Henna Patterns

More henna patterns. To answer some questions I've been getting...

The henna paste takes about an hour or so to dry. After that, it starts peeling off. Once the henna is completely dry, you can even rub your hands to shake off the excess.





The color darkens overnight. But you can't get your hands wet. Some people apply sugar syrup or lime juice to their hands. I don't because I can't sleep with sugary, lemony hands.






Everyone has a different reaction to the henna. Some people get very dark colors and some don't. There are all kinds of stories about the significance of this.

Positive people:

If the color is light, it means that you will love your husband with all your heart.
If the color is very dark, that means your husband loves you very much.


Negative people:

If the color is light, you are very cold hearted person.
If the color is dark, you are over emotional and dramatic.


Henna lasts for about 2 weeks and then starts to fade away. It takes about a week for it to completely fade away.

On a side note, the pesky, annoying "Anonymous" commenter has been banished from this website. He can visit but only post a comment if he signs in. I had to threaten him with public humiliation on facebook, doing something scandalous that would ruin his future political career, and the best thing that works, "no more college money for you."

Sigh.

Henna 2

This is me and my henna hands. Like I said before, the henna lady applies henna on one hand, and tells you to come back in an hour. She wants the hand to dry before applying it on the other hand.

I told this lady that I had very little patience and could sit still only for about 15 minutes. She took 10 minutes to apply henna on each hand. After an hour, the henna dries and falls off. No worries. Just don't get your hand wet.

And here is why you need at least one dry hand...

My Henna

So enough serious stuff.

This week I want to write about this fabulous wedding that I attended during my vacation.

Unlike most american weddings I've attended, Indian wedding last for days. The wedding I attended started on Thursday and wrapped up on the wee hours of Sunday.

We arrived in Atlanta on Thursday afternoon and stayed with a some of my hubby's old college friends. It was the first time I'd met them so I was a little apprehensive but they were simply wonderful. They opened up their home and hearts for us. People like that are simply too hard to find.

On thursday evening, we went to the henna ceremony. Here is my manly man's hand with the henna. I wish I had those delicate hands but I don't... Sigh...

At henna ceremony, the host of the wedding hires some professional henna artists. All the women, married or unmarried get henna applied. There is also food and of course drinks. The henna artists apply henna on one hand and then ask you to come back after an hour for the other hand. So the henna dries and you can at least use one hand at a given point.

After the henna dries completely, you can rub it off. But you are not supposed to get your hands wet until the next morning.

Traditionally in India, men don't get this applied. But here in USA, men get some symbols too. They want to join in on the fun.

Have you ever had henna applied?

Pottsville

Top 10 reasons why we should all move to Pottsville

10. The mayor of the town is a super cool guy.

9. No blaring sirens. No unruly tourist.

8. Where bicycles fly off and land in your front yard.

7. The mayor of the town is also the gallery owner and the handy man. He'll reupholster your furniture and make cabinets for you. All for a meal.

6. Green friendly. Old tires are converted into flower planters. The mayor picks up the trash on roadside.


5. Where the fog embraces the river every day. Where watching nature is more entertaining than watching TV.

4. Where the dog is Life and life is a dawg.

3. Where the birds build nests in the most unusual places. And the mayor take care of them.

2. Where green stuff grows in abundance! Ahem. Need I say more?

1. It's Mythos' birthday. There is a party and we are all invited!




Happy birthday Dan! I wish you a wonderful year! Thank you for keeping us entertained!

She's Gone

And she is gone.

As quick as that...

She may have been in her 70s but she was the essence and everything that represents life.

I wrote and rewrote this post for over three hours. I wrote anecdotes but deleted them. Words are simply not adequate. Words fail to express what we all feel.

May she rest in peace. Sending many positive thoughts her family's way...

Forsyth Park

Here is the gorgeous Forsyth park in Savannah.

Happy Friday everyone!

This weekend I am going to stay at home and organize my closet. Every morning as I get ready to go to work, I have a hard time finding something to wear. I have piles of clothes but where are they? I have nothing to wear!

What I need to do is go into my walk in closet do a whole bunch of laundry and give away the clothes that I no longer wear (don't fit me). It has been years since I've done that.

So that's what I am going to do this weekend. How about you? What are your plans? Surely they are more exciting than mine. Do tell!

Sucker for Paula Deen

At Paula Deen's shop.

The other day, my friend Carol and I were looking at all my Savannah photos. When we saw this one, both of us looked at each other and burst out laughing.

