you're the only thing I wouldn't change

In due time.

2011-10-18T21:54:00.003-04:00

Today was Lentil's due date, but he didn't feel like braving the cooler/rainy weather, I guess!
We're trying to wait patiently, but we really want to meet this little guy!

The room!

2011-10-13T21:18:00.008-04:00

Here is the babe's room! I'm so excited about it!

It's based off the album cover for Have Heart: The Things We Carry.
Ravi came up with the idea and we both painted (he did the mountains and I did the sun!) and picked things out for the room!
I honestly never thought it would all get done and come together, but it did and I am so happy!

Too fast.

2011-10-13T18:20:00.007-04:00

I can't believe how quickly this time has passed.
I seriously remember finding out about Lentil perfectly.
I was pretty terrified and could say nothing but "Ummmmm...." over and over.
We didn't even think it was true and thought our cheap-o pregnancy test was just tricking us.
Nope! Little Lentil has grown and grown and grown.
It has been an amazing experience and I'm a little sad for it to be ending.
I have truly loved every experience.
I keep trying to remember to take in all these last moments we have together, just the two of us.
I love every little movement.
The big movements are a bit more uncomfortable, but I love those too.
I like knowing that he's safe and that I'm the one keeping him that way.
I can't imagine how different things are going to be here soon, but I know that it's going to be amazing.
I can't wait for Ravi to meet him.
And for Sabin to nose him.
And for the cats to avoid him.
And for me to look at this little guy who has totally stolen my heart.
I can't promise that I'll do better with blogging after he's born.
In fact, I'm sure I'll be worse, trying to soak in every moment I can with him!
But, I will definitely try

Crafting!

2011-08-14T11:27:00.000-04:00

This summer has been filled with a whole lot of relaxing.

I honestly have not done much besides deep cleaning, organizing, de-cluttering our house in order to make room for Lentil, hanging out with the Sabes and cats, and watching way too much netflix.

I guess it's good that I got in so much alone time since I won't be getting much of that in a couple months!
Although I wish I could have gotten in more good hangouts with friends since those will probably be lacking as well.
Oh well!

I did get in time to work on some crafts for Lentil!
Ravi helped me pick out fabric and I sewed these burp cloths!
I knit this little hooded blanket to cuddle him in!
I taught myself to cross stitch last month, so I made this little guy for Lentil's wall!
And last night I order some fabric that was on sale to make him a few super soft baby blankets! I can't wait to see it!
I'm working on a few other things to put up around his room, as well.
I'm just so excited to meet him!

Oh, and I also made Ravi a "cover" for his new 3DS...um, it looks more like a purse!
Woops!
He still likes it and carries his "man clutch" to work!

Ravi only has two more days of this crazy work schedule and then we'll be able to get moving more on Lentil's room, which will definitely set me at ease!
I can't wait for Ravi to paint the room so we can put the crib together and start making everything nice for him!

Today is super overcast and ready to rain at any second,
but it's so cool out and the breeze is blowing through our house, so I'm a happy girl!

Treats!

2011-08-12T12:13:00.006-04:00

On Tuesday, we shared a special late night dinner of some of Ravi's favorite foods!
Essentially, it was Thanksgiving dinner.
And we probably have enough leftovers to hold us over until November, too!
And Ravi got a special treat that he's been wanting!
Sabin loveloveloves to help open presents!

Ravi's parents have been out of the country since August 4th and aren't coming back until the 15th, which has left him completely in charge of the family business.
That means he works from about 8:30 or so in the morning until about 11:00 at night.
And he hasn't had a day off since the 3rd and probably won't until the 20th.
Needless to say, I miss him.
But, I've been staying up extra late in order to get as much time in with him as possible since I return to work next week.
Boo to that! Luckily, I only have to work about two months before Mr. Lentil comes and then I'll have time off in order to love on him!

Okay, and speaking of having babies, Ravi and I were watching TV last night, pausing the show to watch my belly shift from side to side spastically as Lentil rolled around in there.
And he asked, "Seriously, how do people not know they're pregnant before they have the baby?"
And we are just completely baffled!! How does that even happen?!
Do any of you have any ideas?
Please share, because we just can't even fathom.

Ravi!

2011-08-09T21:20:00.005-04:00

Every year when this day rolls around, I feel extra grateful that this guy is in my life.
I love him endlessly and am so excited to spend every minute I can with his sweet little self.

Answer!

2011-08-07T08:58:00.004-04:00

So...I'm only three months late with this news, that's okay, right?!

I have been an absolute slacker this summer with blogging.
To be honest, I just haven't felt like it at all!
And I think the only reason I'm posting this now is because every so often I'll get a comment saying the suspense is too much!
Or I'll see Ravi checking to see if I've posted anything new!
Haha, so anyway, I want you to picture this cutie:
But as a baby!!!
That's right! Lentil is a BOY!!!!!
(However, if it was a girl, you'd probably still need to picture that cutie but as a girl, because I'm guessing our babes are not going to look a thing like me!)

We went to have our ultrasound and as soon as the image popped up on the screen, Ravi said, "IT'S A BOY!!"
Um...I was totally staring and still trying to figure out where the baby was at that point.
But the technician confirmed (and said it was still a boy when we had another ultrasound a month later!).
It definitely felt similar to the episode of Friends where Ross and Rachel have their ultrasound and she says she sees it but totally doesn't.
That was me!
I did eventually figure it out, so that's what counts, right?!

Anyway, we are super excited and just can't wait to meet Mr. Lentil!
It turns out that I'm actually a few weeks behind what we thought, so my new due date is October 18th.
That means, on Tuesday, I'll be 30 weeks pregnant.
30!
I can't even believe it.
This pregnancy has gone by sososo fast and I just want it to slow down a little bit!
I've truly enjoyed every new sensation, every flutter, kick, roll, hard punch to the ribs--it's really one of the neatest things I've ever experienced, and his way of saying, "Hey, I'm healthy and happy in here."
And while I can't sleep and my back aches a little too much, I can't imagine not having this little baby inside of me anymore.
I love knowing that he's safe and protected and I know it's selfish, but it's time for just us to bond, and I love that.
However, I'm equally excited to share him with Ravi because I just know how much he already loves Lentil and that he can't wait to hug and cuddle him (I swear, his words!).
Plus, there's the fact that I'm terrified of the whole, pushing the baby out thing.
Seriously--insanely scared!

Anyway, I'll be back soon with a few posts of what I've been up to this summer!
Oh, and if you're curious!
Here's a more recent photo of how giant Lentil is getting!
This was at 28 weeks!
Is it possible for him to seriously grow for 10 more weeks in there? My belly skin is sooooo tight already!

Boy or ghoul?

2011-05-12T12:17:00.000-04:00

This is totally what we look like when we're discussing whether Lentil is a girl or a boy:
Just kidding...because we're both in agreement that we think Lentil is a boy!
I'm not sure why, but we've got a lot of friends and family who think the same!
In just a little bit, Ravi will be home to pick me up to go and get our ultrasound!
We're beyond excited and can't wait to see if we're right!

Oh, and here's what we'll look like when we find out!
We so would take Sabey with us if we could, because I'm sure he'd be super excited to find out if he's going to be getting a brother or sister to love on!

So, what do you think Lentil will be?
(And Sandy, I'm sorry to say, but puppy doesn't count this time, unfortunately!)

Airplanes.

2011-05-07T10:47:00.014-04:00

We had dinner at Little Saigon last night, and while I'm normally so so happy with my meal there, last night was eh!
It was spicy, which hit the spot--but didn't have much flavor to it.
But, they do have the best veggie spring rolls in town, so I happily ate one of those, and wished for more.

Ravi and I went with Sandy and Luke and it was so much fun.
I love all the silly conversations we have.

After that, we went to check out a friend's new tattoo shop that he's opening downtown later this month.
He and his wife currently have two little boys and one on the way.
And when we walked in, the boys (5 and 1) were sitting on the floor ripping apart some packing Styrofoam.
They had little balls of it stuck all over their clothes and heads and it was pretty much the cutest thing I've seen in so so long!
The older boy was calling the Styrofoam "airplanes" and had the fan on so that they would fly around.
Needless to say, we all left with airplanes in our hair.

After that, we went in search of a sweet treat and ended up at Bill's Donuts.
Luke spent the night and he and Ravi stayed up super late being silly boys with video games!

Today, Ravi and Sabes are currently being adorable, doing this.
We have more fun friend time schedule for today!
Luke mentioned eating at Melt, and I took a look at their menu, and couldn't be more excited.
It's insane how much I want to eat. Like every hour.
I'm getting spoiled this weekend with so much fun friend time, but it's definitely exactly what I need right now!

Oh, and here's today's baby bump photo--this is 18 weeks, 3 days, and Lentil is the size of a sweet potato!

Coconut!

2011-05-06T17:41:00.005-04:00

It's finally the weekend and I couldn't happier!

Work was quick and Sabey and I got in a nice long walk while the sun was shining!
Sandy and I met up for half-price frappuccinos at Starbucks...and their new coconut syrup is dangerous.
It's super yummy and will probably have me back there way too often!
It was sunny and warm for most of the time, but it quickly changed to cloudy and chilly and sprinkling!
So we're both in our separate places hanging out with the dogs for a bit before doing something tonight!
As long as tonight is filled with hanging out with friends, I don't really care what we do!
Well, it should probably also include yummy food!

Oh, and the other day I was cleaning up a bit and found a comforter I had bought right after Christmas on clearance!
It's perfect for spring!
And I'm not the only one who loves it!
I love finding little hidden treasures that I've forgotten I had--especially when they brighten up our space so much!
Woops! I totally didn't notice the HUGE smudge on my camera lens when I was taking these photos--oh well!

Ducks and feathers!

2011-05-04T21:05:00.006-04:00

There has been way too much rain here in Ohio lately.
But there is something good that has come from all of it!
Part of our backyard turned into a pond!
And while I normally wouldn't rejoice about that, the other day I got home from work to find two ducks swimming around!
They weren't just sitting in the water, they were literally paddling around!
It was adorable!!
They were back again today, but there wasn't as much water, so they left pretty quickly.

Lately I've been pretty bored with my hair.
I used to be pretty fearless and willing to do anything with it!
But after I spent a while growing it out, I'm not willing to do anything, even though I'm not thrilled with it!
Silliness.
But, a friend of mine invested in some feather extensions, so I went over today to get a few in to spice it up a little bit!
Even though they're hidden most of the time, I still like the fact that they're in there!

I'm looking forward to this weekend, and there are only two more work days until it gets here!
I plan on
having lots of fun, silly times with friends
lots of cuddle time with Sabes and Ravi
quality time with family
and looking forward to our ultrasound on Monday!
I'm into my 19th week today and Lentil is the size of a sweet potato!
It's so crazy that I'm almost halfway through!
Oh, and here's the bump as of Saturday!
(It seems way bigger to me today!)

Picnics and ballpark pizza!

2011-05-01T10:05:00.006-04:00

The sunny weather this weekend was just what I needed!
It's back to cloudy and rainy for the next few days, but hopefully spending all that time outdoors and with friends will hold me over!

Friday was spent getting dinner with friends and then Ravi getting his haircut.
We fell asleep pretty early, but then again, I always do.
I went to bed at 7 on Thursday...I'm older than an old lady. Oh well!

Saturday, I woke up and packed us a picnic and once Ravi was up and ready for the day, we put Sabes in the car and headed to Yellow Springs!
We found a super sunny spot and had a delicious lunch!
Sabes was so sweet and just enjoyed laying in the sun and eating the long pieces of grass.
It was nice to just hang out and talk without anyone being on a computer or cell phone.
Technology can be really great, but way too often, it gets to be too much for me.

After that, we had all sorts of intentions to go hiking for a long, long time.
Unfortunately, we got about 2 minutes down the trail only to find it blocked by fallen trees that we couldn't have possibly gotten Sabin through.
So, we turned around and had a nice drive home with the windows down and had a fun walk around town with Sabes.

Last night, Ravi had to go to an event for his family because they asked him to host Vaisakhi.
It's a harvest festival of some sort, and ever since he made a joke about the Parks and Recreation harvest festival episodes, that's the only image that enters my head.
I wish it was a carnival like that, but the real thing sounded disorganized and dull to me.

Luckily, I got to meet up with Sandy, Erik, and Kaylee for Ballpark Pizza at Dewey's!!!
It's pizza with mustard, mozzarella, sauerkraut, and onions (we left off the sausage)...soooo yummy!!!
I love their seasonal pizzas and can't wait until they bring back the Cuban Pizza!
It's got pickles and mojo sauce--what could be better?!

We also stopped and got ice cream to celebrate Kaylee's birthday and have plans to visit them in Columbus soon!

Today I plan on catching up on a few shows and hopefully finding the motivation to craft/go to the gym...we'll see!
But for now, I'm making a banana shake because I was awoken this morning by the worst charlie horse in my life....I get it, body--more potassium!
I hope you all had weekends that were just as lovely!

25 days.

2011-04-28T16:42:00.007-04:00

I officially have 25 days of work until summer break and I couldn't be more excited about it.
I'm pretty close to making a paper countdown chain--that's how excited I am.
I remember really looking forward to summer break every school year growing up,
with the promise of daily swimming, ice cream pie, sleep-overs, camping, and vacations at the beach.
However, my excitement now is exponentially greater.
I'm pretty sure that's not supposed to be an educator's point of view...oh well!

We don't have too many plans this summer as Ravi will still be working,
but we're trying to work in some small trips and fun outings and yummy treats!

Other things I'm looking forward to:
Laying on the cool floor on the hottest summer days with Sabes is a must.
As are picnics and hiking with sweet friends and adorable pups.
And sweet birthday surprises to favorite movies at the theater--what could be better?!
Oh how I hope these days go by quickly!
But until then, I have the weekends!

Tutor.

2011-04-27T19:27:00.008-04:00

For the past two months, I've been a private tutor for a third grader who lives nearby.
We've been prepping for the state tests in math and reading.
His mom is pretty concerned about him doing well, because, somehow, I think the teachers have convinced her that his entire future relies on how well he does on a standardized test in the THIRD grade.

It makes me so sad to know that school systems are teaching to these tests as opposed to making sure the students get a well rounded and interesting education.

