Uncategorized | how to escape

What would you do for love? (Love with a Chance of Drowning giveaway)

June 16, 2013 · 6 Comments

As you may know, it was not my intention to move to Bali. I was simply drifting through Asia, having the time of my life when I ended up here and I was supposed to stay for only 10 days. Then I met a boy, who became my husband within the year, and the rest is history. I stayed in Bali for him, which fair enough, doesn’t seem like much of a hardship. But things are not always easy when you marry into a culture that is totally different from the one you have always known. After we married, I followed tradition of moving into his family compound with his parents and was thrown into the Balinese world of tradition and ceremony.

I’m always fascinated of other cross-cultural love stories and so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy of Love with a Chance of Drowning. I’d only just started reading Torre’s excellent blog when she announcing the book launch and I was eager for more of her writing – I wasn’t disappointed. If you love travel writing and you love romantic stories and happy endings, you really have to check out this book.

So staying in Bali was what I did for love – not such a difficult task. Torre on the other hand, embarked on a round the word sailing experience with no previous experience and a serious fear of deep water. I’d never really though about sailing before I read this book – the idea sounds glamourous but the reality, while amazing, has made me pretty sure I’ll never set off in a small boat to travel long distances. This woman has nerves of steel for continuing the journey after her experience of their first storm at sea – just imagine how scary that must be when you’re inside a tiny boat being tossed around at the whims of the ocean. And then sailing across the pacific ocean for weeks without seeing land. I can’t even comprehend how it must feel to know that you are a tiny speck at the mercy of nature with no dry land for thousands of miles – it jus makes me go “arghghghgh!” Add to that the fact that you are trapped inside a tiny tin can with someone 24/7 with no hopes of escape. Now that is the true test of love!

This is not a soppy love story by any means. It’s equally funny, terrifying and inspiring. If you enjoy travel memoirs and you’re looking for a good summer read, I can recommend Love with a Chance of Drowning 100%. I’d also recommend that you go and check out Torre’s blog. She’s currently running a competition to win a $1000 round-trip ticket to anywhere in the world.

I’m offering your chance to win a copy of Love with a Chance of Drowning. To be in with a chance of winning, simply leave a comment below and tell me the craziest thing you’ve ever done for love. For an extra chance, like How to Escape on Facebook and leave me another comment to say that you’ve done so. Sorry but this giveaway is open only to US residents. If you’re not in the US, I would recommend buying it anyway

You can enter up until midnight (Bali time) 31 June 2013 The winner will be chosen at random from all the comments on 1 July 2013 and contacted by email.

{ 6 Comments }

Friday bits & pieces

June 7, 2013 · 3 Comments

Work has calmed down a little after the insaneness that was May. I’m still pretty busy and working on getting up earlier so I can get more done in the mornings and have the afternoons free for time with the kids and the evening for personal projects, blogging and such. However the kids seem to foil any attempt at me leaving the room before dawn by waking up as soon as I step a foot out of the door…

Anyway my dad is here at the moment so I have been taking it a little easier and I’m hoping we get out and do some fun stuff while he’s here. Trip planned to the swimming pool this afternoon

It’s a lovely sunny Friday here in Bali. We don’t really do weekends here but I hope wherever you are, you’re looking forward to yours

Here are a few bits and pieces from the internets that kept me entertained this week:

I’ve been inspired by Ashley’s Bali Travelogue and Tamara’s photos of the home of the family behind Bali-grown kids label Coco and Ginger. I’m now collecting beautiful images of homes in Bali in a Pinterest album (which will probably not grow too fast as I tend to avoid Pinterest entirely due to its time sucking qualities!). One day maybe we will own a beautiful home like these. I can wish right? Maybe one day I’ll also be rich enough to stock Maya’s entire wardrobe from Coco and Ginger.

Spending hours at my computer writing every day is doing nothing for my eyesight and I’m finding myself squinting quite intensely at the screen by the end of the day. I found a program called Flux which adjusts the ambient lighting of your computer screen to the time of day automatically and it seems to be helping quite a bit – check it out!

Theodora’s summary of their Chinese school experiment and why her son won’t be continuing in the deep end in a local school in northern China. Quite frankly I’m amazed he lasted so long and think it shows remarkable strength of character – that kid will go far! Interestingly (for me), Zac has previously attended a school just down the road from me, right here in Bali, one that we are contemplating maybe sending Maya to in the future, once she’s decided she likes school again.

