Mint Chutney

Father Daughter Dance 2011 i.e. time for a new post

2011-03-26T15:36:00.003-05:00

Pics from Father-Daughter dance

2010-02-24T21:18:00.002-06:00

The post where I realize that life is way too short

2010-02-20T11:21:00.004-06:00

Do you hear that? That, my friends, is silence. The Girl is at ballet and the Boy is at an all-day chess tournament. (Say it loud, say it proud; we are a family full of nerds!) The older the kids get, the less time I have to myself. Scratch that. The more I appreciate the time I get to myself. Life is crazy as always but I have this new found sense of self-awareness where I realize all of this (stress, issues, life, etc.) is temporary. When I get super stressed at work (which is my baseline state at this point) I know that it's not going to stay like that forever. When the kids drive me crazy, I try not to work myself into a frenzy because they will not stay 9 and 5 forever. I can only teach them what I can for the short amount of time they will listen. Even my relationship with D has evolved to where I realize that being a couple does not define who I am. We've gone through some rough patches over the last few years but we know after 14 years, we still want to grow old together. I don't have it all figured out, nor do I fool myself into thinking I ever will.

Anyhoo. D and the Girl are going to a Father-Daughter dance tonight so I'll be sure to post some pictures later.

Lame attempt at a post...

2010-01-07T01:17:00.004-06:00

Happy New Year from my family to yours!
O.K. I realize that I'm using the same cheesy line from 3 posts ago but don't I get any points for trying?

Long and short of it: kids good, husband good, we're both still employed, Chicago winter cold, another year older and wiser, blah, blah, blah. Same details, different decade.

Thanks for the Mammaries

2009-05-28T21:56:00.003-05:00

Damn. I was on such a roll with 2 posts in a row. Let's see what's new. D had a job and then was laid off again after a week. (Official score: Mint - 1, Sucky Economy - 2). Luckily he got another job a dew weeks later although it was for a lot less money and much further from home. He has since been offered yet another job which he'll start on Monday. It's more in the field that he wants so he's happy. I'm a little seasick from all the ups and downs. I'm not complaining, I'm just stating a fact.

My sister, Dr J, had twins about 6 weeks ago. They were a month early but she was so uncomfortable and tired and her bladder was only holding the equivalent of a shot glass before she has to pee. The boys are so precious , they make my ovaries hurt.

I had a great whirlwind visit from Nutty in April. She was in town for business and I was able to meet up with her and her colleague for the day. She's as wonderful as I imagined she would be in "real life". It's funny when you meet someone who you know only through their blog. Although I'm fairly anonymous on here but I still find that I censor many of my thoughts. If you feel you know me through this blog, I fear you'd be sadly disappointed when you met me in person. With Nutty, she's sugar and spice and all things nice. : )

Here's a pic of the lovely outfit Aunty Nutty gave The Girl.

I leave you with a few pictures of the last few months.

Baby It's Cold Outside

2009-01-15T07:40:00.002-06:00

D finally got a job! After months of waiting and countless interviews he found one that was right for him. (And by "right" I mean they will give him a paycheck every 2 weeks). We're a two income family again but I think the chill of unemployment has left me scarred. I make a good living so we were never in fear of losing our house or car, but what about the gazillion other people out there that didn't make it through unscathed? The unemployment actually brought D and I closer together but I don't think everyone is that lucky. Next month we'll celebrate 13 years since we first met. 13 years?? My arthritis flares up at the thought.

I know you don't want to hear about the weather but it's brain-numbing cold. I literally walked out to warm up the car this morning and forgot where I was. For those of you in warm places who are unfamiliar with the concept, you literally have to go out and turn on the car 10 minutes before you go anywhere so it can warm up. This morning the van failed the first two twists of the key and hurled obscenities my way before it finally gave in. The Boy was always losing a hat or 1 random glove until 2 weeks ago when I sent him to school with what extras I could scrounge including 1 pink mitten and 1 red Spiderman glove. Miraculously he has started taking care of his things since then.

The Bones of You

2009-01-06T22:25:00.003-06:00

I started the New Year with such a great attitude but then I had a little bit of a set-back yesterday and now all I want to do is crawl in bed and sleep until Spring comes. Why do we live in Chicago? I suppose it's a rhetorical question but perhaps subconsciously I want someone to give me one good reason. It's cold. And one minute there wasn't any snow and then I took a shower and suddenly the ground was covered in white like the trees had a major case of dandruff. With D's unemployment we're going to have to postpone our Ireland/Scottland trip this year which bites. I also have some sort of annoying eye ailment. I thought it was an errant eyelash that keeps poking me but I can't seem to get it out. In the meantime I keep randomly winking like I'm using my eyelids to talk in Morse code. The mailman must have thought that I REALLY appreciated him bringing me the 2009 IKEA catalog. *sigh*

Happy Holidays from my family to yours.

2008-12-26T22:48:00.002-06:00

2008 checklist:

Drama on the job front ...check! (New job for me. Unemployment for the hubby)

Kids growing mentally, physically, spiritually...check! (The boy is almost as tall as my mom. He's got my genes for facial hair so I'm sure he'll be shaving before the 5th grade)

Dealing with the ups and downs of life...check! (My grandma passed away. My sis (Dr J) is pregnant with twins! Also, did I mention husband lost his job?)

Making it through another year with (some) humor, (an ounce of) dignity and (plenty of) vodka...check!

Excuses, Excuses

2008-09-18T08:28:00.000-05:00

Hiya. So I can hear you ask "Minty, where the heck have you been?" I've been here and there and everywhere. Wanted to post for a while but I'm so rusty at this point. Until I get back in the swing of things I shall utilize the beloved bullet-style post:

I'm totally in denial that summer is over. It's gonna be a long, hard winter. (For all you Office fans out there "That's what she said!")

D and I completely gutted the basement and redid it. I asked for a remodeled family room for Christmas (2007). By the time St Patrick's Day rolled around I was no closer to having a lick of work done. I, of course, took that opportunity to remind D that I purchased him a limited edition Gibson electric robot guitar for X-mas and unless he wanted to lose it in the divorce he better get off his ass and start knocking down walls. It turned out beautiful. However I only invite over people who pretend not to notice the unevenness of the ceiling.

The Boy is a 3rd grader. Where has the time gone?? I took him for his annual physical over the summer and he's at the 90th percentile for height. I noticed that he had a lot of female admirers at his summer camp which he was completely oblivious to. Unless you can throw a baseball 20 feet he doesn't have time for you.

The Girl turned 4 and is now in preschool. Her will is so strong and I struggle with raising her without breaking it. D is so tightly wound around her tiny pinkie it's not even funny.

The kids on the first day of school (September, 08)

My sister Dr J and her hubby bought a house way put in the boonies. Her husband is convinced that I've given Dr J some magic elixir that causes her to want to become a suburban soccer mom.

I received wedding invitations from 2 fellow bloggers. Congrats to The Box and Me. Both of their wedding albums make me want to marry D again just so we can get a better photographer.
I met my first blogging friend! Had lunch with Beks and her friend Betty (and Betty's adorable son). Everyone was great and hopefully Beks wasn't too disappointed when she met me. ; )

I'm in Southern California all next week for work which I'm kinda excited about. The weather is supposed to be wonderful AND I'll have my own quiet hotel room to watch all the season premieres.

It’s official. Our relationship is older than my favorite purse.

2008-02-21T14:25:00.002-06:00

Pretend you're reading this on Feb 19th. 2008

12 years ago today I had a first date like no other. I nervously parked the car at the Italian restaurant and fidgeted with my scarf and wondered if I should just go home. I was tired and was having a bad hair day and just wanted to go to bed. I got out of my car and noticed D coming at me and realized that I had forgotten how cute he was since the last time we had met. I was so distracted by his blue eyes at dinner that I ordered fettuccine alfredo despite hating cream sauces with a passion. (The waitress asked if I wanted the special and I said “yes” and then spent the rest of the night fighting the urge to ask her for ketchup to pour on top). I was so smitten I couldn't think straight. I went home that night with my head in the clouds and have never looked back.

Fast forward to the present. We always go back to same restaurant with the kids for fun. Unfortunately I didn't have time to gaze into D's eyes since the Girl spilled water on me and the Boy complained and whined that the tomatoes on his plate were touching the green peppers hence he couldn't eat them. I couldn't think straight because I had a sinus headache and I went home that night with my head in the clouds.

It’s official. Our relationship is older than my favorite purse.

Homeward Bound

2008-01-28T20:38:00.001-06:00

Hi y'all. I noticed I used to say that all the time but Britney Spears gave "y'all" a bad name. Anyway I've been a bit busy with the holidays and all (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Arbor Day, etc). OK, maybe not Arbor Day but still. I can't tell you how much I've travelled in the past few months. Everywhere from Canada to India. I've collected 30K miles in the last few month but luckily most has been with the family. A quick recap since my last post. Halloween was nice. Boy was Harry Potter and Girl was Dora and then a dinosaur (Don't ask. She's only 3 and a half and she's already demanding not to be photographed in the same outfit twice). Thanksgiving nice. Turkey and then ham with some pie in between. Christmas was quiet. Almost my entire family was already in India at that point. X-mas day was spent with D's family which i love despite his step-dad's ignorance. ("I saw in National Geographics that you can't walk around in India because monkeys will steal your purse"). My eyeballs hurt from rolling so hard. Finally we left for India which was so awesome. The kids had a super-fantastic time and are already asking when they can go back. Kerala has changed so much in the last 2 years since our last trip and I can't wait to go back. My only wish is that drivers would follow traffic regulations as a law versus just some guideline or tip to be ignored. I rarely got into a car without thinking at least 3 times that i was going to die. Dude. Buses? have no sense of their size and pure girth on the road. It was crazy. Anyway. Had a awesome time but now I'm back in Chicago where the weather sucks harder than a leech at a blood bank. I leave for California on Wednesday for one night and all I keep thinking is that I'll have 12 solid hours of above-freezing temperatures. Speaking of weather I realized that I'm one ignorant Indian and I should have my desi-card revoked. I've really spent all my previous trips to India in Kerala. This time we flew through Deli and damn. It was cold. Not a bad-cold but like a beautiful I-need-a-sweater-let's-stay snuggled-in-bed-all-morning cold. We're definitely spending more time in Delhi next trip. And in my "It's a Small World" file I saw Em on t.v. while I was in Delhi. I was all into the discussion about blogging and the Girl liked Em's hair however the boy pitched a fit because he wanted to get back to Pokemon in Hindi. I needed to remind him that he didn't know a lick of Hindi but I guess Pokemon crosses all language barriers. (I noticed it was on in Portuguese when I was in Brazil last year). Also, Girl now wants to be a Bollywood actress. We saw Om Shanti Om while in Kerala and now the Girl needs to watch the videos repeatedly on YouTube. Even D watches the video but I think it's because it's a ton of SUPERhot Indian women dancing. Is there something they feed these women to be that hot?? The hair. The skin. The ability to shake their money maker in a sari.

Here's a few pics I uploaded:

The Boy trying to look disinterested.

Better

We took 1, 213 pictures and even created a movie that we burned on DVD before we left. I'll upload to my YouTube account when I get a chance.

Bottom line: had a great time in India and now am very depressed. And cold. AND I lost my links to other blogs in my sidebar and can't get them back up so I guess that makes me whiny too. Anybody know how to fix that?

To Whom it May Concern

2007-10-18T21:59:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure why you have such an aversion to putting your socks in the hamper. Somehow you are under the impression that scattering your stinky socks around the house adds to the decor. I've begged. I've pleaded. I've even put the damn socks in the hamper myself. Now it's war. Starting today I will keep any loose socks that are laying around. Yes, I am taking your socks hostage. By my estimation you will be down to only ragged white gym socks within 9 days. I can't wait to see you wear them with your suit and dress shoes.

Game on my friend.

I'm Not Down

2007-09-07T15:31:00.000-05:00

**The Clash

I can't explain why but I'm in a funk. I don't want to talk to anyone or do anything. I'm able to function but not with any sort of savoir-faire. My husband came home for lunch and took me out for sushi to try to break my mood. I believe at one point I said "Um..is it ok if we don't talk?"

I guess I'm writing this because D may come here in the hopes that I spilled my guts out to the blogsphere as to the reason for my funk. Sorry, sweetie. This is a phase and it'll pass. And no, there's nothing you can do to help me. However, as a rule of thumb, diamonds and/or chocolate will never be frowned upon.

