I heart NIKE

Ok so by the end of July things started to get a LITTLE better :) The embassy put on a tour to NIKE. I was excited to get out of Jakarta and head to Tangerang for the day.

I jumped on a bus with a lot of randoms from the Embassy and we traveled the 2 hours to Tangerang.  It was nice to see open land, fields, and the SKY!


The NIKE manufacturer hired a professional photographer to take pics of the event which was nice and a little AWKWARD.....................you will see.

Yep that's me eating.

Yep, that's me eating more

We began the visit with some traditional Indonesian food. It was pretty good and I didn't even get sick! Then they had a presentation about the factory and the manufacturer.

Then the TOUR began! Yep that's me

Yep that's me listening to the vice president telling me how shoes are made.

Yep that's me. Holding the completed product

Yep that's me. Talking to the Pres and Vice Pres about my future with NIKE

That's the crowd. US embassy and NIKE representatives.

All in all it was a GREAT visit. I will NEVER look at shoes the same way. I would like to give a shout out to NIKE for stepping it up. That was by far the BEST factory I have been to. The only weird thing was the photographer......

I'll show YOU a Giblet

DO NOT BE ALARMED

 You are looking at the Innards, Giblets, and/or other visceral organs of a chicken.

If you are interested in consuming gizzard, heart and liver this is the stick for you. However, I was delt the short - nasty end of the stick on this one if you know what I mean. 

After the 4th fiasco I told myself I just needed to try harder to adapt and learn more about my surroundings. Soooooooooo, I took the initiative to learn some Bahasa phrases so I could order some local goods. They have a plethora of local street vendors near our apartments just past this mosque.

which look like this

Well if you can add, you can figure out this equation. Yep. I ordered correctly but overall FAILED. I showed Richard my poor excuse purchase of Satay Ayam :(




Aside from the local Indonesians taking advantage of me, the "Bule" (white person), I did take notice of the activity in the local cemetery from our balcony.

For many of the world's hundreds of millions of Muslims, Eid al-Fitr(Holiday) begins with a cemetery visit to pay respects to ancestors. 

 Cars backed up for MILES and MILES to get to the cemetery.

GoodBYE honeymoon phase!

As July crept up on me I felt this overwhelming feeling of panic.  It was the realization that my family and I were going to be staying IN Jakarta for a long time.  24 months.....(longer than 2 pregnancies.... how long it took me to complete graduate school.......730 days........ or even a two year prison sentence like this crazy guy)....yes this really happened.

Man accused of renting out foreclosed homes gets 2 years! SEATTLE -- The man accused of stealing from banks, homeowners and a loan processing center by illegally taking over foreclosed homes is heading to prison.

Although I don't really see living in JKT as a prison sentence, the honeymoon phase of living here is over.  It was fun while it lasted!    

VIEWER Discretion Advised: 3 or more posts may seem pessimistic, glum,Debbie downer like, and even discouraging.

July 4th 2013

What were you doing on July 4th?  Were you Going to parades, bbq's, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, games, family reunions? or were you attending Public or private functions celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the GREAT U.S.of A? 

It might have looked something like this:

 Wanting to make plans and execute a function just does not seem possible here in Jakarta. Why? Because 1) The amount of human beings that live here 2) the decreased Sanitation 3) Sometimes you can find a good taxi sometimes you can not 4) Weather is unpredictable 5) If you want something Exported items are ridiculously expensive 6) traffic congestion.  

TO make a really long story short I will explain how a friend of ours was hosting a 4th of July party. She asked me to take care of the decorations, making it look nice etc.

However, 3 days and 13.5 hours later :
I was only able to gather a couple items.  balloons: FAILED colored paper: FAILED
ribbon: FAILED, candles: FAILED, red-white-and blue sweet nothings: FAILED  You think you dislike Walmart? So did I until I literally went to 9 different places for the few things I found. With some magic and luck I obtained SOME decorative things....homemade banner, centerpieces, bags, oh and even fireworks. 

Indonesia though, was doing everything in its power to not allow us a nice simple dinner party for OUR day. That night it became windy, so we moved everything indoors. Then setting up my banner took 2 hours all because of tape. A simple roll of decent tape! That is all I was asking. Then.... the balloons did not make it to the party because traffic was way too bad and they wouldn't be able to make it. Then it rained, and rained, and rained which meant no fireworks. I tried America. I really did. 

Even though we were not able to have the traditional Independence day with a parade, bbq, and fireworks, we were in good company. We also made a very memorable FIRST 4th of July in Indonesia.

Although the little details of dinner did not pan out I was with the most important people in my life. All happy and smiling none the less :)

My personal favorite BIRTH day.

Elsie Mae Bindrup

One YEAR

June 26, 2013

Elsie received her first Birthday card! Thank you A&H!

So cute and thoughtful :)

    After opening the card, she experienced her first party.