It is just so odd. Maybe Carol will comment about it. There are all the Paula magazines that say, Paula! Paula! Paula! Paula! Her face is on every magazine. With almost the same expression.

Then there is this kid in overalls with a lollipop/sucker sitting on the magazines. He has freckles and a goofy smile. And he is saying, "Hey Y'ALL!"

The other kid is plumpish wearing very unfashionable clothes and has a little toy in his hand. And he says, "Hey Y'ALL!"

In between them is a big fat chicken. Which was probably cooked right after getting its portrait done. Probably with a recipe from one of the Paula magazines.

How odd. Surreal.

I took this photo for Janice who wonders why I never say y'all even though I am from Texas. Just like I took the photo of the mannequins I posted yesterday for Carol. These aren't things I would typically photograph but somehow my eye caught these and I took the photos. Somehow, somewhere, I was influenced by them.

What are your reactions to this photo? Am I way off? Is it bizarre to you or just normal? I would love to know!


PS: Thanks Janice for sending me a photo of your tits:)

Creepy Mannequins

Some very creepy mannequins I saw at Tybee Island. They looked like children of the corn. And the eyes followed me everywhere!

Yes I know I get creeped out easily but there is something seriously freaky about this. Does this creep you out? Or is it just me?

Jelly Fish

Did I tell you that my favorite thing about the trip was the visit to the aquarium in Atlanta? I guess I did.

Watching this fish was almost surreal. I felt like I was in a sci-fi movie. I could have watched it float away for hours. So peaceful!

On a completely different topic, I heard this funny conversation yesterday and had to share with you.

Guy 1: Man! I am so glad the weekend is over! Now I can come to work and relax!!!

Guy 2: How come? Are you married too?

LOL.

How about you? Heard any funny conversations that you want to share?

Leafy Seadragon

See that leafy looking things? That is actually called a leafy seadragon. It was one of the most fascinating things I saw at the Georgia aquarium.

Leafy Seadragons are an endangered species found in the oceans near Australia. Not only are they spectacular, what is unique about them is that the male species gives birth. Supposedly Australia only allows one leafy seadragon to be exported each year. I was lucky to see one.

I took many photos of this fascinating creature but the lighting was really bad and with all the reflections, and the constantly moving dragon, it was tough to get good results. Besides the intention of the dragon is to blend into reeds and it does a fabulous job doing just that.

Here is another photo where it kinda blends in.


Fascinating. No?

Georgia Aquarium

If you are ever in Atlanta, you absolutely must go visit the aquarium there. It is the largest aquarium in the world and is simply fabulous.

It was the highlight of my trip. Words simply cannot describe what an amazing experience it is.

I skipped one of the wedding events to got to the aquarium on Friday. None of my guys really wanted to go. But I dragged them all. And off we went. And let me tell you, they had a time of their lives. It was simply an amazing experience.

In this photo, we were all in a tunnel with the aquarium all around us. And that is a saw toothed shark passing above us. How cool is that!


You may have to click on the photo to enlarge it but notice that it looks like it has a face underneath. Obviously it is not a face. Just looks like that. Who knew?

Paula Deen Food

For those who don't know, Paula Deen is a famous cook and has a TV show in USA. And she has a restaurant called Lady and Sons in Savannah. Since everyone in my family is a foodie, naturally we had to go there.

The first thing I saw outside the restaurant was this.

No it wasn't the actual Paula Deen. It was a cardboard cutout of her. With her beaming smile and her gorgeous full figured body. Come and eat y'all! She seemed to say.

So we went towards to reception area and saw this.

Oh no! How could that be possible? Surely they had a spot or two? Nope.

So here is how it works. If you are serious about eating there, you show up at 9:30 in the morning and get a reservation for that day. Lunch or dinner. So we decided to come back the next day and get the reservations.

When we arrived at 9:15, the lines were thus.

They were all around the building. It was crazy.

Fortunately, we got lunch reservation for 1:30.

When we came back after a few hours, I was greeted by this Paula cutout inside the restaurant.

Looks a tad thinner. What do think? I personally wonder how she got from a size 12 to size 0. And what does that mean? So many thoughts pop up in my head right now but I will spare you the details. But be warned. I will post something about this soon.

Anyways. Once we got in, there was no actual Paula or her cute sons. There was food, food, marvelous food. As soon as you sit down, a waitress shows up and serves you a home made biscuit, a pancake, butter and syrup. And then you go get your food.

I believe that all of us ran towards the buffet. There was a salad bar somewhere but sorry... I don't even think I looked at it.