...Because you're oh so gone and I'm oh so sad.

2007-08-29T00:48:00.000-05:00

*Starlee Kine, Joe McGinty and Julia Greenberg from TAL #339

Insomnia is a bitch. She comes over every night and keeps me company. She forces thoughts into my head about impending deadlines and the lack of groceries in my fridge. She taunts me with periods of pseudo drowsiness only to keep me awake and wired with random thoughts.

Lots of stuff going on. I've been travelling for work, considering changing jobs, and getting the kids ready to restart school. In the middle of this we've had heavy rains the past 2 weeks causing major damage to the Chicago area. For those of you who know Illinois, my parents live in Des Plaines aka THE FLOOD MAGNET. Yep. Basement completely flooded and no power for 3 days.

See the reflection? That's not a tile floor... that's 4 inches of water on carpet. You'll notice my dad's pride and joy (his big screen t.v.) in the background. I had to disconnect his cable connection in order to move the t.v. and all he could do was whine about his AsiaNet. Seriously. I'm about to go fishing in the basement and you're worried about missing your serials??

I have a ton of pictures for the insurance claim if you'd like to see them. We can make popcorn and sit and watch the slideshow together.

Anyhoo. We went over to the house and pulled up the carpet and threw out years of memories intermingled with junk. D and my brother-in-law Ry were so awesome. No complaints. No questions asked. Hours upon hours of heavy lifting. In the midst of the chaos and annoyance I was so happy that I'm part of this kick-ass family.

*******

I'm an NPR (National Public Radio) junkie. My favorite show is This American Life with its uber-cool and unlikely sex symbol host, Ira Glass. I liken the show to being at a dinner party with a group of interesting people and overhearing snippets of conversations. It's totally theater of the mind and you can feel the warm fire crackling in the background as you're listening. The show is on every weekend but because we're usually out and about I listen to it online on Monday. This week was one of the best segments I've EVER heard and that's saying a lot considering I've been listening for years. The theme was Anatomy of a Break-up and in Act Two, Starlee Kine talks about writing a song to deal with being dumped by her boyfriend. I love what she says about break-up songs:

A break-up song won't ever suggest you start online dating or that you're better off without him. They tell you that you're worse without him which is exactly what you want to hear because it's how you feel. I didn't want to be cheered up. I didn't want to bounce back. I didn't want to meet someone new. I wanted to wallow. Big time. Deeply. And with the least amount of prospective possible.
I encourage everyone to listen to the entire episode online (it's free!). She actually gets advice about corny love songs from Phil Collins. How can you go wrong?

The segment triggered me to find random mix tapes I've kept over the years. I even have one with break-up songs on one side and "I'm-fine-now" songs on the other. Of course I have the cliche "I Will Survive" on there but other gems include:

Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division
Pictures of You - The Cure
With or Without You - U2
4 Men- Kitchens of Distinction
Where is My Mind- Pixies
Pink Moon- Nick Drake
Silent All These Years- Tori Amos

And yes before you ask, in high school I dressed in black with my bangs always over my eyes and had 5 piercings in my ears. My parents came into my room one day and asked me if I was on drugs because that's what "the punks" do. I laughed and told them the strongest drug I'd taken was the Midol and Tylenol used monthly when I celebrate my womanhood. Anyway, despite the look, I didn't smoke which made me too uncool to hang out with the punk kids.

I digress. I'm curious what your most memorable break-up and "I survived" songs are? Consider it a tag.

You've given me the sweetest taboo

2007-07-25T23:48:00.000-05:00

*Sweetest Taboo- Sade

Loved the book. Was able to finish it Sunday afternoon and lift my self-imposed embargo on TV and internet. My dad is on book 1, mom is almost done with book 3, the Boy is half-way through #6 and my sisters and I are done with the series. D isn't into HP most likely due to the lack of sports references and fart jokes. In all fairness he's going through the classics that he's always wanted to read and is almost done with The Red Badge of Courage.

Did I mention the Girl ran into a wall 2 months ago and we had to take her to the E.R? She's fine but she's left with a scar on her forehead.

When the Boy saw it I could literally see the wheels churning in his head as his jealousy overtook him.

Eye of the Tiger

2007-07-18T23:10:00.000-05:00

Checklist:

Reread Half Blood Prince. check
See Order of the Phoenix. check
Avoid any internet article that mentions a new book especially if the headline contains the word "spoilers". check
Arrange for the kids to go to church picnic on Saturday with my parents ensuring that I will have the chance to sleep and read. check
Make plans to hang out, eat, drink and be in line at midnight. check

Being nocturnal will finally pay off.

I'm a nerd and I'll say it loud and say it proud. I heart Harry Potter.

Oh Oh come take my hand. We're riding out tonight to case the promised land.

2007-07-15T12:39:00.000-05:00

* Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen

First and foremost a big blog re-welcome to the one and only Rat. After months of being off the radar Ms Rat has decided to give blogging a try again. Welcome back!

Rat was one of the first blog friends I made and the closest one that I have come to meeting so far. There are some bloggers out there I consider more friends than bloggers. I've become a reluctant blogger of late not so much for content as sure laziness coupled with lack of time. I thought at first that I had nothing to blog about but I soon realized that stuff was happening, I just didn't want to talk about it on my blog. Case in point I'm currently recovering from surgery on some uterine fibroids. A year ago I would have counted down the surgery along with a blow-by-blow of my slow (and surprisingly painful) recovery on this blog. I'm not sure what changed.

There are still bloggers out there that I would love to meet as well as those who I just know that I will. Beks and her husband are moving to the US next week and I promised her some home cooking courtesy of my parents. Anyway despite my heavy upcoming travel schedule Beks and I will eventually have a date in Swedish heaven a.k.a. IKEA.

Summer is upon us. Work has been crazy-busy. The Boy is in summer camp and he's amazed that he gets to play sports and make crafts all day. The only thing I remember about summer is laying around and watching TV. Those were the good old days. My sister and I lived down the street from friends of ours (Ley and Nikki) and the biggest decision we ever had to make each morning were what we should have for lunch and which Duran Duran song should we play. The 4 of us picked out our future husbands from the band (I was gonna marry Roger,the drummer because he was my type; quiet and cute). Unfortunately no one wanted to marry Andy (always looked like he needed a shower) or Nick (wore more lipstick than the 4 of us combined). My sister and Nikki both wanted Simon Lebon and worked out some sort of timeshare to split their marriage. There we were without a care in world. Ah, the good old days.

Alive and Kicking

2007-06-26T16:00:00.000-05:00

*Simple Minds

Tagged by Broom and (I think) Wandernut

8 things I'm proud of...

My marriage: : : 11 years with the same person is not always easy. We love, we laugh, we fight, we laugh some more. Bottom line is that D is the nicest husband and father that I know and he makes my job as his life partner that much easier.
My children::: What can I say. They drive me nuts and then they make me melt. Of course I'm proud that the Boy hit a home run in last night's baseball game and the Girl impressed her grandma by practically writing her full name at the age of 3. However I'm more proud that they hug their grandparents and ammechi and appachan every time they see them. I'm more proud that the Boy gave his entire lunch to his classmate who forgot his. I'm more proud that the Girl wants to share her dolls with the "babies that don't have none". There's a world beyond their suburban existence and I'm most proud that my children realize that.
My career::: It's funny when a job turns into a career. I make a good living. If, God-forbid, something happened tomorrow I know I will stand on my own 2 feet.
My boss::: She stood up for me and every other person in the company that has a life outside of this job.
My older sister::: She's going to succeed on her terms and I'm so proud of her for that.
The new me::: I reached a breaking point somewhat recently and it caused me to make some changes for a better me; a healthier, happier me. My ass will no longer need its own postal code.
The one that got away::: I think of him fondly though rarely. I would have become someone else for him in exchange for a glamorous life and I'm proud that I didn't allow that to happen. Besides, nothing is more glamorous than 4 loads of laundry.
My ability to name songs from the 80's within 5 notes. It's a gift really. I'm the Rain Man of 80's music. Please don't test me for you'll only embarrass yourself.

I lay smiling like our sleeping children..

2007-06-14T00:33:00.001-05:00

*Naked As We Came by Iron and Wine

Summers here and the weather is gorgeous. The warm days and cools nights are picture perfect. The kids practically live outside evidenced by their tans.

So this past weekend the kids slept over my parent's place. I remember when the Boy first slept over there we were so worried he would forget us in the 15 hours we were away from him (10 of which he was asleep). I used to call my parents and ask "Is he OK?' "Is he asking for us?" "Shall we come pick him up?" to which my father would promptly threaten a restraining order and hang up. These days I'm not sure if it's the foreign feeling of solitude or the fact we're too busy trying to pack 3-days worth of activity in 1 night to even call over to check on them. When we have called the kids sound happy to say a quick "Hi...love ya...see you in the morning" and run back to their mountain of sweets and unlimited TV. The truth is the kids enjoy their mini-holiday as much as we do. I barely have my shoes off at my parent's house when the Girl says "Bye Mom...see ya tomorrow". OH-Kay. To make myself feel better I'm pleased that the kids are so secure with our families that there's no need for theatrics. That being said a little sob would have been nice for my ego.

Anyway D took me for sushi and the movie of my choice. D's only requirement was no subtitles. We saw Once about the week long relationship between an Irish street musician and a Czech immigrant. It takes place in Dublin which fulfilled the no subtitles rule but D still complained he couldn't understand the actors sometimes. WTF? It's YOUR people. If I can understand them you sure the heck should be able to.

When we got home I did something I haven't done in ages. I slept naked. This isn't a sexual comment. All the parents out there know that once kids enter your life the naked moments are few and far between. I slept naked AND with the door wide open which is unheard of. I felt like an adult. Of course I couldn't wait to see the kids in the morning and have them kiss me and cling to me. They're SO worth giving up nudity for.

We've been teaching the Girl about personal space. During the initial potty training phase a few months ago it was common for us to put her on the toilet and clap wildly when she did her business. She in return would clap and say "good job mom" when I went potty. Now that she's a pro we're teaching her that people need privacy. Yesterday she announced that she had to go potty and promptly went upstairs to the bathroom. When the Boy followed her to brush his teeth she loudly announced "No Boy! I need priva-seat". Like Pavlov's dog I now find it difficult to pee without clapping.

The kids birthdays are coming up over the next 2 weeks. The Boy and Girl are 4 years apart almost to the day. One day they'll be all grown up and trying to find time for their blogs. Until then....

I fell in love again all things go, all things go*

2007-05-22T23:09:00.000-05:00

* Chicago by Sufjan Stevens

S'up?

***
Season Finale of Grey's Anatomy? So annoying. Why am I watching this show. Izzy continues to annoy me and Meridith? Why does she keep rephrasing what other people say?

***
The cicadas are coming! The cicadas are coming! There are many species of cicadas but we here in Chicago are getting ready for the invasion of the Brood XIII variety. I remember the last time the cicadas invaded this area. I went to Ravinia with some friends to lay out on the grass for a picnic. Harry Connick Jr had just come out with a new album and was headlining a jazz showcase. We get to the grassy area and it's covered in cicadas. We literally had to sweep them away to lay the blanket out. No wonder the tickets were so cheap. We talked about the next invasion of cicadas and how we would be *gasp* in our 30's!

***
I'm obsessed with airline miles. Reasonable Mint knows that if she's prudent she'll have enough miles in October to exchange for 2 round trip tickets to India. Not-so-reasonable (NSR) Mint wants to blow it all for 4 tickets to Tahiti and a ocean-view bungalow. *sigh* I already know who'll win.

***
D and I had our annual no-holds barred argument this past weekend. I personally believe arguments like this are needed every so often in a marriage. Our arguments are always along the same theme; Him: "I'm not a mind reader" Me: "I don't feel appreciated". It sounds lame now but man, did we let some emotions fly on Saturday. Unfortunately we wasted our date night on the fighting and by the time we reached a compromise it was just about time to pick up the kids from my parent's house.

