Portland Trip

Last month we went to Portland, Oregon for a basketball game. Although I'm not a basketball fan, it was neat to see the L.A Lakers in action.

We took a train from Seattle to Portland. It was the first time for me on a train (in the US). The train ride went fairly well, we arrived there in about 4 hours. Om was SUPER excited thoughout the whole trip. It was hard to put him down for naps because he just wanted to explore and socialize.

Cute kid in the hotel, trying out the bed with toy in hand.

Cute kid tryin' out the bathroom sink. Mini jacuzzi anyone?

Cute kid makin' cute Shirley Temple look-alike friends on the train. Om's first girlfriend?

Cute kid passed out in the carseat during the game. He made it for about 2 hours before we had to put him down for a nap amidst all the noise. Om sleeps all bundled up.

LA Laker's vs. Portland Trail Blazers. Kobe Bryant is in there somewhere!

Cute kid with his 'rents. He's looking at me so admiringly! LOL...15 years later he may not like us this much. :D

Another question for the desis

Again this question can be answered by anyone, just thought the desi folks would relate!

Maybe some of you don't get bothered by this, but I really mind the system of making food in traditional indian households. I know everyone has their own system and that I'm generalizing, and as the number of kids increases or work schedules the logistics of dinner can change, but I've seen this system in both my Mom/Dad's side of the family and in G's family in India.

What I'm talking about is the lady of the house cooking fresh chappattis (indian tortilla bread) and serving them hot off the stove as they are being made. This means the lady has to stand at the stove while the rest of the family digs in.

This bugs me. I enjoy eating with everyone in the house. Together. On the table. Having someone at the stove makes me incredibly guilty and I can't enjoy the food I'm eating. It's almost as if they are a hired cook who do not deserve to eat first. And I do NOT like the idea of "switching." This means that one lady stands at the stove and cooks chappatis while the second lady eats, then the second lady switches places with the first lady while she eats. I enjoy sitting together & eating together, even if it means the chappatis are slighly less warm than they would be hot off the stove. Hello, there is a reason we have those plastic dishes with the lid that keep chappatis warm!

And it doesn't just apply to chappatis. I've seen it done with pakoras (fried veggie fritters) and all sorts of foods that require one to stand at the stove for sometime.

My MIL has talked wistfully of her desire to have me at the stove making chapattis while she eats. I don't mind serving anyone, but the idea of feeding everyone and then sitting down makes me feel odd...during the course of a meal I can get up and hand things/get things, but eating seperately feels weird. Of course, the man of the house (son, husband etc) is never expected to stand at the stove! And if they do, all the ladies should scream in delight.

One day, when Om is older and realizes what is happening around him, we will all eat at the table together. I will not allow chaos in my house with one person on the laptop, television blaring, another person in the kitchen cooking.

Minnesota Trip

Om went on an airplane for the first time in early December. Silly me of course did not take pictures on the plane, but there wasn't much excitment since Om was in deep sleep for the entire 3 hour flight. AWESOME doesn't even begin to describe it...but he did manage to do potty on the plane, which was a tad bit annoying. On the way to Minnesota the flight was empty so Om and I got 3 seats to ourselves to spread out. The extra seats were helpful during takeoff and landing to set Om down, but otherwise he remained in my lap (he refused to sleep on the seat). On the return flight we were upgraded to business class so we had ample room to adjust. Om also fell asleep for the duration of the flight. Fellow travelers around me were amazed that I had such a peaceful baby. (They do not know him very well hehe).

We spent a week at Nana and Nani's house. They were ecstatic to see Om, especially my Dad because he had not yet met Om. I didn't study the entire time in Minnesota and I also ate too much and did not go to the gym. Both my parents work so I was with Om 24/7 except for little bits here and there when my Mom took Om while I had a nap. Om also got his first kitchen sink bath. My brother cautiously picked up a baby for perhaps the first time in his life.

