Where did time go?

We're in the middle of May...seriously???? Where have all the days gone? There's so much that has happened since my last blog in February that I haven't written about but I blame that on the weather! The snow has disappeared and so now I'm spending more time outdoors than behind the computer. It's still spring, the flowers are blooming and even though it's rainy most of the time, it beats the bitter cold we experienced a couple months ago. Plus Shayan is now crawling around so i can't just leave him to play with his toys on the floor and get on with things- actually i can but heavens know I've lost him a couple of times and found him under the couch, in the kitchen or in Keon's room biting on any toy he can get his hands on!

So watch this space... there will be plenty of blog updates to come!

The Blizzard of '10

We experienced one of the worst snow blizzards the state of Maryland has seen in decades on Friday and Saturday (6&7 Feb). In fact, the last time Baltimore had such a big snow storm was in 1920's! It was non stop snow fall and not your tame, beautiful snow fall but rather a blizzard like storm.
And now it's mayhem out there; two days after the storm, the city is still in shambles. Only 33% of the roads have been cleared up according to the mayor and we're in for more snow on Tuesday and Wednesday. I have no idea what that is going to do to a city that's already struggling to clear it all up but it can't be good. Many schools/universities have called for an official "snow day" today because no one can drive their cars around and public transport is also incredibly limited. Many of the side roads are still full of snow and there is no possible way of getting around it; the roads that are clear are wet and slippery and a little dangerous to drive on.

Armid has the day off too but instead of being able to enjoy it, poor guy has to study! So this just means that we're house bound for a good couple of days...I'm hoping not for too long otherwise cabin fever will set in!

Below are a few pictures from a few hours after the snow storm subsided!

snowball fight anyone?

view from our apartment

one of the streets leading to our apartment

one of the many cars covered in snow

This is all a rather big change from the tropical weather we were used to for the last two years! But also fun as we get to go sledding, have snow ball fights and get nice and cold, all right in our own front yard :)

Till the next time...

A little place called the U.S of A...

America has always been one of the few countries that I NEVER thought I would EVER live in. Why? It just never appealed to me...but i guess God had really different plans for my family and I and so here we are. Mainly we left Jakarta so Armid could pursue his Masters in Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, here in Balitmore. It's a ten month full-time intensive course and so far he's thoroughly enjoying it. He's meeting so many people from all walks of life and i think its rather a refreshing change for him from the 8 to 5 job he had with International SOS. So he's only got 1.5 months to go and before you know it, we'll have to make decisions on where to go next depending on job offers.

So for the last 9 months Baltimore has been our home. We arrived in the summer time which was a good idea on our part because if we had arrived in winter, we'd have been absolutely miserable. We live in an apartment block really close to the Inner Harbor which is so beautiful in the summer time. Unfortunately our view has been of the Mercy Hospital construction but the windows are super sounds proof that we hardly hear anything :)

view from our eighth floor apartment ;)


downtown Baltimore, a great walk in summer


Keon and cousin Zhian running through the water fountain at the Harbor

One of the many amazing ships around the harbor

The Beautiful Baltimore Inner Harbor

Catching up....

A little over six months ago, my family and I left Jakarta, Indonesia to begin a new adventure in Baltimore, U.S of A! It was sad to leave a city that we had called home for two years. We had a fabulous group of friends, Keon had a wonderful bunch of mates, we had a beautiful home, great places to go on holiday and truly an experience of a lifetime. But all good things must come to an end and so we packed up our house, said our good-byes and shipped all our belongings to Baltimore.
Below are a few pictures of our time in Indonesia....

Keon and Armid chilling poolside in Bali

sunset in Uluwatu, Bali

I loved Indonesia...love Love LOVED the country, its people and some of the food (i was never as adventurous as Armid in that department). We lived in an overcrowded, polluted city known as Jakarta which had so much to offer in terms of entertainment, shopping, restaurants, salons and spa's, playgrounds for the kids. One thing that was definitely missing though was open green space, like a park. Jakarta had none of that kind of thing and so we either had to travel out of town to get a taste of nature again or go back home and soak it all in. The official language is Bahasa Indonesia and what I loved about it is that, among others, it has dutch influence. In South Africa, one of the 11 official languages is Afrikaans which also has dutch influence and so we were able to understand a couple of words or phrases because they are so similar. Some examples include pisang (banana), gordyn (curtain), handuk (towel), kamar (room) and tas (bag).

There is so much to be said about Indonesia, its rich history and its people and I'll probably bring somethings up in future blogs! I do however, miss my friends in Jakarta SO MUCH! I think of them often, especially as we've all either got kids the same age, were pregnant at the same time or just had such a damn good time with them every time we hung out! I hope we can all get together soon and have a mini reunion :)


Some of our closest friends. Top are Adele and Emily. Below are Marc, Sean, Joe and Willem
A few of our wonderful Indonesian

friends!

Till the next time...

The beginning...

I've finally decided to start a blog for a couple of reasons. Firstly I want to be able to look back at this in a couple of years and remember things my family and I have done and experienced :) Secondly, to keep family and friends up to date with what we're up to. With two kids and a household to run, it often takes me weeks to reply to emails..but this way, if you're really interested in what we're up to, you can check the site out! Thirdly, its an outlet for me to express myself..we all need something or somewhere to express one's ideas, feelings or just to have a rant... this will probably be one of many outlets for me;)

Now the hard part starts... where do i begin. As a young girl, for one of my birthdays,my older sister bought me a diary and I used to write in it almost everyday. I have found that i express myself much better through written word than actually expressing myself verbally (something my husband works really hard on changing..lol).I guess this is another reason why having a blog will be great fun for me.

I am a wife, mom and friend.I have two beautiful boys, Keon Orion, born 4th October 2006 and Shayan Milan born 28 October 2009. I’ve been a stay at home mom for 3yrs now and although it’s challenging at times, I try to treasure as many moments possible because I know I won’t get these years back ever! Before I know it, I’ll have two grown boys living their own lives!!! So what will this blog be about.. well nothing in particular, just a mixture of great adventures,trials and tribulations, and beautiful moments I never want to forget.


Now that I have that little intro out the way, let me welcome you to my blog and hope you enjoy reading it!!

Till the next time...