***
Saw Shrek the Third this weekend. It was cute. Definitely better than most of the kid's crap out there.

***
Finally, currently on the iPOD:

The Girl's Picks
Dr Worm - TMBG
Baby Beluga - Raffi
Bouncing Around the Room - Phish

The Boy's Picks
Welcome to the Jungle - GNR
El Matador - Dos Fabulosos Cadillacs
Punkrocker - The Teddy Bears featuring Iggy Pop

D's Picks
Punkrocker - The Teddy Bears featuring Iggy Pop
9 Crimes - Damien Rice
Satisfaction - DeVo

My Picks
Ramalama (Bang Bang) - Roisin Murphy
Chicago - Sufjan Stevens
Til the End of Time - Devotchka

Anyone interested in organizing a CD exchange?

If dreams are like movies then memories are films about ghosts*

2007-05-08T01:03:00.000-05:00

*Couting Crows

If I had a dollar for every half-a$$ post that I started I'd be a very rich woman.

Between travelling for work and the kids extracurricular activities I can barely see straight. I've been unwinding by staying up late and watching movies on cable. My parents and older sister went to see the Namesake this past weekend which they loved. The other night I saw an odd but great one; Lovers of the Artic Circle is a quirky love story from Spain which is one of the best it's-1am-and-I-can't-sleep movies. Tonight however I'm lucky enough to be watching one of my all-time faves; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. This movie is pure brilliance to me. Is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?

One of my best friends is going through a break-up (sort of). I say sort of because she's willing to bend for him and hey, that's totally her prerogative. It's easy for me to judge from the comforts of my suburban existence. It's easy for me to spout the cliches about "more fish in the sea" and "that which doesn't kill you blah blah blah." I'm lucky that time has healed the scars of my heartache. If I could invent a bandage that would speed up the process of healing, I'd give it out for free. I would give it to the 16 year old who thinks that the unrequited love of a classmate is the end of life as she knows it. I would give it to the 20 year old college student who pines for the girl in his English class to the point of despair. I wouldn't charge a penny for my magical bandage.

Hmmm...there's a reality show on called "Jon and Kate Plus 8". It's about a married couple that had 5 year old twins and decided they wanted one more. They take fertility drugs and boom!..she's pregnant with sextuplets. This is the 2nd time I've seen this how and I'm amazed that the woman makes no qualms about having to be a bitch. She's constantly belittling her husband who looks like a broken shell. The kids look happy enough...the parents look haggard. Can you imagine 8 kids under the age of 8?? I can barely find matching socks as it is with 2.

Anyway back to my magical bandage. It wouldn't remove all the pain, only decrease the time the pain lingers. I think you need that pain of a break-up as a reminder you're alive. However I could tweak it so it prevents you from doing dumb things like sending that e-mail where you beg for him/her back or that drunk-dialing phone call where you break down and cry *shudder*. My bandage would help heal your mind so that every single song, sight and smell no longer reminds you of them.

Anyway I wish I had that bandage now to help my friend.

A blue eyed boy meets a brown eyed girl (oh the sweetest thing)

2007-04-15T22:18:00.000-05:00

Stuff (in no apparent order)

Parents are back from India! *happy dance*
Freak Spring snowstorm on day the parents returned. Nearly had to physically restrain dad from hopping back on plane.
Celebrated another birthday. No regrets about being firmly entrenched in my 30's.
Kurt Vonnegut died. On my "100 things to do before I die" list #54 was get Kurt Vonnegut's autograph. Looks like I'll need Ebay to fulfill that one now.
Celebrated another year of wedding bliss. I've known D for 11 years now...8 of them legally.
Little league baseball has started and D's a coach. Hanging around with eleven 7-9 year olds is the best contraception on the planet.
Decided to repaint the red dining room in my spare time.
Discovered I don't have any spare time.
Hey! Writing in bullet-format is fun.
The girl is almost two and a half going on 17. My mom smiles and says she is just like I was.
Saw Casino Royale. I'm no James Bond fan but Daniel Craig was spectacular.
Geek moment alert! Did anyone see the season finale of BattleStar Galactica?? How awesome was that?
Boy spent a week in Wisconsin with in-laws for Spring Break. Ate donuts for breakfast everyday.
Planning a family trip to Ireland and Scotland.
Sister mad because I refuse to go see The Police with her. I want to go see the Police (and a bunch of other bands) but refuse to pay $150 dollars to sit in a field in Tennesee to do it.

2007-03-19T11:18:00.000-05:00

Me in Honey

2007-02-26T22:45:00.000-06:00

So we're sitting in church and I have a weird taste in my mouth. Thanks to my recent bout of walking pneumonia (NOT a respiratory infection as I was originally diagnosed with) it was sort of like a metallicy mucousy taste. We're coming up on the part where we turn to our neighbor and shake hands as an offering of peace. I take my purse and gently rummage through it looking for a mint. Nothing says suck-it to your neighbor like bad breath. Although I can't find a mint I find a breath spray. I wonder when I bought that? I carefully take the top off and spray in my mouth. ACKKKKKKKKKKK! You know that Calvin and Hobbes when Calvin is forced to eat vegetables and he contorts his face? That's what I did. While I'm quietly dry heaving I look down at the "breath spray" and realize that it was an anti-bacterial hand sanitizer. The Boy is looking at me with a "I can't take you anywhere", D is shaking his head in disbelief and the Girl is now imitating the hacking sounds that I'm making. The woman in front of me turns around and I return her stare with my best "bite me" look.

I knew I should have stayed in bed.

Hey, I ain't got no money but honey I'm rich on personality

2007-02-06T21:10:00.000-06:00

There's nothing like winter in Chicago. The sound of the snowplows barreling down the street. The feel of the windchill freezing your runny nose as soon as you open the door. The way the windshield wiper fluid leaves a film on your window as it freezes as you drive.

It's mind-numbing cold. The windchill was TWENTY BELOW ZERO the other day. The bottles for the water cooler froze in the garage. We had a party for the Super Bowl on Sunday and I used the garage like an over-sized refrigerator for storage. I think there's still some cake in there.

Speaking of the Super Bowl, our beloved Chicago Bears lost. We're kinda hard-core fans so we sported the orange and blue facepaint. The Girl wanted rainbows but we settled on "C" (for Chicago)

Oh well. Baseball unofficially starts ramping up next week.

Prince was the halftime show and it was surprisingly good. It was pouring rain and he rocked it like it was 1999. That's old school my friends. None of this lip-sync crap with 20 gyrating dancers in the background.

In other news I've had the mother of all respiratory infections. I flew to Iowa last week and I really thought that my lungs were going to collapse on take-off. I'm much better taking care of other people .. I suck at being a patient.

2 posts in a row. I need to go lay down now.

Because if it's not love then it's the bomb that will bring us together

2007-02-03T03:11:00.000-06:00

*strechhhhhhhhhh....yaaaawwwwwnnnnnn* wassup?

Tag of Three(ish) thanks to the lovely Beks

Three things that scare me:
Sleeping next to a wall
Driving next to a concrete wall (like on a expressway)
George Bush

Three people who make me laugh:
D
Sara
My sister, Dr J

Three things I love:
Massages
That moment when I finish a task
Listening to D play guitar

Three things I hate:
Reality TV
Cooked carrots
Wet socks

Three things I don't understand: (Too numerous to mention...)
Why I procrastinate
judgmentall people
Why I don't blog more

Three things on my desk:
My laptop
My cup of hot chocolate
A picture of D and I in Paris

Three things I'm doing right now (creative license added here):
Reorganizing my closets
Fixing up my kitchen
Missing my mom

Three things I want to do before I die:
Learn to juggle
Speak French proficiently
Fill all the pages of my passport

Three things I can do:
Calm people down when they're in a tizzy
Pretend like something's not bothering me when it really is

Three things you should listen to:
The voice in your head
Your kids giggling uncontrollably
Ben Folds - He has a song for every mood

Three things you should never listen to:
The voice in your head
Playa haters

Three things I'd like to learn:
To cook like my mother
Knitting
Salsa dancing in high heels

Three favorite foods:
Sushi
My aunt's shrimp curry
Fresh homemade bread

Three beverages I drink regularly:
Water
Diet Coke

Three TV shows/Books I watched/read as a kid:
The Brady Bunch reruns
Anne of Green Gables
The Love Boat/Fantasy Island

Three people I would like to tag:
Sunrayz
DNA
Wandernut

Jack Frost chillin, the orchas out? And that's what Christmas is all about*

2006-12-22T23:50:00.000-06:00

*Nothin says the holidays like Run DMC

(I would be remiss if I didn't mention the passing of one of my all-time favorite blogs. I'll miss you lah.)

So another year in the books. I wish I had a specific reason as to why I haven't blogged for over a month. Basically I had nothing to say. I continued to read other bloggers and even commented on a few posts.

Work is fine. I was in California for the first week of December which always helps my seasonal affective disorder. I can't complain too much as the weather's been comparatively mild. I'm sure now that I said that the temperature will drop about forty degrees.

The house is all decked out for Christmas and the shopping is almost done. I've always had an artificial tree growing up. The tree my parents still put up every year is the one they purchased when my little sister Dr J was in kindergarten. We joke that every year my parents have to do surgery on its poor fake limbs and stick the little bunches of greenery back on the pathetic branches. After about 15 years my sisters and I complained that the amount of tinsel my parents used to hide the bare spots was at the very least a fire hazard. Now the little Charlie Brown tree is synonymous with Christmas to me. Ever since D and I moved into this house we've gotten a real tree every year. This year D tried to convince me that we should start a tradition of going out to some tree farm and cutting down our own tree. Why? I hate the cold. Why would my born-in-a-tropical-climate ass want to stand out in snow and windchill to cut down a tree that's going to be in our house for all of 3 weeks?

Our 9 foot tree

My mom, who never ever asks for anything (ever) actually had a wishlist this year. We're giving her an iPod Video which completely blew any sort of budget that we had but I don't care. Mom's requests are like Haley's Comets; they only occur once in a blue moon.

I leave you with the best wishes for the holidays and a very Happy New Year from my family to yours.

Time after time

2006-11-16T19:40:00.000-06:00

When I said "I'll post tomorrow..." in my last post I didn't actually mean tomorrow. It's sorta like when you say "see you later". Later can be anywhere from 10 minutes to 10 years and beyond.

Work? Totally kicking my ass. Lots of great experience but in a "is the stress worth my hair falling out?" sort of way. One day people will take this medication without fear of growing a third nipple thanks to our team. Of course the company can always take the "third nipple" factor and market it for people in freak shows (or mothers of triplets).

I'm back in California in December and I'm hoping things will be more low key at that point. I love December in California. Do you know some people actually wear shorts for Christmas? Shorts? I'm a Chicago girl. Christmas means windchill and snowplows and, on special occasions, frostbite. For years New Year's Eve meant standing outside a club waiting to be carded while you lost all feeling in your toes because you're wearing your new pointy toe heels.

Lots of stories but too little time at the moment.

Later.

Sweet dreams are made of these. Who am I to disagree.

2006-11-08T07:52:00.000-06:00

I'm headed out for the biggest meeting for my project and possibly my career (so far). As stressed as I've been the past few weeks I'm oddly at peace this morning. It's a strange sort of eerie peace that is sorta freaking me out considering I'm on a flight in an hour. The Boy and Girl covered me with hugs and kisses before they left for school. D whispered hurried home as he hugged me. The Democrats have control of the House and possibly the Senate (tied 49 to 49 as of 10 minutes ago). Life is good.

I'll write from sunny California tomorrow.

But I just can't convince myself I couldn't live with no one else

2006-11-03T20:00:00.001-06:00

Is making a post out of answering comments really lame? Yes? *groans* I'm such a lazy blogger. (Quickly, the curls are from D's side of the family). : )

Today I received a postcard from the fabulous D and Shakey who recently got back from a holiday in Thailand. (Thank you guys so very, very much) . I've thought before about which bloggers would be cool to have as neighbors and they're definitely in my top 5. I need people who get D's and my sense of humor. People who I would feel ok with rummaging though my cabinets for cereal at random times of the day. People who know politics but can still tell me who the latest Hollywood break-ups are. People who have a wanderlust.