I cleaned out the closet in my parents house. Om enjoyed watching me sort out items to give to charity. Somewhere among all those bags is a baby. :-) Some are bigger than him.

Kitchen sink. He looks so much like G in this pic!

My handsome boyfriend in a Santa suit. All that is missing is his bag of toys and a hat. :-)

Cracking up at some joke with Nani.

Jackie was always nearby Om. It was the first time in Jackie's 11 years to meet a baby. He probably was wondering what the hell is this thing that totally ignores me! He was also confused because we all speak in high -pitched "baby talk" to Om, which Jackie is used to, so he would always rush over thinking we were talking to him!

Jackie jumping up while Om is in Nana's arms.

Happy Birthday G

We celebrated G's 34th Birthday on Dec. 19th. Since we were snowed in (this coming from a Minnesotan who transferred to Washington...sort of ridiculous) we kept the celebration low - key at home.

My gift to G was a homemade cake. G said he loves Chinese pineapple sponge cakes, but I couldn't find any decent recipes online (most of them required steaming the cake in a wok...too complicated for moi'). Instead, I used reduced sugar yellow cake mix. The water in the cake mix was replaced with evaporated milk, and the middle layer frosting was cream cheese mixed with vanilla flavor and crushed pineapple. For the top layer of frosting I used heavy cream whipped in the KitchenAid mixer (I love that thing!) with very little sugar added, then topped the whole cake with coconut and edible Christmas decorations. The cake came out not too sweet (some cakes are total sugar overload) but tasty. I could have easily purchased a cake from a bakery, but I enjoy doing stuff like this...I think in the future I'm going to invest in some cake decorating supplies and actually make the cakes prettier. Maybe borrow some books from the library on cake decorating. HAHA dream on...when I actually have time (which is never).

Anyway, Happy Birthday to my sweet, melt - in - water, cute cute cute, G.

How I will look once I return from Minnesota

What I've consumed so far in my parents house...

• Fried Chicken & mashed potatoes
• Scrambled eggs (in oil) with toast (white)
• Cookies
• 2% milk in all cups of chai
• Chicken curry

And that's just in 2 days. Ack. Thank goodness I went grocery shopping today and got lots of healthy stuff to snack on here and not blow my weight loss (by too much!). Tomorrow I plan on cooking dinner, it's vegetarian day at our house (my parents don't eat meat on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays...too funny). Oh and I need to do some much needed cloth shopping for myself. Mom is home all day tomorrow so Om will stay with her until past lunchtime. He's been really fussy at his grandparents home...new place, new people, new sounds.

First Anniversary

We celebrated our first wedding anniversary on November 26th. Here is a list of the events of the past year, in no particular order:

• 9 months of sickness (AKA pregnancy)
• Found out at 20 weeks that our gorgeous baby boy had bilateral club feet.
• I moved from MN to WA permanently, big road trip across North Dakota, Montana, to transport my car etc.
• We moved from G's apartment to a rental house. Various weekends spent looking for houses and lots of time spent packing/unpacking.
• Purchasing new furniture/electronics for the house.
• I traveled twice to Minnesota to visit my parents
• G went to China twice (work related)
• Trip to Cancun, Mexico (last vacation before baby)
• G went to California for work twice, I joined him once and we visited my best friend in San Jose and his cousin's family.
• Lots of dinner parties & outings with various friends.
• I worked from home (on a contract).
• A trip to Vancouver with friends (G's work related)
• Weekend road trips to Cascades, Leavenworth, Lake Chelan, etc.
• Baby shower weekend, two of my close friends and brother visited.
• Baby Om arrived. My Mom visited for 2 weeks and then G's Mom came to stay for a while.

