Tween + moving + 10 years old = problem solving

Ten years old... who wasn't too happy to leave her best friends behind... Plus new location, new school, new neighborhood, new friends... makes it even tougher...
In addition to anger, I also get some tears for not liking her new environment.

She started to say... "I don't like school". It has been bugging me since about 1 month ago. I have been listening to her, giving empathy, trying to find out what is it the real cause of that,... she still came home with tears.

I almost gave up. I'm so ready to e-mail her teacher and perhaps look for a professional help. I guess my creative, thinking out of the box gene kicks in.

I decided to ask her what she wants to do to make her "happier". She said... "no school". So I asked her if she meant for a different school or if she meant stay at home. She wants to stay at home with me...
"Sure...", I said. "But you also have to tell me what do you want to do when you stay at home. You can clean up the house, cook and you need to work because we have to make a living...."

Then the conversation starts around her skills, what is it that she can do to make a living. I gave her some options what she can do to find work and I asked her to think about it and tell me what's her decision, tomorrow.

I was worry... I'm not sure what's the outcome. But I think it's a good idea to involve her with problem solving rather than giving solutions...

Tomorrow afternoon I asked her... "So what is your decision..."
And she said "school".... And then I said "What are you going to do with new friends, new school...?" She thinks she could handle that part too...

Starting that day, she changed. No more tears on the way home and she looks happier. I guess I did the right thing... It works for me... so I thought I should share it in my blog...

The Med at Boulder... a reasonably priced restaurant to eat

Last Sunday afternoon, we were in Boulder. The kids just done skating at One Boulder Plaza and it was around 4:30. We want to get something to eat and go to church. We found out there is a church on Sacred Heart of Jesus on Mapleton and 13th in Boulder that starts at 6pm.

Where to eat?
We learned there is a restaurant called The Med (Mediterranian ) in Boulder, on Walnut and Broadway that serves tapas. Plus... they have happy hour from 3-6:30 pm every day.
That sounds perfect. So, we decided to drive there. We arrived at almost 5. The hostess said it will take about 15 minutes before we get our seat. 5-10 minutes later, our name was called. We ordered the tapas, get some bread for a start, tapas arrived, we have happy tummies.

We left at around 5 to 6 and we still have enough time to go to church. Everyone have their own favorite. My daughter likes the baked feta, and mozzarella cheese. I like bacon wrapped dates, prosciutto with melon and calamari. There are a lot of good tapas choices. With the happy hour price, their tapas and service are unbeatable.

Wouldn't you agree?

A taste of Indonesia... Food Fund Raising by KKI Colorado

A taste of Indonesia? It may very well be. A group of Indonesia Catholic is doing their once a year fund raising.

They will cook and deliver Indonesia food for those who live in Colorado - Denver area. Orders form available on line and it will be closed on March 20, 2012 or when we reach our target, whichever comes first. They will deliver your order on Saturday March 31, 2012 between 2 – 7 p.m.

To learn more about this Food Fund Raising, please visit www.kkicolorado.org.

Good luck and happy tummy...

Lime juice me... a tip when you ran out of acid for jewelry pickling

I ran out of "pickle", acid that I need to clean sterling silver due to oxidation during soldering process.
Thanks to Jusuf Baba, I borrow his idea on using lime juice.
So, opened up my fridge, cut a slice of lime and squeeze the juices. I added some hot water and put them in the crock pot.



See before and after picture.

One hour later... voila...
It does take a little longer time compare to store bought acid. Besides, I have some lime enough to make my favorite drinks. Margarita anyone....?

Boys Personalized First Communion Gifts

Looking for personalized gifts for boys? How about this hand made sterling silver tie tac? It's mad with hand stamped sterling silver charm on a chain tie tac. It's great for keepsakes. It fits boy's size tie.

To learn more about this, please visit my Etsy store.

From Narita to Yuzawaya in Shinjuku

On the way to the US, I have 9 hours transit time in Japan. I could choose sit down in the airport or I could try exploring Japan in 9 hours... I decided to choose the later one.

We arrived at 8 am at Narita airport. After custom, look for info and money exchange, we're ready to go out at around 9. From Narita airport, I went downstairs to where the trains are. But before doing that, there is a convenient store that sells some omisubi ( Japanese rice ball). I decided to buy some just in case we got hungry on the way.


We took Keisei Line and head to Nippori station. It took about 1 hour to get to Nippori station. From there, we took Yamanote line to Shinjuku for the next 15 minutes. The cost was about 1190 Yen for adults. Children pays 1/2 price, while children younger than 5 is free. Total trip time was about 1.5 hours ( including the time to buy ticket, time to ask the officer which line to go and time to get familiarized with the situation.


We went to Takashimaya building. On the same building, they have Tokyu Hands and Yuzawaya. We went to Tokyu Hands first but then decided to go to Yuzawaya. It's comparable to "JoAnn" but it stacks up about 5 floors up. I looked for paper... washi paper to be exact.



My jaw dropped to see rows and rows of papers. You could easily mistaken it for fabrics.
I spent about 1.5 hours there, looking for fabrics, paper, rubber stamps... if only I have more time.
Then, I went in line to pay. They have line A and B. Lucky for me, Ami, our friend's daughter helped read the Japanese word. Line A if you need some cuttings while B, you just pay. So, I went to line B.

We had beef bowls for lunch, in a small store kind of across Takashimaya building. It's yummy and cheap. Only about $3 a bowl.

We have to catch 5 pm flight, so we decided to head back at around 2:30 pm. We arrived at 4 pm at Narita and we have enough time to go through the custom, board and sit in the plane.

I think it was the best 9 hours in Japan for me...

Resep bagaimana membuat play doh (playdough) buatan sendiri

We're back home from our trip to Indonesia. There are so many changes from the last time we visited. I saw so many people are on cell phones and there are more kids play stuff like play dough are becoming more common there.

So, I thought I want to share home made play dough recipe I used to make when our children were younger. Please excuse my Indonesian...

Resep 1:
1/4 cup garam
1 cup tepung
1/4 cup air

Campur garam dan tepung di mangkok lalu tambah air. Di aduk, pencet-pencet sampai menjadi seperti konsistensi tanah liat. Mungkin harus tambah air. Resep ini tidak tahan lama, bisa rusak.

Idea lain, bisa di tambah pewarna makanan atau kilau2.

Resep 2:

1 cup baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
1/2 cup tepung jagung (maizena)
3/4 cup air

Campur baking soda dan tepung di panci pakai tangan. Lalu di tambah air. Orang dewasa bantu untuk taruh di atas api kecil. Aduk terus sampai menggumpal. Jangan masak terlalu lama karena bisa hancur.
Setelah dingin, anak kecil boleh mengadon sehingga lembut.

Translated from http://www.kiddinaround.com/pages/3-Easy-Recipes-for-Making-Homemade-Play-Dough.html