Sunday Morning in Sempur Field

Sempur field is a famous field in my city (Bogor, West Java, Indonesia). As a free public place, many people use it everyday, especially for playing football, basket, volley, running around the field and doing wall climbing.

But on Sunday morning, this field changes into a temporary market, it’s for about four hours. You can see lots of sellers there. If you’re interested to buy some stuff there, you can be confused as there are lots of things to sale: from toys, clothes, foods, accessories, underwear, fruits, animals, hand phone accessories, kitchen and home equipment, to motorbikes, television, other electronic equipment, and many more!

Last Sunday, I and my husband visited Sempur field to have chicken porridge for breakfast. It’s already 9.00 am in the morning, several sellers have packed their stuff; but many other sellers still display it. While we were eating our breakfast, suddenly we heard and saw some men were chasing someone and yelling,” Pickpocket…pickpocket!”

It turned out that a while before, a stupid man (a pickpocket) has taken a bag that belongs to one member of a basketball team. Poor man. It’s not hard to chase and seize the thief. It’s really a stupid decision to do a criminal thing in a place that full of people like that. I was afraid to see and take pictures, my husband said that the thief was being hit by several people and then brought to the police office nearby.

I also did a little shopping. I bought two legging pants, as the price is very cheap! Before going home, we saw for a while children that were doing taekwondo training.

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A Croaking Toad

I saw this croaking toad several nights ago in our front yard. It’s raining that time. My husband assumed the toad’s sound as an annoyance (he can’t sleep every time he hears it); but I assumed it as one kind of music, hehehe…

Are you still confused to see the difference between a frog or a toad? Here’s a little bit information for you:

Frogs (we call it katak)They are members of the family Ranidae, containing more than 400 species. These frogs have the characteristics of:

• two bulging eyes
• strong, long, webbed hind feet that are adapted for leaping and swimming
• smooth, wet skin that looks slimy (generally, frogs tend to like moister environments)
• skinner bodies
• Frogs tend to lay eggs in clusters.
• Members of this family include the bullfrog, common frog, green frog, leopard frog, marsh frog, pickerel frog, and wood frog.

Toads (we call it kodok)They are members of the family Bufonidae, containing more than 300 species. These types of frogs are characterized by:

• short hind legs (for walking instead of hopping)
• drier, rough skin that looks really bumpy, like warts (usually preferring dryer climates)
• wider bodies and look fat
• paratoid (or poison) glands behind the eyes
• Toads tend to lay eggs in long chains.

Reasons for Croaking

Toads croak for various reasons. The main purpose of croaking is for male toads to attract a mate. While some female toads may croak in response, croaking is largely a male activity in most species. Some male toads may croak as a means of marking territory or warning away another male that may accidentally try to mate with them.

Toads generally keep their mouths closed during calls, which moistens the volume of the sound. However, when a toad is being attacked by a predator, it may open its mouth in order to make a high-pitched distress call.

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CC: When We Wish Upon a Star

When I read this CC topic of the week, I remember this old song. Here’s a part of the lyrics:

When You Wish Upon A Star-Louis Armstrong

When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to youIf your heart is in your dreams
No request is to extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do
Fate is kind
She brings to those who love
As sweet fulfillment of their secret drowns
Like a boat out of the blue
Fate steps in and see's you through
...

Of course, it’s not literally that we wish upon the star, as we must wish only to GOD that creates star and others, right?

I guess that there’s nothing wrong with wishing. Some people may say that wishing is only a passive thing to do; and it needs more that wish to make your dreams come true. Some other people say that you should wish that is followed by the visualization. If you wish to have a bigger house, you should visualize in your mind, every detailed thing in your new home and also visualize your activities inside. Have you ever tried it?

I think those all are true. Perhaps you’ve ever read about the power of mind, the attraction laws, and others. I believe that as long as God decides that your wish is truly the best for you, it will come true. What we wish for doesn’t always mean that it’s the right thing for us. Only God knows what the best is for us; or perhaps the time isn’t right yet.

But as ordinary human, sometimes, we -my hubby and I- like to talk about our wish. Just saying it can make us happy!

Here are some of our wishes: having smart and adorable kids, able to take care and give high education to our kids, successful business, a new house with bigger yard, getting old together, living healthy and happily forever, and I don’t want to bother you anymore with my other wish, hehehe…

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How to React to Your Child’s Tantrum

Perhaps every parent has ever faced child’s tantrum. It can happen anywhere, whether at the grocery or on an airplane. I’ll share here the tips that are written by Emily McBride. You can apply these tips to get your toddler develop into a more reasonable toddler.

A child throws tantrums in order to declare their independence. The trick is letting them feel their sense of independence while still getting them to behave well and follow the rules.