And let me tell you how much he cares about these tests!
Um, he doesn't.
Because, really, what third grade boy would care?!
But that made it hard to want to go over three times a week for an hour after I've already been at work all day.
But!
After she initially called to ask me if I wanted to work with him, I decided what I was going to use the extra money for.
And having that goal to work towards made going just a little bit easier.

Every time I went over to tutor, I thought:
"That's one more diaper for Lentil!"

I probably could have used that money to buy some new shoes, to go out to eat, to buy cute fabric or shop online, or buy lots of books.
But I'm so glad that I squirreled it away to use for Lentil.

Ravi and I decided pretty early on...if not before we were even pregnant, that cloth diapering was for us.
However, those little diapers cost quite a bit upfront, so having the opportunity to make some extra cash was great.
And, it ended up motivating me to stick out tutoring when I really wanted to stop.
And now we're able to buy these goodies and I'm so excited!
I feel weird for being excited about buying diapers...and calling them goodies, but I guess some excitements will shift just a little bit, and this is one of them.
And I'm perfectly happy with that.

Cloudy days.

2011-04-26T16:15:00.008-04:00

These rainy days are getting to be a little too much for me.
I definitely enjoy lying in bed at night, cuddling with Sabin, and listening to the rain against the window and the thunder far away.
(I would say I like cuddling with Ravi, but lately he's been getting up after putting me to bed in order to play video games. Oh boys.)
But when it continues into most of the morning and day, I get a little tired of it.

However, everything is super green and trees are flowering all over our neighborhood.
So, that is one positive thing that comes from it.

And for the past couple of days, the rain has taken a break when I get out of work so Sabin and I can go on extra long walks and my hair can get super tangled from the crazy winds and we can chase the fast-paced clouds.
Oh, and my dress can fly up and give the neighbors a show...well, I had on leggings, but still!

The temperature around here has been pretty perfect, though.
The windows are open and the house smells like freshly cut grass and the oncoming rains.

Oh, and I wanted to share some super sweet gifts that our friends Cate and TJ gave us!
This is a pin-cushion/retractable measuring tape! Adorable AND useful!!
And these were our first gifts for Lentil!
Oh geeze, those shoes are so tiny and just melt my heart!

Bookworms!

2011-04-24T10:44:00.005-04:00

At the beginning of the year, I promised myself that I would read 100 books.

And then I thought about it, and realized that would be two books a week, and I just wasn't sure if I could make that kind of commitment.
So instead, I pushed it back to 52 books.
One book a week is much more doable, and I feel a lot less pressure from myself.

So far, I've been able to keep to that, and thought I'd share my reading list with all of you!
January-February
Out of these eight books, my favorites were Narcissus and Goldmund and Uglies.
But The Great Gatsby pulls at my heart in a special way, too.
Narcissus and Goldmund really helped me think. It made me wonder if I'm on the right path. If I'm happy with where and how things are going. It was a lovely read and furthered my love for Hermann Hesse as an author.Uglies was so intriguing. The stories and characters really drew me in and kept my interest for the whole series. I wouldn't say that I loved the whole series, especially Extras (blah!), but the commentary on our society today was spot on.

March - April
My favorites from these eight were definitely The Adoration of Jenna Fox and Ape House.
I thought Going Bovine was a waste of my time, but I've heard others really enjoyed it...
The Adoration of Jenna Fox pretty much had my interest from the first page. It's kind of a sci-fi, futuristic take on medicine and the lengths we'll go to in order to stay alive as long as possible, no matter the cost. It's a little bit young, but the ideas are good.
I really loved Water for Elephants, so I was super excited to see this book on the shelf at work! I work at a high school, so a lot of times the books are either classics, or the new young adult novels. And while I can really get into some of those, sometimes they just don't get my mind going. This book was pretty heart breaking at times, as it discusses animal testing and animal abuse, but it really warmed my heart to read the personality traits of all the different apes. And I also think it's great when mainstream authors discuss such important topics.
Our school librarian just got in 20 new boxes of books, so I'm hoping to find some more great reads in there.
But I definitely think I'll be making my way to the local library for a few books on my list this month!
Do any of you have any suggestions for the upcoming months?
What are your favorite recent (or not-so-recent!) reads?!

Lentil!

2011-04-23T20:42:00.009-04:00

Ravi and I are beyond excited to share with you all what we've been reading lately!

(haha, I love that Sabin looks like he's howling out of excitement!)
Oh, yes! That's for real!!!!
I'm pushing out a bit to make sure that the bump is seen, but it's there!
We found out on Valentine's day, and what a lovely surprise it was!
We've had so much fun telling family and friends and listening to screams and yelps and "REALLY?!!! YAY!!!"

I am 16 weeks and 4 days along and feeling great!
I definitely consider myself lucky, as I've felt mostly great the whole time!
I've had my nights of nauseousness and a couple weeks of mashed potatoes, but that's been the worst of it!
I've been able to keep to my workout schedule which has left me feeling really good and my main foods are any type of fruit, but especially strawberries, pineapple, and granny smith apples--I just cannot get enough!!

This is so exciting for us, and all the time, we'll say:
"There's a baby in there. A baby!"
It's still so crazy to us, but we couldn't be more excited!

Oh, and we call it Lentil for now, hence the title!

Oh my, two and a half months!

2011-04-23T09:04:00.003-04:00

Woops!

Well, to be honest, I just haven't been in the blogging mood.
I have still been trying to keep up with everyone's blogs, even if I haven't been commenting, though!
But lately, my creativity has been, for the most part, non-existent.
That goes for writing, crafting, meal-time, any-time!

However, the weather here is getting warmer and warmer, which tends to strike me as a time to take lots more pictures, be outside and do more things, sew, craft, and basically crawl out from under my blanket and Netflix coma and be active!

I'm also trying to make a promise to myself (and Ravi--because he asks fairly regularly when I'm going to update this thing!) that I'm going to document more so that we'll always have these memories to look back on, even on rainy, gloomy days.

Speaking of which, why is it so rainy lately?!
And in the forecast for the next 7 days!
Don't get me wrong, I like thunderstorms, and even rain sometimes!
But it is far too wet here for me lately!
I want to go hiking with Sabes!
I want to sit outside in the backyard and have dinner with Ravi!
I want to keep the windows open and cook up lots of fresh recipes!
I want to sit outside and drink iced coffee with Sandy!
Soon enough, I guess!

I'm getting ready for our family Easter celebration, so I'll have to make this post brief, but I am definitely going to make an effort to post more often!

Oh, and because I can't make a post without pictures...
This guy is doing well!

Ice day?! Yes, please!

2011-02-01T06:12:00.006-05:00

Things around here have been pretty quiet lately.
I definitely feel like I've been living up to my old lady status.
I wake up, go to work, come home and knit and watch netflix or read, wait for ravi to come home, workout at the gym or home, have dinner, watch Weeds, and go to bed.
My schedule has been that way for probably all of January.
Occasionally we'll throw in family visit, a trip to the mall, hanging out with friends.

Why am I so boring and I'm only 26?!
I need to spice things up!

Anyway, towards the beginning of the month, Sandy and I received a huge box from SAM!!
She is the sweetest lady ever!
I received this lovely necklace:
(I love the little birdie!)
She also sent yummy candy, a sweet pup ornament, a flower to grow, and a sweet card!
SAM--THANK YOU!!!!!
(I still haven't sent out your package, but you will get it some day, haha!)

I also finally finished my infinity scarf that I started...before Christmas.
It is insanely warm...I almost started sweating in the car yesterday!
I couldn't really get into knitting it because I didn't know how big around it was going to end up, so I'd knit for a few days and put it down for a week...which is why it took me over a month to finish!
But, once it came off my needles, I couldn't wait to start another one!
(Oh, and here's the pattern I used--super simple!!)

Today, I don't have to work since school is canceled because of icy roads!!
Yay, ice day!!!!
I'm about to make some super hot & yummy coffee and curl up on the couch with my book!
I hope everyone that's around this winter storm stays safe and cozy!

Catch all.

2011-01-15T07:58:00.013-05:00

It's been almost a month exactly since I blogged last, and to be completely honest, not too much has happened!

I had winter break, so having two weeks off work was amazing!
Except that I spent the first few days with a nasty case of the stomach flu.
Luckily, I got better by the time everyone was in town for Christmas and was able to spend lots of time with my family.
My brother and his girlfriend came from New York and he brought his amazingly cute pups.
Unfortunately, they could only stay for four days, so the visit was way too short.

We decorated our tree and I enjoyed every single day it was up!
This was last years ornament...that I had made this year because I slacked last year. But I still love it!
I spent everyday before Christmas crafting up a storm as I decided to do a handmade Christmas this year.
I had a lot of fun doing it, but was definitely feeling some last-minute stress. Woops!
Luckily, everyone really loved their gifts, and even loved the wrapping!
(Can you spot the cat? He spent pretty much all of his time under that tree!)
I love spending time wrapping gifts, and this year spent a good 6 hours wrapping everyone's and making sure they had lovely little bows on them.

I spent the rest of my time off work relaxing, knitting, watching Gilmore Girls, going to the gym, and playing this:
I actually had to stop for a while because my thumbs hurt so bad from rage gripping the controller...
And I think this was one of Ravi's favorites:
Sabin LOVES to unwrap presents!
He got this cute dinner plate complete with a lobster and lemon! And of course he got another version of his puppy that was new and soft!
All dressed up! (My mom picked this dress out for me and was sooooo stoked that I liked it!)

New Years this year was really different for us, as we spent it at Ravi's parents' house.
All of his little cousins adore him and really wanted to spend as much time with him as they could before they headed back home.
His mom cooked tons of super yummy food, and everyone had a lot of fun!
I did think it was bit strange though, because by the time the ball dropped, there were some people waiting at the door to leave, and everyone was gone by 12:07...

On January 2nd, my sister had her little boy!!
Joseph Oscar Elliot--but they're calling him Oscar.
He's pretty cute!

Since then, I've gone back to work which has been eh.
I'm still looking for something new but haven't found anything promising yet.
I also got insanely sick last week with another case of the flu.
Luckily, Ravi was amazing and took such great care of me!
I was definitely not the best patient, and told him I wanted to die pretty often....it was bad.
I've also spent a lot of my free time watching Brothers & Sisters....kind of obsessed!

I think I'm all caught up, now!
So thank you to those bloggers who expressed concern!
I'm back now, and will try to keep up!

I wanna ask you...

2010-12-16T08:09:00.003-05:00

What makes me super happy?!
And act like a little kid?

That's right, A SNOW DAY!!!
Is it bad that the staff probably gets more excited about snow days than the students?
(I actually took this video without music and added it later, but the jumps fit perfectly with the music!)
((Oh, and that's Ben Folds (LOVE) and Regina Spektor (ADORABLE)...my most favorite combination...ever, maybe?))
I love that Sabin is looking at me like I'm crazy...normally he hates dancing and gets up and jumps at us and barks like crazy. I think he was still tired, though.

I haven't really been feeling like going to work lately, and when I woke up this morning to see our cars and street covered with snow, I figured that we would for sure have a two hour delay at least!
Unfortunately, when I looked at the school's website, it said nothing about it.
And I hadn't gotten a call, which is usually the first thing that happens!
So, at 5:30, I took my shower and checked again when I got out...and guess what--we had a two hour delay!
I was happy, but a little annoyed that they hadn't posted it ten minutes earlier.
Needless to say, I couldn't really go back to sleep, so I made yummy coffee, turned on the Christmas tree only, and enjoyed watching the snow fall under the street lights.
Then, at 7:40, I see that I'm getting a phone call, and think it's the school closing!
Nope--it's my two hour delay call....25 minutes after the school day would have normally started.
What a great system!
A little after 8:00 I checked the local news to see that school was closed for the day!
Which is when I did this dance in the bedroom all around Ravi's sleeping body...I thought it would be way to wake up!

Oh, plus, I got in a little car accident on Monday after a bit of snow.
So I've been a bit nervous about driving and have been extra cautious...a little like one of those drivers that totally annoys you because they're keeping so much distance from EVERYONE.
Some lady cut me off (although she thinks she didn't) and then stopped abruptly. I hit the back of her car--and my witness drove off!!
If you witness an accident, never drive off without giving a statement! I would have videotaped her or something if she had to be somewhere!!
Anyway, I would have gotten cited, but luckily, the lady's car wasn't damaged so she said we didn't have to file an official report...so instead of paying a ticket and my deductible, I just have to pay the deductible.

It's snowing harder now, and Sabes and I just got in from playing in the snow!
He is such a little snow pup!
Today, I'm taking full advantage of staying in and crafting up a little storm to get ready for Christmas!
Do you have snow where you live? What is your favorite thing to do on a snow day?

Melting!

2010-12-06T19:23:00.009-05:00

Work today consisted of the most adorable children alive!
I worked at the high school until 12:30, which was less than thrilling, and then headed to the preschool for some testing!
Oh. My. Goodness.
The other LEP tutor couldn't fit these kids into her schedule so she asked me to fill in and I am oh so glad she did!
These kids melted my heart!
They were sweet and had the most adorable voices!
Plus, half of them had little tiny accents, and they were so friendly!
It was such a nice change of pace to leave the rudeness of some of my high schoolers and just enjoy how excited these little ones were about school!

Plus, I even got a surprise visit from Ravi!
I had texted him earlier in the day talking about how icky I felt.
And he dropped by with some medicine for me!
He melts my heart, too!
As do these pictures!
Plus, there are only 9 more working days until winter break! That makes me smile big time!

Change it up!

2010-12-05T21:21:00.001-05:00

Putting up decorations really makes this place feel completely different.
And I love that we're adding decorations that we find and really love along with pieces from my childhood that my mom and dad passed along!
These sweets are from IKEA and make me smile every time I see them!
This little village was something my dad picked up in Germany when he went right after he started dating my mom! Over 30 years ago! It had never been opened, but after Ravi and I traveled to Germany and fell in love with the place, they passed this little gem along to us!
This mouse hung in my parents front window and I got to put him up every year. He's my most favorite little chime!I decided to make some garland to add to our tree this year--and I picked up a mat of Indian paper! I love it!We ended up having to stick our tree right by the front door. Our little home is just too little, but I think it works okay!I love the way this wall looks and luckily, the couches face it, so it's what I see most of the time I'm home! When I'm sewing, when I'm blogging, when I'm netflixing it up!
We took the piece that usually sits there and moved it into the kitchen! I actually really like this little setup!
I'll have to post pictures once we actually put all of our ornaments on the tree!
Are you all done decorating?

