Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts

Friday, May 8, 2009

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















Thursday, April 23, 2009

India Packing Checklist



Suitcase #1 : All of Om's outgrown clothes (months 0 - 7), receiving blankets, boppy pillow, and baby gym. (These are items we are giving to my sister in law who is expecting).

Suitcase #2 : G's clothes, my clothes to wear during one month stay. Also personal care items etc. I will have less clothes because I CANNOT BEAR HEAT in jeans and western wear so am having some cotton salwar kameez's stitched for me there. G is lucky, he can just wear his shorts. Do men realize how easy they have it in this world?

Suitcase #3 : 5 boxes of formula, 3 packs of diapers, some baby food, medicines, baby sunblock.

Suitcase #4 : Whatever doesn't fit in suitcase #3, plus a few gifts. and Om's summer wardrobe. (18 assorted cotton onesies, 3 pairs of shorts, sleep sack, warm romper in case it gets chilly in the evening in Shimla, hats, and socks)

Suitcase #5 : Since Om is coming with us and we are traveling business class, we get one extra suitcase for baby items. This suitcase will contain extra items that don't fit in suitcases 1 - 4, baby wipes, plus a safety booster seat that Om no longer uses because we got this instead. (We'll use the safety seat in India and then leave it there).

Also add a stroller, carseat, and two carry-ons.

Shoot me now.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Remembering Minnesota Bridge Collapse


I can't believe it's already been a year, a year ago when I was still living in MN...I feel like I just sat down with Mom and Dad in the living room to see the TV news coverage and remarking how Dad had just driven over the bridge an hour before its collapse (Dad was on a company field trip in a school bus, which drove over the bridge at 5pm and the collapse was subsequently at 6:05pm).

Sunday, May 25, 2008

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.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Road Trip

We are back from MN with my beloved Hindu Accord. The trip was fairly decent, we encountered some bad weather in western Montana but made it through in time to book a hotel for the night. Luckily we found a place to stay, most of the hotels were booked solid. It also helps that my car is safe...it drove great on all the icy spots. We logged approximately 1700 miles, traveling through North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Washington. I also managed to get a speeding ticket leaving Minnesota. Blaaaah.

Now I just need to clean up the aftermath...Blah I hate packing up stuff and then having to UN -PACK. The car is still full of my clothes and stuff from MN. Looks like a project for the weekend.

Here are some snaps of our trip:

Montana:
Idaho:
I look constipated.

Washington:

Friday, February 22, 2008

Going back to Minnesota

This Sunday am headed back to MN since late October...going for about 5 days and have TONS to do while there. I need to get my car checked for its tires etc since G & I will be driving back to Seattle next weekend (the whole point of this trip is to pack up the last of my stuff and get my beloved Hindu Accord). Then I also need to clean up the bedroom in my parents house and organize what I need to bring back to this teensy apartment. Somewhere in there I'm meeting up with friends and making a stop at my previous workplace (where I am now working on a per project basis remotely) to check on why my email account has not been renewed. The friends part is hard, because all I want to do is hang out with each of them seperately, but since I'm there for such a short time I think the best I'll manage is a combined dinner meeting one of the nights. I'm excited to show them the wedding video, there are some hilarious moments in there!

Can't wait to sleep snuggled next to my squishy faced jack russell terrier...I miss my dog! Oh and of course gonna make sure Mom makes her preggo daughter some yummy chicken biryani and daikon radish (mooli) parathas...oh and her famous indian style chicken wings...and I could go on and on.

Fingers crossed that the weather agrees with us and that G and I make it safely back to WA without any major delays through the mountain passes.