Happy Birthday Matt!

Today is Matt's birthday so I have to say Happy Birthday to the best husband in the world! We went out to Melting Pot last night. We were lucky to have made it after the snowstorm. The roads weren't that bad but our street (which may not be plowed for a while) has a good 6-8 inches of snow on it and we got stuck several times. Luckily a very nice neighbor came out and helped us push the car and we were on our way!

Congrats to Mona and Sujith!

Congrats to Mona and Sujith! I am now the proud auntie of Sohan Reddy. He was born yesterday, December 17th in the afternoon. Mother and baby are doing well!

And baby makes three

Matt and I are very excited to be expecting a baby!



My first trimester is almost over and I am starting to get my energy back. I was pretty nauseous starting around 6 weeks and I am glad that symptom is becoming less and less of a problem. Mostly I am resting more than I usually do and I love nothing more than sleeping early and getting extra sleep on the weekends!

We had an appt around 7 weeks and then around 11 weeks. Matt and I heard the baby's heartbeat both times (the first with an ultrasound, the second with a doppler). I am so proud of my little one!

Japan- Osaka Part 4 of 4

On our last day we decided to walk around Osaka on our own. We realized without a tour bus there was a lot more walking involved! The caption for the pic on the right should be "Are we there yet?". We ended up seeing the Osaka Castle and great views of Osaka at the Umeda Sky Tower. Here is Matt in front of the Osaka Castle:



The next morning we headed to the airport and went home. Japan was an amazing country to see and I'm really glad Matt and I went through Explorient. They set up a wonderful trip for us that we will remember forever.

Click on Matt's blog to read his trip summary (to the right!)

Japan- Kyoto Part 3 of 4

Wow I can't believe it's already December 11th. Time is flying this week and it helps that I've been back on Eastern Time for several days.

Well on to Kyoto. After the bullet train we arrived in Kyoto. The first day of Kyoto was my favorite day of the trip. Tokyo has only been the capital of Japan for 100 or so years, while Kyoto was the capital for almost 1000 years before that. Therefore, the historical sights were more impressive here.
After we arrived and ate lunch, we were on a bus to Nara, a city right outside of Kyoto. There we visited the Deer Park, Todaiji Temple, and Kasuga Shrine. Deer are sacred animals and a long time ago, people were tortured for killing a deer, even accidentally. There is no penalty now for accidentally killing a deer, but it's still a protected species, and they are EVERYWHERE. These deer are not afraid to come up to people and beg for food.
Here is a video Matt took of me feeding crackers to a deer:


The Todaiji Temple is located in the Deer Park and houses the world's largest bronze Buddha. It was quite impressive. At the Kasuga Shrine (a Shinto Shrine), we were able to pray to the Gods the Japanese way. The way to do this is to bow 3 times, clap three times, pray, and then bow again. I prayed for something so I hope the Japanese Gods were listening and it comes true!

My favorite hotel on the trip was the Hotel Monterey in Kyoto. To sum it up, it was a classy, gothic, boutique hotel. Very unique.

The next day we had a full day of sightseeing. We saw the Golden Pavilion, Nijo Castle, Heian Shrine, Kiyomizu Temple and Sanjusangendo Hall. The Golden Pavilion was THE picture spot on the tour. It is a beautiful building, and the gardens are very picturesque. Nijo Castle was pretty neat as well. It used to house shoguns, who were pretty high up in rank. The floors are called "nightingale floors" because they were built in such a way to provide an alarm system. When we stepped on the floors they squeaked like birds. Plotting a coup was very common to overthrow a shogun so this was their way of making sure they were ready if an attack occurred!

Japan- Mt Fuji/Hakone Part 2 of 4

I slept through the night last night for the first time since coming back from Japan. I have more energy and feel wonderful. I hope this feeling lasts forever!

After Tokyo, we took an hour bus ride to the Mt Fuji area. The day started off sunny, and as we moved up higher in the mountains the weather became increasingly dreary. We stopped at the info center on the way up, which is at the base of the mountain. We then headed up toward the 5th station, the highest station vehicles can trek. Right before we pulled into the station, fog from nowhere blanketed the sky and the summit was blocked from our view! This picture isn't a snowstorm, it's all fog!

We then took a cruise on Lake Ashi to see views of the mountain range. The fog hadn't cleared completely, but we were able to see the bigger picture being a little farther away, but not the summit. Matt and I were really glad we had seen Mt Fuji from Tokyo after not being able to see it from close up. Finally, our group went up a smaller mountain in a cable car. I did this with my family in Switzerland and it was a different experience solely based on the weather. In Lucerne, we went up Mt Pilatus on a sunny, spring day where we saw green, hilly mountains and beautiful birds, butterfiles, etc. In Japan, the fog had really set in and all we saw were the pulleys pulling us up! To the right is our view looking down! We really can't complain about the weather. We had excellent weather every other day and this was one day where there wasn't a lot of walking so we managed to stay dry and warm!

