeline. You will only see stuff from folks that you follow. That’s it.

    I am still around on Threads, though, but I limit myself to 10 minutes only.

    Earlier, I tried checking Threads. Trying to see what’s up.

    My goodness.

  • We had soto ayam Lamongan for dinner yesterday at a place that Ari has been eyeing for quite some time. His bike buddies have been raving about this place for quite some time, and even though Ari and I usually go to the area for breakfast at Restoran Rose, it was always early in the morning when this place is still closed. Yesterday was a “perfect time” for a bowl of hot soto, as Indonesians usually say: “Soto weather.”

    The place is kiiiinda tucked in from the main road. It’s located on the ground floor of a housing complex (People’s Housing Program/PPR) next to some local businesses and laundry.

    Lamongan is a regency in East Java province in Indonesia, and one of their championed dish is, yes, soto ayam. Do note that there are different types of soto in Indonesia, from Jakarta’s thick and savory soto Betawi to Lamongan’s light and refreshing soto ayam. When eating soto ayam Lamongan, give it a good squeeze of lime juice to bring out all the flavors.

    The kids ordered sate; sate kambing for Rey and sate ayam for Wira, which they polished off in no time.

    The rain persisted well into the late evening.

  • The Internet is Dying

    The Boring Internet

    But it has one enormous advantage over the platforms that replaced it in your imagination.

    No one owns it.

readme.txt

This is my personal blog, so anything goes. This blog has been around since 2014, which means you would, and could, see my past writings with different perspectives and mindsets at that time. This blog is a record-keeping of what I was, what I am, and what I will be. What I wrote in the past might not reflect who I am right now, nor me revisiting the topic.

While things here are generally PG-13, I must remind you that I’m an adult, which means some topics might be too heavy for younger readers.

Listening