G took the day off Wednesday to hang out at home. In the morning I gave G his anniversary gift. Later, we had dinner at an Italian place in Snoqualmie, WA and then we went to Roaring River Bed & Breakfast in North Bend, WA. It was nice to get away from baby duties, especially since G's Mom is here to take care of Om so we did not have to place him with a babysitter. Nevertheless, I missed Om. :-)

Happy Thanksgiving

I've been seeing them all over Facebook and the internet...reasons to be thankful. Made me start thinking as well. It's time to make another wonderful fantastic list! I am thankful for: (in no particular order)

• My parents and brother, who have supported me, give me freedom to be myself (this is the most important...I can't stress how crucial it is to be yourself at all costs!), and lots of laughter, even if we don't agree most of the time.
• My friends, who give me courage to stay strong, vent my feelings, and express myself.
• My husband, for his love, affection, support, and patience.
• My baby, because not everyone can have children and not everyone has the joy that comes with seeing your baby change and grow.
• For acquaintances, for quietly helping me enrich my life and give me moral support at random times in life.
• Ex - friends / boyfriends, for teaching me lessons and letting me make mistakes to help me get a better understanding of myself and what is important in life.
• The health of my loved ones, my pets, and myself.
• Always having something to eat, that tastes GOOD, place to sleep, bed to sleep, blankets, and enought money to pay most of my bills.
• Laptop, cell phone, internet, TV, electricity, heat, good soap/toiletries, car, clothes (you get the idea)
• My education
• BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS...libraries.
• privilege to vote, apply for any job.
• SLEEP.

The End. :-)

P.S...in the above picture, isn't a little creepy that Snoopy is serving turkey (a bird) while his friend Woodstock, who is ALSO a bird, hovers above him? WEIRD.

Monthly Update

I have been so lazy with updating the blog, it's been too long...I keep thinking of things during the day to blog about and then never get around to actually posting. Meh. Of course now I've forgotten all the stuff I wanted to blog. Oh well.

The above picture is from Diwali (Hindu Festival of lights). We got all dressed up for a party, I had fun trying to wear a silk sari (one of the saris I recieved during our wedding). Got some much needed help from a friend (thanks Amrita!). Om wore a traditional outfit that was a bit on the large size for him.

We also celebrated Halloween by handing out candy to kids in our neighborhood. Om wore his very first costume, a little mouse. We had SO MUCH fun with him in costume...Does little mousey need some milk? Is mousey wousey sleepy? Hehe.

Picture of my two favorite men. G went to Behjing for a week for work, so Om, Grandma and I spent a week together. It was interesting because, without G around, we ended up going to bed at 8pm every night! Too funny.

ELECTION DAY - I exercised my right to vote on Nov 4th at a local church. Due to my last name change there was a bit of confusion (my driver's license still has my maiden name), but the election official (really old man who could barely see) decided to let me vote based on my YMCA membership card. Hehe.

I usually vote for the issues and not the people, but I just love that a skinny dark dude with a funny name was elected. Gives me hope for my children. :-)

100th post and Birthday

This is my 100th post...yippee! I also turned 29 today...woot woot one year away from the big 30!

Let's see...what have I accomplished in 29 years? How about a fun list?:-) Time to brag and remind myself of what else I need to finish before turning 30! (This list could be VERY long, if you add all my failures, missteps, and learning experiences...so we'll just keep it simple).

1. Bachelor's of Science in Bio/Chem

2. Juris Doctor (JD) of Law (finished law school)

3. Admitted to the Washington State Bar

4. Got married.

5. Had a kid.

Before next September I want to pass the patent bar exam. I don't have any other goals, but I could easily add finding a job and losing 30 pounds of pregnancy weight here. I'm going to play that by ear, right now I'm in my first month post partum so it's hard to think that far!

One year ago I would never have guessed I would be living in a house with my CHILD, hubby, and mother in law. Ack!

We had a low key day for the birthday. I went to the temple with my mom in law (more for her than for me) and then had lunch at home. Later G took me for a couple's massage at a spa in Bellevue...it was relaxing, post partum you definetly need a massage! Thanks to the silly goose hubby for the gift! Muah I love you.