We stayed overnight at an onsen (hot springs) hotel. There are natural hot springs everywhere around Mt Fuji and the only place in the world where you can find snow monkeys in the wild! Apparently, they are the northernmost species of primates. We didn't go on the inland tour to see them, but I hear they are a sight to see and Japan's national animal!

The next morning we took a shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto. The bullet train reaches speeds up to 180 mph! It didn't feel that fast while we were riding it, but as we were on the platform before boarding, a shinkansen passed by and it was here and gone before we knew it- it literally took my breath away. Here is a video of a shinkansen passing us. It took me 2 tries to start the video on time because they come up so fast!

Japan- Tokyo Part 1 of 4

Matt and I came back from Japan last Friday. The trip was amazing and definitely a lifetime opportunity. We took a direct flight from Detroit to Tokyo, stayed there 3 nights, had 1 night in Hakone/Mt Fuji, 2 nights in Kyoto, and 1 night in Osaka. We then took a nonstop flight from Osaka to Detroit. Although it was great not having layovers, which make you lose more time, a 12-13 hour flight is LONG. I brought lots of things to do, but was still bored on the plane. Luckily our time in Japan was wonderful and hopefully, over time, I will forget how horrible the flights were!

In Tokyo, we stayed at the Hotel Pacific Tokyo. All of our hotels were very classy and this one did not disappoint. The toilets in our hotels are something to talk about. There are so many buttons. I only used the seat warmer function, I did not use the bidet, spray or other options!

We were very lucky to see Mt Fuji from Tokyo, which only happens 10% of the time. It was a beautiful, clear day in the 60's! This is a view from the Tokyo Tower.

We went up the Tokyo tower (like the Eiffel tower but not as grand), the Imperial Palace Gates (the emperor lives there and only opens the gates once a year), and a beautiful Buddhist Temple next to the Nakamise Arcade. We also ate at a few Iron Chef restaurants since most of their flagships are in Tokyo. Here I am at the Nakamise Arcade (which isn't a video arcade, but an arcade meaning covered passageway.) You can buy a fortune and if it's bad you have the option of tying it on this to wish it away. We saw these at every Buddhist temple we visited in Japan.

On the following day we spent time in Tokyo Disney. There is a DisneyLand and a DisneySea. We decided to go to DisneySea since it's the only one in the world whereas DisneyLand is pretty much like the California park. As usual, Disney spared no expense and the different worlds are exquisitely detailed, resembling the Mediterranean Harbor to the Arabian Coast. The coolest shop in Disney was the Sleeping Whale Shop in Ariel's Grotto. The inside made you feel like you were in the whale's mouth complete with a spongy floor and rib cage as the ceiling.

I must say that Tokyo is a lot like New York City. It is more about restaurants and nightlife than a historical sight. There were some noticable differences however. The subway system and the city in general are very clean. With the amount of people there, it is remarkable how well-kept everything is. I only saw one homeless person- we heard that the government sanctions off areas where they can go so I assume they gather elsewhere. Also everyone there is skinny! I didn't see any chubby/obese people. The girls were beautiful and slender and the men were all smartly dressed in business suits. Lastly, the people are very nice. The hospitality in Japan is impeccable.

More on Hakone, Kyoto and Osaka later. I am having a tough time adjusting back to Eastern Std time. Japan is 14 hours ahead and I think I've managed to get back to California time. I am tired ALL the time even if I can't sleep. I hope to be normal by the end of the week...

Coming in Summer 2009

After seeing the International and Teaser trailer, I think this is the one we will be seeing in American theaters. It looks good! Because of that silly Broadway play Equus, the movie was pushed back so we have to wait until the summer to see it.



I'm leaving soon to help Stephanie find a wedding dress! It is very rainy today, I wonder if the Michigan game is going to be delayed?

One more week!

One more week until Japan! Matt and I have been super busy trying to plan last minute details. For instance, I found out that I need a copy of my prescription to bring an inhaler and there are some rail passes that we have to buy outside of Japan to get the visitor discount. Matt has a ton of things scheduled at work this week since he had to keep the next few weeks open. We are busy bees!

The World Election- Finally Over!

I think it's amazing how what we do here in the U.S. has a huge impact on the world. This was shown last night/this morning with world cities waiting just like Americans on election results. I don't wait around for other countries' results, which shows how integral America is to the livelihood of others.