I love my little neighborhood because it's like a little global village. We live on the corner lot and only have one direct next door neighbor. When we moved in we were told that the next door house had also recently sold and when I saw the windows open and the gleam of newly stained hardwood floors I imagined all sorts of cool women I could befriend. When I was told that it was a gay couple my imagination went wild with thoughts of fabulous brunches and advice on hairstyles. Alas Don and BL are the the nicest yet most straightest gay couple I have ever met. *sigh* The closest that I've come to a fabulous brunch was the time I helped throw a shower when they adopted their second child. I've never received help with my hair but instead have had indepth conversations about school districts and academic standards. Both D's and my families like them and their adorable children although my mother-in-law says stuff like "I think the gays should have civil rights but not marriage because that's for normal people". I'm lucky that I didn't roll my eyes so hard that they permanently set in the back of my head. The notion that "normal" is based on what happens behind closed doors is lost on me but she's 75 so I'm willing to cut her slack. Besides, I stopped analyzing the ignorant stuff my inlaws say a long time ago. Anyway, back to neighbors, I couldn't ask for better neighbors. Now D wants to move further into white Suburbia and I'm terrified at the possibility of moving somewhere with a bunch of stepford wives. I don't wanna wear sensible khakis or sweater sets. The rare time I do cook something fancy it usually contains less than 5 ingredients. I don't have a cutesy dog that I dress up or a purse that costs more than my mortgage.

Anyway, I digress. Thanks again to my virtual neighbors.

Oh the movie never ends, it goes on and on and on

2006-11-02T23:56:00.000-06:00

There's nothing better than taking a break from a late night of crunching numbers and listening to cheesy music. I wonder how D will react when he sees the receipt from iTunes for my purchase of Journey's Greatest Hits.

It's sorta like dating. I wonder if I'll regret it in the morning?

You're the one that I want

2006-11-01T22:12:00.000-06:00

Sooooo tired. Halloween weekend wore me out. Saturday night I went over to my best friend's new house for a birthday get-together. It was nice just kickin back, renting a movie and having some good ol'girl talk. I got home early and quickly feel asleep. Sunday was Halloween trick-or-treatin in Wisconsin. It's kinda cool that the kids go to the same neighborhood that D did growing up. The kids got a boatload of candy which I tried to give away. Halloween Day they received even more as we took them around our neighborhood. This year they got plenty of the good stuff; Snickers, Hershey's, Butterfingers. The Boy prefers Skittles to chocolate which makes me think that some DNA testing is in order. The Girl will eat anything and everything associated with chocolate just like her mom.

Carving the pumpkin

Pumpkin guts!

I leave you with some pictures of my pirate and dracula.

Halloween Wisconsin Style

Just give us some candy!

Cousins

Gamble Everything for Love

2006-10-21T14:44:00.000-05:00

I've decided that D and I need to take a trip somewhere. Anywhere. The last few months I've noticed that we've been excessively short with one another. Luckily after ten years together we can have a somewhat-heated exchange and still stand to talk to each other. Gone are the days when one of us would storm off leaving the other rolling their eyes and saying "whatever". However reaching this level of comfort has lead to a bit of complacency. While there is still plenty of heat in our marriage I doubt either of us feel the smoldering desire of year one. (Yes, it was that intense). Last week we were watching the series Numbers. The show has a unique concept; math genius professor assists his FBI brother in solving crimes. That being said the show is wearing on my nerves. If you drink every time the professor uses the word algorithm, you'd be drunk by the second commercial break. Anyway, when the Chinese embassy spy was killed by a hit and run driver I commented that it was only a matter of time before they used the Theory of Relativity to find the killer. D actually paused the TV (I heart Tivo!) and tried to engage me in conversation about the merits of Einstein's theory. Now don't get me wrong, D is still hands-down one of the most interesting people I will ever have the pleasure of knowing. But dude. Seriously? You took a random thought to a lame plot twist and want to talk science with me at 9pm on a Friday night? A 24-year old Mint would have lovingly hung on every word with doe-eyes because it would have been cool to discover that my boyfriend was cute and brilliant. The Minty of 2006 was feigning interest while trying to remember if there was still ice-cream in the freezer.

Last night it was my turn to nerd out and try to explain one of the thousand reasons I love the new season of Battle Star Galactica. D could barely look up from his laptop to fake a "uh huh, cylons... Pegasus... insurgents".

Have we discovered everything there is to know about each other?

I refuse to believe that.

When we were young

2006-10-04T20:05:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow D is off on his annual holiday with his mom and sisters. For those unaware of the genesis of these trips it started about 4 years ago when the 4 of them had to travel to recover the personal possessions of his brother who passed away suddenly out of state. They vowed that they would continue to come together under better circumstances. I like that he gets time alone with them although he describes theses trips as estrogen-overload. For the second year in a row they are heading to New York. I told him he can be Miranda in their recreation of Sex and the City. (For the record he wasn't amused by the analogy although I giggled uncontrollably).

This leaves me to deal with 2 kids, a dog, a household and impending work deadlines by myself until next Tuesday. I know people do it all the time. I know there are single parents out there who handle it in stride and although I will make it through and we'll be fine, I fear I may lose more than a few brain cells in the process. The knowledge that D is a major part of my life is only going to be highlighted in his absence. I feel a migraine coming on.

The hilarious part of the trip (for me) is that D's mom and one of his sisters are CHEAP. I was going to say frugal but the term cheap is more appropriate. Because of their cheapness the 4 of them are sharing one hotel room, although this time it's a suite. On the last trip D had to share a bed with his mom for 2 nights. He called me one night to tell me that he missed us and I asked if his mother enjoyed spooning as much as I did. (The man clearly doesn't appreciate my humor).

Finally I was tagged by Bananarama

8 things about myself:

1. I startle easily. Even if it's something on TV, I jump. It's kinda embarrassing.

2. In general I hate cheese. I hate cream sauces or cheese on my sandwhich. Ironically my favorite sandwich is tomato mozzarella. (I'm an enigma wrapped in a conundrum).

3. As I've aged I notice that when I'm alone I talk to myself. Not conversations perse but I catch myself answering a question that I asked in my head.

4. I want a minivan. It's not some strange wish to fully sucumb in being a suburban soccer mom. I just want more space. I want to take long trips without having to turn around and yell "Everyone keep your hands to yourself!"

5. My nightly ritual incudes; brush teeth, wash face, pat dry, lotion face, lotion neck lotion hands/arms, chap stick, brush hair. I'm like a nocturnal version of Rain Man.

6. I cannot sleep (or even lay down) in a room if the closet door is open. I'm sure it's based in being afraid of nightime monsters when I was a kid.

I can't think of anything for 7 or 8.

I tag Jay, Em, Sines, Box, Mahima, Nutty, Sunrayz and Penny Lane.

What a Wonderful World

2006-10-02T15:30:00.000-05:00

Beautiful couple

Gorgeous room overlooking the water

Good food and friends

Live band

Happy ending/beginning.

Our house. In the middle of our street.

2006-09-26T07:52:00.000-05:00

Greetings. I won't give you an excuse about how busy I was because let's face it, we're all busy. The weather's taken a turn for the worse in Chicago. The nights dip down into the 40's (about 9 C). We've been having spurts of crazy rain and the other night we had a tornado warning close by. We were all in the car on the way to dinner and the kids looked pretty terrified. Of course it was nothing that a little tandoori chicken and saag paneer didn't solve.

My bosses must have sensed my frustration at work because they gave me a promotion yesterday. I have 3 more months on my old projects which includes traveling to meet individually with my team. At the very least I'll hit Utah (shout out to all my mormon readers!), Toronto and Quebec.

The (American) football season has started. The Chicago Bears are undefeated so far which makes D very happy. He's only made bread once this season because we've just had so much to do on the weekends. This year for game day we try and make something that is associated with the team we play. The first game was against the Green Bay Packers (Wisconsin). We made slow-cooked bratwurst with cheese and summer sausage.

D baked homemade rolls and a loaf of french bread for the week.

This weekend is one of my best friend's wedding. I'm on a mission to find shoes that are fancy and stylish yet comfortable for salsa dancing.

Ley and Steve got a lot of nice things for their new house.

Ley has her Masters in Psychology and uses her training in their relationship. There's a lot of talk about feelings and emotions in every conversation. I told D last week that I feel sad when he leaves his dirty socks on the floor because I take it as a sign of disrespect. He silently went over and picked up his socks but gave me a look like I had just escaped from a Psych Ward.

Finally, I leave you with pictures of the Girl's first haircut. Despite being a little over 2 years old, the Girl's hair has shown minimal signs of taming. What it lacks in length it makes up for in equal parts curl and frizz.

Before

We went to the same place that we took the Boy for his first cut. They have little cars that you can sit in and watch your favorite program.

After
She had little sparkly barrettes on the sides and the woman sprinked glitter in her hair ("Momma! I'm a glidder pwrincess"). The gitter must have had specks of glue on it because I still can't get it out.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Lay my love

2006-09-17T14:25:00.000-05:00

I just returned from Vegas Friday night and I'm off to Boston tonight. I get to work from home but have travelled 10,000 miles in the past month.

I'm securely lodged between a rock and a hard place.

Despite all this my husband has been a superstar and the kids have been amazing.

Does this count as a post??

Spirit of the rising sun lift me up...

2006-09-05T02:01:00.000-05:00

I'm home. It's 2am and I can't sleep. I've been a little conflicted about my job lately. I've been overwhelmed for a while. It's not the travel at all. People have been dropping likes flies and the company has done very little to help prevent the rest of us from leaving. I'm overwhelmed with my projects and lately I'm barely keeping my head above water. I have to remind myself that things could always be worse. But of course, things could always be better.

Brazil was great. It's a wonderful country with friendly people. Unfortunately on my flight back I was surrounded by high school exchange students who had no concept of volume control. I read this great article in Vanity Fair about scars. The most interesting physical scar that I have is the one on my left palm. My mom worked double shifts for many years of my childhood. My older sister would "watch" me from the time we got home from school until my dad came home. Now by "watch" I mean she would watch TV and I would try not to get in her way. One day when I was about 10 years old I was cutting a bagel to pop into the toaster. My parent's house had a TV in the kitchen and I was watching that episode of Happy Days where Fonzi rides his motorcycle over barrels in the parking lot of Al's diner. In hindsight the episode was pretty lame, but for a 10 year old this was a pretty episode. Anyway, my eyes were on the TV when they should have been watching the big cleaver in my hand. (No immigrant Indian family is complete unless there are a couple of machete-type knives that can cut through a chicken leg or coconut shell in one chop). I felt a burn and when I looked down my sesame bagel was drenched in bright red. I sliced into flesh and was mere millimeters away from a tendon. I'm so lucky I didn't lose the use of my hand.

Wow..I digress. OK. I'm sleepy now. I leave you with pictures of our Onam celebration. Onam is a harvest festival. D commented that it's sorta like American Thanksgiving Day without the connotation of genocide. My cousins came back from India today so we celebrated with a big dinner at their house and my aunt and uncle brought outfits for all the girls.

Here's the Girl getting dressed.

Here she is with her cousins.

Here she is looking innocent.

All the kids

Here's the cake that says Happy Onam. My aunt sent my uncle to get a cake with sprinkles and he brought home a Madagascar cake.

It was chocolate and it had a ton of frosting so I don't think the kids would have cared if it had math problems on it.

Finally my favorite picture of the week. We take pictures of the kids every month on our steps.

Here are the kids on the Boy's first day of First grade.

Good night!

The Girl From Iponema

2006-08-22T07:30:00.000-05:00

Greetings from Brazil where the weather is hot and the men are even hotter. Actually the weather's not that bad but my comparison wouldn't have had the same effect if I said the weather was mild. Anyhoo as I sit in my hotel room it's a little surreal because really it looks like any other room from any given business trip. It's not until I open my drapes and see the hussle of the city that I realize that I'm not in Kansas anymore. (For those who always take me literally please note that I'm not from Kansas. It's a quote from The Wizard of Oz). One full wall of my room is filled with a gigantic window that looks out onto Sao Paulo. Can't blog long as I want to explore the city before my first meeting but first a few observations:

The prettiest women here are the natural beauties. There are definitely surgically enhanced women but they don't hold a candle to the women with little to no makeup who wear jeans and a t-shirt.
The fashion for young women is bright colors and lots of skin.
The fashion for young men is the tighter the better.
Portuguese is my new favorite language of the moment. It sounds like a combination of Spanish and Italian.
Knowing how to speak Spanish paid off as I made my way from the airport to the hotel. The driver they sent to pick my up last night has lived here all his life and had great recommendations on places to go.
Watched T.V. as I went to bed. I'm fascinated by the Portuguese overdub of the audio.
What's up with the porn? I understand the hotel offers basic cable and it's "only" soft-core but geez, what if there were kids around? As I switched channels I wasn't expecting to go from CNN to BBC News to porn. *waves at Jay* I can't even say the word porn without thinking of Jay and a post he once did on his Japanese porn collection. *shudders at the memory* And NO. I'm not thinking of him in THAT way because *whispers* Jay's gay. shhhh. I'm not sure if anyone knows that.

