Ivana Atmojo

I’ve just got a new Nike+ Sports Band as a present, and I’m really excited!

Basically it’s like a digital watch that also functions to record your run (miles, pace, time, & calories) when used with the Nike+ Sensor (placed inside your Nike+ shoes). After each run, you just plug it in to your computer (like a USB drive) to sync your run.

After the initial installation, you may sign up to nikeplus.com, where they have all kinds of cool stuff there. One of my favourite has got to be the Nike+ minis! If you notice, on the upper right side of this blog, you’ll see a Nike+ mini that I have personalised to resemble myself (red-head, short hair, tan skin, white shoes, white iPod head set, white shorts,  England flag tee, and many more!). You can even pick your own facial features!

My other favourite stuff is the Nike Coach. You can choose your own targeted training, and be coached accordingly! I picked the half-marathon (20K)–since I’m usually a 10-K runner, and I figured it’s time for a step up. So for the next 12 weeks, I’ll be training for my 20K run. I find this feature particularly useful, simply because it provides us with a clearer & safer exercise plan. Without being coached, it’s easy for one to overdo it and quite possibly, get injured.

So from now on, you can have an updated information of my run, simply by checking the Nike+ Mini box available in this blog, as well as my Facebook profile. Oh, one more thing, you can have your Mini as your screen-saver too!

The new collection I designed is called: “The Black Swan”. I drew the inspiration from The Swan Lake, by twisting the real story & creating my own “what if” scenario. The main source of inspiration is, naturally, Odile (the black swan herself). The alternative story I created is based on the notions: “What if Odile successfully tricked Prince Siegfried into marrying her?”; “What if the prince never found out about the truth–about Odette Vs Odile?”And so the 12 looks in the collection tells the life story of Odile.

Look #1- Look #7: Odile as the black swan (beautiful and hypnotising in a dark & mysterious way; audacious; manipulative). Main material: Batik Solo, black swan feather, & synthetic fur.

Look #8- Look #11: Odile transformed herself into a princess. Main material: Songket, black swan feather, synthetic fur.

Look #12 (wedding dress): Odile’s transformation is complete. She is now the queen. Main Material: Songket, glittered tulle, white swan feather.

Enjoy!

To empathise with the people around me who are actually fasting this month, I’ve decided to go on a raw diet for the whole month. That means: only raw veggies & fruits, nothing cooked, nothing processed (no sugar, no salt, no processed condiments).

I figured that with everyone going on a fast, I might as well learn to work with self-control & hunger in my own little way. And this way, I can also reduce the workload of our cook during the fasting period! And if I shed a few pounds by next month, that would be an extra point!

But really, raw diet isn’t as horrid as it may sound. The key is to be creative & to explore different kinds of veggies/fruit, and to understand their savor when combined. For lunch today, I tossed in cabbage, capsicum, ambarella, coconut meat, celery, cucumber, grated lemon peel, wee bit of crushed garlic in my salad. Then I squeezed half-lemon for the dressing. Voila! You get a super zesty salad!

Today is only the 1st day of a 30-day journey, but I have no doubt that I will enjoy my raw diet throughout. Think you wanna join me?

It has been our tradition to send a little token of blessing to the local communities in the beginning of every fasting period. Last year we gave away boxes of home-made javanese delicacies. This year, we opt for a magic red elixir instead! (coco-pandan syrup, that is).

Attached is a picture of the syrup, tagged with my hand-written note: “Selamat Menunaikan Ibadah Puasa”.

Happy fasting, everyone!

Around 90 children (between 4-5 years old) from TKAI (Taman Kreativitas Anak Indonesia), along with their teachers & parents, visited our school today.

This field trip is meant to introduce them to different musical instruments, and to provide them with some sort of a performing experience. To begin with, we located different teachers in different rooms. The children would then visit each room, where the teacher in charge would play the musical instruments and provide interesting facts about them. The children got the chance to touch & feel the instruments too. To make it concise, we had teachers who can play  more than one musical instrument. Ivonne demonstrated the saxophone and the drum; I played the violin & the flute; Stevie played the djembe & the guitar; Novita demonstrated the mechanism of a grand piano;  and so on & so forth.

In each room, they were also taught some lines from a famous Camp Rock song. At the end of the programme, all the children gathered at our concert hall, where children performed on stage, singing their Camp Rock song. Of course to make it feel real, we had prepared the minus-one, the full sound system, and the full lighting all set-up especially for them.

All of the children, teachers, and parents had so much fun today. And so did we. The TKAI teachers were among the most passionate & sweetest kindergarten teachers we had ever met. The children were quick & eager learners too.  I hope the learning experience we provided today will encourage them to explore their musical talents further!

This book is fascinating! A must read for those of us who cares about our financial system!

I’ve also been looking forward to announcing the opening of Eat Me Alice! Yoghurt. This is a new venture of our dearest friend Juliana Tanjo, and her two partners.

Eat Me Alice! yoghurt is now swirling in Plaza Indonesia, 3rd Floor, in Miniapolis Area (Market Street, Unit E35).

Eat Me Alice! has a very special yoghurt concoction that’s really different from all others, and simply divine! So if you’re a frozen yoghurt lover, trust me, you dont’ want to miss this one!

**Eat Me Alice! will soon be available in more cities around you. Look out for it!

One of our closest friends, Emilia Manopo, along with her husband, just opened a new restaurant in BSD Area.

The new restaurant is a branch of the original Sop Ayam Bu Sumirah. For those of you who’ve been to Tulungagung before, this name must really ring a bell! It’s one of the most famous culinary delight in Tulungagung since the early 70’s. It has also been featured in many culinary TV programmes too. Now, you don’t have to travel all the way to Tulungagung to have a taste of this legendary soup. You only need to drive to BSD City!

Other than the famous Sop Ayam, they also have these in the menu: Ayam Goreng, Ayam Bakar Bumbu Rujak, Garang Asem, & Tempe Penyet. For the dessert, they have the very special Es Buko & Rujak.

If you’re a vegetarian, like me, then try their Nasi Pecel & Es Buko. They’re really good!

The restaurant is open every day from 7:00 am to 09:00 pm. Yes, that means you can come for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

I am privileged to announce to you the official launch of Indostats.com !

Indostats is a web statistics that is completely reliable, and very easy to use. You only need to place the tracker in your website, and voila! Over 40 types of statistics in the report page are ready at your disposal. Better yet, it is REAL-TIME based! An important feature that we can’t benefit yet even from google stats!

And best of all, it is completely GRATIS! Free! You only need 30 seconds to register, and that’s about it! The coolest web-stats in the world is for you to use!  Yes, it’s for all of you around the world, wherever you are!

**Indostats.com is the sole project of Tirta Untario, our close friend, our brilliant web-support, and a genius computer programmer. Bravissimo, Tirta!

Peanut spent hours and hours with me while I was designing & sketching. Most of the time, I’d be working, and she’d be sleeping.  Look at how sleepy she gets! (Did you notice her orange/black bed sheet? That’s batik from Solo too! :))

Look at her, she’s a gem, isn’t she?!