I watched CNN and FoxNews last night and besides footage from various American cities, there were HUGE crowds in Sydney, Hong Kong, Kenya, and many others. Wow! Watching all this, I feel truly privileged to be an American, and an American voter at that.

President-Elect Obama and US citizens have a LONG road ahead. I am hopeful that our generation can do a better job for our children than our parents' generation of presidents did for us. We have inherited a country in horrible condition and I hope Obama steps up to the task that we Americans have given him.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! We finally carved our pumpkins. I must say that I like the carving part way better than cleaning out the insides of the pumpkin.

Mona's Baby Shower Pictures

I got baby shower pictures from Sabrina! (see a few posts back). Here are a few:


The table was set up very classy. We had menus at each seat, personalized candy bars, baby confetti, and arrangements of blue/white flowers.


The dessert table. I love how the cake says "Let's get ready for Baby Reddy". I think Mona thought of that. How clever! The cake is from Whole Foods and Sabrina made the other 3 desserts! The framed picture is the invitation.

Mona opening up my gift to her.

Birthday

Matt took me out to Opus One for an upscale birthday dinner. I ordered the Bibb salad with Roquefort Dressing, which was one of the best dressings I've ever had! For my entree I went with the seared scallops while Matt had the Shrimp Helene. At the end of the meal I was presented with a birthday dessert complete with a lit candle! Opus One proved they were one of Detroit's finest with amazing food, beautiful presentation (I wish I could have taken a picture of my entree!), and superb service. It is rather pricey, but if you have a chance to go I highly recommend it!

I pooled the money I got from both sets of parents and bought a much-needed pea coat. I've had a navy blue pea coat since 11th grade that has lasted almost 10 years, but needs some repair. I thought it was time to buy a new one that will hopefully last another 10 years. I bought it in black.

Matt bought me a canon camera in brown (from my amazon wishlist) and I will take it to Japan along with my new coat!

I got a bunch of cards and well wishes on my facebook wall. That was very thoughtful of everyone!

One Baby Shower and a Wedding

Mona came home for the weekend. The baby shower went very well. My voice was hoarse for a while because I directed the games and had to pretty much shout the entire time. We were in a restaurant and there was no microphone. Check back here for pictures. I will upload them as soon as Sabrina sends them to me!
My family went to Tala’s wedding on Sunday. It was at the Pine Knob mansion and I thought it was decorated gorgeously. It was a beautiful October day in the 70’s and the trees were all red. orange, and golden brown. (I was watching CNN weather and they said the best fall foliage is in the Great Lakes area.) Mona was one of four bridesmaids, and one of two very pregnant bridesmaids. Haha

The beautiful bride and groom


Mona and Groomsman walking down the aisle


Autumn centerpieces with floating candles


Click on any picture in this post (or any post for that matter) to see a bigger picture!

Arizona trip

Arizona was a very interesting trip! My parents went to the Grand Canyon before Mona and I arrived. Unfortunately, my mom tripped at one of the observatory points and injured her wrist. Luckily, the trip was just supposed to be a relaxing one so we spent every day by the pool. I also got an AMAZING massage at our spa/resort, although my massage therapist was very weird. Every day was HOT, like 100 degrees. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and sunsets here are beautiful. However, I do prefer Michigan to Arizona. There's something about the lack of greenery due to the desert climate that doesn't seem right to me.
Here is a picture of Mona and I with our noodles. There were only a few noodles to go around so we were lucky to snag these to float on. Above is the pool with me walking by, with a view of one of the Camelback mountains.



We went to Sprinkles to eat some cupcakes our last day. They were so yummy! I heard they are putting one in Chicago, and I hope it's there by the time we go next summer. There are no plans for a Sprinkles to come to Michigan :(
I bought a container thingy from Crate and Barrel and took a cupcake home to Matt. If Matt can't come to Arizona, I had to bring the best part of it home to him!

Hurricane Ike makes it way to Michigan as a Rain Dump

Ike's Rain has come to Michigan. I am surprised how fast it got here after being in Texas just Friday and Saturday. As you can see ALL of it is being dumped on us right now. It's been raining all weekend and we have flood watches and warnings. Obviously it's not nearly as bad as having a hurricane, but I thought it was a little humorous how Michigan is just a green blob on the weather map while our surrounding states are untouched. (Although they were hit already)
I watched a little bit of SNL yesterday night and a little bit today off of Tivo. The beginning skit with Sarah Palin and Hilary Clinton was hilarious. Unfortunately Phelps was not a good actor. He redeemed himself by wearing a Michigan shirt as one of his wardrobe changes. At least watching SNL was a little easier to do than watching us fumble against Notre Dame! Our offense looks good but we clearly made way too many mistakes.
I am leaving for Arizona in a week and half so I'm getting pretty excited about it! I hope their temps cool down a bit. Right now they are still in the 90s!