Traditions.

2010-12-04T18:14:00.000-05:00

I love that my parents created such special holiday memories for their kids.
They made sure to remind us that holidays were about being together and having fun.
That we should cherish the time we spend together, and no matter what tradition we were doing, to take away happy memories from it.

We always went and cut a Christmas tree down as a family, each taking the saw for a little bit and helping to carry it back to put on the car. That was something that I really loved as a child, but would feel kind of guilty doing now...

We decorated the house together--my mom had a basement full of decorations...if we didn't do it as a family, it would have taken her weeks to do it on her own! But she gave us each special tasks and sent us running up and down the stairs putting trinkets all over the house. And of course, she would blast our favorite Christmas records through the house.

We baked cookies...and would sneak them out of the jars--pretty much as a family! We always made three kinds: Chocolate chip for my mom and sister, peanut butter for my dad and brother, and snickerdoodle for me! Plus, we always left quite the assortment for Santa and handwritten letters. I wonder if my mom kept any of those?!

We put our ornaments on the tree while listening to some of my mom's favorite (and most terrible) carols. She and my dad put at least one ornament in our stocking every year that represented something we did that year. One year, she took a flyer from one of my brother's band's shows and laminated it and turned it into an ornament. Apparently she didn't realize that there was a photo from a girlie magazine that had the actual chest cut out, but a voluptuous drawn in one to replace it. They go back and forth every year flipping that ornament around and putting it at the back of the tree...or dead center.

We went out for Chinese food every year (until two Christmases ago when they closed down) on Christmas Eve and then drove around looking for lights.

We have the discussion every year as to whether we should open gifts on Christmas Eve and sleep in or wake up early to do it on Christmas morning...um, hello--my vote was always to wake up early. We still tend to have this discussion, even though none of us live at home anymore or open presents on Christmas morning together anymore...puzzling.

My brother and I alwaysalwaysalways watch A Christmas Story. Why wouldn't you when it airs for an entire day straight?!

Ravi and I have tried to take some of these traditions with us, but are creating our own as well. Someday, I want our kids to be overflowing with happy memories of how nerdy their parents were around the holidays. I really did think my parents were crazy with how much they celebrated around the holidays, but now I'm so grateful to have all these memories!

Today, we celebrated another of our family's traditions--St. Nick's day!
We all met up at my parents' house and had a yummy lunch together!
My mom filled a bag for each couple and each of my nieces, and she and my dad exchange little gifts, too!
She got us each a giant snowman mug, other little trinkets and this super cutie owl-bell ornament!
I can't wait to put him on the tree!
Ravi had to leave a little early to go to work and these girls just didn't want him to leave!

Tonight, I'm meeting up with Sandy for a coffee date and then continuing my craft session from early this morning!

What is your favorite family tradition?!

Bestie x Bestie!!!

2010-12-03T16:51:00.000-05:00

These little videos can cheer me up even when I'm having the biggest meltdown.
Speaking of which, I had one last Friday and Ravi stepped right up and came up with a three part plan to cheer me up!
Part 1 was watching all three of these videos...some of them multiple times.
This one is by far our favorite. I always have tears running down my face by the end!

!!!!!!! [BESTIE x BESTIE 1] !!!!!!! from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.

!!!!!!! [BxB] [EPISODE 2] !!!!!!! from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.

!!!!!!! [BxB] [EPISODE 3] !!!!!!! from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.

Part 2 was a yummy dinner from Noodles & Co. (I think this was partially for him as well!).
And Part 3 involved taking Sabin in the car with us and driving around to find super pretty Christmas lights!
We came home and watched Flight of the Conchords in bed and acted like little kids!
I'm so lucky to have such a sweet guy in my life who comes up with plans just for me in order to cheer me up!

If you want, send me a link of a video that always cheers you up!
I have a pretty large go-to stash of them but am always looking for more!

Preparing to fight those winter-time blues!

2010-12-02T15:24:00.000-05:00

I usually really enjoy winter weather, but this year I'm dreading it more than ever.
When the time change happens and the daylight lessens, it pretty much seems like it's time to hibernate.
I don't like when it gets dark at 5:30, and I hate not spending long periods of time outside.
I tend to slump into the winter-time depression a bit.
But, this year I'm really going to try to fight it!

Here are ten things that will help me keep that PMA!
1. SNOW!
I LOVE snow and spending time in it with Sabin!
He loves to play in snow, and we even get Ravi to come out in it, even though he hates to be cold!
2. PLAY DATES!
We get to have fun play dates with my bff and Sabin's bffs!
Everyone looks so happy!!
3. MOVIES!
I can now watch some of the cutest movies!
Hello Elf and Love Actually!
(Ravi and I had our first Elf viewing almost two weeks ago! That's not too early, right?!)4. BEING COZY AND READING!
I love curling up under thick comforters with a good book and a cup of steaming coffee.
5. DECORATING!
Decorating for Christmas and putting up our tree is one of my favorite things to do!
I've got most of everything up already, but we still have to put our ornaments on the tree.
6. LIGHTS AND LATE NIGHT WALKS!
There are tons of Christmas lights and the park near our house gets even cuter!
We get to take late night walks and see the light show they have nightly!
Ravi has even taken me out twice to drive around and look for lights! It really cheers me up and I love that he thought of this fun treat all on his own!
7. CRAFTING!
Crafting goes into high gear since we get trapped inside a lot!
I treat wrapping presents like it's a craft...I LOVE to do it!
8. COFFEE!
All the coffee shops come out with their cute winter cups! And Ravi and I get to have warm dates by a fireplace and yummy treats! We usually opt for icy drinks, even though it'll be freezing outside!
9. FAMILY!
This includes ALL the important people in my life that I love spending time with!
My brother, his girlfriend, and his two pups come into town!My friends get creative and have fun dinners and make forts!
I think this year we'll have to try a little harder!
Everyone gets together for fun parties and sledding so we can enjoy each others company!
10. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SABIN!
Sabin's birthday will be here in February and he turns 3!!! Oh goodness!

What things will you be doing to keep your spirits high?!

Simple.

2010-12-01T16:16:00.000-05:00

For me, some of the greatest feelings are so simple:
having a clean house full of freshly laundered bedding,
(although, as soon as I put on fresh sheets and blankets, the animals roll all over them!)
happy and healthy pets,
goofy pictures with happy faces,
pet hair free floors (even though this only lasts a few minutes),
drawers of clean clothing,
laughing and adorable best friends,
a book you just can't put down,
cuddletime with my family,
the smell of freshly brewed coffee,
love

What simple pleasures do you love?

I feel crazy sometimes.

2010-11-30T15:09:00.004-05:00

I have not felt like myself for the past month or two.
At the beginning of this year, I promised myself that I would try to keep a positive attitude, even when things weren't how I imagined them to be.
And for the most part, I was able to do that.
I definitely had my meltdown moments, but in general, I had a very happy year.
It was filled with laughter and hanging out, family time and weekend outings with friends, cuddles and many long walks with the pets, a fun getaway to Las Vegas, and endless love and support from Ravi.
Even though work hasn't been perfect, I have a job that helps me support my little family.
Even though I don't have the most involved friends, I have a small support group that makes my heart happy.
Even though I am constantly concerned about finances, we are getting by and decreasing our debt little by little.

But recently, I've had a lot of things on my mind about our future.
And I feel like time is running out.
I know I'm only 26.
And that, hopefully, I have many years left to fulfill my dreams.
But first, I have to figure out what those are.
I know some of them, and still have to figure out others.
But I keep asking myself, "If I don't start now, when?"
And I tend to clump years together and my thought process goes a little something like this:

Okay, if I'm 26 now, and I go back to school, I won't be done until I'm 28 or older depending on if I can go back full time or not. Then I'll have to find a good job and make some money to pay off school loan debt and other debt we have. That will take me to 29 or 30. By that time, I'll be long overdue for kids, and I always said I wanted to have kids before I was 30, but if I do that, then I can't go back to school and work full time. So maybe I won't go back to school, since I don't know what I'd be going for anyway, but I still need a job with health insurance, and by the time I found that job and waited the 90 day period, I would be 27, and even if I got pregnant right away, I wouldn't birth the kid until I'm 28, and I wanted to be done by 30, so maybe I'll have twins. How am I supposed to deal with twins? Can I even raise one kid without turning it into a crazy person? I hope Ravi doesn't get crazy because I have too much for the both of us. And any kids we might have. Holy crap, I feel crazy.

Seriously, and that is a tamed down version.

So, here's to letting go of things I can't control.
I'm going to try to figure out what I really want.
I'm going to work towards those things.
I'm going to spend time with my sweet family, my loving friends, and my adorable animals.
I'm going to stop making a mental time-line for every little thing.
And I'm going to try not to let little things get to me. Especially things that don't even really concern me.
It's so wasteful to spend my time being unhappy and as I've already said, I don't feel like I have much time left.
Yay for happiness and moving on!

Once!

2010-11-15T14:37:00.000-05:00

Have you seen the modern day musical Once?!
If not, you should put it in your Netflix queue asap!
Or, you can probably just buy it, because it would be totally worth it!
I can't wait to have a little extra money so I can buy it and watch it over and over again!

I'm not sure how it made it into our queue, but we got it in the mail earlier last week and then watched it Thursday night.
The characters are amazing and feel so real.
It's shot in a grainy, documentary style.
The actors write the songs that they sing in the movie.
And it broke my heart and warmed it all at the same time.
And it turns out, that after the movie, the main characters formed their own band that you may have heard of!
The Swell Season!
I can't stop listening to their two albums or the soundtrack to the movie!
Here are two of my favorite songs from the movie!

and

I highly suggest checking it out, because it will open your eyes a bit about friendship, creativity, and different kinds of love.
Let me know if you watch it or if you've seen it and what you think!
What was your favorite song?

Happy Diwali!

2010-11-14T08:09:00.010-05:00

With all the amazing weather came many days of hiking, and I just love spending time outside in the sunshine!
Especially when it's with two of my favorite boys!
The other favorite boy (Phoenix) had to stay at home, but I've been thinking more and more about trying to train him on a leash.
Every time we take Sabin out, Phoenix is waiting right at the door when we come in, and has made it out a few times.
Have any of you ever trained your cats to walk on a leash?!
Leave me tips if you have!!
I think it would be hilarious to take him and Sabin on walks together...Oh, I can so picture it!
I tried it when we just has Isis (the girly cat), but she wanted nothing to do with it.

Anyway, Ravi and I took Sabin to Yellow Springs.
And he was crazy about 100% of the time we were there.
I wanted to show Ravi the wall that Sandy and I found last time we were there.
Sabin was sitting so nicely and cutely!
But here, he was thinking about dragging me off of a cliff that was about 2 feet away.
He almost succeeded.
They were distracted by the creek.
Sabin wanted absolutely nothing to do with our family picture.
Sabin looks so small here! I know its the positioning, but it's still cute to think about when he was this small!
Oh, and if you'll notice--Ravi started off with a hoodie, a sweater, and this shirt underneath. To go hiking. In 70 degree weather.
Haha, needless to say, he had to strip down a bit because it got a bit warm!! It looks like he did a wardrobe change!

After this, we headed to Ravi's parents' house to pick up some Indian dresses for the Diwali celebration we were going to!
Sandy was coming with us, and his mom suggested a couple of dresses that were at their house.
I got home to try them on to see if they might fit Sandy, but I know she's quite a bit slimmer and about 5 inches shorter than me.
Um, no. They were too long on me, and way too wide!

We got to eat a yummy Indian dinner and watch some super cute kids doing dance performances!
Ravi thought it was a bit dull this year, but Sandy and I had never been, and we had lots of fun!
Part of it may have been poking fun at the technical difficulties they were having and the skits that the emcees were performing.

Today is laundry, crafting, baking, and catching up on this past weeks TV shows!
Its cooled down quite a bit, and is super cloudy, so it's a perfect day to get things done around the house!

Do you wanna...?

2010-11-11T16:33:00.007-05:00

The long weekend has started and I couldn't be happier!!

Work today was mostly good besides a small confrontation with a student.
And I high-tailed it out of my office as soon as the clock hit 2:00!

I came home and since its still warm warm warm for November in Ohio (70!) Sabes and I went back to Hills and Dales!
Apparently, his new thing is just to cry as soon as we get close. Pitiful!
We took a different route this time and doubled our walk since I didn't take him anywhere but the backyard yesterday.
Why does he not like having his picture taken?! He never wants to look at the camera!
I found all these potted plants that had been thrown on the side of the road by one of the mansions that sits around the trails. So, Sabes and I took some photos!
I tricked him with some "Do you wanna...?" questions!
This weekend, I'm going to be working on some Christmas gifts for the family, finishing Her Fearful Symmetry, and baking some yummy Apple Cinnamon bread!
Hopefully, there will be some other fun outings as well, but I'm really not picky as long as I'm not at work!

What's your favorite thing to do when you have a little extra time on your hands?!

Blah to the work week--Yay for Sabes & hiking!

2010-11-09T16:42:00.010-05:00

Work this week has been on the frustrating side.
Luckily, this is a short week, because I'm not sure how much silliness I can handle from my co-workers!

The weather here has been so so so warm (68!) and that just screams hiking weather to me!
When I got home from work yesterday, Sabin and I headed to Hills & Dales, and apparently we had been away for too long!Because he was whining and crying as soon as we turned onto the road!
It was pathetic and adorable--and Sabes just melts my heart every day!
The leaves are mostly fallen, but there were a few pretty trees left for us! Even though our path was littered with leaves, they weren't crunchy because so many people had walked on them--
So Sabes took me way off the path, just so he could crunch on them!
Too funny!

When Ravi got home from work, we had a yummy pasta dinner and a long night time walk & talk!
We even had a Cairbou date, which has been much needed!

Today, Sabin and I took another long walk around the area and a trip to the local pond so he could see the ducks!
He's so good with them...and they're pretty cute--maybe we should get one!
Tonight, I'm meeting some friends at the gym for a dance exercise class and Ravi has a date with a new video game!.
I'm hoping the class is fun and not too stressful!

