Au Revoir!

While I'm preparing myself like Katniss is preparing for the arena (Honduras = Arena, for me hehe), I would like to say thank you to my sponsors for donating money and medications for my trip.

Thanks to my family and my lovely boyfriend for supporting my decision to do this. My mum never thought I would be brave enough to do this, but hey Ma I am doing it.

This is a life dream and it's going to happen. Just me and 40+ people that I have never met before in a foreign land where I don't speak the language. At least I'm not killing anyone to survive (haha Games joke).

I'll be blasting the OST of The Hunger Games while I'm there. Sorry guys, I'm Katniss-obsessed.

See you all in one week,

Rima

Things I Love Monday week 11

FYI, I am blogging from my car while waiting in the parking lot for my mum in Victoria Gardens. Not feelin' like shopping after actually shopping for my upcoming trip. Accompanying me is my sassy pom, Chimmy.

Last week has been crazy busy at work that the whole week is a blur. I come home tired, and what's worse is that I've been sleep deprived due to insomnia. Maybe it's being anxious because my trip is coming up? It could be.

The weekend I spent packing, being lazy (because it was raining hard) and cuddling with Chimmy, and missing my Pillowman because we did not see each other this past weekend :( Facetime cures, but nothing beats seeing your loved one face to face and being able to cuddle, especially on a rainy day.

I made 2 orders for cupcakes this week, which was superb! I ordered some stickers for me to paste on my cupcake containers (kinda making it official, ya know!).

Also, I'm having fun playing with my Bamboo Capture and photoshop together. Can't wait to play around with it when I get back! Doodle all the way!!!

Oh and today is my dear sister's birthday, the mother of my future spoiled niece (I want it to be a girl, so for now, I'm claiming it a girl until further notice!!!) So shout out to her!

I hope everyone have a great week(end)!!

I'm getting pumped up for the Hunger Games movie this Saturday! I've been playing the soundtrack on repeat while reading "Catching Fire"! It really makes you feel like you are with Katniss & Peeta in the arena.

¡Hasta Luego!

Moonbeams and Bunny Kisses,
Rima

(ps: next tilm in 2 weeks will be full of pictures from Honduras! Yay!)

Being Silly.

I've finally had the time to play with my Wacom Bamboo Capture tablet. It's fun, but I've got some adjusting to do... I updated my About Me page with a new picture (temporary only. i'm just goofin around).

If only I have my own desk (I've been working from my bed, my back is aching), I'll probably have more patience to play around. But it's ok. 

Lot's of great things are happening. Mission Trip (y'all probably know about that), friends' wedding planning, discussing Traditional Wedding with Mum (this is a pain), my Mum's upcoming Indo trip, my plan to put Chimmy under for a major dental cleaning (I can't wait to see him loopy after General Anesthesia), my sister's upcoming childbirth in September (better be a girl! Baby X!), planning my secret wedding with my secret husband in a secret location in my secret mind (blahblahblahblahblah), etc.

[ok the last sentence there was just for gag].

anyways, hope you guys had a fun weekend. 

Rima

Random Big Purchase

As maybe some of you know (of me), I like to do random big purchases. Something that I know deep down, my boyfriend dislikes (sorry boyfriend, but I can't help it).

I am an electronic nut, and at times I can't contain my desire to own a piece of a cool gadget. While I was driving down from work towards home, my mind wondered to my upcoming trip to Honduras and thought about how am I gonna kill time while commuting from my compound to the Community. Obviously I can't use my iPhone over there (which I can NOT live without) and I would be bored to death if I can't listen to music. My old iPod Touch was given to Rob's sister to have so pretty much I rely on my iPhone for entertainment (hello Pandora!).

Also, after been browsing around blogs (a beautiful mess & pugly pixel), I had the desire to own a Bamboo Capture by Wacom, a tablet where you can use a pen to write/draw on your photos, and this one you can use it as a huge touchpad.

So there I was at the Apple store in Victoria Gardens, browsed quickly to the iPod section, looked at the 32gb, then head on to the accessory rack, stared at the Bamboo until a red-headed Apple dude came over asking if I'm doing fine. "I'm doing alright, my friend" I said. Then I told him that I am interested on this Bamboo tab and handed it to him to purchased. Later I said, "oh and also the 32gb iPod please, in white." And BAM! 10 minutes later I walked out the store with my hands full.

Yes, I am bad. 

Last year, I did the same thing. I purchased my MacBook Pro just like that. Also bought my Canon G12, just because I wanted it. 

Same thing with the iPad that I bought about 2 years ago. I bought it because the Pillow bought it. But then, I rarely use it. So I decided in the parking lot to post on facebook if anyone wants to buy it. And in 15 minutes, SOLD. 

Not bad. It compensates half of my purchased at the Apple store today. 

Is it just only me that's bad like this? Anyone have the same problem? Please do share!

moonbeams & bunny kisses,

Rima

11 more days...

I can't believe that I'm finally going to embark on my first mission trip. Oversea mission trip.

Friends at work were asking me today if I'm scared or nervous. I told them yes that I am nervous because I don't know anyone in this trip. Not a single person. I probably only know the president of my Brigades that's because she's the source of communication for the group. Thus, they were surprised. They thought that I am going with my Church group.

