Affirmative Mind

As we grow up, we have more things to do, more responsibilities, more plans, more and more and more..

Unlike we used to, when we were kids, teenagers, everything is about fun! no need to think about bills, career, problems at work (with your colleague, your boss etc), problems with your wife/husband, problem with your plan about (having) kids.. and many more problems!

It's not that I don't want to grow up.. naahh... I love my life just the way it is. But sometimes, you just have thoughts more than usual, thinking about almost everything, and then there you go! stucked!

We do have so many options in life, the phase to choose which one is the best, that.. would make you go nuts. Especially, if you choose the wrong choice.

However, that's the way you took, just be strong, hang in there, you'll find a way.

Optimist!*

*self-hypnotized

A new friend in town

In this my 25++ years old, I learned another new thing. I know that some of you perhaps have been having this strong bond with your mom forever.. But for me, raised in different cities and different houses had made my relationship with my mother wasn't as close as any normal girls would have.

I figured out many things mostly by exploring my life, rather than being advised by my mom (and my only parent). I did learn about life from observing her life, watching closely (well, as close as I could) her actions in every situations. We never have that special mother-daughter picnic nor that mother-daughter secrets. We did have several salon visits and shopping events together.

When I was in my preteen years to teen years and finally through college years, friends have always been my number one focus. My friends is 50% of my life. Now, I just realized that a mother is a friend that I have had the longest!! No friend can teach me better to pick the right boyfriend than my mother. I've learned not just from her mistakes but also from her lovely love stories. No friend can predict the hurt a friend can caused than my mom. She always reminds me that friendships will not always last forever, that your best friend can turns into your worst enemy, and sometimes you just have to live a life on your own. No friend can go beyond the sacrifices my mom has gone through to make sure I'm always well fed (yes, I love food!!), I'm highly educated, and I'm living a notable life. Her life experience is her teaching for my sis and I.

These things usually wouldn't hit most young girls' minds, until they start entering the real life bites: Finding a good soul mate, budgeting daily needs, preparing weddings, career changing, going through maternity, raising a child, maintaining a marriage, widowed, divorced, and so on...

A best friend of mine shared to me two of her stories:

1. "Oh Jie, my honeymoon was my first sex experience...and it hurts so bad! I called my mom in secret and just started crying. She comforted me and told me that I'm no longer a li'l girl..I'm my husband's wife, etc.. Isn't it ironic? I never shared with my mom the very details of my relationship with my boyfriend back then, but on my honeymoon I CALLED HER." ---> of course e'thing goes well with my bestie & her husband :) they had a beautiful daughter.
2. "Giving birth is amazing Jie! But, being a mom is a totally different story yet wonderful experience. Luckily I have my mom to advise me, I'm totally blind to motherhood, scary. You know what Jie? I'm now very close with my mom, closer than we've ever been."
   

In other words, after 25++ years of living.. I finally found my treasure, a best friend, my Mama :)

Something that all young girls should have known

I have the best mother, no doubt. But, as a family who grew up in a 3rd world country, our knowledge on health issues were so limited. Education and full stomach were more our basic priority. Besides, when it comes to an abnormal physical condition, people in my community are tend to veiled about it. So I did. Growing up in my early teenage years (no, I wasn't sexual active), I experienced dicharges on my "woman thing." Back then, I wasn't internet savvy as I am now, which made my reach for information was so limited. To expose my discharges experience to my friends was gonna be too embarassing, so I usually would just kept quite about this. Worst of all, I was too ashamed to tell my mom. So I kept this on going unease feelings for yearssss to myself, and gathered information only from women magazines as I grew older (and hoping one day a friend or a magazine would start a topic on this women issue).

Now in my 25++ years old, I found out that having a discharge is very common and NORMAL for any girls. People have different hormone productivity, different stress level, and different weather adaptation level. For the past year, I have been very worry with my inconsistent menstrual cycle and various discharges. It might be caused by the stress I have or it may be something else. I just don't know. So I went for check up with my family physician (I have to wait for a month to have an appointment with my gynecologist, sigh!) two months ago, and finally did my FIRST PAP smear test! Can you believe that? My very first one at this very age. For this reason, I feel the need to spread the words, especially to young women who are limited to information.

PAP smear is an annual test to check for signs of cancer of the cervix (one of the cancer for women), by taking a sample of cells from your cervix to be tested and examined. Every young women who already started their first menstruation, or reached age 18, or has been active in sexual intercourse should start taking a regular PAP smear test every year. Although a PAP smear test may missed on a cell that shows cancer signs, but a collective of 2 to 3 pap smear test wouldn't miss on cancer cells, which is why it is important to do a regular check up/PAP smear every year. It is best to find out any cancers in their early stage because they are still cureable.

Another thing I just found out when I was in the clinic's waiting room, gardasil. Gardasil is a cervical cancer vaccine for young women ages 9 to 26, that helps protect against 4 types of human papillomavirus (HPV): 2 types that cause 70% of cervical cancer cases, and 2 more types that cause 90% of genital warts cases. WOW!! This has pushed me hard back on my seat. I felt so sad, I have been going through the years of uncomfortness and worryness, and no one had ever told me about any of these; genital warts and cervical cancer.

Remembering my fond of Indonesia's girls' and women's magazines back in my teen and early-20s years, I don't think those magazines ever published any advertising nor articles on these issues and protections. They should have, especially since these magazines have become most of girls and young women's around the nation (Indonesia) best friends for many years.

For more information on PAP smear, cervical cancer, and GARDASIL please go to these websites or consult regularly to your physician/nurse:

• http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/cervical/
• http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_1X_What_is_cervical_cancer_8.asp
• http://www.webmd.com/cancer/tc/cervical-cancer-topic-overview
• http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/pap-test.cfm
• http://women.webmd.com/guide/pap-smear
• http://www.medicinenet.com/pap_smear/article.htm
• http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/women/reproductive/gynecologic/138.html
• http://www.gardasil.com/
• http://pediatrics.about.com/od/immunizations/p/06_gardasil.htm
• http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01885.html

hey hooo..

wow! i would say, good job Marjorie!! :) for making this blog to be true!

I don't have any recipes rite now, but I'll post them later.. promise! Well, it could be a recipe in love, recipe in work, recipe of food? hahaha...

ummm.. maybe I can start with this one, recipe for friendship! the secret of my bond with Marjie :) :)

2 heaping cups of patience
1 heartful of love
2 handfuls of generosity
1 headful of understanding
A dash of humour
Sprinkle generously with kindness
and plenty of faith
Mix well
Spread over a period of a life time
Serve to everyone you meet.

-Author unknown

xoxo,
cido

There's always first of everything

Yay! This is our first blog..notice the 'our' ya :) I thought the idea of having a team blog of girlfriends would be nice. We could share stories and recipes on womanhood, since we are all entering this life phase now. As I have stopped counting my age when the cake shows 25 on it. From now on I'll always be 25 years old ++ hahahaha.

I think as an opening to this blog I would like to share my first cooking memory.

I remember my first kitchen experience was years ago, I think I was 4th grade (elementary school) at that time. I love to cook pancake (from the box lah), broccoli soup (from the knorr/indofood sachets), omelet, supermie, and 'daging cincang'..those were my favorite food at the time. Hmm..now that I realized this, I cook only because I love to eat that certain food..hahaha.. Now that I'm living abroad, in Houston, I can find pancake and broccoli soup in e'corner of this town. So, I don't think I would want to buy a box of pancake mix nor a sachet of brocolli soup mix.

I have been in love with food ever since I was little, I grew up thinking that food was my purpose of life (hahahah...boong bgt!). Seriously, I rarely want to share my food with anyone in school x) and have not change up to this day; even to my number one, numero uno, loving, best boyfriend, hiehiehie.. I'm always confused with people who love to diet or skip meals without any religious or healthy reason, I think those people or weirdddd..or maybe I'm weird myself hahaha..

Anyways, I want to share my daging cincang recipe, which was thought by my mom, to my bestie..here it goes cid!

Bahan: Daging cincang, bawang putih, bawang merah/bawang bombay, merica, garam, telor, buncis, kecap manis, sedikiiiiiiiit air.

Cara Memasak:

1. Tumis bawang putih, bawang merah/bawang bombay
2. Masukin daging cincang, campur dg tumisan bawang2
3. Masukin buncis yg telah dipotong2 kecil
4. Campur dg garam, merica
5. Tambahkan sedikit kecap manis, jgn teralu banyak..kemanisan ga enak.
6. Tambahkan sedikiiiiiit air masak biar aga berkuah dikiiiiiit. inget, ini bukan lodeh ato sup lho.
7. Cemplungin deh telor, aduk rata.
8. Kl semua dah matang, siap saji :)