Naan-sense!

2010-11-07T16:07:00.010-05:00

Yesterday was a low-key, cuddly, TV watching, enchilada eating day!
And it was nice to get to spend some extended time with just our little family!
I lovelovelove having plans with friends on the weekends, but days spent at home can be just as lovely!

Our backyard is COVERED in crunchy leaves, and Sabin and I spent the better part of this morning running through the leaves and being crazy.(Please ignore the fact that I'm wearing pajama pants...Ravi would be so disappointed! He LOATHES sweatpants...)
I had my yummy morning coffee and read more of Her Fearful Symmetry.
It is breaking my heart already.

I wanted to do something, and since Ravi had to borrow my car to go to work today, I was stuck at home--so I decided to make an infinity scarf! I figured it couldn't be too hard, so I looked online for some guidelines and then just made it up as I went along!
While I made it, I watched When Harry Met Sally!
How have I never seen this movie before?!
I'm not all the way through it yet, but so far, I'm really loving it!
Anyway, here's how the scarf turned out!
I even tried one of my cute machine stitches for the seam!I love it and can tell that I'll be making about a million more of them!
I think pretty much any fabric will make an amazing scarf to spice up my wardrobe!
I know what I'll be giving to some of the ladies in my life this Christmas!!!

I'm so happy that this will be a short week at work, as we have Friday off!
Shorter weeks seem to last longer, but I have a good book to get me through this week, and hopefully the kids won't be too crazy!

Oh, and Ravi's mom called a little bit ago to say she's sending home-made Indian food with Ravi!
Now I'm super excited for dinner!
(Oh, and this is equivalent to how Ravi thinks--his favorite thing to do with Naan, besides eating it, is making up goofy stuff along these lines!)

Questions, Reading, and Sewing!

2010-11-06T13:21:00.008-04:00

Work has been moving so so slowly since we went back from Fall Break.
The kids aren't coming as much, or aren't super serious when they do come.
And one boy that comes everyday, spent an hour and half with me one day this week (during his gym class) asking me questions like:
"Why do teachers like to make so many rules?"
"Why don't students' get in trouble for saying bad words?"
"What does "piece of" mean?"
(I said it could mean many things, depending on the words that follow it. I didn't want to explain any further than that, but then he gave an example, and it turns out he meant "pissed off." Oh, the great things they learn from their classmates.)
"Do you think American schools are strict enough?"
and my very favorite:
"How do you ask questions?"
.......???

Our nights have been filled with Netflix, yummy home-cooked meals, and millions of blankets.
It is COLD in our little house.
I've even gotten Sabin to cuddle under the blankets and be my little spoon!
He's so so sweet! And warm!!

Sandy and I made a trip to the bark park so that Sabin and Monty could play!
Plus, I wanted to make sure I spent some more time outside while the sun was shining!
Unfortunately, there was a super mean dog there that started a fight with our dogs. The owner was blaming our dogs, but his was the one being super aggressive!
The dog even bit Monty's ear and broke it open!! We didn't see it until after the people had left, but it made me so sad!!
We also had a much needed coffee/girl-talk date! We hadn't been in so so long!

This morning, I woke up and decided to do this for a bit!I had been wanting to read Her Fearful Symmetry for so long, and our school library got it in yesterday!
I'm also trying to decide what to make my nieces for Christmas, so I looked through my sewing book to find some ideas.
Oh, and Ravi ordered me that phone case about a month ago after he accidentally broke mine by throwing my phone off the bed (he says he was just playing around...). But, he accidentally shipped it to a friend in Kentucky. It took forever for him to ship it up to us, but it finally arrived yesterday and I think it's super cute!

Then I felt the need to be a little crafty!
I haven't had my sewing machine out since September...woops!So, I made this!It was my first attempt at putting in a zipper!
It turned out pretty good for the most part, although the stitching isn't completely straight, and I accidentally cut my fabric about 1/4 in too small...and boy does that little bit make a difference!

I'm not sure what we're doing for the rest of the day, but as long as it's fun, I'll be a happy girl!
I hope you all have super fun weekends!!

Happy Halloween!!

2010-10-31T19:29:00.020-04:00

This month has been full of fun weekends with amazing friends!
I'm sad to say goodbye to October, but moving into November means that Thanksgiving break is closer!

This weekend was our annual Halloween Party!
Friends met up at our place and we went to the pumpkin patch that my parents always took us to when we were younger.
It has the best hayride out into the pumpkin patch, complete with 2 feet deep puddles of muddy water, huge muddy hills, and a couple creatures that come up to the wagon to spook you!
Luke and Yoanna
Fallon was being hilariously cute on the ride!Nicky and Regan--Fallon wouldn't get in the picture with them.
Nicky was partially in her costume--She was going as Kurt from the Duets episode of Glee--so good!
Regan was asleep when the ride started, but it's super bumpy, so he woke up and made this furrowed face for pretty much the whole ride. It was pretty adorable.
Kyle and Sandy
Alisha and MikeI'm not sure what we were looking at, but I love that we all have pretty much the exact same expression on our faces!
Ravi and I
In their little barn, they sell all sorts of goodies! Ravi and I both chose an apple cider slush, and he got popcorn, while I chose a pickle!

We back to our place for a yummy potluck dinner!!
I made Winter Squash and Sweet Potato Soup!
It was so yummy and really easy!
For our wedding, my godparents gave us a Vegetarian Slow Cooker Cook Book with our Crock Pot, and this is the first time I used it!
I'm sold!! I love love love the crock pot!!!
I can't wait to use all the recipes now!
Sandy made a delicious quinoa salad with yellow peppers, sun dried tomatoes, pomegranate seeds, basil, and feta! YUM!
Erik and Kaylee brought a yummy veggie lasagna, and Luke and Yoanna brought PIE!

Some more friends met up a little later and we headed to the Haunted Bus Ride!
Normally, it's so so fun, but this year they seemed to have cut back a bit!
But, the best part of the ride still happened in full force, and that's when two semi's chase the bus through a field, shooting flames, and actually hit the back and side of the bus!

Today, I headed to my parents' house for a family celebration!
My mom had Halloween Bingo with prizes, and even got special bowls for us to eat our chili!
She had different pumpkins and gourds for decoration, and this one was my favorite--It looks like a little penguin!
My parents' neighborhood had trick-or-treat tonight, so my nieces got to go twice this year!
DorothySpiderGirlPunk Rocker (This was her punk rock pose...I think she's playing the guitar?!)The sisters!
My Mom even got masks for everyone to wear while playing bingo, and since Ravi couldn't make it today because of work, she sent one home!
I hope all you ladies had so much fun today, whatever you did!

A stocked freezer, Homes Sweet Homes, and Banana Bread!

2010-10-28T16:42:00.000-04:00

Is it sad when the highlight of one's week is stocking a freezer full of meat substitute products?!
Last night, Ravi and I made a trip to Kroger since their Quorn products are on sale!
These products are absolutely delicious! I haven't had one bad one yet!
And you can use the Chiken Cutlets as a replacement in any chicken dish since they're not breaded!
However, they are a bit pricey and we haven't bought any in a couple months since money has been so tight!
But instead of being $5 or $6, they were only $3!!!
You better believe we stocked up! We would have made his parents proud!
Anyway....this is what our freezer looks like now...
That's not going overboard, right?! 20 boxes?
Oh, and my other amazing steal?
I got half of a peach pie for $1.69!
They accidentally put the sticker for one piece of pie on the wrong container!
And I am not one to pass up a delicious deal like that!!!

This week has been so slow at work!
Want to see what I did today when I got bored?!
(Click to view larger)
Productive and age appropriate, I know!
But I think having a house connected to my best friends house by our dogs' house/cat tube is pretty amazing.
Plus, my drawing skills are equivalent to my 8 year old self's drawing skills!
Normally, I work on plans for individual students, or type up progress reports, or other boring things.
But this was much more fun!

When I got home, I was intent on baking something super yummy!
I looked at what we had, and since our bananas were on their way out, I decided that it had to be banana bread!
I looked online at some recipes to get a general idea, and then used what we had!
I'm so looking forward to a delicious warm slice of this with coffee!
Lately, I'm trying to find happiness in small things, because I'm getting a little overwhelmed with life.
Luckily, I have Ravi and three sweet pets to put a smile on my face when I'm feeling down!
I hope everyone's week has been great!
I'm so excited that tomorrow is Friday, because that means it's the weekend and time for one of my favorite days of the year!
PUMPKIN PATCH DAY!!!!

Happy Karwa Chauth!!

2010-10-27T20:15:00.009-04:00

Yesterday was spent celebrating a very happy Karwa Chauth with Ravi's family!

This is a special holiday in which women fast from sunrise to sunset for the good health and long lives of their husbands!
And I definitely want Ravi to have an amazingly happy, healthy, and ridiculously long life!

In the morning, Ravi got up with me at 5:30 to give me breakfast and put sindoor in my hair--it's a red powder to signify that I'm a married woman and off the market!
Then I headed to work, which was another slow day with the exception of an hour long tornado drill because of a warning in the area!
After work, I came home to get my wedding lengha and was off to his parents' house.
His mom and I got ready there--It's traditional for new brides to wear their wedding dresses and for all other women to wear their nicest dresses and adorn themselves with lavish jewelry and amazing mendhi!
This is a picture at home, so I don't have all the bangles and other jewelry on, but his mom always makes sure that I am decked out in matching jewelry! She LOVES to match!
Unfortunately, I didn't get mendhi this year, but here is what mine looked like for the wedding!
This is a special day for women to honor their husbands, and the husbands take extra special care of their wives.
So Ravi's Dad took us to temple and we listened to the legend of Karwa Chauth. Of course, I had no idea what was being said since it was in Hindi, but I participated last year as well so I knew the basic sentiment of what was happening.
Afterward, we went back to their house and waited for it to get dark and to be able to see the moon!
Unfortunately, because of the crazy storms we had, we weren't able to spot the moon!
Traditionally, you look for the moon, make an offering of water, and then look at the face of your husband through a sieve, and through the power of fasting, the woman is considered strong enough to confront and defeat death.
I'm not sure that I would go so far as to say that that's how confident it makes me feel, but it is nice for me to symbolically show Ravi how much I love him and that I hope his life is filled with love and happiness!
Since we didn't see the moon, we just did the offering and then our husbands fed us our first bit of food and we all sat down to have a delicious dinner!
I love Indian food and his mom is always sure to make something delicious that she knows I love, and last night that was dahl (lentil soup) and aloo gobi (potatoes and cauliflower)!! YUM!

It was such a nice way to spend time with family and I'm so glad that I get to participate in such amazingly rich traditions!
Happy Karwa Chauth!!!

Squash, Cider and a Sickly Ravi.

2010-10-25T17:24:00.010-04:00

Yesterday was the last day of fall break and I spent it relaxing and spending time outside with Sabin!
The weather has been in the mid 70s lately, so I'm taking advantage and making sure that Sabes gets his exercise!

Ravi got home from work a bit later than usual, but I had been cooking dinner and had it almost ready when he got home!
We had spaghetti squash with zuchinni, garlic, Morningstar crumbles, tomato, and basil pasta sauce!
Spaghetti squash is one of my most favorite things to make! It's so simple!
You poke holes in it, and bake it for an hour at 375 degrees!
And it's so so yummy!
I love making my own sauce from scratch, but was saving our tomatoes for salads this week, so I just added fresh veggies to the sauce we already had!
We spent the rest of the night hanging out and watching Parks & Recreation.

My other favorite treats from this past week are:These are so refreshing and delicious!
I wish I had them this summer, but now I know!
And:Seriously, this is better than just normal Apple Cider!
It has cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and citrus juice, which adds the perfect flavors to one of my favorite fall treats!

Today was back to work, and it was sooooooo slow!
Some of my kids are taking the state graduation test.
And I just feel so bad for them because the test is way too hard for a student who's been in the country less than a year!

I came home to a sick, sick Ravi and a super hyper pup
I feel so terrible when Ravi gets sick, but at least he's sleeping now and will hopefully feel a bit better when he wakes up.
I love that the trees are changing, that the skies are cloudy, and that I can see it all while I'm sitting in bed with my loves.

Babies and The Pumpkin Show!

2010-10-24T18:34:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was my sister's baby shower since she's having her first boy!

It was basically a way for family and friends to say,
YAY! Finally, a BOY!
We all love those girls so much, and they are just as excited to have a new brother!
Her husband's side of the family put everything together.
They made shirts for everyone in the family.
The girl's shirts read:
I'm the big sis
I'm the bigger sis
I'm the biggest sis
and Oscar's said:
I'm the little bro.
There was lots of yummy food and delicious looking desserts!
Unfortunately, we only got to stay for about 30 minutes since we were heading to the pumpkin show with friends, so I didn't eat--but Ravi got me some desserts to go!
I was pretty sad to miss everything, but my sister said she understood, and we had the pumpkin show plans first.

We headed straight from the shower to get a ride from Luke and pick up Sandy.
We met Erik in Columbus and he drove us to his girlfriend's house since she lives where the Pumpkin Show takes place.
Unfortunately, his car is a tad unreliable at the moment and wouldn't start, so the six of us packed into her car!
The Pumpkin Show was so huge!
I totally didn't expect it at all!
The crowds were insane and a bit much for me.
We met up with another big group of friends and basically walked around and looked for yummy treats.
Ravi loveloveloves funnel cake, so he chose one we could share--with a cinnamon sugar topping! Yum!
We also tried pumpkin "waffles," but they weren't the kind of waffles I was expecting.
It almost tasted like eating hard, fried, oil. And that's about it.
The whole purpose of going was to take Sandy on the ferris wheel, since she'd never been!
So, we finally make our way to the ticket booth, when we find out the parade is starting, and that they shut down all the rides during the parade! Which takes two and half hours! UGH!!!!!
Needless to say, we were all starving for some real food and we didn't want to stay that long, so we didn't get to ride it!
What a bummer!
But we had fun taking pictures in the street!
We headed back to Columbus to Dirty Frank's for a super late dinner!
I got the Chicago and Western Slaw Dog and both were so, so yummy!
I wish there were more vegetarian friendly restaurants in Dayton--Not many places around here serve vegetarian substitutes for meat!