OK. Off to explore. Bom dia mis amigos.

I am just a cowboy lonesome on the trail

2006-08-17T21:00:00.000-05:00

Since my blog looks so pretty I decided to write another post.

Here is a snapshot of my day which convinces me that I have Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder:

Review inbox for important work-related e-mail (Oh! Old Navy AND Pottery Barn are having a sale this week!)
Putz around Pandora..skip 1st 3 songs (not a good start)
Work, Work, Work
Think about what I should have for lunch (look at the clock.. 8:45am)
Spend 20 minutes talking to best friend about wedding plans.
YES! Cowboy Song by Thin Lizzy.
Plan out submitting expenses since March. (Don't actually do it but planning it is a start, right?)
Get a drink of water. Ponder eating the last banana which would mean trip to grocery store to replenish supply for kids. Decide against it.
Pet Chutney for 5 mins
Notice that space around your ass and formerly-spacious office chair is getting less and less
Change out of sweat pants and t-shirt you slept in and into sweat pants and t-shirt to work out in.
Spend 2 minutes gawking in mirror at how big your ass looks in sweat pants and t-shirt
Plan on having a salad for lunch
YES! Tomorrow People by Ziggy Marley.
Work, Work Work
Shakes fists at Pandora for it's selection of Kenny Rodgers greatest hits
Plan menu of dinner party that you've wanted to have for 2 years
Work, Work, Work
Brief IM conversation with friends
Get up and stretch. Go into Girl's room and measure if you'll be able to fit a small bed and crib. (Yes, if we get rid of changing table.)
Make plans to toilet train the Girl so we can get rid of changing table
Step on race car in hallway and nearly fall down stairs. Gather all miscellaneous toys that are not put away and put them in a basket with a note that says "FINDERS KEEPERS".
Sick of crappy selection from Pandora today. Put on a New Order CD as background filler
Work, Work Work
Make a sandwich and begrudgingly eat the last banana.
Work Work Work
Work WORK WORK (As you can see I hit a stride in the afternoon)
Talk to D on the phone to figure out who's picking up which kid
Frantically get the last bit of work done before picking up the girl.
Dinner
Dishes
Check work e-mail
Bath for the kids
Bedtime (D and I switch off every night between putting the Boy and Girl down)
Back in my office for work, work, work
Sleep and get 7 hours of sleep before it starts again

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Within the span of 4 weeks I'll be going to Brazil, California and Las Vegas all for work. My parents leave for India next week while I'm gone. Summer's not over yet but I'm already feeling the dread of facing another Chicago winter. Last December was spent in Kerala in warm weather and 6 square meals a day. This winter there's no respite in sight. I keep thinking that D and I should get away, even if for a weekend. Work for me is pretty crazy. Remember my semi micromanaging manager? She resigned to join a larger company. The client has asked that I take over the project and my supervisor has encouraged me to apply for a promotion. I'm hesitant and I haven't decided if it's because I don't want to added responsibility or because I'm afraid that I can't handle the added responsibility.

My camera is on the fritz. I think the Girl got sand in it when we went to the beach last week. I need a camera for Suemama's tag so that's have to be on hold a bit longer. I've been thinking about Sines and AB's tag. I've often wondered if and when my real life would meet up with my blogging life. Who would I want to meet? There are too many people to even mention. Basically everyone I link is on my love-to-meet list. Each one of those people wrote a post that touched me in some way weather it's through laughter or tears or just plain amazement in their writing ability. However, I would have to say that I'm completely in awe and fascinated by Meeta. I'm convinced she's a more organized and talented version of me and therefore would love to meet her to get advice.

Speaking of amazing, I received 2 amazing packages from bloggers over the last 2 weeks. I need the camera to do them justice but a big thank you Momma Pajama and my dearest Rat. Rat has inspired me to send out another round of Mint Love 2006 (aka the CD exchange). Thanks babe.

OK. I'll check in between my travels. Ciao!

Thank you

2006-08-15T22:15:00.000-05:00

I have very few talents. I can name the title of any one-hit wonder from the 80's upon hearing the first 10 chords. I can put together a heartfelt present with a few photos, some ribbon, glitter and a gold marker. I can stop my kids from doing anything dead in their tracks by looking at them straight in the eyes and lowering my voice by 2 octaves. However, I didn't have one clue on how to make my blog look pretty. Luckily a kindly blogging angel had mercy on me and viola! I love it. Thanks Grrl.

The more I sort it out the more it gets distorted, I sort of think I'm better off just leaving it unsorted

2006-08-08T22:56:00.000-05:00

Tagged by the lovely Cee Kay and Smugbug

I am thinking about
Toronto in the Fall in a hotel overlooking the water.

I said
"Chutney, I'm this close to selling you to the circus."

I want to
join the rowing club in the city we live in. Unfortunately they row down the canal by the sewer plant and I'm pretty sure I'd vomit if the water got on me.

I wish
I were more disciplined. I wish I lived up to the image my coworkers have of me. I wish I could speak 4 foreign languages fluently. I wish that I stopped to say hi to Jeff when I saw him 4 months before he died.

I hear
the sound of the fan swooshing in my office, Chutney snoring, the kid across the street driving by with thump thump of his bass blasting.

I wonder
what my kids will be when they grow up.

I regret
nothing and everything

I am
a compulsive procrastinator.

I dance
like Beyonce on drugs.

I sing
The songs of my youth. Today it's Ask by The Smiths (Because if it's not Love then it's the bomb...that will bring us together)

I cry
way too easily.

I am not always
as happy or as nice as people perceive me to be.

I make with my hands
collages and scrapbooks with the photographs I take.

I write
in journals for my kids. Sometimes I talk about the milestones they have reached. (For example the boy learned how to ride his bike with no training wheels last week). Sometimes I just tell them how much joy they bring to my lives. Most of the time I just ask them not to put me in a nursing home when they grow up.

I confuse
acquaintances and friends. I know a lot of people who I like and who in return like me. But there are only a handful of friends who I would take a bullet for and vice versa.

I need
6 more hours in the day OR someone to cook and do laundry.

1 tag down, 2 to go.

In a big country dreams stay with you like a lover's voice fires the mountainside.

2006-07-11T21:07:00.000-05:00

Wow. This blog sure is dusty. I'm writing after a little blog break and a four day holiday so this post is sure to have run-on sentences and tangents.

It was the independence day holiday last week and in addition to the town parade, we took the kids to see the fireworks spectacular. D found this spot that was far enough from the crowds but close to where the fireworks were launched. We were so close that I strained my neck looking up as the colorful explosions lit up the night sky. The night was a little cool with a gentle breeze off the lake and I loved snuggling with the kids under the blanket.

Here are some pics from the parade:

Here's a marching band playing Pinball Wizard by The Who. I'm sure the Founding Fathers of this nation are rolling over in their graves.

Bolivian dancers

Filipino dancers

Scottish bagpipers. There's a Pavlovian response in which I choke up as soon as I hear live bagpipes. I'm not sure why it happens but I always fight back tears. I went through a whole box if tissue watching Braveheart.

Here's a float with a bunch of old white guys dressed up as Chinese men. D and I shot each other a look when we saw it.

Before the Bush Administration comments about how many immigrants they let participate in our 4th of July celebration I present for you this thing.

It scared the bejeezus out of the Girl.

Speaking of, the kids are now a whole year older and it's pretty amazing. Last weekend I was looking at some old pictures of my parents and it really got me thinking about the sacrifices they made. When my mom was my age, she left India alone in search for a new life for us in America. When she left my sister and I were the exact ages that my kids are now. I don't think I could do it. Perhaps for the right opportunity I would consider leaving my family (parents, sisters, aunts/uncles, cousins) and friends behind but I sure as hell couldn't leave D and the kids. People talk about the immigrant spirit and I so get it.

Life is rocking along. Work is super busy but good. I just found out that I'm going to Brazil the week of August 21st. I know I should be thinking of things like what cultural things can I see while I'm there and how I should research the local cuisine and such but all I can think is "I've got a month to fit mt fat ass back into my favorite pair of jeans." Of course things may not work out and the pharmaceutical company that I'm working for will pull the drug I'm studying in which case I'll spend the week of August 21st updating my CV in my bathrobe. Life always keeps you in your toes.

D, the kids, and I are driving to Michigan tomorrow. Friends of ours rented a beach house and invited us to stay with them for the week. This is truly the first real vacation we've had since our honeymoon. India in December was nice but it doesn't really count as a true vacation if you're only able to spend 17.5 minutes at each aunt's house before the next stop. The biggest decision I plan on making this week is which pair of flip flops should I wear.

I leave you with a few more pictures.

All my kids.

Guess who got a birthday princess outfit and crown from her Aunt Sue? (She kinda looks a little disheveled like she just came home from a rave).

Guess who refused to take her crown off for 4 days?

2006-06-28T19:19:00.000-05:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I present the ultimate in blog laziness (aka have your kid do it for you).

Thank you SO very much for your concern. I feel sorta silly admitting it was due to both the Girl's and Boy's birthday over the span of 2 weeks. June turns into 40 days and 40 nights of celebration. One last party this weekend with the Wisconsin folks and we're finally done. There are pictures but I haven't taught the Girl to upload them yet. We'll set it as a goal for her 3rd birthday.

I'm bored. I'm the chairman of the bored.

2006-06-09T01:46:00.000-05:00

Sitting around waiting for one of our global teams to fax me some paperwork and my MSN won't connect. Everyone's fast asleep or else I'd be doing something productive while waiting like painting the kitchen. Instead I'm sitting in the basement trying to teach Chutney how to talk. As you can see it's not going too well.

Chutney is a bloodhound. Bloodhounds are famous for search and rescue activities but are also avid hunt dogs. Hunters like to use bloodhounds when they hunt duck, geese, and other avian creatures. I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

Fax machine! Ciao!

Summer lovin had me a blast

2006-06-08T00:13:00.000-05:00

What do you get when you combine a piece plastic and a sprinkler? Hours of family fun and a few bruises.

That's D with the Girl sitting in his lap while the Boy slides into them. This went on for hours. I wish I had sound so you could hear her squealing with delight.

Eyes that shine burning red, dreams of you all in my head

2006-05-30T21:01:00.000-05:00

Oye! Where the Frack did May go? Greetings Blogland. It's Minty and I've been dipping into the margarita mix. It's really pathetic that so little alcohol will get me buzzed. This one time for New Year's Eve I had 2 drinks and proceeded to get really chatty before I got really sleepy. I told my then boyfriend that I loved him but I didn't love him. I told him that both of us deserved better and he argued with that logic so I said "Fine, I deserve better." He was a nice guy but I had to help him pay rent one month and that's just really sad. Also he got fired from The Gap for oversleeping and being late. Who the frack gets fired from The Gap? You're paid to get a discount on cute clothes. Anyway, we broke up a few months later and I was so happy to be free. I imagine one day we'll bump into each other again and laugh at how young we were and how our lives are so much better off because we didn't stay together.

Anyhoo, I was recently given a promotion of sorts and am running my project in Australia and Brazil as well as half of North America. The reason I'm drinking is I just got off a telecon with our Australia team and they are driving me crazy. It's very difficult to talk to them for long periods of time and not say "The dingo ate your baby". Also, the guy in charge there goes on and on and on. Dude, it's 8:30am in Brisbane but it's already 5:30pm in Chicago. Luckily I have the most kick-ass husband in the world and he takes the kids out to dinner on Tuesday night so I can take my call in peace. Tonight after dinner he's taken then fishing. There's a little pond near where we live that they release fish into and they let little kids fish there on Tuesday nights. The Boy loves it. He's a gentle soul who likes the thrill of catching them and then the thrill of releasing them back in the water. I sent the girl to nursery school in a frock and black patent leather shoes so I can't wait to see how they smell when they return.