It’s become a habit for me to read Georgia’s blog entries in the morning and then end up wiping tears from my eyes as I try to get some work done. This story of how her daughter saved for a year to buy an ipad and then waited until she had enough money to buy her brother one too had me sobbing. I’m lucky if I go 24 hours without Maya biting Kiran hard or pushing him off the steps

Along with a new computer (early birthday present from mum) and a load of new clothes that actually fit me (since I dropped to a uk size 10 for the first time ever), my dad brought out this cookbook which had been sitting in one of my boxes for years. I’m feeling all inspired to cook now and wishing I had an oven.

Ok time to go and rescue my husband from the children. Enjoy your weekend!

{ 3 Comments }

We are reading: Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth

June 6, 2013 · 1 Comment

I have always loved the beautiful illustrations in kids books, even before I had children and I’d already amassed quite a collection before Maya was born. Now Maya loves reading (Kiran loves looking at picture books, especially of animals but he doesn’t have the concentration to be read to yet), I’m always on the lookout for new books to add to our collection.

When Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth popped up in my Amazon ‘you might also be interested in..’ widget, I just had to go ahead and order it. We are raising the Children as Hindu and there are some amazing Hindu legends that just translate amazingly into kids stories. My mother is a (retired) nursery teacher and she used to tell the Ramayana story to the kids in her nursery. The Balinese legends are a little different to the Indian ones but the characters are the same and often the stories are similar with a Balinese twist.

This book has simply amazing illustrations and is based on a Hindu legend explaining the writing of the Mahabharata, a 100,000 verse Sanskrit poem. Obviously this book is intended for little ones and is very simplified with lots of funny details. The story doesn’t make much sense and doesn’t have a real point to it but Maya seems to like it anyway!

Linking up with Fritha at Tigerlilly Quinn

{ 1 Comment }

Catching Up

May 30, 2013 · 3 Comments

So much for things settling down in May! I haven’t been so busy for years. My writing work has taken off at an alarming rate, which is great but means I’ve had little time for anything else. I’m yet to do my accounts for the month (still a couple of days to go anyway) but I think I came pretty close to the earnings goal I set at the beginning of the year. However my plan was never to work all day and all night (though I’m only averaging about 5 hours of billable work a day – that’s a lot with two toddlers around!) I would really like a day off. And an early night. And to do something fun with my kids instead of begging them to please let me just finish this one article… so we’ll see how things go. My dad is going to be visiting for the month of June anyway so at least I will be forced to have a bit of a break during the day

With all the deadlines and craziness, I got completely behind on the blog obviously. I have a month’s worth of 365 photos to catch up on so apologies in advance for clogging your feed as I catch up. I have to confess – I did miss a couple. This shows how totally out of everything I’ve been as i forgot to even take blurry sleeping shots on a couple of occassions. Oh well, life… I’m also way way behind on my blog reading and been missing out on babies being born and allsorts. still not sure when i’ll ever catch up on that. hey ho.

I can’t believe it’s nearly June! Almost halfway through the year already. Crazy. Ok some project 365 uploading and then bedtime for me!

{ 3 Comments }

So long, Google Reader

April 12, 2013 · Leave a Comment

This is kind of a boring post so I’m distracting you with a pretty picture.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few weeks, you’ll probably have heard the news that Google Reader is closing on 1st July. If you’re like me and use Reader multiple times a day, you were probably pretty shocked at the news. There’s been a big petition to save Reader but to be honest, I doubt it will do any good. Reader does not make Google any money and trust me when I say that Google is not your friend.

Anyway, I’ve been investigating alternatives and now is a good time to make a switch before it gets too close to the shutdown date and everyone is over-subscribing to new services. You can easily export all your feeds from Reader and import them into something else. Or you could use this as an opportunity to do some spring cleaning and only resubscribe to the blogs you actually read. Wish I’d thought of that before I copied the whole thing across. Oh well.

Blog Lovin’ is a really popular reader and I know lots of people moving onto it. I really wanted to like Blog Lovin’ – it is very pretty. However I don’t like having to click through to the site to read the whole post – who has time for an extra click? Lots of people love Blog Lovin’ so check it out and see if it’s for you – there’s a big link over there in the sidebar.t

Before I used Google Reader, I read all my favourite blogs on Bloglines so I went back to see if it still existed. The answer is yes, it’s still alive and kicking and actually looks pretty similar to Reader. There are also some different view options if you like it to look a bit prettier.

Feedly seems to be the reader that is doing the biggest job of taking Reader’s place and I’ve heard they’re making some changes to make the transition smoother for Google Reader users. I’ve had the app installed on my kindle fire for a while now and I have to say it kind of rocks. I haven’t switched to the browser version yet (I’ve still not quite let go of google reader) but I think this may be the one I stick with.