Today is the last day of fall break, and while I don't mind going back to work...I love NOTworking!
I just need to remember that it will only be about a month more until Thanksgiving Break, and then less than a month after that will be Winter Break! And with the upcoming months comes one of my most favorite things!!
SNOW!!!!
I'm definitely basking in all the fall loveliness though, and can wait on the snow for a while longer!

Zoo trip!

2010-10-24T12:32:00.000-04:00

My sister, nieces, and I took a trip to the Cincinnati Zoo on Friday since the girls had the day off!

We got an early start and arrived as soon as the zoo opened!
The girls were super excited to see all the animals and get to run around all day!
The weather was chilly in the morning, but warmed up a bit and turned out to be just perfect.
The were in good moods for most of the day, but each had a meltdown in their own way by the time we left.
I think it's pretty funny now, but I know if I were in my sister's position it would be very different!
It's hard to believe that in a few months, there will be a fourth child in the mix!
Here are some photos of the day!

This owl was injured but oh so adorable!
Elephants!
My sister (her boy!) and her girls!The cutest little goat! Ugh, I so want one!!This little girl lost both of her front teeth within the last week! And she's developed quite the adorable little whistle when she talks!An amazing carved pumpkin on display!! Maybe I'll attempt something like this with my pumpkin this year?!On the train!
This little guy decided my head was a perch! Luckily, it didn't poo on me!
Ugh, going to the zoo makes me want at least one of every animal there!
These guys were so sweet!!Too cute!!I love his little mustache!
I'm so glad that I get to do things like this with my family!
This will probably be the last time I do a day trip with just "the girls" before baby Oscar gets here, and I'm so glad I had the opportunity!

Date day!

2010-10-24T09:36:00.006-04:00

I love getting to spend extra time with Ravi, so on Thursday, his mom let him off work a bit early and we had a date!
We headed to a local restaurant, Christopher's, that has lots of yummy vegetarian options.
Ravi loves their vegetarian Biscuits & Gravy, so anytime we get to have a mid-day meal out, he always opts for Christopher's!
Then we headed towards Cincinnati and stopped by the mall.
I got an insanely cute towel from Crate & Barrel!
We walked around H&M but didn't find anything.
We did find this amazingly cute trick or treat bag at Pottery Barn Kids, though!
Sometimes it's just fun to look, seeing as how we can't really spare the money to buy much!
On the way back home, we stopped at IKEA!
I got some cute new holiday fabric they have and when we came to the end, I saw this!
I love when IKEA puts their holiday decorations out because most of it is just so cute and it means that lovely times are getting even closer!!
I picked up a few cards, some wrapping paper, and adorable gift boxes that I'm keeping for decoration!
Oh, and of course my new favorite drinks from there:
I still love the lignonberry drink, but these remind me of our trip to Germany!!

When we got home, we watched lots of Parks & Recreation on netflix and had a yummy dinner together!

Lazy break!

2010-10-21T11:48:00.006-04:00

When I first started working in the school district I'm in now, I thought it was kind of crazy that they had a fall break.
I mean, the students have only been in class for one quarter, and already they get a week off school?!
But once I got through my full first year, I totally understood and appreciated this break.
I'm not sure that it's in place solely for the kids...in fact, it may be solely for the staff!
Although most of my kids are sweet and always ready to learn, it's nice to take a break, sleep in until 7:30, spend extra time loving on my pup and kitties, and do things that I like to do!
Last year during fall break, Ravi and I took a mini-moon to "Stars Hollow" in CT, but this year has been laid back, and that's just fine with me!

I've been sitting outside on the back deck in the morning and drinking something hot while Sabey plays nearby,
watching Gilmore Girls, episode after episode, even though I can pretty much recite it by heart.
taking photos of my pets,
(She looks almost cross-eyed here, to me.)
(I think he secretly loves that I cover him up with blankets, let him wear handknit cowls, etc.)
knitting just to knit! I mean it's great to have something wearable afterward, but I like to keep my hands busy with it!

Today, Ravi is getting off work early in order to have date day!
It's nice that his mom is super sweet and willing to work extra just to let us spend some time together!
We're going to have yummy lunch, go shopping, and just be together!
I'm super excited!!

Tomorrow, I'm going to the Zoo with my nieces and sister and am totally thrilled!
I love the zoo so much, and my nieces are always super funny when we take day trips somewhere!

I hope you all have wonderful days!

Cowl City!

2010-10-19T11:35:00.006-04:00

Yesterday was quite the icky day for me!
I woke up feeling great!
I blogged, hung out with Sabey outside, watched a bit of Gilmore Girls while making our meal plan for the week...
And then, as I was getting ready to head out to get some groceries, I felt so super nauseous!
I hate hate hate throwing up more than anything!
So, I hung out in bed with my knitting and Sabes, watched Gilmore Girls, and waited for Ravi to get home from work!

I did lots of laundry yesterday and finished my cowl, so at least it wasn't an entirely unproductive day!
I hate wasting my time off, but Ravi said it's better to get well and have the rest of the week to enjoy, than to go out prematurely and keep myself sick all week.
He's so smart.

I woke up this morning feeling great and am about to head out for those groceries!
Here is the cowl I finished yesterday!
I just knit in the round until I liked the length of it!
And the one I finished about a month ago!
For this one, I knit it super long so that I could wrap it around about twice, and just knit buttonholes toward the end and added super cute wooden vintage buttons that my dad had given me!
It looks way better on Sabey than it does on me, but come the winter months, I think I'll be happy it's so bulky!
I think cowls are my new favorite thing to make!
They knit up so quickly and look super cute for fall and winter!

Here's to getting out of the house!
Have a great day!

Yummy Treats, Base Ball, and Enchiladas!

2010-10-18T09:42:00.015-04:00

I love absolutely everything about fall!
My sister's party on Saturday was so much fun!

My sister made corn bread, butternut squash soup, and 17 bean soup and all were so yummy!
I can't wait to try making pumpkin soup, because if it's similar to her butternut squash soup, I think it will be a new staple around this house!
There were also tons of yummy desserts!
I took pumpkin pie wontons and everyone loved them! Yay!
My mom brought pumpkin bars and my brother-in-laws mom brought black bean brownies!
I guess you just take a can of black beans and a box of brownie mix and puree it in the blender and bake!

Everyone brought a pumpkin for the pumpkin patch we made in their yard.
My nieces are little hams and love to have their pictures taken!
The sun was in their eyes and they were complaining a bit, so my sister just told them that there was a photo shoot going on and they needed to tough it out for a bit longer.
The girls carved their pumpkins...and had so much fun playing with the pumpkin guts!
I remember being little and loving to squeeze it through my fingers!

My mom also brought Treat, aka Halloween Bingo!
My nieces love it and my mom has made a version for pretty much every holiday!
She even brought prizes for everyone!
Now, Ravi and I have even more cute decorations for around the house!

Here is Ravi's impression of the pose I always do when he takes a photo of my outfit...it's pretty accurate.
My Dad and I!My sister, her baby belly, and me!

Saturday night, Sandy came down and we had a little campfire out back!
I love having that firepit!
Even though we're just sitting around outside instead of inside, it makes me feel like I'm not so boring!
We had coffee and Ravi had hot chocolate and we just sat around talking!

Sunday, Sandy and I met for the Vintage Base Ball game!
It was a little bit less cute than we thought!
There were a total of about 10 people there besides the players, and it was just out in a field!
We thought maybe they would be selling popcorn in cute bags or old-timey candy or something!
But, there was a guy in a top hat with a pipe who was the officiator or something!
He's on the far right of this picture.

We didn't stay for the whole game because frankly, I don't think we're really the sports watching type of girls!

Erik and Sandy came down to our place later in the day and we made a delicious enchilada dinner!
We made fake chicken, cheese, and pineapple enchiladas and they were so yummy!
We hung out for the rest of the evening, chatting, and watching The Office and Parks & Recreation.

I'm so glad to be on Fall Break!
So far, my days have been packed full of fun!
I'm spending this week crafting, relaxing, and enjoying every second of having a break!

What are your favorite activities to do in the fall?!

Sicky and Fall Party!

2010-10-16T10:18:00.005-04:00

I have spent most of this week desperately trying to fight off sickness!
It started on Tuesday with a bit of a sore throat.
On Wednesday I was feeling a little sore all over with even more of a sore throat.
On Thursday one of my tonsils had swelled so large I felt like it was going to choke me.
I stopped by Ravi's work to visit him because he was working late that day. His mom was there and he told her I wasn't feeling well.
She rubbed my belly and asked if it was because I had a baby in there.
Um....no.
But by Friday, I had taken so much DayQuil and NyQuil, and had so much juice and hot drinks that I was feeling much better!

Last night, Ravi and I went to see the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra!!
Earlier this month, we received a post-card from the arts center and if we went to a website and typed in a code, we got free tickets to a show of our choosing! A lot of the shows were already full, so Ravi chose Mozart's Eternal Requiem.
We got all dressed up (but I neglected to take any pictures because we were rushing around trying to make it on time) and headed downtown.
The music was really beautiful.
It makes me wish I could play an instrument!
I thought the choir was lovely, but there were four soloists who I could have done without, even though they were good too.
It was a nice evening out, and even better that it was free to us!

Last night, after feeling great all day, I woke up in the middle of the night feeling terrible!
Luckily, Ravi was still up playing video games, so he got me some medicine and I fell right back to sleep!
I don't want to jinx anything, but I'm feeling fairly decent this morning!

Today is my sister's annual fall harvest family party!
Last year, she changed it up and had us bring pumpkins to her house instead of going to the pumpkin patch.
We made our own little patch in her yard, painted pumpkins, had yummy soup and treats, and did a little craft project!
I'm excited to go because I love any kind of celebration that includes yummy food and spending time outside in this lovely weather!

Tomorrow is the old timey Base Ball Game with Sandy, Erik, and Kaylee!
I hope it's super cute and super fun!!

Right now, I'm hanging out with Sabin and Phoenix who are lounging on the couch and being insanely cute!
Oh, and I got a haircut last weekend!
I just had the ends trimmed and got the staright across bangs again--Ravi loves them and I was tired of my super long non-bangs!
What do you have planned for this lovely weekend?!

Campfire Birthday Loveliness!

2010-10-10T11:57:00.010-04:00

I spent this week planning Sandy's Birthday Potluck and hitting the gym!
Ravi and I also caught up on all of season 6 of The Office this past month, so we can now watch the latest season!

Yesterday was the potluck and it was so much fun!
Ravi and I spent the day cleaning the house, setting up the backyard for a little campfire, getting groceries, and cooking lots of yummy treats! I made vegan chili, cornbread muffins with brown sugar, sugar cookie linzer cookies with strawberry preserves, pumpkin pie wontons, and warm apple cider!
Our friends brought delicious treats to share as well!
There was vegan spinach and artichoke dip, cucumber chip dip, the yummiest pasta salad that I can't get enough of, no bake cookies, and Sandy brought a salad with lots of yummy veggies and the most delicious homemade cucumber dressing! I would probably eat the dressing on everything if I could!

Earlier in the week, when I looked at the weather, it was supposed to be sunny and 70 degrees, so all the fall themed food seemed perfect! Plus we went out and got a little fire pit so we could sit in the backyard in the cool night air and just hang out!
On Friday when I checked the weather, it turned out that instead of perfect 70 degree weather, it was going to be 84!!
But we went ahead with everything and it turned out just right!

I went thrifting earlier in the week to find lots of cute mugs for the cider, and then put everyone's name on a tag and tied it around the mugs with embroidery floss.
I had a linzer cookie cutter with a cute owl, and just had to make them!
I ended up having to cut the owl out after they baked because I didn't use the right cookie dough, but they turned out super cute!
The pumpkin pie wontons were a big hit, although I think I cooked them a bit too long.
I also made two pennant bunting banners, but only got a picture of one!
I was really bad about taking photos yesterday! I wish I had been better because I love having photos of all our friends together having fun! Plus our backyard looked cute for once! We lined the railing of the deck with candles, and I hung Sandy's banner on our back fence, and we had all mismatched chairs and stools around the campfire!
Sandy's banner was in the same color scheme as the one above and said Oh Happy Day on it!
It turned out super cute and hopefully she'll be able to hang it up once she finds a cute new place to live!

Here are the recipes I used for the Chili and Pumpkin Pie Wontons:
Jane's Vegetarian Chili

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups soup)
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups water, divided
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (16-ounce) can cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 cup (2 ounces) reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese, (optional)
Preparation

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Add 3 cups water and next 8 ingredients (through cannellini beans), stirring to combine.Combine remaining cup of water and tomato paste in a bowl, stirring with a whisk until blended. Stir tomato paste mixture into bean mixture. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Ladle soup into bowls. Top with cheese, if desired.

Pumpkin Pie Wontons

Servings: 16
Ingredients:
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons maple syrup
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
16 packaged wonton wrappers
granulated sugar, for dusting
ground cinnamon, for dusting
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. In a medium bowl, mix pumpkin, maple syrup, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice.
3. Place one wonton wrapper flat on work surface.
4. Spoon 1 Tbsp. filling into center.
5. Moisten edges of wonton with water and fold in half to form triangle and press edges to seal.
6. Repeat with remaining filling and wontons.
7. Arrange filled wontons on ungreased baking sheet.
8. Lightly coat wontons with nonstick cooking spray and sprinkle each with sugar and cinnamon.
9. Bake until golden, about 16 minutes.
10. Turn and bake 2 more minutes.
11. Set baking sheet on wire rack to cool.

*1 Tablespoon of filling per wrapper was way too much, so I cut it to about half that per wrapper. I also think that 16 minutes is a bit too long. Next time I would check them after 10 and then flip them over for an additional 2 if they weren't too crispy yet. This time I didn't flip them because they were already pretty crispy! Oh, and it makes about double the servings because you're cutting down on the amount of filling in the wontons!

Let me know if you try either of these recipes and what you think!!

Today is all about relaxing and taking a break because I have been going non-stop for two days!
I'm catching up on missed TV shows from the week, and later I'm going to the gym for a bit!
I hope you all have had lots of fun this weekend!

Sewing, Birthdays, and Plans!

