WELCOMING MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND WITH HAPPINESS

Happy Friday, y'all!!  I hope my friends in the US are excited to welcoming the long weekend.  I know I am.


I am in a very happy mode today.  For 2 reasons:


1) I just got a call from my bestie Evelyn.  She shared with me that on the weekend of June 11, her husband will come pick her, Wei Wei, and Xuan Xuan in Indonesia.  And TOGETHER, they will move to Shanghai.  Yayyyyy.  The Hsu's answered prayer!  I'm very excited for them.  Finally, they can all live under the same roof together.  I got too happy about the news that I had to go to the office's kitchen to dry out my happy tears.  Evelyn my dearest, I'm very proud of and happy for you!  Muachhhhhhhhh.

姨姨Yanny最爱的宝贝

2) I went for a check up with Christina (my Physical Therapist) yesterday.  She's concerned of the last bit of wrist pain I'm still experiencing.  She said that I should feel zero pain by now (2 months after the accident).  This morning, I was requested to come to the hospital for an immediate X-ray.  


Thankfully, I have the car with me today.  So I could go immediately.  I called Marcel right before leaving to the hospital, "Babe, gotta go to the hospital now ... for X-ray."  He couldn't talk much because he was in the middle of a meeting.  Soon after the meeting, he rented a car and rushed to the hospital to be by my side.  I was already inside when he arrived.


When I came out of the Radiology, I was so surprised to find him.  Totally didn't expect the surprise.  But it made me really happy and special.  I only had a minor procedure done.  But I got a really special company.  So we decided to continue the romance with a lunch date.  :-)  I love my friday.  :-)


Alrighty, y'all!  Have a blessed long weekend!


May this be a blessing to you!

TIP: MILK FOR LACTOSE INTOLERANCE

It's that time again for another tip.


Do you have lactose intolerance like me?  


I grew up in a small village with cow farms within walking distance.  My grandma would go the the farm at 5 o'clock every morning and buy plastics of fresh-from-the-cow milk.  FYI, the milk comes out already warm from the cow.  So you can just drink it (if you don't care about sanitary reasons).  Sometimes, my mom would boil the fresh milk and mix it with with Ovaltine or Milo for flavoring.  I always enjoyed consuming my fresh milk before school.  Somehow it made me feel smarter :-) haha (oh wait, not haha, but Moo Moo).


Unfortunately, I no longer have that convenient access to fresh milk here in the States.  Instead, I have a new Calcium buddy - milk carton.  Too bad, no matter what brand I choose (Lactose free or not), I always find myself having uncomfortable digestive consequences after a glass of milk.  Something is different between my childhood milk and the US milk!  


Many people recommended that I should switch to soy milk.  To my defense, "But, it's not the kind of milk that would remind me of home, of grandma, of Mamah."  :-( .  I know, I'm so particular about it huh?  Psychologically to me, milk is from cow (not goat, not horse, or any other animal/plant -- including soy beans).  If I don't drink cow milk, I haven't had a cup of milk yet.  Just like most Indonesians say, "If I haven't had rice for lunch, I haven't had lunch yet."  :-)


This past weekend, my bestie Evelyn (Epe) came to stay with me.  She saw the 3 bathroom trips I had to make after a glass of milk.  She said, "So what's the use of drinking milk then?  It's in and out for you!"  Well, she has her point.  That's true.


So she gave me a tip (pure from her parenting experience) that I feel so thankful for her sharing.  The solution to lactose intolerance?  Warm Milk.  Yes, you heard it.  It's still the cow milk from the cartoon.  But it's warm.


Last night, I had a glass of warm milk after shower.  Oh boy, it's so comforting.  I haven't been going to the bathroom for lactose intolerant reason.  Yayy, warm milk works for me.  Thanks, Pe!


So if you are like me, maybe try to warm up your milk.  Hopefully it will sooth your tummy instead of upsetting it.  


May you find this helpful.

STORY BOOK: RAIN CYCLE

Hmm, where to start on this.  Let's see.


I've been wanting to prepare a special gift for my future children with Marcel.  Something I created myself.  Something that will remind them of me.  Something of Mommy Yanny's legacy.  


No no no, before you spread a rumor, I am not expecting (yet).  But I know I won't have this much time when the kids have arrived.  So I thought of doing this now.


Then, an idea came to my mind.  How about story books?  Hmmm, not a bad idea (I thought to myself).  But what to write?  Can I write?  Should I write?


[Days later]


Well well, I just finished my first story book today.  :-)  It wasn't easy to create one.  I stumbled upon not being able to draw :-(.  So I used Google Docs Drawing to create this.  As you can see, each page is very simple and basic.  It's not as rich as story books you would purchase at a store.  But hey, there you have it ... a story about Rain Cycle. 

Dearest My Future Child[ren],

From Mommy Yanny with Love.     

I definitely would want to create another story book.  Now, it's time to finding an inspiration for the story.  Stay tuned!!!!


May you find this enjoyable!

REJOICE IN HOPE; HOPE DOES NOT DISAPPOINT US

Got the police report this morning.  Unfortunately, there were items incorrectly stated in the report.  For example it stated that my bike lights were off during the accident; I failed to stop before crossing; and that I was the one who hit the car.  To date, the case officer and I haven't had a chance to talk about the situation.  So it surprised me to read those statements in the police report.  As the person involved in the accident, I felt like it's very one-sided.