The Old Reader is another alternative with the same look and feel as Google Reader but there’s no app. It also took a week to import my feeds, which is kind of hilarious.

RSS readers are great and all but they’re not the only way to keep up to date. I finally got around to putting a button in the sidebar for my facebook page which I update every time I make a new post and put extra photos and other stuff on. I’m also trying out an email subscription form which is right at the bottom of the sidebar – I’m not sure if it works yet.

{ Leave a comment }

Review: California Baby Sunscreen & Cooling Spray

March 22, 2013 · Leave a Comment

For some reason, natural baby products don’t really seem to have caught on in Indonesia yet. After both Maya and Kiran were born I received many many bars of soap as gifts – yes, regular bar SOAP! I’ve seen a fair few newborns here with peeling skin and as it’s standard to bathe babies twice a day from birth here, I think I can guess what the culprit is. Also they loooove dousing babies and kids in baby powder and have zero knowledge of the potential health risks. I’ve tried to tell them but I just get laughed at as usual.

So anyway, when California Baby emailed me to say they were launching in Indonesia and would I like to try some of their products, I jumped at the chance.

California Baby makes organic and natural products for babies and they’re the kind of products that grownups love to steal for their skin too. In fact I’ve already ‘borrowed’ the sunscreen to use it on myself as a moisturiser with SPF several times.

Now sunscreen is one of those things that can be full of nasty chemicals and in general i prefer to use it as little as possible. The sun is very strong here as we’re only a few degrees south of the equator and so we try just not to be out in the sun between the hours of around 10am – 3pm. So having the option of a more natural sunscreen that isn’t full of chemicals is great!

The California Baby everyday year-round sunscreen is only SPF18 so I’d probably not use it on the kids when we are out in the middle of the day (they do make several SPF30+ sunscreens too, which I would choose over the SPF18) but for general use in the morning/afternoon or on overcast days, it’s fine. It also works great as an everyday moisturiser as I mentioned!

This sunscreen rubs in well and doesn’t go all sticky and greasy which is my pet hate with sunscreen. It also smells gorgeous – not your typical sunscreen smell but fresh and citrussy. Yum!

The Aloe & Arnica soothing spray is intended for use as an aftersun or as a light moisturiser. I’ve been keeping this in the fridge and it is amazing in the afternoon when we’re all hot and sweaty. Both kids suffer from heat rashes, Maya gets it particularly bad and often has trouble sleeping because she’s itchy. I’ve been spraying this on every day and it does seem to help. In any case, it’s so nice to spray on your face to cool down in the afternoon. Arnica by the way is a miracle ingredient – we have a tube of arnica cream that we rub on straight away whenever the kids bang their heads and even the biggest bumps and bruises disappear overnight!

California Baby Indonesia have kindly offered 10% off to my blog readers using the code LOVE10 – just go to www.CA-Baby.com to place your order. Happy shopping!

This is not a paid review but California Baby sent me the sunscreen and soothing spray for review. All opinions, as always, are my own.

{ Leave a comment }

Bloggy Love!

February 16, 2013 · 6 Comments

I have a ton of work to do (desperate for money so holding off on the working mostly for myself plan for a couple of weeks) and both the little monsters are fast asleep (which makes a nice change for this time of night). So I should be working really but instead I’m rewarding myself for returning from the dentist by drinking neighbour-provided wine and reading blogs. I haven’t been to the dentist in over 10 years and now I really need to set a good example for my children. 10 years of no dentistry mean there is a fair amount of work to be done so I’m back there again in 2 weeks (boo) although luckily I seem to have escaped the need for a root canal by 1mm.

Anyway, I’ve discovered quite a few new blogs recently and I thought I would share the love and let you know about a few of them too. I’m always interested in new reads so please let me know your favourites!

Expatria Baby

Ok technically this is not a new-to-me blog as I’ve been reading it for quite some time but Erica is awesome and deserves a shout-out anyway. I first found this blog right after Erica and her family moved to Jakarta and I was fascinated by her first impressions there and the fact that she seemed to love it as everyone I know who’s lived in Jakarta hated it! Apart from the amazing photos and Stella being the cutest little girl you’ll ever see, Erica is really an amazing writer and makes some wonderful and amusing observations about their life in Indonesia.

Les Jours Contents

Lisa emailed me so I checked out her blog and was immediately hooked. She has just moved to Russia with her partner to teach and I’m fascinated by the pictures and descriptions of her new life. I’m always drawn to expat blogs (for obvious reasons) but I never read any from bloggers living in Russia before. I’m just so fascinated keeping up with her adventures!