Realize that simply yelling “no” and stomping a foot is not a tantrum; it’s just testing the water. Don’t mistake this normal child behavior for a tantrum. Parents, here’s for your information: Tantrums are when the child gets out of control, whether physically or verbally.

Some characteristics of tantrums are pounding arms and legs on the floor, screaming, and getting red in the face. Not only temper-tantrums are unbearable and embarrassing in public, if you don’t get controlled your child from the beginning, he/she can lead to even bigger behavioral problems later.

How to respond properly? Here are some tips:

Ignore.Just ignore him or her (don't give any eye contact); but you should make sure that your child doesn’t hurt herself/himself. In many cases, once your child realizes that he is not getting any attention from his tantrum, he will stop. Most probably, the more agitated you get about their tantrum (yelling, begging, or getting emotional); your child will also get more agitated.

Trying to physically hold them still work not either, and usually results just in more struggle. Don’t worsen the situation. Obviously, if you are in a public place that needs to be quiet, this might not work. You might need to take your child out and away before you can start ignoring him.

Reward positive behavior.Studies have shown that gratifying positive behavior is actually persuades better behavior than punishing for negative. Praise your child when he/she is behaving well. When your child calms down after a tantrum, stop ignoring them and acknowledge them with a respect.

Start now.If you’ve been applying the tips and your toddler is still throwing tantrums, that’s okay. Ignore your child’s next tantrum. It will probably shock your child at first, but sooner or later they will realize that you aren’t going to respond to their tantrums anymore, and they’ll find another (hopefully better) way to get your attention.

When the right time to get expert help.Sometimes, tantrums are a sign of bigger problems. If your child is throwing multiple tantrums a day, or getting injured or injuring others through the tantrums, consult to your doctor.

Pick your ‘battles’ wisely.
As parent, you aren’t going to win every argument and tantrum. Every child is different; so, different techniques work best for different children. Be patient, this period of childhood won’t last too long.

Well parents, I hope these tips can help you to respond your child’s tantrum in a better way…

Rewrite source: family.tips.net
Image source:ucgmikebennett.wordpress.com

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The Festival of Sacrifice

Eid al-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى‎) or Festival of Sacrifice or Greater Eid is a significant religious holiday celebrated by Muslims around the world to celebrate the willingness of Abraham (Ibrahim) to sacrifice his son Ishmael (Isma’il) as an act of obedience to God, before God interfered to provide him with a ram to sacrifice instead.

Why do Muslims sacrifice an animal on this day?

During the commemoration of Eid al-Adha, Muslims memorialize and remember Abraham's trials, by themselves slaughtering an animal such as a cow, sheep, camel, or goat. This action is very often misunderstood by those outside the faith.

God has given us authority over animals and allowed us to consume meat, but only if we pronounce Allah name at the solemn act of taking life. By saying the name of Allah at the time of slaughter, we are reminded that life is sacred.

The meat from the sacrifice of Eid al-Adha is mostly given away to others. One-third is eaten by immediate family and relatives, one-third is given away to friends, and one-third is donated to the poor. The act symbolizes our enthusiasm to give up things that are of benefit to us or close to our hearts, in order to follow Allah's commands.

It also represents our willingness to give up some of our own bounties, in order to make stronger the ties of friendship and help those who are in need. We are aware of all blessings come from Allah, and we should open our hearts and share with others.

It is very essential to comprehend that the sacrifice itself, as accomplished by Muslims, has nothing to do with atoning for our sins or using the blood to clean ourselves from sin. This is a misinterpretation. The representation is in the thought - a willingness to make sacrifices in our lives in order to stay on the Straight Path. (Source: google).

I captured the sheep that will be sacrificed at November 17th 2010, the Festival of Sacrifice.

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CC: What We have Accomplished

Every married couple has a dream about their future marriage life, including me and my hubby. Our dream was having a happy marriage life, successful business and one or two children.

And then, after eight years of our marriage life, what is the reality that happens to us now? Well, I believe that only God who knows what is the best for us. We can have a dream and we have done our efforts to reach it, but the end results are totally in God’s Power and Authority.

From the three dreams, I feel grateful that we have accomplished a happy marriage life; as our relationship are becoming stronger every day. Perhaps you, my friends, have already known that we got bankrupt in our business and suffered a huge financial loss. There aren’t yet little steps running around our house since we still have no child.

I don’t feel sad at all and I accept this reality with sincerity. I and my hubby can live in a simple life, and that’s more than enough for me. We just do our best here to move forward and reach a better life. I believe that the bright future is waiting for us there.

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Rain

I hope this shot are wet enough for a watery post. I was inside our car and on the journey to Kaligua tea plantation (Bumiayu, Central Java). It was raining outside and you can see also the mist was surrounding the trees.

My entry for Watery Wednesday

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