If you've been following my updates from the time of accident, you have testified how God has blessed me with a speedy physical recovery.  Something I constantly give thanks to God.  However, mentally .. I must say that this accident has caused me and Marcel a lot of turmoil.  Dealing with the police, her claim adjuster, and lawyers really take the toll on both of us.  My co-workers even joked, "I think you became sick because of these people - not because of the accident."


I stopped to ponder when I got back to the office this morning, "So, is the mental turmoil really necessary?"  


Three weeks ago at my Small Group, we studied Butterfly Metamorphosis.  When the butterfly cracks open the chrysalis, its wings are tiny, crumpled, and wet.  It's extremely vulnerable to predators because of its inability to fly.  An hour after emerging, the wings are full-sized, dried, and ready for flying.  That concludes the development cycle of a butterfly.  What if we (human) interfere the cycle by helping to open that chrysalis for the butterfly?  Then its wings will never grow strong; and that it will die soon after emerging.


After pondering on this illustration, I came to accepting that the turmoil is necessary for me.  I am a butterfly in the making.  God is transforming me from the inside out - not too fast and not too slow - allowing me to mature in each step.  And the turmoil is part of my character building.


As for the police report, we're going to ask the police officer for some clarification.  Not sure how much longer to getting this done, what the outcome will be and what is next.  So if you would join me in praying the following verses for me, that will be greatly appreciated.  By the way, these verses arrived in my Inbox as I was pondering about the situation this afternoon; were sent to me by Theo - the gentleman I met at the hospital the day after my accident.  I knew God sent him as my deliverance.  And today, he reminded me of the great hope I have in God.

Romans 5:1-5

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

May this be a blessing!

TIP: COOKING CRACKERS WITH MICROWAVE

I am a cracker lover!  Unfortunately, making them discourages me.  The deep frying.  The lots of oil.  The smell.  The splatters.  NO NO NO.


Alternatively, I've found a way to cook them faster and more conveniently: using a microwave. The time may vary depending on your microwave and the kind of crackers you have.  My recommendation is that you set it at a longer time (for example set it for 1 minute) and stop it when the crackers are ready (like in around 33 seconds for me).  I used mini garlic crackers that my mother in law brought from Indonesia for the purpose of the demonstration.  Boy, my mother in law and I had so much fun eating crackers at 11 o'clock at night :-).  Talking about bonding time.  :-)





Enjoy!  May you find this helpful!

FIRST DAY BACK TO BIKING

This is the love gift I received last week during Small Group.  A frame filled with lots of verses from San Jose friends to encourage me to get back to biking again.  It's very sweet of my friends to do this for me.  Having received the gift, I was determined to not let my trauma haunt me anymore and to be back to biking for Marcel and these loving friends.  


With that, I would like to send my deepest thank you to all of you.  Special thanks to Ci Kiki who organized this.  I think she got the idea to do the words of encouragement after reading this.  :-)  Is it, Ci?  Also special thanks to Nana for the beautification; and Vicky for the wrapping.  :-)  


I purposely didn't send a thank you note right away because I was waiting for 'this day' to come.  But in the course of one week, my pretending-like-I-haven't-received-the-gift was spoiled by the pictures Nana shared and Ci Kiki who was eagerly asking me, "So, did you like the gift?  Did you?  Did you?"  Oh mannnnnnnnnn, how could I lie?  How could I cover it up?  Hahaha.  


So what is the 'this day' I was referring to above?  The day I'm officially back to biking again :-).  Today, in celebration of Cinco de Mayo, I'm officially biking again.  I was pretty nervous at first.  After a mile or so, I started to feel more comfortable and begin to pedal with confidence.  My right wrist, though, is still weak.  It got tired more easily than the left one.  But a little shake took away the stress from it.  So I think, it should get stronger in the next couple of weeks (of course with the help of therapy exercises as well).


Well, thank you again, Friends.  Please enjoy the video Marcel took this morning before I head out to work with Mercy.


[Click to enlarge]

May this be a blessing!

DISPATCHED TO BIKING AGAIN

Click here for Week 3's update


Whoa, it's already been 6 weeks from my accident.  I've been feeling better each and every day.  Thank you, Family and Friends, for all the prayer support and words of encouragement.


I went back to my therapist this morning.  Still have some stiffness and pain on my right wrist.  My therapist added several more wrist exercise moves for me to do in the next 3 weeks.  But overall, I'm on the fast lane to recovery.


Even better, this morning, I was officially dispatched to biking again by Christina (my therapist).  YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.  Although I was given a precaution that I might feel tired more easily when biking with a weak wrist, I found the GO sign a great great great news!  I might give my wrist a try pretty soon!


Some friends have asked me, "How are you mentally?"  To this question, I can't answer for sure yet.  I know I feel more ready now than days after the accident about biking again.  I take it as a good sign.  Marcel has been a great support.  And I know he looks forward to the day I can bike to my deepest joy again.  I've got all the mental support I need from family and friends.  And I've got a great Power behind me.  So I'm confident that the challenges ahead of me are not bigger than the Power and support behind me.  I will definitely keep you posted.


Oh, on the side note.  I got a little surprise last night from Marcel.  He brought home my FIXED MERCY!  He took Mercy to the shop last week.  He said he wanted to make sure that Mercy is ready whenever I'm ready.  Awww, so sweet of him!  The saddle, however, is still pending to be fixed because it's currently out of stock.  But hey, it's already a great surprise and a great news to begin with!!!


Alrighty, All.  May you have a wonderful rest of the week!


May this be a blessing! 

WHEN I THINK ABOUT EPHESIANS 5:25

When I think about Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her," I think about:

[click to enlarge]

May this be a blessing!