Welcoming 2013

Happy New Year!

I welcome 2013 with great anticipation for the new season of the Legend of Korra, the Walking Dead, and other awesome Tv series ♫

What did you do on New Year's Eve? I spent the whole evening with my Mom's side of the family. We ate lots of food, such as Mom's awesome Bratkartoffeln, Ibu Ila's amazing Apple Pie, and some take-outs that Tante Uwie brought. The house was crowded, but we still had some space for us to run around with our paper trumpets and sparklers. Everybody had a-bit-of-this and a-bit-of-that for dinner, including me, who ended up helping myself with a second serving for pretty much everything.

New Year's Eve Feast

Packs of Mie Keriting that Tante Uwie bought

Mix them all together

The food were awesome. Mom made lots of dishes, such as Roasted Chicken with Garlic and Butter, Red Kidney Beans and Beef Brisket Soup, Broccoli with Smoked Beef, and Bratkartoffeln (or Pan-fried German Potatoes). On the one hand, Ibu Ila (Mom's older sister) also did some cooking. She made a beautiful and nicely-weaved Apple Pie, and also a big plate of Macaroni Schotel, that were fancied by most of us. However, Tante Uwie (Mom's younger sister) didn't cook anything, yet she brought boxes of Mie Keriting from Pluit and a couple packages of Martabak Bandung.

A box of Martabak Telor Bandung 

Mom's Red Kidney Beans and Beef Brisket Soup

Everybody had a bit of everything, and we were watching the local Tv station as we dine. We watched a set of live reports about how crowded Bunderan HI and Monas were during the eve of 2013. The place was packed with wet people, soaked because of the heavy rain that poured down Jakarta. The situation literary defines the expression "sea of people". I was glad that my family and I decided to spend New Year's Eve at my house instead of joining the crowd at Monas. 

Mom's Bratkartoffeln

Ibu Ila's Macaroni Schotel 

Tante Voni's Lasagna

The Lasagne was a bite too sweet for my taste

As the time approached twelve o-clock, my cousins and I ran to the balcony, all prepared to welcome 2013 with out trumpets and sparklers. "2 minutes left 'till New Year," my cousin, named Nadia, shouted. We were bloody prepared to wake up our neighbors with our paper trumpets that made a Mandrake-like noise.

Ibu Ila's Homemade Apple Pie

Look how deliciously tempting that piece of pie is

"1 minute to New Year," I exclaimed. The four of us blew our trumpets like there's no tomorrow. A neighbor of mine, who happen to be at the same age with me, suddenly came out from his house and let out an ear-bleeding noise from his more-high-tech trumpet. The next thing I know, World War III happened as my cousins and I compete with my neighbor in the Who-blows-the-loudest-trumpet Game.

Mom's Roasted Chicken

Those Roasted Chicken were delicious and savory, and had a hint of garlic contained in its' flesh

It took us a year to finish the whole chicken!

Suddenly, in front of our eyes, numerous uncountable fireworks explode in the sky. One were red, another one is a combination of yellow and purple, and the other one is green. It was an exciting display of fireworks that made me squeal like a fangirl. "HAPPY NEW YEAR," we shouted excitedly. We high-fived each other, blew our trumpets triumphantly, and burn our sparklers. Then, we go down to the dinning room to greet the others and have a toast. A minute later, we proceed to the backyard and took pictures with light sticks and leftover sparklers. All in all, New Year's Eve was awesome!

Clockwise: Raffi, Nuning, Kinan (Me), Nadia