First days

I start working at Sylvan Learning Center today! I am excited to have no plans this weekend. A weekend of laziness! My first day at Marriott is next week!

Happy Birthday Heather!

Hard to forget

It's hard to forget 9/11 even after 7 years. Although there have been many attacks on American soil, this is the attack of recent times, and prompted the current state of fear of terrorism. I will always remember the moment I heard about the news. I'm sure even kids at the time remember. I was in my stats class in Ann Arbor. A student stopped the discussion, which seemed very rude at the time, and told our professor that we had been attacked. The student had a habit of listening to his radio/mp3 player in class, and how significant was it that he did or my story would have been completely different! Our professor paid no attention and kept teaching class. The student walked out of class and little by little everyone else did before class ended. Walking home from class back to E Quad, I could feel the tension in the air and see it in everyone's eyes. Cell phone networks were busy, the internet jammed and everyone's away messages said "WHAT JUST HAPPENED". Trying to comfort my residents, as an RA, while trying to figure out how much hate someone could have was very hard to do. Campus, our nation, and our world just weren't the same after Sept 11th.

Although I didn't know anyone who died in New York, DC or Pennsylvania on 9/11, I feel affected as an American. I can't imagine what others must be feeling who did have a parent, spouse or child die that day.

Game weekend

We got to see Michigan win for the first time this season at the Miami of Ohio game. After last week's fiasco I am glad we were able to pull out a victory. Even though it wasn't that hot, because the sun was on my left side the entire time, I have a tan starting on my left arm near my shoulder, and not on my right side. I guess I am not wearing sleeveless shirts for a while. I bought a Michigan hat during half time and I am glad I did or my face would have tanned unevenly as well. I will have to even out the tan when I'm in Arizona later this month.

Detroit fell to the bottom of the list replacing Cleveland as the nation's poorest city. I'm sure Kilpatrick had a hand in this.

The proverbial Glass Ceiling is cracking

Although I still don't have the highest opinion of politicians, this year's election will certainly be more interesting. Obviously the incumbent can't win since he is nearing the end of his last term, so it'll be a refreshing change, whoever wins. I am glad the era of Bill Clinton and the Bushes are over since they have been in office since I was born and I am now in my mid 20s. Sheesh.

A more interesting and ground breaking fact is that we have an African American and a woman on the two major party tickets. For Obama, I don't think it is only surprising to say that the presidential nominee is black, but an ethnic minority. As for Palin, it is surprising that it has taken so long to have another woman on the ticket since Ferraro in '84. Many countries have already had women presidents! And we're talking about a majority group- women are in the majority!



Although it will probably be a long time before I see someone of Indian descent at the podium (although Bobby was somewhat close), I think it is very important to see different people in important roles so that American youth, most of them not being white and male, have more hope and more motivation to make a difference.

I don't think that people should be picked based on their race/sex/religion and do think that the most qualified should be picked. And I do believe that we have pretty qualified members on both tickets. I like how each ticket has a young and old person to combine experience with fresh new ideas. Do I think that the picks could have been better? Yes. Am I still happy with my choices? Yes.

Hopefully, in the future, it will not be a big deal what race/sex/religion the candidate is when it becomes commonplace to pick different people. For now, it's nice to make it known that people are lifting their prejudices and becoming more open-minded.

I heard that in this election the most undecided demographic are women 25-50 and right now, as an independent, I have no idea who I am voting for! Usually it's pretty obvious to me. The most important issues to me right now are the economy, education, and foreign oil/other sources of energy. It's time for me to do some research!

Much needed time

My mom, Sabrina, and I are starting to seriously put Mona's baby shower together. She is due on Christmas and is having a boy!! Now that I am not working full time I will have much more time to help out. With this and my vacations coming up, I am glad to take some time off. Hopefully I will have a full time schedule by January; that is the goal anyways.
Matt started a new blog called Thoughts for Food that will be about great restaurants that we go to. I think it will match up nicely with the blog that he already has at livejournal that is now, mostly about our travels.
I recently found this video on youtube that I've been trying to find since the second National Treasure movie came out. It's How to Set up a Home Theater featuring Goofy. I think it's creative and hilarious!

