Monday, May 31, 2010

Pool time!





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Hawaii beach




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Sunday, May 30, 2010

Aloha!




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Saturday, May 29, 2010

Waiting in LA




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Taking off!


The day has finally arrived! I am off to Hawaii! Yeah!

Today I am going to get on an aeroplane and spend most time in the plane or at airports. Hawaii is really in the middle of nowhere. I am flying from Austin to LA and then to Maui. It will be 7:20 pm by the time I get there. If all goes well. By the time we get a car and check into hotel, it will be late late! But who cares?

Yesterday I had a conversation with my hubby that went like this:

Me: Is there enough layover time in LA for me to change clothes?
Hubby: Why do you need to change clothes in LA?
ME: I want a wardrobe change in LA. 
Hubby: Why?
Me: Why? Because we are flying into LA first. I have to wear slightly formal clothes on that flight. But the flight from LA to Maui? I want to wear beach clothes!
Hubby: Why?
Me: I am not going to arrive in Maui wearing formal clothes. I want to arrive in Maui with style. Sun dress!!!
Hubby: Umm..
Me: Beyonce does it all the time. I think. And like Beyonce I will have a wardrobe change whenever I want to. After all, it is my vacation!
Hubby: OK. But I am not changing.
Me: That's fine. I just want to be Beyonce for a day.

So there you have it. I am going to Hawaii and be Beyonce for a day.

What are your plans this weekend?

Friday, May 28, 2010

Count Down to Hawaii!



One way or another, I am off to Hawaii tomorrow. Yeah!

Tomorrow morning I fly to Maui. I've been frantically packing, running errands, etc. It has been a frantic, frantic month for me. Work wise things are crazy. Home wise things are crazy. But overall it will be OK. Every time a new crisis hits me, I hug my Maui travel book. Everything is OK if you are going to Hawaii soon.

So to my faithful thousands 5 of blog readers, I want you to participate in my fun. Starting tomorrow, I will be posting photos from my ipod. The quality of photos won't be great but I want to share this adventure with you. Thank you all for visiting and commenting. Without you, I am nothing. 

I will have limited access to internet but my ipod will prevail. Hopefully.

I fly tomorrow morning and reach Maui at night time. But I will post my progress via iphone. Watch this space and share my adventures!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Flower in Rock

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Graduates!



And so they are off! Into different worlds and surprisingly different directions. One will go to Malaysia and the other to perhaps India. For work.

Congrats boys! Adventures await you. Make sure you have an extra bedroom for me wherever you go. And send me flowers occasionally. I am high maintanence and needy.

As for me, I am exhausted. I could sleep forever. Major accomplishment in life=done! Yeah. Now what?

Perhaps a trip to Hawaii?

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Tough and Pretty



Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

La Family



So we have a family reunion of sorts and the family starts trickling in today from all over the world. And I am hosting this event. For most parts at least.

By the time this gets over, I will feed anywhere from 25 to over 100 people meals. Maybe more. It is a daunting task. But somehow it will happen.

Organizing something like this requires a lot of planning, help and hard work. I've been sleeping for about 4-5 hours a day and I am still behind. Oh well.

I have a fairly small house and most of them are staying with me. We have family member who lives in Austin and has a mansion but no one wants to stay there. They all want to stay at my place. That speaks volumes. Doesn't it? But it makes me happy.

The bad news is that I am not cooking any meals. The good news is that I am not cooking any meals. It is virtually impossible to cook meals and keep up with the schedule of events.

I'll keep you guys posted. You guys keep me in your prayers or send me postive thoughts.

The in laws are coming!

Friday, May 14, 2010

Moolah and more test




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Blogpress test





Testing blogpress.

Coins from afganistan!





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Random Stuff



This month is a crazy month for our family. First the Kentucky trip and the graduation. Next up, one of my nephew graduates in Austin. Family galore is coming into town. The in-law kinds. Yep. Yep. But I am looking forward to that. 