I"m tired

And sick of the heat. It's been in the 90's here in WA, and our house doesn't have AC (rarely does it get above 75 here so really don't need it).

I want to spend all day at work and come home to a home cooked meal. I don't want to clean or cook or do ANYTHING anymore. Blah. I want to get work projects done and go shopping for fun stuff and go excersise.

Can't wait until my Mom and Mom in law get here.

Long week over

So since June 1st I've been working on setting up our new house almost daily. UGH. We don't even have that much stuff, but somehow being preggo slows the whole process down.

This past week we had our baby blessing party and two of my undergraduate college friends visited me here in Washington. It was great to see them, and to have them see me preggo. :-) On Wednesday, Ida, my friend since freshman year college who lived down the hall from me in the dorm, arrived in the evening. The drive home from the airport was long due to traffic but we got a chance to catch up in the car. We came home and we planned a bit for the baby blessing party (games etc.). Then we watched Monsoon Wedding since she hadn't seen it.

Thursday morning Ida and I went shopping at Baby's R Us and had fun picking out stuff to use in the party (and of course use later when baby arrives). This was the first time I actually ventured into that store....7 months into the pregnancy. :-) Then we stopped for coffee and talked our ears off. We picked up Shilpa from the airport after that (I met her sophomore year of college in the biology labs) and went to a Thai place for lunch. We went to Pikes Place in Seattle and walked around for a long time. We went back home and Shilpa and Ida watched our reception DVD from our wedding. After dinner we watched another movie and passed out.

Friday we woke up a bit late and leisurely got ready. We went to Snoqualamie Falls park which was really close to our house (relatively speaking). Ida was a bit afraid of heights. We had lunch at a really gross Chinese place and then went to see the Sex and the City movie. I thought that Big was going to die in the movie so I was surprised with the ending. After that we went shopping at Linens and Things and then returned to Baby s R Us where both Ida and Shilpa pitched in and got our baby a cute swing that can be turned into a rocker once he is a toddler. We stuck around Bellevue for a while and picked up G, then went to a south indian place for dinner while we waited for my brother to arrive at the bus transit center (the traffic was too crazy to risk going to the airport to pick him up). My brother had checked in his little carry - on, claiming that my Mom had packed bricks in it....which was nuts because that just delayed him another 30 minutes. Later when I checked my Mom had just packed a few indian sweets (ladoos) and the carryon was not heavy at all. Sigh...little brothers.

We got home and my bro was pretty hyper on God knows what, so I had to call Mom up and have her talk to him to settle him down a bit (yes at age 28 and 25 we still have brawls that involve tattling to our parents to pacify things). We watched Monsoon Wedding again because both my bro and Shilpa hadn't seen it. Ida went to bed early.

The next morning I got up earlier than everyone and started putting things together for the baby blessing. It was actually pretty easy, the main thing was making sure everyone got breakfast and woke up in time to take showers. G went shopping for a few last minute items and the rest of us finished decorating the living room. I had fun putting on my sari that was tailored during my wedding days. The blouse BARELY fit over my chest, but I willed it into fitting because I really had no other choice to wear for the party (besides western clothes). The sari was gorgeous and one of my favorites.

The party was a good time, we had lots of games and food. I recieved lots of new and used items for the baby. Shilpa had to leave during the party since she had to get back to California to start packing for her big move to Detroit. My brother took an hour smoke break during the party and then took a 3 hour nap...so he basically only participated for 1 hour of the party. Sigh...what can a big sister do? The rest of the day we chilled at home and then drove Ida for her red-eye flight back to Minnesota.

