Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Although it's usually a holiday lunch, it was great to see the Angel Tree charity lunch return from the AWA. It's a huge fundraiser for two well-deserving local charities and we were more than happy to open our hearts and our wallets for an afternoon.

One of the things that makes this lunch unique is that each table hostess decorates her own table in any holiday theme and everyone votes for their favorite. Jenny and Asha did an incredible job on a Coastal Christmas table, complete with sand and seashells.

We were treated to some lovely music by a talented saxophonist and she even got the crowd involved for Feliz Navidad.

The votes were tallied and our beautiful hostesses won the prize for best table by a landslide! Maybe I was biased but I had no doubt their creation was outstanding and we were all so happy for them.

The next day was Pokeeno night at Jerilyn's and we could ditch the white dresses and don our Indonesian sombreros (which looked oddly similar to the hats people wear to work in the rice paddies here!)

What a great crowd and a perfect Tex-Mex night!

I even kept the spirit alive the next morning while I worked out :)

 

ANZA 80's ball

This was a huge milestone in Jakarta expat life - the return of a real FULL-SIZED ball! No masks, no limited capacity, no peduli lindungi vaccine checks...just some good ole fashioned costumes and fun! The ANZA ball is always a guaranteed good time and an 80's theme meant some pretty rad costumes. We even got a live band again!

We got together at Chris and Jerilyn's before heading to the Fairmont and this group was looking pretty amazing.

We had 80's punk rock, prom, presidents, hard rock, and even a few movie stars like Maverick and Marty McFly!

The ball room looked amazing! We were so ready for a REAL party!!

Ran into Mr. Allerton, who was a pretty great Boy George.

Amazon US, Amazon UK, and tokopedia all delivered some amazing costumes!

And the ever-entertaining party pics! This was such a fun group, even though we didn't all fit at one table.

When I ran into Claire and her glow in the dark bracelets, I decided to propose a swap for some new accessories. Little did I know that this would turn into a really fun hobby for the night because most people were covered in accessories.  Thus began Operation Swapsies.

This Maverick was such a good sport, he was willing to trade shirts! I think he enjoyed his new shirt even more than me!

Target acquired: end of the night amazing wig!

By the end of the evening, I had my own shoes, stockings, shorts, and one original glove. And my fanny pack - I was unwilling to give up that amazing phone and chapstick holder.  Everything else was new to me (I did swap the skirt even though it was nearly the same) It was such a fun and memorable night and a great way to make new friends!

 

Good Times

It's always nice to settle into a new school year and schedule. I hosted the first Pokeeno and asked everyone to dress to represent their country (home or adopted) and it was a fun evening with several new faces. Texas was well-represented!

We finally pulled the plug on our guest room, which has essentially been unused for five years, and turned it into a gym.  Now the space gets used every day!

Ben took apart his plasma ball to mess around with it and get some small sparks. You just never know what this curious mind will want to explore next.

My foot has continued to heal and by the end of August I was feeling a thousand times better.  Real workouts started in the new home gym.

Because I'm still not able to walk long distances, I was able to get a red flag for my golf cart for many weeks and have Ben drive me straight up to my ball.  He loved getting to go offroad and only occasionally got a little excited and left marks on the grass!

I enjoyed working at Booster Hut and sometimes spying on my new high schooler in line from crepes. He did not love my attention..ha!

We had a weekend with a fun furry friend.  Obi has been living with other families in Jakarta while waiting for his quarantine spot be reunited with his real family in Singapore. He was a fun guest but was so excited to see his "real" foster family.