2010-10-03T08:23:00.007-04:00

Thursday was Sandy's birthday, so after everyone got off work, we met Sandy and her family at a super yummy local Chinese, Thai, and Japanese restaurant.
They have a special Vegetarian Menu with tons of yummy choices!
I got General Tso's Crispy Tofu (although it was NOT crispy) and Ravi and Sandy got Thai Crispy Mock Chicken!
Both dishes were really delicious!
I made Sandy a cute tote (I love the foxes and squirrels in the fabric!) and filled it with a few things she'll need when she starts sewing!
She came back to our place after to have coffee and hang out for a bit!

Friday's weather was so lovely!
Sabey and I went running and I caught up on show's on hulu!
Project Runway is sooooo good!
I love Mondo!
And Parenthood makes me laugh and melts my heart every time I watch it!
Ravi was at a show and didn't get back until 6am on Saturday!

Needless to say, I woke up when he got home and couldn't go back to sleep!
So, I got up and headed to the gym for an early morning workout!
Later on, I met Sandy for coffee before she headed to her sister's wedding!
Ravi and I ran errands and FINALLY have food in our refrigerator!
Finances have been super tight, so for a couple weeks, we've been cleaning out our cabinets, and I'm so glad to finally have some fresh produce and healthy food!
I even planned out our meals this week to make shopping a bit easier and I think I'm going to continue that!
Adding at least one new meal per week so that I can branch out in my cooking, and we can try some new, delicious recipes from all our cookbooks!
After the wedding, Sandy came over and brought super yummy cupcakes and we had coffee and just hung out!
Our friend Erik came too and we always have a fun and silly time when he's around!

We've made lots of plans for the upcoming month and I'm so excited to have things to do!
The weekend of the 9th, I'm throwing a little potluck birthday party for Sandy, since her birthday weekend was consumed with her sister's wedding!
The weekend of the 16th is my sister's annual family fall harvest party and an old-time base ball game!
They have old-time uniforms and must act appropriate in front of the ladies! Soooo cute!
The weekend of the 23rd we're going to head to the Pumpkin Show because there will be tons of yummy pumpkin treats and a FERRIS WHEEL!
We were talking about Ferris Wheels this summer and Ravi and Sandy have never been on one, so I wanted to take Sandy to one for her birthday but couldn't find one!
I found her an adorable card in aFavorite's Etsy Shop with one though, and told her that if we could find one, that would be part of her present!(source)
Well, the next day I found one and am so excited to go!
Then, the weekend of the 30th we are throwing our annual Halloween Party with all our friends!
It's one of my favorite days of the year and is always so much fun (even if it's full of drama like it was last year!)!

Do you have anything fun coming up?!

Happy Birthday Sandy!!!

2010-09-30T06:26:00.006-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SANDY!!!
Today is a very special day, because it's my best friend's birthday!
I love her to pieces and she makes my life full of happiness!!
Sandy--I hope you have a wonderful day!!
Head over to Sandy's and wish her a very happy birthday!

Apples!

2010-09-28T16:49:00.013-04:00

We had a super yummy dinner on Sunday at my parents' house to celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday!
We spent the day hanging out in the backyard, and the weather was perfect!
Crisp cool air and bright blue skies!
My nieces love Ravi an insane amount. I honestly don't think he stopped playing with them once with the exception of eating dinner!
Also, the birthday dessert was PIE! And who doesn't love a warm slice of marionberry pie?!
My parents also have apple trees, so I climbed up and picked some to enjoy this week!

I'm making barely any progress on the Home Ec projects.
I cut the fabric for the supply roll up last week and finally made myself sit down when I got home from work today and sew it!
It turned out pretty well except for the ribbon...I accidentally sewed it all wonky, but didn't want to rip out everything and try again.
I'll say it gives it character?
Sandy came over today for coffee and Indian food!
We hadn't seen each other in over a week and that is far too long!
Ravi's parents loaded us up with leftovers at the family party, so we've been having Saag and naan/rotis for a couple days! YUM!

The weather has been rainy the past two days, but it's supposed to clear up for the rest of the week and I can't wait!
What are you're plans this week?!

Coffee and Tea

2010-09-25T22:39:00.011-04:00

This week was fairly stressful at work.
By the time Thursday rolled around, I was so ready for it to be the weekend.
I have students who are really sweet and hardworking, and then I have students who have absolutely no interest in school, but then blame me for their lack of improvement in English.
I wish I could make them understand the importance of working hard.
I've heard people say that it is up to the teacher to inspire the student, but there's really only so much a person can do.
I can't continuously feel bad about these students.
I try my best.

This weekend was very low key!
Friday, Ravi and I took Sabey for a long walk and treated ourselves with yummy ice cream!
I had pumpkin and he had mint chocolate chip!
One of my favorite things about fall is all the yummy treats that are available!
I love that we live in such a cute area with parks and a cute little street with shops within walking distance!

On Saturday I pulled out my Halloween decorations!
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays!
I love all the cute decorations, the fun parties, the pumpkin patches, hayrides, haunted houses, adorable kids in costumes, and yummy food!
I got this jar last weekend from our friends wedding and filled it with autumn colored flowers.
They are fake, of course, because I can't seem to keep any plant alive!!I love this little spider candy basket!The little ghost lantern and cauldron mug are too cute!I carved this fake pumpkin a few years ago for Ravi! The sickle in the back casts a shadow on the wall behind the reaper!
When Ravi got home from work, we headed to his Aunt & Uncle's house for a Sikh celebration.
I got to wear my favorite Indian outfit (but forgot to take pictures!) even though it's a bit too big!
We had delicious food and we just love seeing his grandma!
She is so adorable!
Since we ate outside, and it was a bit chilly, we came home and had coffee and tea, warmed up, and watched The Office!

Today, we're heading to my parents for my brother-in-law's birthday dinner!
We've had a lazy morning of watching Gilmore Girls in bed, having warm apple cinnamon muffins with coffee and tea, and just enjoying spending time together!

The weather has finally cooled off after having several days of 90 degree weather!
I always feel so much better when they air is crisp and cool!
I love having the windows open and sipping warm drinks!
And, I've been working on this cowl for when it cools down even more!
I love this yarn because it knits so quickly!
I'm going to have to get it in gray to make a chunkier version!

This week will be a good one!
I keep reminding myself to keep a PMA.
And it's really been making a difference.
There are a lot of little things that could turn my attitude to crap, but I have a lot of good things in my life and I need to remind myself of that, sometimes.

I hope that everyone has an excellent week!

Fancy fabrics!

2010-09-20T19:11:00.008-04:00

One of my favorite things about learning new crafts is being able to shop for new supplies!
When I learned to knit, I went crazy and bought insane amounts of yarn.
And to be honest, a lot of it is still sitting in a crate on my shelf!
It's so pretty, but I haven't really gone beyond anything that isn't square or rectangular!
And a girl can only have so many bows, scarves, and headbands!

But something I've always loved looking at, but never was able to buy, is fabric!
Taking this class, even though I'm totally slacking and have only made three projects, has allowed me to finally purchase some amazingly lovely fabrics!
(This is my box of sewing supplies!)
And just those few projects have made me confident enough to try venturing out and trying other things!
Like the snack bags and pennant flags I made!
I love the colors, and I love creating things I can actually use!
I'm hoping that my desire to progress (and eventually be able to read a pattern and make clothes!) keeps me motivated!

These are my newest fabrics!
I'm not sure what I'm making from the birdcage yet, but it was just too sweet to pass up (at Ikea!)!
And I'm saving the seersucker for some pillows...or possibly a skirt? A purse? I love it so much, I'll probably have to make lots of things from it!
What new things have you been buying/lusting after lately?!

I love love!

2010-09-19T08:10:00.012-04:00

Yesterday was Cate and TJ's wedding and it was way too cute!
I love going to weddings, especially when they are for our friends!
It's so much fun to see them so happy and and to be able to spend time with all our friends!

Ravi had to take his PA system up early, but Sandy was nice enough to drive and take me with her!
We got ready together and then headed out!
It took about an hour and a half to get there (Waverly, Ohio), and even though I wouldn't want to live that far from a bigger city, I love going out there!
There are so many farms and cute houses set way back off the road!

Ravi got some new dress pants for the occasion and was so happy not to have to wear baggy pants!
This is the first time I've worn this dress even though I got it six months ago!
Turns out, I love it!
Sandy's dress was insanely adorable!
Erik and Kaylee being cute!

The wedding was held at TJ's parents golf putting range!
They had a nice concrete area for the food and just gathering and talking.
The tent was set up in the grass and when you looked out there was a beautiful, huge tree and a farm with cute little cows right behind it!
They even used the pennant flags!! Yay!

They got married in front of the huge tree, and the ceremony was simple and very sweet!
Dinner was yummy full of lots of homemade salads, fruit, and garden burgers!
It wasn't heavy like a lot of wedding food is, but was perfect for outdoor eating!
The centerpieces were so lovely! I loved everything about them!
They thrifted almost everything for them, and made pinwheels out of super cute paper!
All the centerpieces were different, but went together so nicely! They all had books, candles, jars with birdseed or acorns or stones, and animals (ours was Z for Zebra) and some had pinwheels while others had sunflowers!
They had super yummy cake and a cookie bar with eight different kinds of cookies!
The boys went off to hit golf balls later in the evening, but we eventually pulled them back in and did a little dancing!

The happy couple! TJ is being silly. That is a flip out comb! It only cost him 150 tickets...
Cate's dress was so lovely and perfect for the occasion!
TJ's tie (and the groomsmen ties) were so lovely! His was green and theirs were yellow, and the screen-print was just perfect!
The boys wore Vans and the girls wore Toms and everything flowed together so nicely!
It looked like a carnival tent at the end of the night!
Luke and Ravi are too cute!
It was such a beautiful day and I'm so glad that I got to share it with them!
Yay for Cate & TJ!!

Happy, happy girl!

2010-09-15T14:39:00.009-04:00

Lots of quality time with Ravi has been keeping me in high spirits lately!

He's been playing his gameboy lots, while I've been watching Gilmore Girls!

We got around to trying our cake!
The outsides were super hard, and the insides were just a bit softer.
Needless to say, we tried it because it's tradition, and then we had to dump the rest.

I also remembered the tins that I made!
I got three old tins, painted them, and then set up a station at the wedding where people could predict what they thought our lives would be like in one, ten, and twenty-five years!
So, yesterday, we cracked open the one year tin and found some pretty hilarious guesses.
Not many people did them, but they were still fun to read!
Unfortunately, most of them were inaccurate...even though we'd like for some of them to be true!
One was spot on though, it read something like:
"You will be sitting on your couch with a blue tin, reading what everyone that was at your wedding thinks your life will be like. I should get a prize for predicting the future so well!"
We pretty much couldn't stop laughing, and we both had tears streaming down our faces.
Most thought we would be preparing to move overseas to Germany or Japan, Ravi would have graduated, I would still be a teacher, and that we would still be sweetly in love.
There was also a pretty impossible one.
"You will have two kids."
Unless this person thought we were having twins, how would we possibly have two kids in one year?!
It was really fun, though, and a ton of laughs!

Today, we're running a few errands for Cate & TJs wedding and picking up my wedding dress from the dry cleaners...woops!
I didn't mean to leave it there for so long...but I kind of forgot!
Then, when I called two months ago, they hadn't even boxed it up yet (after 10 months!!)!
And then they forgot to call to tell me it was finished, so I called last week and had a slight panic attack when the guy said he couldn't find it!
Luckily, he called back and said he had been looking in the wrong place.

I'm looking forward to this weekend so much!
I love going to weddings and seeing such sweet, close friends so incredibly happy!
What are your plans for this weekend?!

Seven and One make Eight Blissful Years!

2010-09-13T17:23:00.012-04:00

We have been married for a whole year as of yesterday!
And have been together for eight years as of today!
I just love Ravi so much and couldn't have asked for a more loving, caring, and thoughtful person to share my life with.

We spent some time hiking with Sabin at Hills and Dales!
We went at the same time we took pictures there last year and tried to hit the same spots, but you can't really see the background!

Then we went to see Toy Story 3 together in 3D!
That was what he wanted as his anniversary present, and since our finances are low right now, we're going to save a bit for the gifts we wanted to get each other and give them later on!
Plus, the tickets were paper, so that counts!

We headed home after the movie to change and head to dinner!
We ate at The Melting Pot and had yummy Cheddar Cheese Fondue, California and Spinach & Mushroom salads, and the Vegetarian Fondue!
After a few bites of our dinner fondue, we were already stuffed!
Needless to say, when we got home, neither of us felt like taking a bite of our wedding cake!
We did take a photo with it though, and will try it today!

Both sets of parents were so sweet and treated us so we didn't have to spend anything! I think they know that we're strapped for the time being! But they wanted us to have a nice day, and we appreciated it so much!

I'm so grateful to have such an amazing person in my life!
I love you, Ravi!

A Lazy 50's Day!

2010-09-11T20:12:00.003-04:00

Today was quite the lazy day.
But the last few weekends have been so busy, that it was very welcome!
I woke up fairly early, because now that I'm on the school schedule, I can't sleep in past 8:30.

I wanted to get a little sewing in, so while I watched Project Runway, I made this little tote!

I wasn't feeling so well after that, so I showered because that usually makes me feel better!
But, not today.
So, I crawled back into bed (it was 12 by this time) with Ravi who was still sleeping.
I watched tons of Gilmore Girls, had coffee in bed, and just cuddled for most of the day!
I enjoy lazy days sometimes, and today it was much needed!

Our neighbors are having a 50's themed birthday party tonight, so we're heading over there in a little bit!
I tried my best and thought my hair and outfit looked 50s-ish!
I don't own any lipstick at all, but if I did, a nice red would have come in handy tonight!

Ravi really wants to dress up for Halloween this year and Sandy came up with the cute idea of a Halloween Picnic, which sounds way better than some of our other options!
But now I have to figure out what/who to be!
Do you like dressing up?!
What was your favorite costume from past Halloweens?!

A perfect season!

2010-09-10T15:43:00.012-04:00

With fall comes amazing things.

This fall, I'm looking forward to:

Pulling out my plaids and boots again!
Luckily, today it was cool enough to wear this!
I've got my eye on a few new pairs for this year, but they'll have to wait a few more paychecks!
I also want new tights, dresses, cardigans, and I want to add a few heels into my wardrobe!