Escape Artistes

This is my very newest blog find and I’m still waiting until I’ve got time to go through the archives. Theodora is a single mum who’s been travelling the world with her son for 3 years. They’ve visited an amazing number of countries and had countless adventures in the time they’ve been travelling – so inspiring! Plus Theodora is a very talented writer, which always helps.

Adventures in Pinksugarland

I found this blog from lila was here when I was looking for project 365 blogs. The amazing photos continue along with crafts, funky design and other fun features. I wish my life was this cool.

Chuzai Living

Another blog by an expat in Jakarta – Kaho who is Japanese. I’m not sure exactly what it is about the Japanese that makes everything they do so stylish and creative but I just love anything that comes out of that country. I’m always bemoaning that the Japanese guide books are so cute and full of photographs and little illustrations – I see the Japanese tourists carrying them around here. Why is Lonely Planet so boring? Ok I got off the subject there, anyway the twist here is that this is a Japanese blogger blogging about life in Jakarta. Great pics, lots of funky shops (I so want to hop on a plane and go on a shopping trip to Jakarta right now) and super cute kids. What’s not to love?

Gingerlillytea

Two little girls in England living out fairy princess adventures. Beautiful dreamy photos and I love seeing Elle and Mia play together – can’t wait till I’m out of the biting-kicking-and-screaming-because-kiran-stole-my-block phase and my two will play together as nicely. Keri-Anne’s blog really makes me more inspired to do more fun activities with the kids together.

A Mama in Chile

Another blog I’ve been reading a little bit longer (I’m such a cheat). Tamsin takes beautiful photos and her children are like little models. I love reading about her adventures in another part of the world I’ve never visited.

Ok, there are many many more but I think I’d better stop there and do at least a little bit of work tonight. Please don’t forget to let me know your favourite blogs!

{ 6 Comments }

A small favour…

January 21, 2013 · Leave a Comment

The votes have just been reset on top baby blogs. I found so many of my favourite blogs there and I’ve gained so many new readers from my listing there – last round I got up to #22 which I think is amazing. I’m aiming for the top 10 this time

If you could click out through the top baby blogs button in the sidebar on the right or through the banners I sometimes put at the end of the posts when you come here to read, it will really help out with my ranking. You just need to click the button/banner and then click the owl on the left. You can vote up to once a day and every vote is appreciated!

Thanks

{ Leave a comment }

Xmas Family Pictures Past and Present

December 31, 2012 · Leave a Comment

This was our third Christmas together with a family and I’ve tried to get a photo with us sitting by the tree every year. The year before that it was just me and Made, we went to the beach and had no tree and I didn’t even get a photo of us together.

So here is last year – Maya looks so little and I am 9 months pregnant and huge.

And 2010 with a tiny Maya, reluctant to be photographed!

{ Leave a comment }

12 Books of Christmas – Beware of the Frog

December 13, 2012 · Leave a Comment

I’ve seen this idea floating around on a few blogs, the idea being that instead of a traditional advent calendar you wrap up a book every day for your child to open and read together. I’d already bought too many books for Christmas presents (ok not too many, you can never have too many books) and thought it was a nice idea to space them out like this. I went a bit overboard with the presents this Christmas I think but that’s a story for another time and place. I saw the idea for doing 12 books rather than the whole 24 because the novelty starts wearing off on documenting delight. As it turns out, I’d bought just over 12 books and Sue had brought a few too – just perfect to keep a few back for Kiran’s birthday in January too.

While I do want to limit the amount of toys I get for the kids, books are something I’ll never cut back on. I collected children’s books for many years before I even thought about having children because I just love the illustrations. I feel like I have to try extra hard with reading to the kids here because reading is just not a part of the culture (stories are told verbally and through arts such as puppetry) and the idea of reading for pleasure is a bit of an alien concept. When Maya is looking at a book they don’t say she’s ‘reading’ they say ‘learning’ as in “oh you’re working hard” and I don’t want her to get the idea that books are boring and hard work. Her English is also way behind her Indonesian and the more I read to her, the faster it will catch up. I’ve not been as good about reading to Kiran as I was when Maya was a baby so hopefully these beautiful new books will inspire me to try a bit harder.

As they are all so beautiful, I thought I’d showcase each book here for others to find as I’m always on the lookout for a good new book that my children will enjoy.

I put the tree up today and left the first book under it for when Maya came back from school. Instead of wasting paper, I’m just putting them in a gift bag each day. She was more impressed with the tree today but I’m hoping tomorrow she’ll start to be excited about the books too!

Today’s book is Beware of the Frog by William Bee. As well as cute retro illustrations, this book also has a funny story with a twist of dark humour. Just the sort of thing that two-year-olds love!

{ Leave a comment }