The menu that day was:

Fried Chicken
Baked Chicken
Pork
Creamed corn
Mashed Potatoes
Lima beans
Collard Greens
Yams
etc...
etc...

Oye... Even writing about this makes me drool...

All I can say is that eating at Paula Deen's restaurant was absolutely the number 1 experience in Savannah.

I can't wait to go again!

Birthday Gal

Today is my birthday! Yeah! I get to be the queen for a day. Where is my tiara? Anyone knows?

So my plans today are thus. I go to work in the morning. My company is taking us out around noon to see the new Harry Potter movie. We are going to the Alamo Drafthouse (AD) theater in Austin. AD is a restaurant cum movie place and once you see a movie there, you will never want to go any place else.

So anyways. Lunch and movie and then we get to go home.

My guys asked me what I wanted to do in the evening for dinner. I told them that I was tired of eating out and wanted a simple home cooked meal. I gave them a menu that they could make and I share it with you:

Slow cooked pot roast in red wine
Paula Deen's mashed potatoes
Paula Deen's creamed corn
Paula Deen's homemade biscuits
Paula Deen's squash casserole
Paula Deen's pea salad
Paula Deen's gravy

Being nice that I am, I told them not to bother making a Paula Deen cake because I wanted to keep it simple.

I get to be a queen today... right?

PS: For those of you who don't know Paula Deen, she is a famous cook on TV and I recently had the pleasure of eating at her restaurant. So I think I am obsessed with her now. Or at least her food.

PPS: This photo was taken in the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. I have to say that it was the highlight of my trip.

Savannah Homes...

On day 2 of our trip, we went to Savannah. It has some of the most beautiful homes. We took a guided tour trolley and I highly recommend it. It costs 15 dollars and you get a sample of all the wonderful sights.

We saw these wonderful mansions in great condition. Most of these houses have been renovated and converted into a bed and breakfast or a hotel. Or lawyer's offices. I wonder why. The lawyer office I mean.

Here is another great home...






And don't you wish you lived in a pink house like this?

Trip stuff

So I am back from my trip to Atlanta, Savannah, and Tybee Island. The trip was amazing. There is so much to tell and so many photographs to share that I don't even know where to start. So bare with me if this is all haphazard.


My trip started with some adventures. We had an early morning flight out of Austin and had to rush to the airport. When we arrived there, the flight was delayed. So we waited. And waited. My hubby and son1 took turns standing in a line to get info about the flight. They were in the line for 3 hours.

Anyways. The plane finally took off at about 1:00 pm in the afternoon. We reached Atlanta at about 4:30. In Atlanta we did not get our bags. We had to stand in some more lines and were told that our bags were going to arrive at 7:00 pm. So we waited some more. It wasn't a good start to the vacation.

Once we got our bags, we went to the car rental place, rented a car and drove down to Tybee Island where we had our hotel reservations. By the time we reached Tybee Island, it was 1:00 AM and we were all exhausted. But we had rented a condo/flat. So there was no room service, no decent drinking water, no food. So we freshened up a bit and got back in the car. And went to one of the few places that was open. A bar.

My boys ate and I told the waitress that I was on a "de-stress/liquid" diet. So I chugged down a couple of martinis. There may have been more but I wasn't driving and who the heck was counting? We ate/drank and went back to the condo and all of us just crashed.

We left our home in Austin at about 5:00 AM and by the time we slept, it was about 3:00 AM. Which means that we were up for almost 24 hours.

That was our day 1 of the trip. And it got all better after that.

So have you had any interesting adventures while travelling? I am all ears!

I am back!

Phew and I am back from my vacation. This wasn't one of those relaxing, sit by the pool vacation but a rather hectic one. We went to Tybee Island, Savannah and Atlanta. Lots of sightseeing and tons of photos. I will fill you on the details this week.

The bad part about the vacation was that I had very very limited access to the internet. And my blackberry barely got any reception. So I could not even check my emails on it.

Let me tell you that I missed having internet connection at my disposal and missed reading all the blogs. Can't wait to catch up!

Hope you guys and gals behaved your self during my absence! Anything exciting I missed?

Spicy Peanuts

Food for thought while I am vacationing.

Tortilla Soup

Tortilla soup at Antonio's Austin.

Food for thought while I am vacationing.

Salad

Picnic Lunch

Yummy lunch I ate the other day. I work right across from the river and have a million dollar view. Some days, we walk across and sit by the river to enjoy a nice lunch.

Food for thought while I am vacationing.