Remembering how Ravi and I met and started our relationship eight years ago and celebrating out first wedding anniversary together!

Trying out all sorts of fall recipes!
We have been in quite the food rut and I'm excited for the stockpile of recipes I have that sound amazingly delicious!
Chilis, soups, lasagnas, pies! Plus, fall seems like Indian food weather! And I'm finally going to learn to make it!
These all look so pretty and delicious!

Hiking daily with Sabin and listening to the crunch of the pretty leaves!
I love the clean smell when the cooler winds arrive in town!

Starting Gilmore Girls over again!
Having lots of coffee dates!
(I think this is actually chai and hot chocolate, but I couldn't find any photos of coffee!)

Making our yearly trip to the funnest hayride around and picking pumpkins!
Plus the haunted bus rides and houses start to open up, and that is always so much silly fun!

Cuddling lots with my sweet little family!
He is too sweet...and way too fat!

I just love this time of year so much and plan on making the most of it!

Two very special THANK YOUs!

2010-09-09T14:46:00.009-04:00

First up, I have to apologize to Sam!
For some reason, I thought I had posted this blog already!
However, when I looked back through my posts after reading her most recent letter to me, I realized I hadn't.
I'm so sorry Sam!!
Anyway, for my birthday, Sam sent me a sweet giftcard to F21!
I mean, only like 90% of my clothes come from there...because it's inexpensive, and I'm cheap!
But, I went shopping before we went to Vegas and bought this cute little skirt!
So, thank you so much for the skirt!
I just love the print of it!
It was great to wear in the insane heat of Las Vegas, but today I paired it with some leggings and a cute sweater and wore it to work!
Oh, I have to dress like it's winter because my desk is located in a tundra, basically. It's awesome.

Next, I want to thank Katja for the super sweet headband she sent my way! I love the bright colors!
Thank you so much sweet lady!
Your cute thing is on it's way, so keep a look out!

Work this week has been fairly low key.
The kids are back into the swing of schools days, homework, essays, reading, and more.
And I'm back into waking up at 5:30, trying my best to help these kids as much as I can, and keeping my PMA!
I even saw a PMA poster at the 6th grade building!
I question some of the teachers, though!
A lot are seeking my help this year because we have a lot of really low-skill English Language Learners, which is great that they're asking for advice, resources, etc!
From day one, I've always told them that I'm here to support them in their education of ELLs.
However, some are trying to grade these students the same way that they grade native-born English speakers.
They think it's not fair to grade them differently!
However, fair does not mean equal!
That is something that has been burned into my brain since entering the education field, and I just don't understand the ways in which these teachers are thinking!
Once I explain to them that grading my students on the same curriculum points as students who completely know the language is unfair, they usually hop on board and are ready to work with the kids.
Luckily, a lot of the teachers are willing to change their points of view as long as there is good reasoning behind it.

I also worked some more on the Home Ec class assignments and made a gift pouch!
The fabric I had originally bought for it wouldn't work out because half of the print would have been upside down! But I had plenty of the snack bag material from the bachelorette party left over and it turned out great!
And, now I get to use the super cute material for my grocery bag which I'm going to start on in a little bit!

I loved the look of our mantle earlier this week!
I wish I could have pretty fresh flowers all the time!

The weather this week has been pretty amazing!
I love that it's getting cooler out and that all my warmer weather clothes are getting pulled out from the bottom of my drawers!
I even got to wear a pair of tights to the shower last weekend and my boots to my niece's birthday party on Sunday!
This time of year is magical and really renews my happiness!
Last night, Ravi, Sabin, and I headed to Sandy's house and it was such a happy, fun time!
She made us a super yummy dinner and Sabey got to play with all her pups!
We even took a trip to get pumpkin iced coffee at a local place she frequents!

Look out tomorrow for a post on all the things I'm looking forward to this fall!!

Owl Love You Forever!

2010-09-05T20:22:00.019-04:00

I spent this week sewing, painting, crafting, prepping, and watching Pushing Daisies with Ravi.

Oh, and catching up on Project Runway and trashy TV shows!
I have to say that I'm not set on any one person for this season of Project Runway.
There is usually a couple of people that I think are amazing, but this year I think Valerie and Gretchen are pretty good, but neither one has created that knock-out piece yet!
What do you think?

Yesterday was the wedding shower I threw for our friends, Cate & TJ, who are getting married in two weeks!
I had so much fun planning everything and executing all the craftiness for it!
Even though it was go, go, go yesterday, all day, I still loved it!
It was nice to be busy with something fun that all of our friends could enjoy!
Ravi's parents were sweet enough to let us have it in their basement, considering we can't fit that many people in our tiny apartment!
If I could make a living doing this, I would totally plan parties/weddings/events!
I loved planning my own wedding and making all the details personal and just perfect for us!

The theme for the shower was Owl Love You Forever, and you can see the invitations here!
Both Cate and TJ have owl tattoos (that are a couple!) and I thought it was fitting for them!
I went thrifting many, many times and came up with some amazing finds!
I got four owl glasses and seven ceramic owls!
(Here are a few beforehand--I didn't do such a great job photographing everything!)
I also had my own owl stuff that I brought for the decor.
I left the glasses as is and used them to put forks, spoons, knives, and straws in!
I painted the ceramic owls solid yellow, gray, and mint since those are their wedding colors.
You can see more in the cupcake photo below!
Two of the owls are planters, so I used those to put yellow and white chocolate owl suckers in!
I found an Owl Sucker Mold on ebay and found white and yellow candy melts at Michael's and they came out so cute!
I picked up an owl embossing paper punch from Michael's and used it for the invitations and to decorate the cupcakes!
Cate loveslovesloves cupcakes, so it was fitting that they be a main attraction!
Apparently, I went overboard, because we now have 20 sitting in our kitchen!
I made Strawberry with Vanilla Icing and Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Icing.
I took the owl paper punch and cut out 100 owls in cream, gray, yellow, and mint cardstock and then glued them on the top of toothpicks to stick in the cupcakes!
I also made tissue paper pom poms in yellow, black, cream, mint, and silver and I thought they turned out amazingly cute!
For several months, I had been keeping our glass jars, knowing that I'd come up with something cute to do with them!
This shower was a perfect way to use them!
I headed to The Flower Man early yesterday morning. It is a small shop that sells flowers at next to nothing, and I bought yellow daisies, mums (?), alstromeria, and gerbera daisies. Then, I wrapped black and cream ribbon around the jars, punched out a mint tag, wrote people's names on them and tied them around the jars with mint string!
It made for a nice decoration during the party, and a lovely favor for everyone to take home!

We had a taco bar with all sorts of yummy toppings like tater rounds and pineapple! We also had chips and dips, a huge veggie tray and a super yummy fruit tray!
I made Vanilla Rhubarb Iced Tea, and we had Lemonade and six different kinds of glass bottled sodas for everyone to enjoy!
Ravi and I had no idea how much to buy/make for 17 people, so we had some extra stuff that we were able to return (which was nice because feeding 17 people is EXPENSIVE!).

I also made an activity table so that there were things for people to do!
I painted an older wooden cutting board (that had never been used) with the same pennant flag banner and similar owls that were on the invitations. Then, I left the rest blank and set out tons of super fine sharpies in different colors so that everyone could leave a message for Cate & TJ!
I also found a crazy 3-D Owl puzzle at Michael's and left that for people to put together for Cate & TJ to take home.
Let me just say that people worked most of the night on that (well, at least when we weren't eating), and they did not come close to finishing it! It said it was for ages six and up...apparently not!

Kelly & Shayna are some of Cate & TJs friends and they are super sweet and funny!
Cate & TJ with the pennant flag banner I made! I was pretty proud of it and even copied the font from their wedding invitation to the font of their names! And the xTJx is not super serious! He doesn't go by that, but it would have been super lopsided if I didn't put that...and he seemed to like it!
Luke, Micah, & Ravi hanging out with Sabin!
Sandy & I! It's a little blurry, but the one TJ took of us was way worse than the self portrait!
Erik & Kaylee by Erik's position next to the cupcakes & soda!
Nicky and her boys! They are too adorable for words!
Ravi and Sandy being insanely adorable!!

Overall, I think everyone had lots of fun just spending time with Cate & TJ and hopefully it was a fun night for them to relax and not worry about all the last minute details that need to be finished!

Roller Derby and Snack Bags!

2010-08-30T19:29:00.007-04:00

Now that work has started again, I've gotten my love for the weekends back.
And the past few have been full of fun!
And the next three weekends will be busy and spent with friends, too!

Friday, I spent a few hours creating some super cute snack bags for Cate's bachelorette party!
This is my new sewing machine and I just love it so much!!!!
I found this video and decided to change it up a little bit.
I just took two rectangles of fabric and put them with the bad sides facing inwards.
Then I hemmed both edges and finished them the way the video says to!
That way they have a super cute lining!
I got yummy snacks and filled them up before heading to the roller derby match!
We weren't eating until later in the evening, so I figured it would help to keep us in good moods!
Yoanna, Cate, and Nicky at the match!
Unfortunately, I didn't take anymore photos, so Sandy got left out!!
But she was there too!

We left the match a little early and headed to meet the boys for dinner.
The German restaurant that Cate wanted to eat at was super busy and wouldn't take reservations beforehand.
However, when the guys showed up, they wanted to know if they had made a reservation!! What?!
Cate called around to some restaurants nearby and got us in super fast as Claddagh Irish Pub!
It was so much fun to hang out with everybody and talk and laugh so much!
And the view was of downtown Cincinnati and was full of pretty lights!

Sunday, I headed to my parents house for my mom's birthday celebration.
She had won a weekend with a convertible from her school's auction, so she used it that weekend and took everybody for rides.
My nieces loved it so much!
We had yummy cheesecake and everybody stayed in good moods almost the whole time!

Today was work, but it was a quick day, and I'm hoping the rest of the week goes by just as quickly!
Because Cate & TJs wedding shower that I'm throwing is this weekend and I'm super excited to hang out with everyone again!
I'm creating lots of cute decorations for it and am loving being back in the creative swing of things!

Ravi and I went for a run with Sabin and had dinner.
And now I have a free drink from Starbucks from my birthday that we have to use before tomorrow, so Ravi and I are heading out with Sabin to enjoy a nice walk and yummy drink!

Back to work and back to crafting!

2010-08-26T16:15:00.008-04:00

I started back at work on the 18th and have actually been able to keep up my good attitude!

I vowed to keep a PMA this school year and to not let silly things get me down.
I have an amazing little family, great friends, fun new hobbies, and a job that pays the bills!
I shouldn't really complain!

I got lots of new students this year, and four new kids have enrolled in the past week and a half that I need to test for LEP!
The new students have been super sweet and I'm really enjoying working with them!
Although one tried to trick me today because apparently he thought I didn't know his schedule!
Silly kids--teachers are connected! Why don't they get that?!

When we got back from Vegas I was having really crazy and terrible dizzy spells!
Those have subsided for the most part, so I'm ready to get back into working out and keeping fit!
Ravi and I ran with Sabin yesterday, and I can tell that he was loving it!

I also started the Home Ec class!
It took me one little flip out, but now I'm sewing and loving it! I'm excited to make so many new things!
I love how these napkins turned out! The stitching definitely isn't perfect, but it works for me!

I also am hosting a wedding shower for our friends Cate & TJ, so I busied myself making invitations for that!
And I just love how they turned out!
It was quite the task to make them, because I hand cut each triangle for the pennant flags and glued them individually.
(The colors are so off up there! Woops!)
Then I added the ribbon and some little love owls!
And then the information!
The shower is all about OWLS!
Both the bride and groom got corresponding owl tattoos, so I thought it was fitting!
I'll be sure to post pictures after we have it because I have so many cute decorations/treats planned!

This weekend is Cate's bachelorette party and she decided on Roller Derby!
I'm super excited because I've never been to a game, but I think it's going to be so much fun!
Then we're meeting up with the bachelor party for dinner at Hofbrauhaus!

Ravi just got home, so we're heading out for a run and then to do some errands!
Hope you all are having a wonderful week!

Last Minute Getaway!!! (picture heavy)

2010-08-15T10:36:00.021-04:00

Ravi and I just returned from a last minute trip!
To Las Vegas!
I haven't been out of Ohio since last October, and with school starting back this Wednesday, I knew I needed a little trip!
So, last Monday, we left for Las Vegas and got back late Friday night!
It was a sweet little getaway and just the thing we both needed!

We got into Vegas around midnight and to our hotel around one or so.
We stayed at the Luxor, which is an Egyptian themed hotel.
I did not realize the scale of those hotels!
They look big, but my goodness!
We walked around for an hour or so exploring and then headed to bed since it was 5 am our time!

On Tuesday, we headed out and walked around the strip for a while!
We went and saw the lion habitat and the cubs the MGM Grand had--they were too adorable!
We also stopped by a few stores, the M&M store and the Coca-Cola store.
I wanted to see if the M&M store had different flavors, but they didn't even have the coconut ones!!
Lame, but they did have super pretty displays!We had a yummy Indian buffet for lunch and then headed back to the hotel to cool off a little bit!
That night, we went back down the strip and walked around Bellagio and Caesar's Palace!
Bellagio had such a cute Botanical Garden!!
At Caesar's Palace I won $17 on these super cute Fish Slots!
Then, we ate at Serendipity 3!
It was super cute and they had really yummy food!Ravi had delicious Mac and Cheese and I had a veggie burger with the best sweet potato fries!
Unfortunately we were both super full, so we decided to stop by a different night to try the Frozen Hot Chocolate.

On Wednesday, we decided that we had to eat at one of the all day buffets!
Food was not super affordable on the strip, but the buffets were a really good deal.
Breakfast was probably the best meal they offered for Vegetarians, but Lunch and Dinner weren't too bad either!
We hung out at the pool in the afternoon and then got ready and headed to Paris!
(New York, New York along the way!)
It was probably my favorite hotel!
It was super adorable and I loved the streets inside!