Sunday we took my brother to Levenworth, a little touristy German town in Washington. We walked around and took silly pictures. Monday G had to go to work so I took my brother shopping for new shoes to wear to work. After hitting 5 stores in Bellevue Square he finally decided on a pair. Then I drove him through Seattle to show him the Space needle etc. He wasn't too interested in actually stopping and seeing anything so we just drove through and went back home. We were going to see a movie but none of the timings were right. Tuesday morning he left for Minnesota. He of course didn't tell Mom and Dad when he was returning so I got a panicked phone call from Dad wondering what time his flight was landing. My parents do not use cell phones and do not frequent the internet, so my bro was calling the landline at home when he arrived while both of my parents were at work. Eventually confusion resulted because Mom left work early to pick him up but he ended up taking a taxi home. Such is the organization and planning of my immature brother.

None of your business

If a couple is having trouble conceving, or the couple is choosing not to concieve at the moment, or the couple is having a baby with a deformity (as in our case with the baby's clubbed feet), or the couple is having a whole soccer team of kids...it's up to the family and friends to support them. Of course that's not always the case.

My sister in law and her husband have been trying to have kids for a long time. The most frustrating part is that the physicans and tests tell them that they are totally normal, and that it's just a mystery as to why fertilization is not occuring. If they were given a reason maybe they could move on and stop trying and accept their fate. But no, there is no reason so they are hangiing onto the hope that it will happen. My heart goes out to them because they truly want a chlld of their own and have been trying all sorts of procedures and drugs to aid the process. The procedures and drugs are not exactly great for a woman's body. My sister in law has been so doped up on hormones that she's not even sure if she'll have her period again. The side effects are terrible, and the procedures themselves are invasive and uncomfortable. Each month they drive several hours away to have the procedures done because the hospitals where they live suck for obgyn issues.

And here I am, never asked God for a baby and got knocked up on my honeymoon. I feel so guilty discussing things like baby kicks and shopping for baby clothes with her. I never dreamed of setting up baby's room, what I will teach the baby, what I will do with the baby....that started when I learned I was preggo. I still cringe when I see the price of a crib or breast pump. I'd rather purchase a purse or plane ticket than spend oodles on my baby (that's the type of mom I am....). But she's been dreaming of these things for ages. She has so many names picked out, what the baby will call her, what types of dresses she will put on the baby.

On top of everything she and her husband get so many unwanted comments about their age and lack of children. I mean, here is a couple who is busting their butt trying everything under the sun to concieve, and they get mean and hurtful comments from some of their closest family members. By USA standards, they aren't even that old. By the old generation indian standards they are way behind.

It just pisses me off.

Week in Review

So this past week before Memorial weekend I've been at my parents house in Minnesota chilling while G was in China for a work related trip. It was hectic, because we moved out of our apartment and into a rental home 2 days before we each left for our flights.

I would definetly recommend hiring movers. We hired ours off of Craigslist and they were relatively decent priced for what they were willing to do (pick up basically anything I point to, including trash bags full of clothes that ripped open). Somehow, despite me not carrying a thing and even having lunch that day at a neighbor's house, I was EXHAUSTED. My legs and back ached from standing too much and not changing positions frequently. At night we went back to the apartment and cleaned out as much as we could. We figured they would charge us a cleaning fee anyhow so why go nuts. The next day I spent unpacking the monstrous amount of kitchen items we own, and also managed to set up one of the bathrooms. Then we had friends over for an easy dinner, and the next morning G and I packed for our trips.

Reaching Minnesota after a grueling week was nice...I chatted with my family way into the night and slept snuggled next to my adorable puppy. The next day we watched all of our wedding DVDs from G's side. Staying at home overall was okay, but after some time you remember WHY you didn't live with them during college and WHY you are happy to set up your own home with your own rules. Dad still watches evening TV at full blast, dinner is still eaten really late..etc. Now add to the mix a brother that's home after college and jobless, who is maturing at a really slow rate (compared to me...at his age I had a job offer, was graduating law school, had purchased a car, and had met the man I was going to marry). I'm terribly critical of his habits. I think I'm even worse now with pregnancy due to hormones. I can't stand irresponsibility. I forget things all the time, I'm a total space cadet, but once I realize something needs to be done I'm all over it. Bro hasn't really grasped such a concept yet. Mom says he will mature at age 30...let's see. Anyway so there was some nice brother-sister clashes that left me yoga breathing for baby's sake.