Royal Oak Summers

I am so glad the Hills are on again, I am such a fan. Go Team Lauren! Haha

The past few weeks have been a blur. I’ve seen a bunch of people for dinner/lunch– work friends, book club people, Steph and Rey (who are now engaged!), Kacie, and my family for my dad’s b-day. And we’re meeting up with Marisa and Jake this weekend at Bahama Breeze. I love getting together with everyone and summer is such a great time to do it. Walking around downtown Royal Oak is fun with friends, but I especially love walking around with Matt after dinner when we just talk or head to Astoria for a quick dessert! It’s always busy no matter what night of the week it happens to be. I've already seen 2 movie sets filming in Royal Oak! At Astoria with Steph and Rey:



Besides the fact that Matt and I have been watching the Olympics nonstop, I don’t know how we have enough time to do anything else! I much prefer to be busy like this so I am not complaining! Recently I have been applying to tutoring companies and community colleges to see if I can pick up extra hours or a class to teach because come fall, I won’t be as busy. Tonight is my last pilates class. I am definitely going to continue pilates. I think it has helped me become more motivated to work out and eat healthy. I also hope that someday I will be able to touch my toes!

The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics Begin!

The Opening Olympic Ceremony was the best I've seen! China, despite having a lot of negative press (some of it deserved), pulled out all the stops to impress us! The blending of tradition and high tech entertainment was impressive.

These drummers were perfectly in sync and there were 2008 of them! When the lights cut out in the stadium, the drummers lit up their drums to resemble a digital countdown. That must have been hard to choreograph.

There was only one costume designer; he created each costume uniquely and used the entire color palette. This beautiful dancer is standing on a platform held up by men holding up individual squares. Even though balance was key on a surface that isn't perfectly straight, she kept her poise.

The pyro technics show was incredible. I am really glad China is taking the hosting seriously and I really do hope this is the beginning of their country opening up to the world after several decades of isolation. The Chinese people have been through a lot in the past due to Communism and natural disasters and deserve nothing less from their government.

Snoop in Bollywood?

I never thought I would say this but this Snoop Dogg article is related to my previous post on Bollywood. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it seems like Snoop Dogg was nice and appreciated the shout out.

Bollywood Dance- AMAZING!

Indian dancing in general is always very entertaining. The talent, rhythm, and pure stamina you need to dance Bhangra, Raas, or even in Bollywood movies(as shown here) is huge. I always love going to the IASA show at UM to see the dances. When I was dancing onstage in IASA during my college years, it was always such a rush of adrenaline! I think the practices alone had me at my fittest body ever. I’ve never seen non-Indian people dance this well to Indian moves. Go them!



If you’ve never seen a Bollywood film or even a Hindi film, do so immediately! Each movie is about 3-4 hours and is packed with dances and songs. You'll want to see one with subtitles. Bollywood is the biggest film industry in the world, in terms of movies produced! You can’t miss it.

Batman, Horse Racing

Two weekends ago, Heather came to visit. Here is our annual picture of the 4 of us in Ann Arbor- Courtney, me, Heather and Steph.



Last weekend, Matt and I saw the Batman movie “The Dark Knight.” It was quite long, but it was very entertaining. I really liked “Batman Begins” so I might want to get both dvds when the new one comes out. Hopefully the set is cheaper than buying them individually. I have my doubts though because Batman Begins is only $5.99 on amazon.


We also went to the Pinnacle Race Track in New Boston, MI, which is pretty close to the Detroit airport. Matt’s dad offered his legal expertise to help the owner, and in appreciation, the owner named one of the races after him. So we joined Matt’s parents and sister, Jenny, to watch the Carl Herstein Trophy Race. I had never been to a horse track, but it was pretty neat sitting in the VIP area and watching all the races. Those horses sure can run!

Carl presenting the award to the owner of the horse that won, standing along side families and the jockey:

Mackinac Island

Mackinac Island over the July 4th weekend was a really good time! Matt and I hadn't been there in over a decade and it was the first time we went there together. We ate fudge, saw Fort Mackinac (and the July 4th 38 gun salute!), rode on a tandem bike, watched fireworks over the Mackinac Bridge, walked through beautiful parks and Main St, and most importantly, relaxed! The weather was gorgeous all weekend! Here are some pictures:


Waiting for the fireworks- dusk on Mackinac Island on July 4th





Going back in time to Fort Mackinac

New Furniture, heading up north

We bought a beautiful sofa and love seat to make our living room a little more presentable. Matt and I both liked the collection and when we both like something we take it seriously because we are pretty picky on furnishings and decorating. It will be arriving on July 15th. If anyone wants to help us move our old couches upstairs to the loft, we would be very appreciative! I don't think I'm much help so we need to find 1 or 2 guys to help Matt do it.
Tomorrow we are driving up north. We are stopping by the Herstein Condo and continuing on to Mackinac Island on Friday. Matt and I have both been to the island but have never stayed their overnight. I heard the fireworks are something to see over the Mackinac Bridge!