On Thursday, we had a super yummy lunch at Salsa Cantina and went to look at the lions again.
This time the adults were out and they were sleeping in the cutest way!
Then, I won $6 at this alien game!
I felt pretty lucky!
We hung out at the pool again in the afternoon and then headed back to the room to get ready for dinner.
On the way to find something to eat, we stopped for Frozen Yogurt!
We ate at Earl of Sandwich and had yummy Caprese and Veggie Sandwiches!
Then we found a mall connected to one of the hotels and browsed around a bit!
Ravi got a cutey shirt from H&M and I got cute cards and a journal from Urban!
Then, we headed to Caesar's Palace so Ravi could play poker!
He did well and over doubled what he bought in for!
We were soooo lucky on this trip!!
We didn't know that I could sit in there with him, so we split up for a bit, and it was getting pretty late, so I went in to check on him, and he wasn't in there!
But neither of our cell phones had service, so my text messages weren't going through, and his calls to me weren't going through!
I had a little panic attack but we eventually got a hold of each other and headed back to the hotel!

Friday, we woke up, packed, had a little breakfast, took some pictures by our hotel and headed to the airport.
Three out of four of our flights were really good on this trip.
But the flight leaving Las Vegas to Denver was super turbulent and I did not like it one bit!
And it was late, so we were afraid we were going to miss our connecting flight, but we made it with a few minutes to spare and got back to Dayton and Sabin, Isis, and Phoenix!!!!
We missed them soooooo much!

While we were gone, Sandy stayed with Sabin and the cats, and she left the sweetest Welcome Home sign on the door along with a long note and sweet little messages all over the apartment!
We are so thankful to have such an amazing and caring friend!!!

I hope all of you had amazing weeks as well!!!

Ideas, anyone?

2010-08-07T23:02:00.006-04:00

This week was more of the gym, walks with Sabin, watching tons of The Office, and trying to ignore our super loud neighbors!

I also found out that some of our close friends weren't going to have a wedding shower of any kind because their wedding is soon and still mostly not planned!
The girl has been studying in Germany for the past four months, and the guy just recently got a new job and moved all their stuff to a different state!
Also, no one had planned a bachelorette party for the girl!
So I offered to do both because I wouldn't want her to miss out on any of that stuff!
So I also spent a couple days thrifting for decorations, which was actually really fun!
I usually don't find a whole lot of stuff, especially when I have specifics, but this time was totally different!
I found tons of stuff for the shower and am so excited to get to work on more of my ideas for it!
I'll do a post totally about it once I get it more under way, or maybe after the shower!

However, I've talked with some friends and we're having a hard time coming up with ideas for her bachelorette party!
We thought canoeing would be great, but her fiance told us she wouldn't like that.
So then we thought this hotel that has an indoor waterpark would be fun, but then found out one room is $350 a night!!
Then, Sandy and I thought Kings Island might be a good idea, but then remembered that last time we all went together she didn't ride half of the rides...
So, my question is:
What would you want to do for a bachelorette party?
We need something fun to do during the day before a nice dinner out!
Oh, and I don't think anybody that's going drinks, so wine tasting or something like that wouldn't work so well for us!

Today, Sandy came down and hung out all day and it was amazing!
We had iced coffee twice!
Had lots of much needed girl talk!
We even took a trip to F21 since we haven't been in months!!
We got to have lots of laughs and it was just what I needed!
I miss all my time with her since she's moved 30 minutes away!
I know that's not far, but we used to live 30 seconds away!
Hopefully we'll be reunited soon!

Since I got a sewing machine for my birthday, I figured that a perfect way to spend some of my birthday money was on this class!
I've been pretty frugal with my money lately, and even had to have Ravi push the PAY NOW button because I wasn't sure if I should spend the money.
But I'm really glad he did, because hopefully I'll get really good at using my sewing machine!
Plus I'll have lots of really cute and sweet projects to work on!
I'm so so excited to start!!!

SHARKS!!

2010-08-03T23:11:00.004-04:00

Sandy!!!

This is the perfect etsy front page for my dear friend Sandy!
She had a whole week of super cute posts leading up to Shark Week because it's one of her favorite times of year!!
Look at that Kitten Shark Cat Sweater!!!
Amazing!
I hope this makes her smile!
I'll be back tomorrow with a more detailed post of what I'm up to!

The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!

2010-08-01T08:57:00.002-04:00

My Fair Lady was soooo good but I totally did not remember that it was almost three hours long!
(source)
I love that the local theatre is playing old movies when there aren't shows scheduled!
And that Ravi got me enough tickets to see 5 movies!
Except there weren't really 5 I wanted to see, so we invited Erik and Sandy along to watch with us last night!
I really enjoy this movie, but at times the poorly spoken Eliza's voice was wearing on my nerves!
But I love the songs that come from it and my favorite scenes are when they go to the race tracks and the ball!
The choreography and clothes are amazing!!

After the movie, we went and got coffee and hung out!
I wish Sandy and Erik lived closer because hanging out with them totally puts me in a better mood!!
The friend from out of town ended up leaving while we were in the movie (without telling anyone!), but I'm going to let it slide because he had to drive home to let his pups out.
Hopefully we'll get to see him soon, though!

Today, I'm going bike riding again and hoping that my knees aren't super sore when we get back!!

Perfect weather!!!

2010-07-31T16:21:00.004-04:00

So babysitting went quite well.
I think I tend to build it up in my head that they're going to be completely rotten, but it's usually just one out of the three, and on Wednesday, they were all really well behaved for the most part!
The girls love Ravi and kept thanking me for bringing him!
Haha, so apparently from now on, in order to get them to behave, I just need to remember to bring him along!
We played Wii for a bit and then watched Toy Story 2.
So good! And now we're ready to see Toy Story 3!

Thursday was an awesome spinning class!
We watched the Tour de France while riding a simulated circuit to what they were doing!
Watching them and realizing that they are working way harder and going at least two times faster than me was great motivation to go strong through the whole class!
I hope she continues to play the videos from now on!
I also got my hair colored, so it's back to what I'm used to!
I've also been looking at the photos from right after we got married when I cut my hair short...and I can't decide whether to keep growing or to go for something different!
I do remember thinking I had the haircut of a first lady or something, though.
And I couldn't wait for it to grow back.
So I maybe I should hold off on cutting it...
I used to be so care-free with my hair!
When I was in cosmetology school I cut it at least once ever couple of weeks.
But now I think long and hard before I do anything...I wonder why I do that!!
What do you think?!
Keep growing?
Cut it off?

Yesterday was half-price cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory and luckily Sandy told us about it!
Sandy, Luke, Ravi, and I headed there and enjoyed a super yummy treat!
We had Red Velvet, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Banana, and Kahlua!
Then, we went to Amber and Kyle's new place to hang out and play games!
It was fun to hang out and talk and just be silly!

Today has been such amazing weather!
It's been raining on and off all day, but it's been in the low 70's and it's amazing!!!!
We have all the windows open, and I've been drinking hot coffee, cuddling with Sabey and Ravi, and watching The Office!
I really, really don't like the summer heat, and I've been missing fall weather so much recently.
I have a folder full of fall clothing, shoes, boots, jackets, scarves, artwork, recipes, etc. and it's still a couple months away!
Later on we're going to one of Ravi's family member's birthday party and then to see My Fair Lady!!!!!
We also have a couple of friends coming in from out of town, so I'm sure there will be some hangouts afterward!

Playdate!

2010-07-28T15:25:00.010-04:00

Puppy playdates are the cutest!
Monday evening, Ravi, Sabin, and I headed to Sandy's parent's house to have a puppy playdate!
Sandy has three adorable pups and luckily Sabin mostly gets along with all three!
The pups even have a pool in the backyard to play in!
(I love this picture. Sabin looks hilarious...like he's coming out of Monty or something!)
Sabey was all about the pool! He kept chomping at the water and running in and out of it!
He just recently got into the marking stage, so I'm pretty sure he was just drinking so he could go mark more stuff!
Monty was not a fan of the pool, so Sandy had to force him in!
Newbie is such a little tugboat!
Toby makes the best/most ridiculous noises!
Sandy was also super sweet and surprised us with dinner from our favorite Mexican restaurant, La Fiesta!!
We had yummy enchiladas, beans, salsa, guacamole, and chips!
And for dessert, yummy brownies, frozen yogurt and strawberries!

Yesterday was a lazy day.
We currently live in a duplex, and the neighbor we had was insanely quiet.
As in, we NEVER heard him.
And he was super duper nice.
But, he moved out last month.
We just got new neighbor(s) and they're still moving their stuff in.
I'm not sure if it's one or two people that will be living there (because there have been about six different people over there the past few days), but they are the loudest walkers ever.
Like stomping all over the place.
Plus, Sabin barks when people open/slam the back door, which we share.
So instead of propping the door open while they're moving everything in, they chose to let it slam every two seconds.
So he keeps barking, and I'm trying to calm him down, but he's a dog! What can I do?!
So then, the people start barking back at him!!!!
Seriously?!?!?!
How rude!!!!
I haven't even met them yet, but that does not bode well!
People should not antagonize my poor little pup!!
Now I'm just going to let him bark and bark and bark.
They can suck it.

Today, I took the worst Zumba class ever with the worst instructor ever.
Seriously, if she's teaching next week, I'll leave before class starts and do something else!
But, I did head up to Tipp City to meet Sandy at some cute antique stores afterward!
I didn't get anything, but she cot a super cute cross stitch/embroidery!
Then we got super yummy pina colada iced lattes and had girl talk!
Tonight, I'm going to babysit my nieces, which I must say I am not looking forward to.
But luckily, Ravi has agreed to go with me to try and keep me sane!
I can't believe that my sister is adding a fourth to the bunch...she better not expect me to babysit after that...
Is that mean?
I think not...I'm just being realistic.
Then tonight, as long as it's not too late, I'm going to get my hair colored because I have like an inch and a half of regrowth.
Woops!

Hope everyone has a lovely day!!

Where's my grandson?

2010-07-25T23:10:00.004-04:00

My Saturday was pretty lazy, although I did find a couple things at the thrift store to practice my sewing!
We also went to see my dad who was doing so so much better than the last time we saw him!
I knew he seemed tired, but I figured it was all just part of surgery.
I'm glad they went in and expressed that something just wasn't right!

Today, my friend that I normally go to the gym with wanted to ride bikes instead of going to the gym!
I was excited to go because I haven't been on my bike since last summer and I figured all the spinning classes we've been taking would have been great conditioning!
We started at her house and traveled about 13 miles before coming home, so all together, we did 26 miles!
I was definitely feeling the jelly legs when we got back though!
Then I hurried to get ready to meet my sister for a jewelry party we were supposed to go to with my mom, but as soon as I got to my sister's, my mom called to say that it was canceled!
I wasn't super excited to go, but I definitely don't like wasting gas!
I visited Ravi at work and his mom brought us super yummy Indian food that had just been made! YUM!

Oh, and funny side note:
Ravi is helping a customer who says that Ravi's mom always tells him the reason that Ravi gets Saturdays off work is so that he can spend time with me. And, you know, get to work on producing a grandchild for her. In so many words.
So then, his mom pulls up in her car, comes in, gives me a hug, and says:
"Where's my grandson?"
Um....seriously?!?!?!
What I should have said was that he was at home sleeping and licking himself.
I'm not sure she would have understood, though.
Then, she gives me the food, and as I'm eating this green bean and potato mixture, she says:
"Isn't that good? And it's so healthy too.... For the baby."
Ahhhh!
She's been so good and hasn't pressured at all really, and then today it's all coming out!
She needs to realize that kids just aren't in the cards right now for us!

Ravi and I have been spending more quality time together lately and it's been so so nice.
I love hanging out with him, but ever since we got married, he's been working so much and has had lots of other stuff on the side!
But he's been making time for me and I love it!
I don't know what's been going on, but I've been in a really good mood for so long!
Normally, I would have been feeling blue every other week!
But at the beginning of summer break, I went back through and read my New Year's Resolutions, and have been focusing on keeping a PMA and choosing to find the bright side and just be happy!

Tomorrow we're taking Sabey up to play with Sandy's pups and I'm so excited!
I love when they all get together, because they're all just so funny and unique!

Maggie and Brick!!

2010-07-24T09:54:00.006-04:00

Thursday night was so much fun!
Sandy and I had a much needed and overdue coffee date!
Oh, how I missed it!
Then, we came back and played Harry Potter Clue with Ravi.
Um...it's amazing.
It's much more complicated than regular clue...plus, if you've read the books or seen the movies (is there anyone who hasn't?!) then you know the person who has fallen under dark magic that you must save!
And for some reason, that just makes it all much more important to save them!
During our game, we had to save Ron! Poor Ron!!
But we ended up saving him and had such a good time doing it!
Then we made dinner and watched Arrested Development.
That show is too funny and this is my second time through.
I love all the characters so much!

On Friday, Ravi and I had date night!
It was so much fun!!!!
We went to dinner, which was supposed to be at Dewey's pizza, but the wait was too long.
So we headed to Spaghetti Warehouse, because they are pretty much never busy when we go, but they were packed!
So we ended up at Panera, and it was still super yummy!!
For my birthday, he bought me a ticket booklet for a local theatre that is showing movies on the weekends for the summer when there aren't plays!
We get to see 5 movies!
And last night, they were playing one of my all time favorite movies!!!!!
It was so so so so so so good!
I couldn't stop smiling at the end!
It was fun to watch it with a huge crowd and on such a big screen!
Even Ravi talked about how Paul Newman was dreamy!
And Elizabeth Taylor was gorgeous...with amazing clothes!
We went in after the lights had turned out, but when we left, I can say that we were easily the youngest people in the theater by at least 25 years!
Then, we went and had coffee and hung out and talked!
It was one of the best date nights we've had in so long and it was so sweet of him to get me all those tickets!
Next weekend, we're going to see My Fair Lady!!

Today, I'm planning on going to the thrift store right by our house to find some fabric to practice on with my sewing machine!
Then later today, we're going to visit my dad.
He had hip replacement surgery about three weeks ago, and although he was healing, it wasn't at the speed he thought it would be.
So he went to the doctor and told him that something just wasn't right and they found that his incision from surgery was infected.
So on Thursday, he went back into a very short and minor surgery where they cleaned it out!
When I talked to him yesterday he was already feeling so much better!
My mom is in a friend's wedding tonight, so we're going to hang out with him a bit so he doesn't get lonely while she's gone!

What fun things are you doing this weekend?!