Before Rich scared her 

After Rich scared her (Daddy didn't know it was ok for her to "dig in"

Don't worry, the party was able to GO ON

Elsie loving the balloons and her nudy little friend behind her

We had a lovely dinner party. Burgers and potato salad with a fruit tray. Elsie was spoiled and received many gifts from our very generous friends and neighbors.

I was determined to post some of Elsie's BEST faces for June 

 Pretty sure she looks like me in this one

I think she looks like her dad the most in this one!

                         Its so fun to take your own child's photo. They always seem to be so willing.

Fun facts about Els:

• She says Hi to everyone and waves
• She will eat anything
• She loves to sing and dance (upon request)
• She has 6 teeth
• She can sign 3 word phrases with minimum prompts
• She can walk like a cowboy
• She can click her tongue and give big smooches
• She can make anyone smile
• She Loves water and swimming
• She has 3 moods; usually happy, mostly happy, and happy all the time
• She weighs about 23 pounds
• She is almost 30inches long 
• She is always on the go!

Short and Sweet

Happy Fathers Day 
to all you fathers out there!


 Can you believe this guy became a Father on June 26th 2012?

 And..................................he just so happens to be pretty darn good at it!

Rich and Elsie (Elsie 3 weeks old)

 I think being a father has finally hit Richard in a new way. Especially since Elsie went from sitting, rolling over, and crawling and now officially to WALKING!  Our baby is growing up so fast. Im not sure how we feel about it!  Maybe someday when I become tech savvy I will be able to download the video.

I have reflected a lot this last year on being a parent and what that REALLY means. To the world Fathers day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society.  Which is great and well deserved. I personally appreciate and want to acknowledge our beliefs on Fathers.  

http://broadcast2.lds.org/general-authority-features/prophets-and-apostles-speak-today/2011-08-51-todays-family-fathers-360p-eng.mp4

Anyway, Rich was so LUCKY.  I made him fresh crepes with mango puree.  Don't judge too harshly I know what it really looks like.....

We had a great official Fathers day as Elsie walked, and I made breakfast for Rich. What more could a guy ask for?  

Missing my Dad this Fathers day......aka POPS or Marvelous

                                            

No one is like my dad. I really think he is one of a kind. Which is meant to be a compliment :) 

Oh yeah. I chopped off all my hair. The greasy slick rick pony tail was no longer working out.

Happy first half June!

The 6th month of the Year

BALL E trip

I was so excited when Rich said "Do you want to go to Bali this weekend" I did not hesitate to answer YES immediately. I thought of the great beaches and wonderful seafood we ate in 2010....and best yet LESS PEOPLE.

 So the three of us went.

Elsie was the MOST Excited and by far the most Fashionable!

The First beach we visited was Padang Padang. It was Pretty much a surfers paradise. I think the three of us were the absolute most translucent individuals there!

Apparently she did not like sitting directly on the Sand

                     
Better!

Some daddy daughter time

After Padang Padang we went to our favorite beach. Jimbaran Beach, which is a dream for fishlovers. 

The picture does not do it justice. We ordered large prawns, a snapper, and veggies. All grilled over dried coconut. The flavor was sensational.  

Elsie hung out in her pack watching the waves hit our table.

She was one tired little girl....cuddles with dad. 

The Next day we hit up a famous Pork restaurant.  Pork is a rare commodity here in Indonesia in case you didn't know.

        This is a succulent, spicy, endlessly mouthwatering take on the classic even toed ungulates.                                                                            

This pic was a little more kid friendly.....they usually roast a whole pig over coconut, right in front of you.

Drinking from a coconut looks better than it tastes.....

Then.....we went to yet another Beach!  Kuta Beach!

 Could she be any chunkier? I know thats what you are thinking, because I sure am.....

In case you didn't notice Rich has a stellar farmers tan on his arm.

Els playing with sand

Els eating sand 

Can you find Elsie in the crowd of Indonesians?  

So basically this is a picture of the norm. Not my norm, but the norm for WHITE- AMERICAN- BABIES.  

It is very difficult to go anywhere without being bombarded with mobs of people stopping you to take pictures, hold your baby, squeeze your baby,  touch your baby's hair, and take more pictures. The people are very nice, and very good with babies but this has been difficult to adjust to. It doesn't help when you have a social little girl who waves and says HI to everyone. Constantly. (did not get that from me!)

Ok, so I got bored and wanted to constrain my daughter for 10 min!

Elsie loving beach life.                                                   

 I would say our first trip to the great Bali with a baby was a success. Don't worry, it was not all luxury living(Besides the amazing, cheap massages...)Keep in mind the malaria infested mosquitoes, sand rubbed baby's bottom raw, the constant electric outages, emergency trip to the "doctor" aka (someone who printed a certificate off of the internet) who had no teeth, telling me what was wrong........and feeling guilty almost every moment of the day because you truly realize how fortunate you are and how much you really have.  Thanks for the life lessons Indo.