I also managed to hang out with my friend George a few times. We went baby clothes shopping at the Mall of America (poor George!) and the sales ladies believed we were a couple because I had forgotten my wallet and he had to whip his out like he's the Dad. :-) Then we went to the Minneapolis Museum of Art, which I thought was a really relaxing, cost - free way of spending time with a friend. After all that walking we met up with my old roomate Liz for dinner at the University of Minnesota's Dinky Town. It's funny hanging out with single friends who love to ask "So how's married life like?" and "So we've heard the good, now what's BAD about married life?" The same thing goes with pregnancy, asking "So does it hurt?" etc...I think it's their way of feeling comfortable in their single-dom. :-) I was pretty honest though, yeah marriage has it's good and bad, but I think the good outweighs any bad. I really don't miss the struggles and drama of being single and looking. Most of my single girl friends either have serious drama in their current relationships or are extremely lonely and frustrated with not finding anyone.

Liz asked me (after complaining about her current BF) "So how did you KNOW that G wouldn't be like the other boyfriends and would be a good husband?" Hmm...I really couldn't answer that. For one thing there were no hard examples of bad behavior on his part to make me hesitate...sure he could do certain things better but then so can I...sure I had doubts with him as well that were gradually relieved during our dating period. But he pretty much met all of my non-negotiables (per Dr. Phil). There are some things you just CAN'T compromise, and too many single women are blinded by love/lust into thinking things will change so it's okay to compromise for now.

Anyway back to the week...Saw Harold and Kumar Escape to Guatanomo Bay with Bro...of course thought the first one was better, although we had a few laughs with this one. Harold is much better in this sequel...the first one we liked Kumar better.

Went to my old work place to talk to my manager about the remote work I'm doing for him and also to just catch up on things...I really do miss working in an office sometimes!

Saw an ear, nose and throat specialist for the never-ending saga with my nose. He was really thorough and it was relieving to finally have someone take my complaints seriously and look inside all my head cavities with funky machines. His diagnosis was severe rhinitus caused by pregnancy. There is no infection (makes sense since no one has caught what I have), there is no sinus swelling (there goes the Neti-Pot!) and nothing except for steriod sprays will really work. Of course I'm going to avoid steroid use until after baby is born, until then I have to just keep using my addictive Afrin Nasal Spray that the doctor said is not great but at least it's giving me some form of relief so I can sleep/eat.

My parents hosted a brunch for the friends who traveled to India for our wedding back in November. Ida showed up in one of the saris she purchased while on the trip, and Dad got to feed George more green chillies. Bri learned how to make chai from Mom.

Conversation with Mom

Mom: So you need to look up the Durga Chalisa (a religious text) online and read it daily from now on.

Me: Umm no freaking way Mama.

Mom: STOP trying to be Christian!! You guys are not Christian!!

Me: (flabbergasted & confused as to how she came up with this) Mama how does not doing certain Hindu rituals make me Christian? Do we go to church? No! I told you that I'd go to the temple once this week for your sake.

Mom: It is my duty to tell you these things, you two are HINDU.

Me: Mama, I believe in God generally, and I enjoy participating in various Hindu holidays, but I just can't pray daily, do the little things you want me to do because I just don't believe in it. And G is an athiest, btw if I haven't already told you 10x.

Mom: MAKE G believe in God and MAKE him do the holiday rituals with you. You need to read these texts for your baby's sake! You two are making horrible mistakes for the health of your child.

Me: No. No. No. I will go to the temple sometime, but I will not read the chalisa daily. This is all you are going to get from me.

Mom: (And the rants continue from her side and my harsh responses to make her understand).