Hoovers

Hoovers restaurant in Austin, Texas.

Food for thought while I am vacationing.

Birthday Gal

Happy Birthday Alex!

I wish you much joy, happiness and fun!

Thanks for being my friend! You are my perfect model!

Vacation

Flying out to Atlanta today. From there, we'll rent a car and drive to Savannah. We'll be there for a few days and then drive back to Atlanta to attend a wedding.

I am not sure if I will have internet access during my vacation but I've scheduled some posts while I am vacationing so you guys don't forget me:)

I promise to take tons and tons of photos!

Happy B'day Hubby!

And a big happy July 4th weekend to all!

Yesterday I was a wild, wild, wild.

I went out with my hubby for drinks, food and dancing to celebrate my friend Alex's birthday. We met at a restaurant called 219 west. The food was great. The service was excellent. We had some drinks and food. I was not driving and I was safe with my hubby to take care of me so I could drink as much as I wanted to. So naturally I was quite the party animal.

And then the best part came later.... I went dancing!!! I went dancing!!!

I convinced my friend Alex to convince my hubby to go dancing later. My hubby does not like dancing at all. I would say that the last time we went, it was 1999. When I convinced someone else to convince my hubby to go to a night club.

While we were at 219 west, I kept asking Alex... Let's go dancing now!!! And she kept telling me, "Seriously? But it is not even 10 PM yet!"

Apparently nothing starts until 11 PM. And my bedtime is 9:30. Groan.

So anyways, we went to this club called Qua. It is very beautiful. They have a dance floor that is made of hard glass and underneath is an aquarium. And there are sharks in the aquarium. So essentially you are dancing on top of an aquarium. It is way, way cool.

Unfortunately the music sucked. They played very very un-danceable songs. But that did not stop me. I danced and danced away.

It was so nice to just dance without strange men approaching me. I had fun!

At one point, I went to the DJ and asked him to put some Michael Jackson songs and he said, "maybe in 30 minutes." How rude! The DJ there simply sucks.

So off I go to pack up for my trip tomorrow. Meanwhile, you guys be good.

And dance, dance, dance!

Big and Small

Photo Friday Challenge

Huge waves in Cabos San Lucas, Mexico.

Some other random stuff:

• Did I tell you how excited I am about my upcoming vacation to Atlanta/Tybee Island/Savannah? I can't wait!
• I will be off work for 10 days. While I love my job, it will be so nice not to rush, rush, rush in the morning. I can wake up when I want to, take naps, play computer games, go for walks, take photos all day long, read blogs and comment, yada yada. Be totally unstructured. How fun!
• Today I have to go to the Austin Art Space gallery in Austin to drop off one of my selected pieces. The show starts on July 10th and the opening night is on July 11th. I am totally bummed out that I won't be able to attend the opening show since I will be in Atlanta. So so sad!

I wish you all a very happy Friday! Hope you have tons of fun!

PS: Number of people going on my trip = 4. Number of laptops we are taking = 2.

Packing!

Packing lovely saris to wear for the Indian wedding.

I am so ready for a vacation!

The wedding will be interesting. The only people I know are the parents of the groom. So it will be interesting to meet all the new people. Typically, when I go to a wedding, I have at least 200 family members. And I know them all. This one is going to be different. I am not sure how I feel about it.

Unlike most American weddings, Indian weddings last for days. This wedding will start on Thursday and wrap up on Sunday.


I am really not sure what to expect. But for sure, there will be good music, dancing, fabulous food and tons of activities. And then most importantly, I'll have my camera with me:)

Happy July!

July has to be one of my favorite months in the year. There are birthdays galore and vacations. Every year my family tries to go to a beach for a week and just chill out. Usually we go to South Padre, rent a condo and simply hang out. Decompress.

This year is going to be different. Contrary to the rampant rumors on the internet about my trip to Atlantis, I am actually going to Atlanta to attend a wedding. So we fly to Atlanta next week and then drive down to a little island called Tybee Island. I have never been there before. We'll also take a day trip to Savannah which I've heard is a photographer's dream come true.

Needless to say, I am super excited about my trip.

The challenge though is packing. I have to take formal clothes for a 3 day wedding and then beach clothes. That is going to be very very interesting. Regardless, there will be plenty of photo ops for me.

I am not sure if we will have internet connection while I am there. But I'll schedule some posts so you don't forget me:)

I hope that you have a fabulous July. Is anyone planning any exciting trips in the near future?


We have a wedding to attend in Atlanta. And