I know that there is at least one cherub coming who will steal my heart. And I am hoping to create a little place in his heart for me. There will be a lot of competition for his attention but I am confidant that I will be a winner. Because I have a plan! A devious one. It includes tons of bribes. Nothing expensive. But a steady stream of wrapped presents. I know his favorite song too. And no one can do the Itsy Bitsy Spider better than me.

Unfortunately I have a big mouth and I told my hubby this. He was like, Why are you giving him these 1-2 dollar gifts? I was like, you would not understand. You go buy him an expensive gift. I am going to give him happiness and fun. A constant stream of fun. We are going to go looking for bugs, ducks and draw on the sidewalk. He was like... ok. I will get him some stuff too.

Lesson learned: When you have an agenda and have competitors vying for it, never ever reveal your secrets.

Le Sigh.
 
So tell me about you. Have you ever tried to buy someone's love? What did you do? Please tell!

PS: In my defense, I only have 2 days with him. And at a given moment, there will be 20-50 people wanting his love. So I have to come up with a strategy. Right? Is that a bad thing to do?

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Horse Race


Drive by betting station. How convenient!

< sappy >
< over emotional ="" >

So I am back from Kentucky. My son's graduation was the best. And the best-er part was that I was surrounded with people I love. Love, love, love. And they make me happy, happy, happy!

I did have to "un-invite" someone but that is another story for another day. The bottom line? I had the most fabulous time. With the most fabulous people.

Love. Whether it is family or personal friends or simply the random people you meet in the bloggy world and become your close, close friends. That my dear friends is what makes the world go around. The sun rise every morning. Love, love, love.

Thank you for the love!
 



Off to deal with the corporate world!

Friday, May 7, 2010

Red Mile



I am in Lexington Kentucky. Yeah! So good to be around family. I am going to keep today's post short. I am using my husband's laptop to upload some photos. And it does not have half of the software I use.

So this morning after breakfast, I went to a horse race couse called The Red Mile. It is the oldest race ourse in Lexington. It is gorgeous!



I took tons of photos but it takes forever to upload photos from my hotel room.

This afternoon, I pick up my brother from the airport and we go to a bourbon distillery for a tour. Tomorrow is the graduation ceremony.

Yeah!


Off I go. Will catch up with my blog reading as soon as possible. Meanwhile, I wanted to share these photos with you.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Flying



Flying to Lexington this morning to attend my son's college graduation. I leave at noon and arrive at 5:00 pm. 

It seems like just yesterday, I was packing his lunch for his first day in Kindergarten. And kissing his boo-boos. 

And now I have to ask them to please shave because Mom expects a ton of hugs and kisses. 

And please stop posting comments on my blog using fake names or anonomously.

Le Sigh!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Grapes



My entry for Wordless Wednesday.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Da Flat - II



So yesterday during lunch, I went out to do some errands. I had very little time and a long list of things to do. But I knew these stores inside out and I was confident that I could easily drive, hit 3 stores, shop and get back to work within an hour. Been there done that.

But when I reached my first destination - Walgreens, I noticed that my car had a flat tire. Yuck. And my hubby is out of town. Double yuck!

 Why do these things happen when he is out of town? Le Sigh!

So I went into the store, called AAA for help, shopped and sat in my car. I wanted to cry but considering how things are going on in the world, I could have been in a worse situation. I replied to a text message from my girlfriend  Alex and told her what was going on. Then I fantasized that Brad Pitt was going to come in a big red truck and rescue me from all this.

The AAA guy finally came. It wasn't Brad Pitt. 

But guess what his name was? Romeo. Yep. Romeo. He was handsome and charming. He changed the tire and commanded that I go and get the tire fixed right away. He must have thought I was a bimbo because at that point, I could barely speak a coherent sentence. I kept telling him, "I am driving my hubby's car and he is going to kill me!!!! This is the second time I have done this to his car!"