Landscaping

My family decided on Scottsdale, Arizona for some R&R in September. I bought my ticket yesterday and am very excited to have a few days just sitting by the pool and having spa treatments! It will be my parents, my sister and I. Unfortunately Matt won't be able to come. :( He is saving up his vacation days for our Japan trip in November!

Here are some before/after pics of the landscaping done to our front yard:




We kept most of what we had and had it trimmed. We clipped the red bushes so they are green now, but after a little sun/water they will be red again. We took out the red bushes that were closest to the steps and planted white bellflowers instead. They haven't bloomed yet, but I'm excited to see how beautiful they will be later. I handpicked the bellflowers after seeing a bunch of perennials in a magazine. Once I see something that I love, I don't go looking any further. We also replaced the tree on the left with a white dwarf crabapple. Finally, we put in cedar mulch. I have never been a plant person so I'm hoping that I can maintain the landscaping with my expert watering and trimming skills!

Lastly, we switched to Wow Cable and internet. We decided that Comcast wasn't going to get the Big Ten Network anytime soon. We were debating between ATT Uverse and Wow and Wow had the better deal, at least in our area. I have never had a pleasant experience with Comcast, and when I talked to Wow's customer service, I was impressed with how the person not only had a brain, but was easy to talk to! We'll see how the service is when we get it installed on Wednesday.

The Spelling Bee Champion!

Too funny.

New Items

Matt and I went on a spending spree! Unfortunately, it wasn't clothes or cool electronics. We bought a new vacuum cleaner, lawn mower, wall clock, and bike. Not to mention we finally bought a dining room rug which will hopefully arrive in a few weeks.
Our vacuum cleaner died a while ago. It was never that great to begin with so we decided to buy a good one from Dirt Devil. It is also approved to be environmentally friendly since it has HEPA filters! It has an attachment for those hard to reach places, but I don't see us using it too often since we have a mini dirt devil does the job nicely.


Our vacuum above, except ours is blue

Our old lawn mower was something the previous owners of our house threw in at closing. It lasted until a month ago. It was nice to prolong having to buy one for a year, but this time around we bought one that came with a bag so the clippings aren't deposited on the lawn anymore. Also we have one that has a 3 year warranty on the starter so if it doesn't start within 2 pulls, we can get if fixed or replaced for free. Matt was always pulling the crank 9 or 10 times to get it to work and sometimes it didn't at all!
The bike is the most exciting part. My bike has been in storage for a while at Sabrina's and for reasons I won't get into, I can't get it back any time soon. It was a REALLY NICE mountain bike. After waiting 2 months for my no-show bike, I went to Target and got one that I could start riding. I figured when we eventually get my bike back, Matt can ride one of the two because they both are nice unisex bikes.
In other news, I signed up for a pilates class that begins in July through the Royal Oak Community Center. I hope the bike and this class give me proper motivation to get toned and healthy!

He's baaaaccck

My parents and brother were in downtown Royal Oak this afernoon and spotted Dr. Kevorkian while they were in Astoria. My dad said he looked terribly old and was wearing yellow pants! He is from the area and still resides around here. What a strange sighting.

SATC

Today I'm going to Ann Arbor to watch Sex and the City and go out to dinner with friends. I think I'm going to dress up for the movie. Not as crazy as the girls in the movie do, but probably a skirt and heels. We bought tickets in advance just so we don't have to wait in a huge line. Hopefully the movie does not disappoint!

From Heather's Blog

What Your Little Black Dress Says About You

You are flirtatious and playful. You prefer a casual environment. It's hard for you to take anyone too seriously... including yourself. Your style is fresh and modern. You are often the first to experiment with new trends. If you were a shoe, you would be: A ballet flat

The Little Black Dress Test

I picked this dress because it looked the most comfortable and it looked A-line, haha.

The Saddest Thing

I was driving home from work yesterday down a beautiful tree-lined street on a cloudless day (Vinsetta to be exact). I saw what looked to be road kill up ahead so I stayed to the left to avoid it. As I got closer, it was in fact a dead squirrel, but there was another squirrel looking over it, with one hand over its own heart in grief, like it knew that its brother was gone forever. For a second, I was heartbroken because a great day like this should be enjoyed, but now it can't be for either squirrel. The way it looked made me think of a mom looking over her son, or a husband looking over his wife. It was the saddest thing.

Gas is how much?

