This weekend I was finally able to recapture that feeling I had in Manihi, that feeling of freedom, wind in my hair, propelling myself forward at a fast clip by only the power of my own two legs. That feeling of riding a bike.
Three years ago (three!!) I wrote an article about riding a bike in Manihi. I've wanted a bike for a while; I haven't had one since I was in the fifth grade. When we moved to the house, the first order of business was to buy a bike. Raju managed to do this, but I, as usual, drug my feet. I didn't know what I wanted. Actually, I did; I just didn't know where to go about getting it. So while dragging my feet, I just stated that first sentence, "I don't know what I want..."
Big sigh....
This weekend, I was determined to buy a bike. I woke from my nap and told Raju, "I'm going to the bike store." He, of course, knows what this means. I kid myself into thinking I'm just looking. He knows I'll walk out with a bike.
And I did! I guess I actually rode out with a bike. The bike in the pic above to be exact. It needs a basket and a bell, and I still need a crash helmet, but I had fun this weekend. We rode to the pizzeria, we rode on the trail. We rode around the neighborhood, then we tucked the bikes in for the night.
Hopefully they'll get some use this week too. I don't want this to be just a weekend thing. It feels too good. It puts a smile on my face. I now have grand plans of riding to the lake, pic-a-nick-ing (watching, of course, to make sure Yogi isn't around). Maybe strapping a backpack with camera on and discovering new places. We'll see where it leads.
Ahhhhhh! To have a bike.
Labels: Fun Times
I cannot believe I've been writing this blog for over 4 years now. From the first post in Missouri with Milo enjoying the fresh air to the latest hiatus followed by domestic bliss, it's interesting to read what I was up to then and the thoughts that swirled through my head.
A few days ago we celebrated our second anniversary. On our first anniversary we just chilled out on our deck, enjoyed the view of the mountains, and talked all night while drinking a bottle of Krug. For the second anniversary, we chilled out on *our* deck - the one we spent a weekend staining a month ago. Switch Dom for Krug, and last year's conversation for something more light-hearted and less philosophical. Oh, and switch out the champagne glasses to the kitschy, heart-shaped, freebie glasses we used at our wedding, for nostalgia's sake.
Then we decided we needed to eat this time around. Out we went to Zeni, and Ethiopian restaurant, where we enjoyed our favorite, kitfo. After eating all the meats, a little injera was left, and Raju showed his artistic side by carving Orion's Belt into injera.
All in all it was a great night. Piece by piece it was a great night.
One year ago:
Selling prints, reflecting on the honeymoon, spawning the idea for the gray roomTwo years ago:
We were gettingggg marrrrrriiiiiiiiieeeedddd!!Labels: Day in the Life, Domestic Life, Fun Times, Happy, Reminiscences
Wednesday night we celebrated. After a few years of filing papers capped by a 1 hour ceremony, Raju became a US citizen.
The swearing in ceremony was interesting, though it left me wondering if the first thing a president does is make a video that welcomes new citizens. Does this happen before he is in office? Or, in that small cusp, do new citizens get to watch the former president welcome them to this country?
At any rate, gee-dub is the usual embarrassment, talking about religious freedoms and looking as if he's reading the captions right off the screen. It really is hard to take him seriously.
But alas, celebrations ensued - handmade craft, beer, hamburgers, good friends and Rocky IV. Welcome to being an American!
Labels: Fun Times
I stumbled upon this photo while combing through some of the formals last night. I'm so glad Tin captured this moment... this is us.
I'm not sure what I expected from the wedding. I think combing through articles on the Knot, Brides.com, Martha Stewart weddings, etc. had braced me for a bunch of keyed-up assholes to attend my wedding, even though my family (and Raju's family, now OUR family) are anything but.
So I'm glad it worked out that everyone was so happy and seemed to enjoy themselves both at the rehearsal and at the wedding. And no one took themselves too seriously, including Raju and myself. We had fun, we celebrated, we partied, and everyone pitched in to make sure everything went perfectly... or at least close to perfect.