He assured me that my hubby would not kill me. Flat tires is not the end of the world and it could happen to anyone. Before leaving, he gave me a survey card and said that if I gave him a good rating, he would get free movie tickets and he would love to take his grand kids to the movies. Boy that guy was a charmer!

But wait! The story gets even better. 

Did I do as Romeo suggested and drive straight to get the tire fixed? Of course not! I went to work since it was on way anyways.

My girlfriend Alex called me up and asked me to get an appointment with Discount Tires. They fix flat tires. For free. Yep. I got an appointment and numerous people told me that they would only fix a tire if it was purchased from them. So I kept my credit card handy and showed up. 

Alex was waiting for me there. With a gift for me. It took all my control to not burst into tears.

Everything went great after that. Discount Tires fixed and changed my tire for free. Yep.

What I realized by the end of the day was that the most important thing is life is kindness. Being there for someone when they are overwhelmed. And helping others when they are down.

Romeo and Alex, when I was completely deflated, the two of you, in your own way made my day.

Thank you!

Monday, May 3, 2010

Exciting May!



This month is exciting for me for all sorts of reasons! My older son graduates from college next weekend. Yeah! What a huge accomplishment! I will be flying down to Lexington on Thursday and returning to Austin on Tuesday. I get to spend time with my boys on Mother's day.

Double yeah!

Although the major Kentucky derby happened last week, I still plan on drinking a mint julep or two. You may not know that Kentucky is the producer of 80% of the world's bourbon. I am hoping to visit one of the distilleries at the very least.

Of course I will take tons of photos and continue to post them.

So that's my exciting plan. What are your plans for this month?

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Simple Things



It is the simple things in life that matter.

Having a box of tissues handy when you are about to sneeze. 

A friend you can call late at night to just chat because you are lonely. Or asking them to change a light bulb for you because they are tall and you would need a ladder. Or think you have an intruder/animal in your house and need them to come and take a look in the middle of the night. And know that they won't take this as an invitation for something else.

A friendly bone-crushing hug when your world is crashing. Or at least you think so.

Someone who will go to Luby's with you even though they hate it but you love it.

Asking your boys to please shave because you need to give them kisses. And them complying.

Or calling your Mom everyday to see what she ate that day. And sharing recipes that neither one of us will ever cook.

I remember many years ago, I would save pennies, clip coupons (God I miss those triple coupon days!)... and buy a lipstick for 1.09 cents. Or an exciting shade of nail polish. I would plan it for months, drool over them and pontificate whether red or pink was the way to go. Change my mind over and over again. And then finally, when I had enough money to buy it, go to the store like an excited little kid who has the first snow cone of the summer. For the record, I went for a blue polish. But I digress...

Today, I can easily drop 20-30 dollars for a nail polish or a lipstick. If I want to. But the thrill is totally gone. It doesn't matter now.

What matters is not being able to hug your son when his 26 year old friend dies. Or be able to hold his hand and wipe his tears.

What matters is love and friendship. A smile, a hug, someone who will hold your hand and someone who will smack your butt during exercising and say, "get your butt moving girl!"


Only simple things matter. The rest? Eh...

What things matter to you?

Saturday, May 1, 2010

New Lens!



About an year ago, I entered my first juried show. The theme was Flower Power. I absolutely love taking photos of flowers. Flowers are my favorite subjects. I worked very hard and took tons of very strong pieces. I thought I would get into the show.

But I did not. The rejection was brutal and what made it worse was that some of the photos that were selected were not that great. Let's just say cows in a field. Anyways. I moved on and got over it.


What does this have to do with buying a new lens you ask? Absolutely nothing. Nada. Just want you to know that I am planning on taking a ton of flower photos and publishing them on my blog. So please be kind cause I am needy.

So what did I get? Nikkor AF-S Micro 85 mm f/3.5 ED VR. Yeah baby!

I am off to shoot some photos. You guys have some fun this saturday and keep me posted!