Anyway, chatty Minty would like to send a shout out to Chutney. I can seriously say that 75% of the time I hate having a dog. He's still chewing on miscellaneous things and he stinks when he gets caught in the rain and if he's not sleeping when you turn out the lights for the night, he'll tear the room apart. However, the other 25% he's like half baby/ half grumpy old man and it's kinda endearing. Chutney is 1 years old and although he's the size of a small bear he still thinks he's a baby.

And now I take you down memory road Chutney-style.

Happy Birthday my little Chutney! How we survived Year One I'll never know.

Video killed the radio star

2006-05-22T09:36:00.000-05:00

Another busy weekend. I wasn't going to post today but I noticed that our friend Rat did and I think we should all post today to show Rat that blogging more often than once a month is a good thing. : )

Friday I organized a conference with this local chapter that I belong to. Basically our membership is 100+ but it's the same 5 people that organize all the events. The president of the chapter is a guy I've known for a while now. He's always trying to get me to fix him up with someone but then he gets all giggly and frankly, a giggly guy is so not cool. This is too bad because he's quite smart (finishing his PhD) and successful (works for a pharmaceutical company). Anyway he noticed this girl sitting in the last row and leans over to me and says that she's "his type" and if I have any friends who look like that *wink wink*. I smile and go back to half-listening to our speaker. During the break, the brunette that he had pointed to comes up to me and says "Hi, I'm so and so". Turns out that she works for my neighbor and I've been trying to send business their way for a few months. My friend's eyes nearly fall out of his head when he saw me talking to the girl of his dreams (at least for the past 45 minutes). When we all go back to our seats he wants details. He then proceeds to get irked that I didn't work him into the conversation. Sure dude, the next time I speak to her I'll say "Oh by the way, see that stalker guy drooling all over himself in the corner, he'd like to have your children...er...I mean meet you". In the end I introduce them and they talk for like 10 minutes and he leaves on cloud nine because he got her number. I didn't have the heart to remind him that she gave him her card with her work number while they were talking about work stuff.

Saturday was my cousin's 1st communion and party. This is my uncle's (mom's youngest brother) kid and I adore all of them. The oldest is 12, the boy 9 and the youngest girl is 8 and they are the sweetest kids. My father noted that the Girl never wears any of the "frocks" he brings back from India so for the special occasion I dressed the Girl up in a blue fluffy number with pearl beading and sequins.

As you can see she's so pleased to be wearing it.

The Girl and cousins

The Boy and cousin

This picture is dedicated to Smugbug's last post. Hopefully the picture won't end up on a creepy website about long hair.

The oldest of all my cousins is in town from India. She has been staying with my parents for the past few weeks and will meet up with her husband in June off the coast of South America. Her husband is a captain of a import vessel and travels the world 6 months out of the year. They miss each other like crazy when they're apart but drive each other nuts during their time together. We invited my parents, cousin and everyone else over to our place for dinner on Sunday. My cousin insisted that we shouldn't cook and that she wanted to have some authentic Chicago pizza.

Now it's Monday morning and all I can think about is taking a nap. I have a meeting at noon which means that I have to actually wash my hair. Our company has been toying with the idea of having video phones so we can all "connect visually". I'm in jeans and a nike t-shirt with my hair in a pony tail on top of my head a la a sumo wrestler. The look I'm going for says "best enjoyed over the phone".

Doctor doctor give me the news..

2006-05-18T22:10:00.000-05:00

I'm getting mushy in my old age. I was always an "awwww" girl but I was also able to watch a movie without tearing up. Nowadays freaking greeting card commercials get me all choked up.

***Warning: Grey's Anatomy spoiler ahead*****

It's so weird expending emotion into a TV show. I want to apologize to all the people I mocked because of their outrage when what's-his-name was kicked off of American Idol. I don't watch it so I could give 2 hoots but I certainly don't mean to downplay your pain.

***This is your last warning...I'm gonna say what happened on Grey's Anatomy******

So when I shed a tear at the end of Grey's it wasn't because Denny died, because let's face it, you just knew he was gonna die. Although Alex picking up and holding Izzy was touching. It wasn't when Cristina finally shows her love (?) and support (?) to Burke. (What the hell does he see in her? My pinky toe has more compassion, emotion and love than she does.) It wasn't even when the Chief's niece enjoys her moment of feeling loved by a boy because as a 17 year old with cervical cancer she knew those moments were numbered.

In the end I shed a tear when Meredith slept with McDreamy. The tears of rage were welling up inside me. What the hell is it with these two that they can't keep their private parts out of each other?? You have a choice between unattached, handsome McVet and married, a-hole McDreamy and you're gonna hesitate?? Bitch, don't make me jump through the TV and smack you.

Homeward Bound

2006-05-12T15:56:00.000-05:00

I'm back home, finally. My colleague and I finished up at our last site early and headed to the airport to catch an earlier flight home. She lives in Atlanta and apparently there's a flight from Florida to Atlanta every 20 seconds. Unfortunately the flight I was originally booked on was the earliest one which meant I had 2 hours to kill. Well, 2 hours turned to 3.5 thanks to high wind advisory in Chicago. And I don't want a word from East Coast bloggers about how windy their city is. ; )

The wonderful thing about Fort Lauderdale International Airport is the free wireless internet at all terminals. People watching at an airport cafe with free internet is so fantastic that it's probably outlawed in some countries. The hours flew by while I got some work down, cruised blogs and chatted with friends. The man in the business suit next to me moved his chair at such an odd angle, it made it apparent that he wasn't doing work (unless he was with the FBI or something classified). The way he kept looking up with eyes darting in all directions only proved that he was partaking in some afternoon internet porn. You must be pretty addicted (or desperate) if you can't wait until you're back in the privacy of your own home to look at that. I almost dry-heaved when he suddenly packed up his stuff and headed for the bathroom. Thankfully he wasn't on my flight. I also noticed that there's a look that the young women of Florida are trying to achieve. Somewhere between Jessica Simpson and an orange. Ladies, the sun is our friend. It gives us light and helps grow our food and even affects our mood. However, the fact that you are using the big fire-ball in the sky as your personal microwave is disturbing. The more you tan, the more you peel and the more you peel the more your skin starts to resemble leather. And the thick, orange skin only highlights your newly bleached teeth in a negative way. No ones teeth is naturally THAT white. I will say that the quality of plastic surgery in Florida competes only with California. Most of the breast enhancements looked very natural without being too over-the-top. Unfortunately my flight attendant was the exception. From far away she looked like she was in her late 20's. However upon closer inspection the years of tanning and peroxide blondeness of her hair (the color matched her teeth) made her look 40+. Also, her breast "enhancement" made her look like she was carrying around her own flotation devices.

By the time I got to Chicago it was 10pm and all I could think about was getting home, getting out of my stylish but uncomfortable-after-14-hours strappy shoes and snuggling off to sleep next to D. Unfortunately the delays made O'Hare Airport packed and I had to wait 30 minutes just to get a taxi home. This morning I felt like I was hit by a bus but I don't care. I'm home.

You've given me the sweetest taboo

2006-05-09T23:15:00.000-05:00

We had a party this past weekend for the kids and parents of the Boy's kindergarten class. 35 people in all but it was a lot of fun.

The Girl being a little diva.

************************
I have never done any illegal drugs. I do however partake in whatever the supplement of the week is at the local vitamin store. As I talk to other moms I find that there are more than are a handful that pop pills. My sister-in-law occasionally takes some sort of upper that she said give her the energy of "10 moms in their 20's". Today I popped a pill from the local GNC and I gotta tell you, I'm so freaking efficient right now. Thus far I have done 2 loads of laundry, laid out the kid's clothes for the next 2 days, finished 4 reports for work, attended 3 conference calls, bought a new cell phone, shopped for shoes AND averted 2 crises at work. As I write this post I'm thinking about what to make for dinner as well as the other 10 million things I need to do before I catch a 6am flight to Florida tomorrow.

I'm not sure what the genesis for this is. I don't feel like I'm getting pressure from any external forces to get things done (besides my work). However I know that I tend to feel emotionally and physically drained when I'm behind on things. Seeing as I'm a procrastinator, this tends to be the norm.

**********

This weekend is Mother's Day and we're splitting our time between D's family and my side. I love both sides and I don't ever resent visiting either however, in my almost 6 years of being a mom I have yet to feel like it is a celebration of me. That being said, I will probably get to sleep in past 7am and that's like a major treat these days.

OK...off to bed. I can still catch about 4 hours sleep before I catch my flight.

Ciao!

You can be my Yoko Ono. You can follow me wherever I go...

2006-05-05T23:29:00.000-05:00

D worked late the other night and I rearranged the living room.
BEFORE:

AFTER

It's a little more intimate and I like having the red chair by the window to read in or relax but I'm not sure if I'm loving it for the longterm.

I was online earlier and I noticed that my visitor from Poland was here and I quickly typed out a message. I'm just curious who you are.

When I was coming out of college I was very settled in my social life. I had a large circle of friends who hung out all the time and even vacationed together. Eventually D came into the circle and as we hit our late twenties and thirties, one by one we started getting married and having kids. In America, couples routinely wait until they are in their 30's before they get married. In fact at 27, I was the youngest to get hitched. I really thought that although I would continue to meet new people, my circle of friends was set. However, I've been pleasantly surprised with the new friendships I've made in my early 30's. A few have turned up by circumstance such as fellow room mother's at the kid's schools. I like hanging out with the real moms who have a twinkle in their eyes like they could use a drink at 9am. These women are not to be confused with the ones who have a twinkle in their eyes like they could snap at any moment nor are they the perfectionist whose lives will never live up to the image they portray hence they actually drink at 9am. I've also become very close to one of the Boy's enrichment tutors. I laugh when I say this because if someone had told me that they had a tutor for their kindergartener I would have thought they were crazy. This would be a good time to mention that I suck at anything related to math. I nearly failed geometry in high school and I did so poorly in physics that my university professor (who was from India) wanted a DNA test to prove I was really Indian. Despite this, the Boy (at age 5) has gone ahead and tested at a 3rd grade math level. We now need a tutor to keep up with his academic needs because unless you need to lnow about 80's music or movie quotes, momma can't help you.

Then we come to bloggers. I like being friendly with everyone but after 2 years of blogging there is a protective net that I put up before I actually let you in. Bloggers who have written me e-mails know that I don't respond unless I actually feel like I know you. Sometimes it takes time of commenting back and forth on each other's blog or sometimes it just happens and I just have this feeling that we'd get along. I have 6 bloggers on my MSN chat list and this morning I just added number 7. The special thing about number 7 is that, for the first time since I started blogging, I found a foreign variation of me. She's 33, Indian, married to a German guy, adorable son, loves music and movies, photography, AND works from home. The major difference is she can cook (and cook well) while I am embarrassed to say that last week I burned a pot of boiling water while trying to steam ears of corn .

Viva la blogs!

And now before I leave you for the weekend, here are pictures of the Boy's first baseball game. No keeping score, no real plays. Just 15 5-6 year olds in uniforms running after a ball.

She's got Betty Davis eyes

2006-04-28T16:50:00.000-05:00

Have you ever seen that episode of Seinfeld with The Soup Nazi? The soup stand has phenomenal soup but you need to order it in just such a way otherwise you're thrown out ("no soup for you!"). This is how I describe the place where I get my eyebrows threaded. The woman does such an awesome job but you have to jump through hoops to get to her. There are like 15 haircut stations at this place and you tell the "receptionist" what you want (haircut, coloring, waxing, threading) and he sends you to a specific station. Lord help you if you didn't hear the number when he initially mumbled it because he will chastise you in front of everyone. My actual eyebrow lady never smiles. In fact I can't confirm if she even has any teeth. The only things she says are "hold here" "thank you" and my personal favorite "mustache too?" Bitch. That one comment sent me on a tailspin which caused me to ask my husband 10 times an hour if I had a mustache.

I would be more upset if my eyebrows didn't look freaking awesome right now.

As I walk along the supposed Golden Path

2006-04-27T21:37:00.000-05:00

My husband's back (thunderous applause). There are so many reason why I'm glad he's back but among my favorite is the way he always brings me a glass of ice cold water before he goes to bed. The way to my heart includes but is not limited to tall glasses of ice cold water. I noticed that I watch way more TV when D isn't around. Maybe it's because when he's here I have a partner to help with the kids and just get stuff done in general. When he's not here I feel exhausted by being the only person trying to keep the general momentum of life moving. Luckily the Boy is a great help when the Girl is having a diva tantrum moment. For the past 2 weeks she now insists on holding hands with the Boy during car rides and will want me to look at how lovely it is. (It is really cute but I'm a bit bias). The other night after I put the kids down I made popcorn and watched 2 of my all-time favorites; Amelie and Rushmore. Bliss.