Happy 3rd Anniversary to Mona and Sujith! (It was actually yesterday)

On the way home from work, the gas station that I usually go to because it's relatively the cheapest around, was at $4.09 today! AHHH I've NEVER seen gas above $4. And since this is the "cheap" one I can't imagine what it's like down the street or closer to the highway where the prices are usually jacked up. Memorial Weekend is supposedly the highest prices of the year in gas. Let's hope that still holds true.

Erin and Marc's Wedding

Last weekend, we attended the Hendriks - Sackin wedding in Port Huron at the Thomas Edison Inn. The ceremony was outside, and while it looked like it was going to rain, luckily it didn't, so the view of the water in the background was amazing. The reception was inside so we didn't care how cold or how wet it got outside afterwards. Above: The happy couple.

It was my first Jewish wedding and in many ways, it is like an Indian ceremony. In both ceremonies, we get married under a chuppah (Jewish) /mundap (Hindu). Both weddings have seven blessings read out loud and additionally in the Indian ceremony the seven steps are taken as they are being read out loud. At the end glass/cloth is broken/torn to symbolize good luck. At the reception the bride and groom are lifted in chairs as a symbol of congratulations!

And below is another happy couple!

Erin's Bachelorette Party

Erin's Bachelorette party was last Saturday. Lisa and Susin came over to help me decorate. With their help we really decorated the place well and baked an amazing cake! Erin was impressed with all the work and after dinner and cake, all the girls went out to Eden in Ferndale. It was really fun to go dancing after so long. We ended up at Boogie Fever afterwards for some 80s hits. Here is us at dinner at Papa Vino's:



Today we went to AA to see Matt's parents for an early Mother's Day. We went to a Thai place for lunch. I got tofu/veggies in brown sauce. Matt got red snapper in kafir lime leaves- very good! I also liked Jenny's sauce but I don't remember what was in it.

My aunt and grandfather on my mom's side are here from India. Matt and I are going over tomorrow for Mother's day brunch to hang out with my relatives. I haven't seen my grandfather since 9th grade so it'll be nice to catch up!

Draft, MI Supreme Court Historical Society

Congrats to Jake Long, Chad Henne, Shawn Crable, Mario Manningham, Mike Hart, and Adrian Arrington getting drafted. Jake Long was the #1 pick and was already picked before the draft started. Yeah Michigan- that is huge for them!
Matt is thinking of going to the away Purdue vs Michigan game with some friends in the fall. I am still debating on if I want to go at all. I have never been to Purdue but that isn't a good reason for me to go. Perhaps I can fly down to visit Mona that weekend, although that would be too close to the Japan trip. I'm not sure if my work would like that.

Also congrats are in order for my husband who is now the newest (and youngest) board member of the prestigious Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society. Many top lawyers and judges are members and board members and I am really proud of Matt to be in such good company. He was nominated by a board member and was inducted last week.

To end on a funny note at the expense of a few politicians, Jay Leno asked the audience: "Ok how many people think having Clinton and Obama appear on a wrestling show cheapens the political process? After a few claps Leno continues, "How many people think the WWE was cheapened by having the candidates on? I think you lose respect for the integrity of wrestling." lol I do wonder why they showed up at a WWE show, how weird!

Springtime for Reena - sung from the Producers tune

I love our weather. The last week it has been in the 70s and it should be pretty nice for a while. On Tuesday, a few of us at work actually ate lunch OUTSIDE at Cosi instead of huddled up inside. It was such a new feeling having the sun on my face.
Sidenote: I"m starting to love veggie sandwiches. At Cosi I got a hummus and veggie and at Panera I like the Mediterranean sandwich. My work buddies are starting to rub off on me. I am totally loving eating healthy. I still have to figure out a way to start eating fruit more often. I always want veggies or salty things.

With the better weather I feel like I am more refreshed even though I am getting the same amount of sleep. After work I have more energy to workout and to do other things around the house I've been putting off. The sun has a good effect on me! Although I think if the weather was like this every day, I wouldn't appreciate it as much. I just wish our winters were 2-3 months long instead of 4!

Our book club went well. Our next book is "The Secret Life of Bees". I was going to read this whether the book club picked it or not, so I'm glad that they did.

Another reason to love your wife!

UM came out with a study that links the amount of housework you do and whether you are single or married. Luckily for men getting married, the amount of housework decreases by a half hour. Unfortunately for myself and all other married women, the housework increases by an average of 7 hours! I certainly don't feel like I'm doing 7 more hours of housework a week. But maybe I am and don't realize it because cooking,cleaning, etc is just a part of my routine now.
The good thing is that historically men are doing more housework every decade as women's and men's roles are more blended. I do cook dinner and do the shopping, but Matt always helps out with laundry and dishes.