But I don't suppose the magazines and wedding blogs make this stuff up. Every vendor we dealt with gushed about how great our family was, how much fun everyone had, including themselves.
So, I guess we're just really lucky and really blessed. And we know some fun people.
Labels: Fun Times, Happy, Memories from the Wedding Celebrations, Wedding
After all was said and done, I'm glad we blended so much of the Indian ceremony into our California celebration. The altar area was beautifully decorated and so many people got to play a part in the wedding. And, it was funny to have the Hindu priest ask us how to pronounce the name "Harrison" (I guess we're not the only ones baffled by some names). I also got to show off my freshly pedicured feet while stepping on rose petals (seriously, some people pay good money to have their feet rest on rose petals... I think a few did
at the nail spa).
Plus, I've decided I'm going to adopt my husband's penchant for exaggerating the truth in order to spin a better story. Instead of "I circled the sacred fire 3 times," I think I will say, "I performed a death-defying stunt in the middle of the ceremony. I was a daredevil, circling a flaming coconut, each time getting closer and closer, with a 10 foot train on my wedding dress!" I'll have to let him finish the tale with some out-of-this-world meaning for making it around the fire, as I'm not nearly as good as he is yet... but I'm working on it.
Labels: Fun Times, Observances, Surreal, Wedding
We forgot to pack the flowers, but we did meet quite a few... well, interesting people. Tuesday we packed in a lot while visiting San Francisco. We saw the Golden Gate bridge, drove through Sausalito, down Lombard Street, hit the Haight and visited the Grateful Dead house. Then, down to the wharf and Ghiradelli Square, topped off with a dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.
Then, yesterday we went to see the otters!! I've been wanting to see the Wild About Otters exhibit for a while in Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Last night Tiff finally got here and we hit the Pizzeria again, then came back and had our pict made with the sphere the people down the street made...
So, check out the photos! Again, some haven't been rotated, but here they are, unsorted :-)
All Festivities of the Wedding WeekMonterey Bay AquariumSan FranciscoDeep Sea Fishing in Santa CruzMiscellaneous Photos from the WeekLabels: Day in the Life, Fun Times, Happy, Wedding
Yesterday we were up at the crack of dawn, after 2 hours of drunken sleep. Mom drove the caravan down to Santa Cruz, where we watched the sun come up while listening to the bark of the sea lions.
Once we were on the boat we got set up with some squid on the line and waited to hear the magic words, "Okay, drop your lines."
Everyone caught some fish... Though Tammy's kept getting thrown back (she was catching rare and elusive fish).
Tammy all geared up:
Courtney's first fish:
Raju's catch:
Martin's pretty red fish:
Bob and Mom hooked fish at the same time:
I think we caught around 50 fish in all. Last night was good eats for sure.
You can check out all of the photos here. I haven't yet rotated all of the photos, and they are wacky out of order, but enjoy! (Some photos are mine, some photos are from Martin's camera, and there are even a few movies from Martin at the end.)
Labels: Day in the Life, Fun Times, Wedding
Today is opposite day. Remember opposite day? When your friends (or enemies, more likely) would say or do something, and you would say "Nuh-uh! It's opposite day!"
Last weekend -- I think it was last weekend, it feels so long ago -- last weekend we had the flights from hell on Delta. The first two flights were majorly delayed, but we make it to the gate in Cincinatti 4 minutes before the plane was supposed to leave, and that plane, the one that would have taken me where I wanted to go, was already gone.
So we get some meal vouchers and eat. Then we chill in the Cincinatti airport, where you could find a private area, because no one and no planes were there.
But, we make it to TN, and we have a fine time there, partying at Bob's and eating a fine lunch cooked by my uncle.
Sunday evening was more fun times on Delta. Delayed again, of course, the other flight wasn't. They send us to San Francisco insted of San Jose. They give us meal vouchers. That's what I want at midnight in SF - a meal voucher. How about a voucher to pay for transport from SFO to SJC?? That was 60 bucks and an hour and a half lost from my pocket.
Oh well. At least I got to spend some time in Tennessee, and Raju came with me.
Labels: Day in the Life, Fun Times, Happy