The other day I was super stoked to see these 2 boxes in my living room. They are these medical supplies that I purchased online for me to donate to my Brigade group to serve the people in Honduras.

This weekend I'll probably open them up and pack them in to a suitcase. I'm super giddy. 

I can't wait. This is a dream coming true. Sounds cheesy, but it is true!

- Rima

It is Official

And y'all were like? Huh? Official? What's official?

As you can see, there's not more "blogspot" on my web address. Yes, it's just straight up, www.bolubyrima.com!! I registered my domain last night (godaddy.com! no sexy chick convinced me though)... So BoluByRima is MINE! Yeaaaaa boi. 

And today I made my first official order. My beloved friend, Gaby, wanted to order some Chocolate Soufflé, and also a coffee flavor cupcake, which I took as a challenge, so I made Kahlua Coffee cupcakes for her (I made one batch before, but this one was a little bit different). 

Also, I've also have some orders that are coming up, but I haven't confirmed them yet. I'm also working on making a stamp for me & probably a business card. 

Excuse the lame green tag with my hand writting on it. Haha... I was in a hurry, in between baking, while stamping the bolu name. 

Chocolate Sufflé and Kahlua Coffee Cupcakes

So I am excited on baking more. The only drawback for now is time (I'm only off on Tuesdays & Weekends, and disregard those days when I'm on call) and how small my kitchen is. Haha. So sad. 

A couple of my friends have been asking me about flavors that I do, I will work on a page about that soon. I have to write down the stuffs that I've made and will post them up as soon as I can. Meanwhile, if you want to order (woo!), please don't hesitate to email me bolubyrima@gmail.com

I'm super stoked!

- Rima

Things I Love Monday week 9 & 10

Hi Bunz.

Can't you believe it? It's March already? Second week of March? Damn, time flies like nobody's business. Beh. 

Anyways, I would like to share you some fun times I've been doing in the past 2 weeks, especially this past weekend!

Week 9, as usual I was busy with work. Not only that, I had to work during the weekend too because I was on call. Awesome thing was that the Pillow was patient enough to wait for me and we had dinner together. Love this man. I also did this after my Sunday case (just in case you didn't read about it)

Now on to the exciting thing of week 10!!!!!!

See those dresses? They were my outfit for this photo shoot that I did with my "new" bff, Ollie. Yes, BoluByRima collaborated with A Sight of Love. We've known each other from my sister, where he was the photographer for her wedding. (I'm in it. And there's a sappy ugly picture of me there, tee hee). Not only this guy is brilliant, he is hilarious. I had so much fun doing pictures with him & his wife, Christina, who will soon to give birth to a unknown-sex baby (haha for now). 

I've been prepping Rob's kitchen for the shoot, and I guess it paid off. It's such a bachelor pad, I told him from the get go that the kitchen is my territory hehe (seriously, you open the front door, you are greeted with Sports Memorabilia). Luckily his patio was pretty rustic, which Ollie favors a lot (he loves rustic). 

Anyhoo, both Rob & I are not model status, so it was pretty awkward at first. I immediately popped a bottle of beer (on an empty stomach!), and after some shots, I got used to it. Twas weird when I was posing, Rob was just watching me while eating Chinese food. Not cool, haha. Also, my sister & her husband with his siblings came to indulge on the main thing of the photo shoot: CUPCAKES!

For this event, I made Red Wine Velvet Cupcakes and my Chocolate Soufflé Cupcakes. Both was topped with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting. Chocolate galore. I was surprised when I heard that my sister's husband ate like, 9. Hahahaha... Rob ate like 5. Wow. I was child-approved, because Ollie's little boy, Gabby, ate a whole cupcake. 

So it was like a foodie/couple photo shoot type of thing. I can't wait for the shots to be up. 

After having "dessert" for lunch, we ended up having dinner at the Capital in Irvine, where we secretly surprised Ollie with the servers & us singing Happy Birthday to him. Haha. And actually today is his birthday. Happy Bday, friend!

Happy Birthday!

So I had a great week (or two). 

Honorable mentions:

spending the Sat of week 10 with the Pillow, had french food for lunch, followed with some Reflexology massage at Westminster (it was ok for me. My regular is way better), and dinner at this Viet restaurant and I had this weird beef soup, called Bun Bo Hue. It was good, but in it there was a bone that had a ligament attached to it and I kept on staring at it while I eat my noodle; I love Cost Plus World Market; I LOVE SCHMIDT from New Girl; Purchased $300 worth of medical stuff for my Honduras trip (so EXCITED!); had a very smelly call-back case (Abscess Drain Placement. Ugh); Chimmy's hair is getting longer, but he gets smelly easy; Chimmy whining while getting locked out from the staircase. Super cute; I dislike losing 1 hour of sleep but loving the light staying longer. 

my cute boyfriend; ground sirloin & mushroom crepes, & he had lamb; CUTE BUNNIES; Bun Bo Hue

I hope you guys have a great week!

moonbeams & bunny kisses,

Rima

Charity!