All my other free time in D's absence has been spent rearranging my house. The other night I was talking to my friend Sara and I mentioned that I wanted to move my sofa along the other wall. Famous last words as that simple furniture move turned into a major spring cleaning and room makeover extravaganza. Here are some pictures (click to enlarge):

We spend a good deal of our free time in the basement so I wanted it to look comfy without looking like a ...er...basement. AT the end of the day it's still a basement and there's only so many things you can do.

Family pics including a pic of my mom when she was in nursing school. Is it weird to say that my mom was hot?

Today Sara and I moved the chest from the bedroom into the living room by the entry way.

This is what was there this morning. This is now at the entry of our basement.

I'll take a picture tomorrow after I fix it up.

I think D thinks I'm on crack or something because there's a whole room rearranged every time he turns around.

Get down girl go'head get down

2006-04-24T23:26:00.000-05:00

D flew to Washington today on business. The kids are in bed and Chicago is definitely living up to its nickname The Windy City. I hate being a chicken but the wind is pounding against the trees which in turn cause the branches to hit against the side of the house. It's well after midnight in D.C. which means D is fast asleep. My MSN has been acting up which means no IMs. I'm this close (fingers 2 mm apart) to calling my sister and having her sleep over tomorrow.

By the way, if your screen name for MSN or skype doesn't match your blogger name, how the heck do I know who you are? To the person who keeps trying to add me to skype, I don't think I know you hence I refuse to add you.

A man needs something he can hold onto. A nine pound hammer or a woman like you. Either one of those things will do.

2006-04-22T01:40:00.000-05:00

My friend has a dog that she carries around like a handbag. She buys it little sweaters because "she's cold". She leaves the TV on Animal Planet when she's gone for long periods of time.

Dude, it's a rat disguising itself as a domesticated animal. I'm pretty sure that Chutney has had bowel movements bigger than this thing.

Now THIS is a dog.

Why Minty can never be a Scientologist. (Not a song...yet)

2006-04-19T14:59:00.000-05:00

Tom Cruise and Kate-don't-call-me-Katie Holmes had a baby girl yesterday. I understand differences of opinion based on spiritual beliefs however, this whole Scientology "silent birth" thing makes my ovaries hurt.

"Maintain silence in the presence of birth to save both the sanity of the mother and the child and safeguard the home to which they will go. And the maintaining of silence does not mean a volley of 'Sh's', for those make stammerers." ~ L. Ron Hubbard (Founder of Scientology)
During my 16+ hour labor, I had a volley of 'Sh's' but there were a few more letters that followed.

It takes courage, to enjoy it...

2006-04-14T21:54:00.000-05:00

I reselected my template. Thanks Seashells!

I found an old love letter. Well it wasn't exactly a love letter because we weren't even dating but it was one of those letters that when you read again after 13 years you feel that perhaps you missed a few signals. He clearly talks about his unrequited love for another girl but the feel of it... The "I'll miss you more than you'll know..." feel. Sigh. Perhaps the read was heightened by the shriek of The Girl's high-pitched "Maaa! Chutney no tail face-face owie" (translation: Mother, tell Chutney to stop hitting me in the face with his tail).

I used to be a hoarder. I used to keep little mementos and knick-knacks. When I hit 30, something snapped and I realized that I hated clutter. I've purged so much in the past few years but something about these letters makes me feel like I want to keep them. It's not a romantic, still pining away for him feeling They make me feel like a different me, not necessarily a better or worse me, just different. I like that. F.K., if you ever read this, thanks. Thanks for making me feel special despite never being in a room alone with me. Last I heard, your wife was finishing her teaching courses in Chennai. I hope one day you can meet D because I know you'd like him a lot.

My week in review:

This week was Spring Break so I took a few days off to hang with the Boy. Unfortunately I never checked his social calendar which turned out to booked. Between my parents and D's parents the Boy has hardly been home.

This is the 6-foot Easter basket that my dad bought for him.

The dilemma is we don't let the kids play with toy guns at home yet there is now a basket full of projectiles and weapons.

To celebrate our wedding anniversary this past week D took my out for raspberry martinis.

Wednesday, the Boy and I took a road trip to Wisconsin where I dropped him off at D's parent's place.

Grandma Mary sent back cookies.
Pastel M&Ms
Peanut Butter Drops

We took the Girl out for sushi. Earlier in the week when we went out for dinner she was an angel. Our waiter gushed every time she said "Tank you" and "Mo bed peeze". This time she was grumpy and spilled a bowel of miso soup all over herself during a tantrum over wanting more tomatoes.

Here she is mastering chop sticks (before she used them as a weapon.)

This afternoon D, the Girl and I took a road trip back to Wisconsin to pick up the Boy. Grandma Mary lives in the Mecca of outlet malls. It is the promised land for shopping with everything from The Gap to Nine West to Versace. I'm not much of a shopper but there's something about being there that makes me enjoy the experience.

Grandma Mary, just like my parents, spoil the kids to death. I think that's what I'm missing in my life. Someone to periodically cater to all my whims and needs, in addition to plying me with donuts for breakfast.

We were all exhausted by the time we got home. We had dinner and took a little walk before bathtime. My friends called and wanted to know if I wanted to go out to dinner and drinks with them but I declined. Maybe it was the day's activity or maybe it's my age but nothing sounded better then a bubble bath and a good book. I think I used to shy away from admitting stuff like that but I don't care anymore. I'm 33 and I'd rather stay home and read. Deal with it.

Help

2006-04-12T19:29:00.000-05:00

Anybody know how to fix it so my sidebar goes back where it belongs???

You'll be my newest best friend (this week).

If you'll be my bodyguard, I can be your long last pal.

2006-04-09T14:15:00.000-05:00

Thanks so much for all the good thoughts for my mom. She's doing well.

*****

There are a lot of theories why Daylight Savings Time was created. Some say it's so you aren't going to work in the pitch dark of winter. Some say it's because of farmers and milk production. While I'm not sure of the exact genesis of Daylight Savings I can tell you one thing about its originators; they sure as hell didn't have little kids. Don't get me wrong. *I* love the bright sunshine at 6:30 am and the bright sunshine at 7pm. However, the kids want proof of night before they submit to slumber. I feel like I'm in an old Dracula movie when I cover every inch of window in the girl's room with curtains and blankets lest a sliver of light comes in.

*****

D and I saw Thank You For Smoking and we LOVED it. Aaron Eckhardt is wonderful as a Big Tobacco lobbyist whose job requires "a certain moral flexibility." The screenplay was written and directed by Jason Reitman and it is wonderful.

*****

The weekend's been fairly low-key because I have an awful cold. Between the change in weather and the germs the kids bring home I haven't been able to shake it. My voice would sound really sexy were it not for the hacking cough punctuating each sentence.

The Boy started Little League (baseball) and D is one of the coaches. If the Boy continues to play in this league he will eventually be on a team called The Indians. Alanis Morrisette would have a field day with that one.

D and I met with a financial planner this week and he said one of the priorities is for us to make a Will and decide on custody of the kids if something horrible were to happen to both of us. We are lucky that have so many family members on both sides that would be happy to take them. Our parents are both older so I don't think that would be a good long-term solution. I have an an aunt and uncle who adore them and were never able to have kids of their own but they are SO overprotective. Also, they are unable to ever say "no" to the kids. Now that J is married, she may be a good choice although being a parent would mean she would have to do dishes more often than once a week. Something to think about.

Ugh. The Girl just woke up from her nap. She only slept for 20 minutes. DAMN YOU SUN!

Yesterday I got so old I felt like I could die. Yesterday I got so old it made me want to cry.

2006-03-31T08:42:00.000-06:00

Life is funny. Not necessarily funny ha-ha but more like punch-you-in-the-stomach-leaving-you-breathless funny. Wednesday was my birthday. To make a very long story short, my mom was in a car accident. Although the car was left undrivable, my mom was relatively unscathed. However, when I spoke to her a while later she couldn't dismiss the fact that she may have blacked out prior to hitting the lamp post. Fast forward and my mom is admitted to the hospital for a neurological assessment. Fast forward some more and although she's neurologically OK, the tests show some anomalies in the areas she was previously treated for cancer. The consensus on the tests since the first discovery is that the shadowing is scar tissue from her previous surgeries. The quick ride on the emotional roller coaster has left me exhausted. I know that the law of averages will show that my mother will pass before I do but nothing will ever prepare me for it. My sisters and I are very close to my mother. Having a family of my own is the only thing that will force me to go on once it happens. It's also a bit hard treading on being a primary caretaker for your children and your parents. I was pregnant the last time I was in that role and in looking back, I'm not quite sure how I survived. Anyway, bottom line mom is fine and I'm a year older.

Thanks to all the wonderful blog wishes I received. I also want to give a special shout-out to Wandernut and Box who sent me an awesome homemade scrapbook of events that have occurred on March 29th over the years. Of course there was hilarious handwritten commentary throughout. I hope I can return a dose of Mint Love worthy of your thoughtful present.

We had work done on the bathroom. The builder did not secure something correctly the first time and our tile work was cracking. It's all fixed and back to normal now. Of course we have to touch up some paint which only makes me want to change the color of the bathroom.

My birthday cake.
Mercifully D only lit 4 candles otherwise it would have been a fire hazard. My cake was vanilla with white frosting and Twix candy bars. I'm pretty sure I'm diabetic now thanks to this cake.

D gave me an iPod which I still haven't taken out of the box because I was so busy with my mom and everything. We're gonna play around with it tonight. (Yes, the iPod too. Kidding.)

Finally, I have had a couple requests for pictures of D and the kids. The Girl was dressed up for a play at the Boy's school and I snapped this pic of her. As you can see she inherited my eyes and D's family's crazy-curly brown hair.

And it's money that will make the monkey dance.

2006-03-23T08:30:00.001-06:00

Texas sucked. Actually the state of Texas was fine but the trip was bad because I had a sinus headache which turned into a migraine by the time I landed in Dallas. I was in so much pain that I rushed through everything that I needed to look at and promptly went back to the airport to catch an earlier flight home. Unfortunately the 4pm flight only had middle seats left and when I'm feeling this crappy I can NOT be sitting in-between 2 people. I decided to go to TGI Fridays and force myself to eat something. My friend called me and told me to take the following; 2 benedryl, 4 ibuprofen, a bottle of Coke (cola not the narcotic) and an icepack for my head. She guaranteed this would help and stayed on the phone while I found the stuff at one of the airport stores. (I can't drink Coke because it usually leads to a headache so I substituted it with water). Miraculously my headache was gone in an hour. I feel asleep on the flight home and by the time I landed in Chicago I was 100% better.

I think I've mentioned before how much I love airports. It's such a cool place to people watch and I love observing the different subset of people coming together. First you have business travelers; Women in power suits, men in wrinkle-free slacks. These people are the most likely to have really loud mobile conversations as if there weren't 100 people around them. Come on folks, it's called cell phone etiquette 101. These are also the people most likely to have those conversations you find on British Airways commercials; "No honey, daddy will be home tomorrow" or "Your gym shoes are next to the back door by your boots." I too have these conversations although I make sure that people in the terminal 2 miles away can't hear me. Next you have your vacationers. The people who look at the airport terminal map over and over so they can plan out how best to get to their next flight. The international terminal is best place to see the long awaited reunions like those on the closing credits for Love Actually. Warm embraces, maybe even a few tears. Once when we were picking up my dad from the airport I saw a woman breakdown in the arms of her family as she passed through the gates. I assumed someone passed away and my mind raced with the possibilities; a husband? a parent? a child? My eyes welled up thinking about how her life was forever altered by this event.

Anyway, I took the long way around to the point of this post which is Jobs I've Had (Thanks to Wandernut who tagged me *glaring look*). I realize that even though my job is nice, it is never as cool as it sounds when people hear about it. (Also known as the Grass is Greener on the Other Side Syndrome). I think it would be cool to be a journalist or a graphic designer or work at an ad agency or be a hip physic's professor or a doctor, resident, or lawyer or the Queen of a call center. Even temporarily unemployed people are cool.

So without further adieu, the job's I've had:

Office Monkey at the Church Rectory: I was only 13 and my mom had to sign some papers because of child labor laws. I thought it was a ton of money at the time. I used to answer the phone and make sandwiches for homeless people. I used to have the radio on in the back office and by divine intervention I was caller 95 for a radio station contest and won tickets to my first U2 concert.

Weekend Monkey at a Real Estate Office: My sister had the job and recommended me when she went away to university. I was a senior in high school and I thought it was a ton of money at the time. This was the first time I ever used a fax machine and had access to the internet. The office was in the most affluent suburb in the state and there was rarely a house listed for under $1 million US. The people were really nice and I loved being there. They took up a collection as a going away gift when I went to India and gave me close to $500.

Emergency Room Helper Monkey: Probably my most favorite job of all time. I did everything from change the sheets in between patients to bag up bodies for the morgue. I worked every weekend during university and these people became my closest friends during that time. The day shift meant music and food and dirty jokes. I would be laughing during a game of charades one minute and performing chest compressions on a man who was found unresponsive the next. THAT'S what I loved about it. You never knew what you were getting on every given day. I also learned the importance of superstition: Anyone who said "Looks like you're having a quiet day" was banished with a dirty look. Full moon nights meant the day would be filled with nuts. This is also where I saw that death brings out the very best and the very worst in people. Word of advice to all my friends in blogland: Tell your family your wishes for when you pass away otherwise in a moment of emotional crisis everyone will argue about what they think you wanted. I've had siblings literally fight each other in the same room with their mother's body.

Research Assistant Monkey: I worked on a National Institutes of Health study which sounds impressive but basically entailed drawing blood and collecting urine from patients every 30 minutes. I had my first publication but I also had my first patient, someone who I had gotten to know for a year, pass away from complications of kidney failure. This is a long term study in which people will be contacted periodically until they die. Some of my original patients are still alive. One of them even sends me a birthday card every year.

Coordinator Monkey: One step up from assistant but tons more responsibility. I eventially became a senior coordinator which just means they added managing people to my job description. I hated being a manager. Way too many personalities to contend with.

Associate Managing Monkey: It was an international study with sites in 8 countries. I worked for TL and we made magic together. As manager she went to Paris, Brazil, and Egypt. I didn't really go anywhere except the hospital down the street. We planned a meeting to be held on an exotic island and I was finally approved to go. 1 month later the company was taken over in a merger and the study was cancelled.

Director Monkey: I managed an office that worked hard to keep research going at a hospital. We were told we had support but in the end they listened to the one person they shouldn't have. There was politics involved in all this (as there is in every business). The woman resented TL and we knew that she would get rid of her. For me it was death by association. I went to them and said it was fine if they were thinking of getting rid of me but my staff deserved better. They said they appreciated my willingness to handle this without discourse and discontent and I said "Oh no, I think this sucks but I'm also a strong believer in karma and what you put out will be returned". She looked at me as if I just cast some sort of voodoo spell on her. They gave me 3 extra weeks of pay for my severance as a gesture of good will (also known as we fucked up money). The week after we left, TL and I got offered new jobs for more money. That idiot woman who made the decision to phase out our jobs is single-handedly being blamed for a sharp decrease in research. Instant karma can be a bitch.

Work from Home Monkey: I work in research and although I spend most of my time in my home office compiling reports and data, I sometimes have to fly to different states to audit the work of my team. If possible I try and avoid this at all cost as it requires that I shower and actually run a comb through my hair. Actually I'm pretty disciplined considering I work from home. I never turn on the TV during the day and I try to get up every hour just to stretch or grab some water. I am however proned to start long conversations with the Fed Ex delivery person or mail carrier as they may be my only face to face contact during the day.

There you have it. Not too bad considering I'm in my early thirties. Next week the magic of Minty's fridge contents will be revealed.

That's right you're not from Texas but Texas loves you anyway.

2006-03-21T17:30:00.000-06:00

Where does the time go? My meeting in California was fine. There is a major kiss-ass on my team who needs her lips surgically removed from my manager's hind region. The weather was nice but unfortunately I was in sunny 70-degree weather one day only to return to 35-degrees and driving snow the next. You wanna know when you're having a bad day? When the taxi drops you off at your front door with your luggage only to realize that you can't find your house keys. To add further misery, you're wearing your light jacket and standing in the middle of a snow storm. THEN you find that your cell phone battery is dying. I called my dad who came in the snow to pick me up. The next day when I unpacked my bag I discovered my keys laying in bottom of my luggage.

I have decided that I am in need of a overhaul. When you're younger you have natural motivations that keep you going; you just need to make it to the end of the semester or you just need to make it to the weekend. I'm not sure what my current goal/motivation is. I find myself being moody for no reason. D and I have been snapping at each other a lot lately for the dumbest things and most of it has to do with my mood. I think it's lack of exercise so I have been every intention of being more active.

In a random search for activity, we took the kids bowling. D is from Wisconsin where they hand you a bowling ball as soon as you exit your mother's womb. Although he hasn't bowled in years, he was throwing down strikes as if he just practiced the other day. The place where we were at had bumpers for the kids so needless to say the Boy did well. I, on the other hand, was trying to find my rhythm. I was either knocking all the pins down except one OR I was throwing the ball in the gutter. The Girl just had fun watching it all and yelling "Good job dada!" "Good job Boy!" "Ohhhh...mama!"

another great shot by the Boy

I had my favorite boot-cut pants on which looked cute with my boots but looked goofy with my bowling shoes.

I'm off to Texas for the day tomorrow. An acquaintance of mine asked if D was OK watching the kids when I'm away which annoyed me because when he goes out of town no one seems to question if I'll be able to handle it. I also realize that I'm lucky that D's so hands-on and active to begin with and doesn't pull shit like "where do you keep the Girl's diapers?" Besides he was an active participant in creating them, why should I have all the fun in raising them.

I know that I was tagged with a "jobs I've had" and a "what's in your fridge" meme which I will post soon. The really sad part is that my fridge is far more interesting than my previous jobs.

What a cold and rainy day. Where on earth is the sun hid away?

2006-03-10T20:50:00.000-06:00

So much to say, so little time. My job has been hellishly busy but actually pretty interesting as we bring aboard the different countries. I'm getting my hair highlighted today so I need to finish about 6 days worth of work in the next 4 hours. Here is a photo recap of my week

It snowed last Sunday. It was a steady beautiful snow that's all gone now. It was sorta winter's last hurrah (she says tentatively) as the temp is going to be near 60 tomorrow. There's apparently this big fire ball in the sky called the sun and today it's decided to grace us with it's presence after many months away.

Took the girl to see her first movie; Doogal. I got 2 words to describe this flick-God Awful! It had big name stars but it was just plain dumb. The Girl gave me a look like "The Boy's first movie was Shrek 2 and I get THIS crap?" D took her out to the lobby for the last 15 minutes while the Boy and I watched the end. SIR Ian Mckellen and DAME Judi Dench were prominently featured and if I were Buckingham Palace I would revoke their titles just for being associated with it.

Went to Ikea and besides some stuff to redo the Girl's room I bought a bunch of plants.

Here are the ones on my kitchen window sill

I haven't had time to repot this one so it's sitting in my dining room.

I helped my sister redo her condo. It's a nice place for 2 people considering she and R are hardly ever home. We bought a new rug and some pictures and hung her mirror and some photos. I told her that she doesn't have any kids yet so there's no excuse for the mess and clutter.

Before pictures:

Also, there wasn't too much we could do with the furniture placement because they have this huge media cabinet holding their big-ass TV.

After pictures:

View from the kitchen

New shelves with wedding pictures

Finally, I had a request to post more pictures of Chutney.

Just to give you a little perspective on how big he's gotten he can reach the kitchen counter with little effort.

The picture isn't really clear but sometimes Chutney thinks he's in a rodeo. He jumps up on his hind legs as if he were riding off into the sunset. In the background you can see the kid's tent which Chutney used as a doghouse for a few days.

Every once in a while when he's not spasing out or eating socks Chutney will come and lay in my office while I work.

These pictures make him look deceivingly innocent.

That's all folks. I'm in California next week so I'll post if I can. Have a great weekend!

Somewhere over the rainbow.

2006-03-07T06:04:00.000-06:00

This is my itty-bitty contribution for the Blank Noise Project's blog-athon and is dedicated to Hemangini. The courage that you showed was 15 years too late for me, but perhaps 15 years in time for my daughter.

I was raised in a fairly liberal community where your race, gender, religion or sexuality was never a barrier to anything you wanted to do in life. In high school I was woefully average but I had a good group of friends whom I held close to my heart. I spent 10 months in India in-between high school and university. This move was equal parts of finding more about the place I came from as well as taking a break. However, the day I touched down in Kerala, I regretted my decision for coming. I'm not sure if it was my clothes or hair or demeanor but people, mainly men, leered and stared. I cried when my dad dropped me off at the hostel which would be my home away from home for the next year. Luckily, my older sister was with me and I have never felt so grateful for the company. She quickly made friends with some people and I just enjoyed spending time with my journal and my music. (U2 and New Order helped me through those first few weeks). Within a few months we were in 2 distinct groups. My sister was with a sweet group that listened to every rule and spent a lot of time studying whereas I was with a group of girls identified as rabble-rousers. This clearly had more to do with how they dressed then anything else. They were all girls who received high marks but happened to be raised in Kuwait and dressed in jeans. I quickly became known as "the American" and had a great time with my friends. The funny thing was that our reputation was far-more outlandish than what we were actually doing. We were hardly ever late for our curfew and if we were, it was because we waited too long to decide that we must go get some food to to sustain us for the night (the hostel food was pretty bad). Most times, the watchman would let us through if we gave him a meatpuff or a package of cookies. However, some nights the mean administrator lady would be waiting for us and lecture us about how proper young women do not walk in the street alone once the sun sets. One time, this same woman pulled me aside and said that I seemed like a sweet girl and I shouldn't let my reputation be ruined by my association with these other girls. I was stunned. There was NOTHING in these girl's behavior that warranted such comments. I thanked her for her concern and ran and told my friends. They laughed off the comment and said their marks spoke themselves and I shouldn't take stock in what she said. About a week later, 4 of us were making our usual bakery run when my friend and I turned around to find a man exposing himself to us. I still dry-heave when I think of his face as he stroked himself. My friend and I were too stunned to talk but when our friend Nina turned and saw what was happening she started yelling at the top of her lungs. She made quite a scene and someone identified the man as a tailor who had a shop down the street. The 4 of us ran back to the hostel and quickly told the head lady. She asked what we expected when we ran around in jeans and t-shirts.

There are other incidents such as being "accidentally" groped while on a bus or being verbally accousted when my friend wore a sundress. Back then I didn't have the courage to say anything. However, the birth of my children has assured that a stranger's wayward hand or sexual innuendo will never again pass unanswered.

And I'm never gonna dance again. Guilty feet have got no rhythm

2006-03-02T09:55:00.000-06:00

Conversation this morning with my former boss and mentor whom I still affectionately call Boss.
I'm in the middle of writing a report when the phone rings.

Me: Good Morning, (name of my company), this is Mint

Boss: Hi Mint, it's (boss man)

Fuck! Why didn't I check the caller ID before I picked up

Me: Hey Boss. What's going on?

Boss: Oh you know same old same old. (He launches into 15 minutes about his research, how he received 400 applications from doctors to be in his fellowship program, about all the papers that have been accepted for publishing)

Boss: I have a publishing opportunity for you. (Tells me)

Me: That sounds so nice except I'm doing X-Y-Z so I don't have a lot of time to devote to it.

Boss: Still happy being a corporate peon huh?

Me: (breathe-10-9-8..) Still happy that we can pay the mortgage AND have running water this month.

Boss: You know kid (he's known me for 12 years so I guess he can still call me that) money isn't everything. You get your name published enough times and people will be kicking in your door with opportunities. Academic prestige is priceless.

BREATHE!! 7-6-5...! This is a man who traveled 20 out of 30 days a month while his kids were growing up. This is the man who lives in what can only be described as a mansion. This man has a wine cellar bigger than my kitchen. This is the man who won't do a speaking engagement unless his honorarium is $3000 AND he gets first class accommodations AND his family flies with him free of charge. You're lecturing ME that money isn't everything?

Me: Boss, we go through this every 3 months. My current decisions on my life are based on the kids. When they're older I'll think about other things I want to do. