Fall Pictures!

Today, as I mentioned last night, I really wanna have pictures with those colorful leaves, and there you go! I got it!!!
I'm sooooo happy!!!!!

Finally, my husband didn't mind to take my pictures....

We were looking at the marching band which was practicing in front of the Assembly Hall. Then we discovered that the trees are already yellowing....it's so wonderful! I couldn't hold my self from taking pictures and then I got it!!! YAY!!!!

I discovered that my camera is pretty old and the colors are not bright anymore, so I'm considering to buy a new one..
That's why I asked my husband to take my pictures because his camera is much much better than mine...

my prayer

Dear Lord,

I really wanna have pictures in a place around Orchard Down during this Fall because my friends took pictures there last year. I couldn't make it last year because it was too cold and I was lazy. But now I do regret it. That's why I really wanna go there and take as many pictures as possible before it's too late....

My friend said that the red leaves will just hang in there for several days...oh nooo....
I should do that before the leaves fall to the ground and nothing is left on the branches...

Please Lord, listen to my prayer....

I have begged my husband to take pictures there but he refused me because he also doesn't like the cold weather. But he said that this Sunday, the weather will be nice and warm. So he promised me to take pictures on this Sunday...
I hope the red leaves will be still on the branches and it will be a very nice day to take pictures....

Thank you Lord

Slumdog Millionaire

I just watched it this afternoon. Well yeah...where have I been? It's an old movie....hahaha....

It's because I just got a DVD player from Eka who was already heading back to Indonesia. She gave it to me for free. Yay!!!

OK. Slumdog millionaire is truly a very good movie. I watched it at my apartment while my son Jerome was at school and my husband went to Champaign Library. I borrowed the DVD from that library for free last week but I just had time to watch it this afternoon.
If you want to know what that movie tells about, just google it and you will find a lot of notes about it.

I am so impressed by that movie. To see how slums society in India is just like what is going on in Indonesia, my original country. It's so sad but true. So many poverty that the government couldn't come up with it. It's too complicated, man...

I'm impressed by Jamal, the actor, who is really calm and confident. He is also really smart. Even though most of his answers were based on his true story or just a coincidence, but I believe he is such a smart guy. He can remember many things, even the things from his childhood.

I'm also impressed by Latifa, his girl friend from his childhood who became a gangster's wife. The gangster is so arrogant and has a bad temper. Oh my....it's just like me! I'm also bad tempered some times. It just remind me to be nice to my husband and my son no matter how stressful my life is. I do thank my husband for being so nice to me. He is never upset or saying something bad to me. He never does something nasty or anything that women hate. I should thank God for giving me such a wonderful husband like him.....

Jerome's progress...

Yesterday, my husband told me that Jerome's teacher at preschool said that Jerome was not cooperative.
So, I decided to pick him up from school today. We usually pick him up at 5 pm but I think we should do it earlier because I need to talk to one of his teacher.
I met Ms. Lee and asked her what was going on yesterday.

Ms. Lee said that Jerome was not cooperative. After clean up time, they have story telling time but Jerome refused to clean up the toys and even he threw the toys to the floor, laid his body on the floor which is not allowed by the teachers since they are afraid that other students will imitate his attitude. Jerome was asked to sit in a chair. He was crying but just for a while. Then everything was back to normal. But Ms. Debby was upset and looked unhappy. She told my husband that next time, if Jerome does it again, we (either me or my husband) should accompany Jerome at school to calm him.

Oh my....it was not the first time. Last month, Jerome did it for the first time. He was so angry and moody. We didn't know why. The teacher said that if he is not ready to go to school, we shouldn't force him. If it makes him come late to school, it's ok. We should make sure that he is ready for school. Otherwise, he will just make a trouble at school.
At the time, Ms. Bryan called me and asked me to pick Jerome up.
But yesterday, they didn't call me. Today, I was afraid that they would call me and asked me to pick Jerome up. I looked at my cellphone many times and listened to it carefully.
Thanks God, it didn't happen.

I hope it won't happen again in the future. Come on, Jerome....school is so much fun! You will miss it a lot after heading back to Indonesia.....

Things to do before graduation

- Sit in front of the Illini Union on a nice day
- Go ice skating at the ice arena
- Chalk the Quad
- Go to Meijer at 2 am
- Tailgate before an Illini Football Game
- Kiss your sweetheart before the eternal flame
- Play Frisbee on the Quad
- Visit Krannert Art Museum
- Order Papa Del’s
- Play in the rain
- Shoot pool in the Illini Union Recreation Room
- Rub Lincoln’s nose in Lincoln Hall
- Eat at Fat Don’s
- See a band at Canopy Club
- Skip class
- Ring the bells at Altgeld
- Go to Ebert Fest
- Sit on the Alma Mater
- Look at the Foellinger at night when the lights are on
- See a play at Krannet
- Attend a lecture that isn’t one of your own
- Goo see the Homecoming Parade
- Order Pokey Sticks at 2 in the morning on a Tuesday
- Sit at the Amphitheater outside of Krannert
- Have a cup of coffee at Espresso Royale
- Go to the Observatory
- Join the Illini Union Board
- Eat at Courier Café
- Visit Spurlock
- Loud up on free cough syrup and condoms from McKinley
- Take a nap on the couches in the Illini Union
- Eat lunch at the Illini Union Ballroom
- Go to an Illinites at the Union
- Dress up for Halloween
- Take a day trip to Curtis Orchard
- Visit Allerton
- Get Pizza at Bonnie Jean’s/Second Story/Buckees
- Buy a cookie cake at the Cookie Jar
- Have a snowball fight
- Study at the Arboretum
- Return the silverware you stole from the dining hall
- Become friends with a professor
- Visit Japan House
- See an acappella concert
- Go to a protest on the Quad

source:
www.iuboard.illinois.edu

Hmmmm.....I've just done so little....and I really wanna do all of those things...but, do I still have time?

Let me tell you what I have done so far:

- Sit in front of the Illini Union on a nice day
- Skip class
- Have a cup of coffee at Espresso Royale
- Eat lunch at the Illini Union Ballroom
- Take a day trip to Curtis Orchard
- Become friends with a professor
- Visit Japan House

see? It's too little.....:(
what should I do?

Oatmeal.....

Akhir-akhir ini, sering kali aku didera sakit kepala dan sakit punggung berkepanjangan. Yang paling menyiksa adalah sakit punggungku ini. Meski hampir tiap malam dipijitin suami tercinta, dan ditempelin salonplas, tetep aja masih senut-senut. Duh gusti...betapa ku merindukan tukang pijit murah meriah di indonesia....

Mengenai sakit kepala, aku khawatir dan curiga dengan kolesterol-ku. Soalnya tahun lalu, pernah cek darah dan ternyata kolesterol-ku 220...tinggi ya bo...mengingat batas normalnya 200..aku jadi waspada. Ditambah lagi mama dan abangku pun penderita kolesterol tinggi, aku akhirnya beranikan diri ke dokter di klinik kampus, Mc.Kinley Health Center.

Mengingat baru kali ini ke dokter, aku baru tau prosedurnya adalah sbb:
Buka websitenya, (www.mckinley.illinois.edu), login dengan password email, disitu akan disebutkan dokter siapa yg disiapkan untuk kita, lalu buat appointment, memberitahukan apa keluhan kita, dan kemudian kita akan dapat email konfirmasi.
Oya, kalau kita berniat membatalkan, harus memberitahu minimal 2 jam sebelumnya, kalau nggak, kena denda $10....lumayan ya bo...

Hari Senin kemarin (28 September 2009), aku ke Mc.Kinley diantar suamiku dan aku pun melakukan self-check in di dekat pintu masuk sebagai bagian dari prosedur klinik tsb. Setelah check in, aku naik ke lantai 2, karena ruangan dokterku di lantai 2. Setelah menunggu 10 menit, akupun dipanggil suster dan dibawa ke ruang dokter. Sebelum dokter datang, suster memintaku menimbang badan, lalu suster memeriksa tensi darah, suhu tubuh, menanyakan apakah aku punya alergi terhadap obat dll.

Lima menit kemudian, dokter pun datang dan menanyakan keluhanku. Akupun curhat ke dokter mengenai sakit kepalaku yg kuhubungkan dengan kadar kolesterol-ku tahun lalu, dan sakit punggung menahunku.
Yang mengagetkanku, ternyata kata dokter gak ada hubungan antara sakit kepala dan kolesterol!
Sakit kepala itu bisa jadi disebabkan stress dan kurang tidur. Hmmm....ini sih uda langganan.
Tapi aku tetap minta dicek kadar kolesterolku. Kata dokter, 220 itu termasuk tinggi tapi masih dalam batas aman.....well, buatku sih tetep gak aman ya.....

Aku paranoid sendiri karna abangku abis operasi jantung. Kolesterol-nya tinggi sekali dan sudah menyumbat pembuluh-pembuluh darahnya hingga harus dilakukan bypass.

Dokterpun memeriksa mataku, mencari kemungkinan pusingku disebabkan kacamataku yg kurang pas. Tapi semuanya normal-normal aja.

Setelah itu, dokter memegang bahuku, duh enaaaak banget rasanya....hehehe..
Kata bu dokter otot-otot bahuku keras sekali....(pantesan sakit banget). Menurut beliau, sakit punggung itu memang penyakit khas mahasiswa yang terlalu banyak duduk.

Yah mau gimana lagi bu dokter, tugas-tugas kuliah dan bahan kuliah yang harus dibaca naudzubillah banyaknya....

Sehari-hari aku memang menghabiskan banyak waktuku di depan komputer, karna tugas kuliah, bahan kuliah, pengumuman penting, dll semua di-posting lewat website kampus atau email.
Memahami bahan kuliahpun tidak mudah hingga bertanya pada Mbah Google adalah salah satu solusi yang tepat. Bahkan kamus pun aku menggunakan kamus online di internet. Dengan demikian, browsing tak bisa dihindari. Facebooking juga tak bisa dilewatkan sebagai pelipur lara penghapus derita ditengah-tengah tumpukan tugas yang menggunung. Hiburan satu-satunya hanya Facebook. Hehehe...

Setelah itu, aku disuruh ke lab untuk ambil darah. Inipun tak lama. Hanya menunggu 5 menit, aku dipanggil dan diambil darahku, lalu pulang. Kebetulan aku sudah sengaja puasa dari semalam sebelumnya. Hasil tes darah bisa diliat keesokan harinya di website Mc.Kinley lagi. Gampang ya...Rasanya waktu di Jakarta, butuh seminggu untuk mendapatkan hasil test darah. Selain kolesterol, dokter juga meminta dicek kadar gula darah dan ada 2 item lagi yang aku gak ngerti.

Keesokan harinya, aku cek website Mc.Kinley dan melihat hasil tes darahku....Wah, luar biasa! Kolesterol-ku cuma 160! gula darah dan 2 item lainnya itu pun semua normal! horeeeeeee.......seneeeeng banget....
Padahal tahun lalu, kolesterolku 220, dan aku udah diet keras, jaga makanan, kolesterolku cuma turun beberapa poin. Ternyata sekarang cuma 160....

Mungkin ini semua berkat aku dan keluargaku makan oatmeal (a.k.a. havermout) tiap pagi ya....
Kebiasaan ini kami mulai sejak Desember tahun lalu, waktu itu seorang teman sakit dan akhirnya memulai sarapan oatmeal tiap pagi, cukup 3 sendok makan, dicampur susu, dimasak di microwave selama 1,5 sampai 2 menit.

Akhirnya aku pun mencoba.

Awal-awal terasa berat ya...karna rasanya gak ada sama sekali. Enek juga. Tapi lama-lama terbiasa. Supaya berhasil memasukkan tiap sendok oatmeal ke mulutku, aku membayangkan manfaatnya aja. Dan bisa. Untuk anakku Jerome, kami tambahkan madu supaya ada rasa. Jerome suka sekali oatmeal.
Ternyata oatmeal itu baik sekali untuk kesehatan. Oya, selama ini aku gak ada pantangan makanan lho. Aku makan apa aja. Ya santan, daging, udang, telur, semua makanan yang sebetulnya pantang dimakan penderita kolesterol tinggi. Tapi berkat oatmeal, kadar kolesterol-ku jadi normal. Luar biasa.

Mengenai kadar gula darah, aku memang menjaga banget. Kebetulan mama dan almarhum papa-ku menderita diabetes. Berarti aku punya kemungkin 60% terkena diabetes juga, masing-masing orangtuaku memberi kemungkinan 30%. Sedari dulu, aku memang sangat membatasi gula. Aku jarang banget minum teh dengan gula. Biasanya minum teh hjiau aja. Tanpa gula tentunya. Minum kopi juga hanya dengan gula sedikiiiit aja. Kue-kue manis dan enek seperti black forest, hanya setahun sekali mungkin. Kue-kue buatanku, aku kurangi gulanya. Makan nasi juga sedikit. Karena sekali kena diabetes, seumur hidup akan menderita. Diabetes is the mother of any disease.

Olahraga aku lakukan seminggu sekali, terinspirasi dari suamiku yang rajin olahraga. Kebetulan suamiku tipe orang yang sangat menjaga kesehatan. Tidak merokok, tidak mabuk, tidak judi, tidak makan berlebihan. Salah satu faktor penyebabnya karena suamiku penderita hipertensi. Jadi harus rajin olah raga supaya tetap sehat. Olahraga udah rutin dilakukannya sejak dulu loh, bukan hanya setelah di Amerika. Suamiku juga bisa menahan diri untuk membatasi makanan yang dia tau gak baik buat kesehatannya. Mami mertuaku juga setali tiga uang. Mami bisa banget nahan gak makan makanan enak (yang cenderung gak sehat) meski orang-orang disekitarnya sangat lahap makan makanan gak sehat itu.
Kalau aku sih masih susah ya....hehehe....Sayang banget makanan enak di depan mata dilewatkan begitu aja.

So, buat temen-temen yang punya keluhan kolesterol tinggi, bolehlah mencoba sarapan oatmeal tiap pagi. Atau gak perlu nunggu kolesterol tinggi dulu kali ya....mulailah membiasakan sarapan oatmeal dari sekarang, dijamin tetep sehat!

Salam sehat!