In the spirit of giving (this year I vow to give more) I would like to invite you, my friends, to participate in making care kits. These care kits are made by people like us who want to help out other people in need.

These kits will be sent to Heart to Heart International, and they will distribute them to people who need these essential stuff.

CARE KIT CONTENTS:

• One new hand towel
• One new washcloth
• One wide-tooth comb
• One 15 oz. bottle of shampoo
• One new individually wrapped toothbrush
• One 4-6 oz. tube of toothpaste
• One individually wrapped bath-size bar of soap
• Ten (10) adhesive bandages
• Two (2) one-gallon-size, zipper-seal plastic bags

That’s it. That’s all the kit consist. Expensive? Not at all. You can even go to the 99 cent store and still get change from a $20 bill for buying stuff for one kit. Rewarding? Yes indeed. 

If you are interested, contact me, or look up this link if you want to start your own & gather friends/family/co-workers to help out. There’s a pdf form that you can read up for further information.

I’m glad I bumped in to this organization from my Global Brigades group. I promised to myself to focus on this project once I get back from my Medical Mission trip. 

The #Kony2012 really got me going. You may support or not support, but at least you are being informed and are aware of the situation. I’m with the campaign for the kids and yes I did join the Tri group from Invisible Children. Cliché because I was moved by a fancy video? Maybe. But what got me was the kid Jacob. When he was talking about he rather die and stating that he has no future in this world, I told myself, “That’s it. I’m going to join.” And was sold. So yes, I am supporting Invisible Children thru monthly contribution. And yes, I did read some negative facts/criticism about the organization, but I don’t care. I don’t focus on the negatives, my mind is on the positive side, one way or another, that money, even though it maybe a fraction of it, is going for a good cause. Yeah, maybe more than 50% is going to the big honchos of the organization, but hey at least someone is doing the work to help. 

Also I’m doing a monthly contribution for Women for Women, where you can sponsor a woman, most like from nations that degrade women, or women who survived war, and help them to live. Currently I’m sponsoring a sister from Iran. Pretty dope. 

Last year I supported a little girl from Indonesia, my native country, thru Compassion, for a full year and even got a letter from her saying how grateful she was with my help. That meant a lot to me. I was so glad when I read that letter. 

So with these sudden awareness going on, if you are fortunate enough, why not help out people in need. If you can’t or not interested in helping internationally, why not help out locally? There are lots of shelters out there. I’m admiring my aunt who recently went down to Skid Row in LA and passed out clothes for the homeless. I believe her face and heart lighten up when she saw these unfortunate people receive “new” clothes for them to wear. Or, help out at an animal shelter. Anything. Anywhere. Church. Mosque. Big Brother Big Sister. American Red Cross. Peace Corps. There are TONS of places to help.

Trust me, you may not immediately see the changes, but you definitely know that you ARE making a change. Not only in that other person’s (or animal) life, but also yours. You get this instant gratification of satisfaction, humbleness, and I guess, happiness. It makes you want to pat the back of your own shoulder and say “atta girl/boy! you helped another living being.”

Give it a try. If one organization is not for you, you have to right to stop, and maybe look for another one. 

- Rima

currently supporting/had supported:

• globalbrigades.org
• hearttoheart.org
• womenforwomen.org
• invisiblechildren.com
• compassion.com
• to write love on her arms
• United Indonesian SDA Church Building Fund

What I Did With...

Leftover Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting... 

So last weekend I made an order for my Sister & Hubs of the Soufflé cupcakes (it's getting popular. I have 2 more orders to do!) & the Strawberry cupcakes, and had 2 cups of frostings left. I got the itch (a good one) to bake yesterday after my morning call-back case. 

After 2 weeks of contemplating on to make or not to make, I decided to give it a try on making some macarons. I have two macaron books (1 & 2), but I settled with one of them. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but I did got pretty disappointed when I was done making them. The texture was not as how it was supposed to be because they came out like super crunchy cookies. Even my brother was like, "this is weird!" 

But after some major googling around, I found out that you're not suppose to eat it right away, instead create the macaron and let them sit for 24 hours in the fridge and then indulge. 

I was happy. I was so happy I ate 2 right away. Plus, my co-workers love them. I became happier. Woopah!

And... I still had leftover frosting, so I made a batch of Chocolate Whoopie Pies.

Gosh, I love their cakey texture... You can't just inhale them. You must bite, enjoy, and bite again.

People at work are so lucky. I'm making them fat!

On a non-cooking related story, my cookbook wall rack decided to go bye-bye and collapsed :( Right underneath that rack was my cameras and thank goodness they were okay, no scratches were made. 

Which made me realized, I do have tons of cookbooks. If only I have the time to make every recipe in those books. That would be a dream. I'm going to leave that Martha Stewart's Cooking School book at my boyfriend's apartment. Hopefully that's a hint for him to learn how to cook ;)

Oh! I am super excited because this weekend will be my first photo shoot with my buddy, Ollie! The preggo Sister & Hubs will be there too to help out eating all the baked goods I'll be making. Haha.

So stay tune!

moonbeams & bunny kisses,

Rima