I got a haircut today, well more like a trim. The length now is where I think it is at its best, which is just below the shoulders. For Erin's wedding, I showed my stylist a picture of how I want my hair. She kept the picture and she pretty much will make it look exactly like that. She is amazing that way. For my wedding I brought in a picture of how I wanted it, knowing it was not going to be perfect. Somehow she worked her magic and my hair was identical to the magazine. She's a keeper!

I am off to my book club. We read "self made man" this month. I was not a huge fan. Everyone is bringing in manly food as the theme so I need to stop by KFC to get a bucket of chicken! Hopefully all the food there won't be fried and fatty like my dish!

All Aboard!

We bought our flights for Japan today! We are going nonstop to Tokyo and nonstop back from Osaka. I looked up our itinerary on Northwest and it says we have 223 days to go! Wow that is so far away. I'm glad we bought our tickets early because now we can book the tour and everything else around our flights. Our expenses for the trip will also be spaced apart. I'm going to get a Japanese phrase book in the next few months so I can learn some phrases to get by. Sayonara!

What's in your wallet?

I finally did it- I bought a travel rewards credit card! I ditched the idea of an American Express card. The rewards were fine and the card picture was nice, but I found a better rewards card with a not-so-great picture. I tried the capital one credit card lab to pick a different picture and I couldn't get the rewards I wanted. I figured I should pick the card with the better rewards than the better picture. Also I know that Visa is more widely accepted around the world. Here is my new card:



What's nice about this card is I get double miles on travel and entertainment purchases and 1.25 miles for every other purchase. Most of the other cards are just 1 to 1. These miles never expire and I can also trade them in for cash back or other types of rewards, which is a nice option if I don't use miles anytime soon. Before making my decision, I was debating on getting a citi visa premier pass card. I loved how you could double dip on points for miles traveled in addition to purchases. But I couldn't get cash back and I have to use my miles within 3 years. I didn't like that restriction. In 7-10 days I can start using my card when it arrives! I am still going to forward the capital one commercials on tv- they are so annoying!

Easter 08

Easter weekend was spent in Ann Arbor with Matt's family. After church we had an amazing brunch. I made some cupcakes on Saturday to bring to Easter brunch. I was inspired by a grocery store coupon and was up for the challenge. With the help of supplies from my mom, I made the cupcakes, made different colored frostings and decorated each cupcake uniquely. I do wish the pink cupcakes came out more pastel-y but the most important thing was that they tasted yummy!



One of the Easter basket gifts I received from Matt's parents was a complete map guide of Tokyo! Matt and I also exchanged gifts at home. One thing I received from Matt was a whole box of IceBreakers Liquid Ice Mints. I love these mints and they were discontinued a while back. Since then nothing has come close. That was so thoughtful of Matt to find it online!

Frequent Flyer

With all of our Japan planning, I am more interested in getting a frequent flyer credit card now. I have been toying with the idea for a while and after buying our tickets to Mexico, I realized that the cost of flights is just going to get worse. With all the traveling Matt and I want to do, I might as well earn points while I'm shopping! Right now I have a Disney card. I think I am going to keep this one at home for online purchases and have the new card in my wallet as my main card. In order to keep my credit score high, it would be unwise to cancel the Disney card. I am going to keep it at least until enough credit has been built up on the new one or maybe I'll just keep it as my second credit card.
There are two different types of credit cards that earn miles. There are the cards specific to an airline and there are cards that earn points that can then be turned into miles at an airline of my choosing. I am leaning toward the latter because we do not always fly a particular airline. I really like the American Express card- it is so pretty! The Chase Visa does not look nice but would be a good choice because I do most of my business with them. Decisions Decisions!

Guitar Hero and Lion King

The Milas' came for a visit from Texas and stayed at Lisa and Joe's house. Matt and I got to try Guitar Hero during the get together. I have heard a lot about it so I'm glad I finally got to try it. It was easy to pick up and I thought that I did very well the first time, getting an 86%. Of course Matt also picked it up well and beat me with over a 90%! All the other newbies didn't do as well as us.

That same weekend (like two weekends ago), we saw the Lion King in Toledo. We missed the Detroit stop. The creativity of the costumes alone is worth the drive down. Wow! We weren't allowed to take pictures but I definitely recommend it.

Ziplining

I've already talked about our ziplining experience- see our trip on Puerto Vallarta a few posts before this. We have our pictures back! We had to develop the film the old school way so that is the reason for the delay. I still have to upload ALL of our pictures to a gallery. I will be sending it to family for sure, but if you are not family and want to see our pictures, let me know!


We had to wear bandannas under our helmets.

Wheeeeeeee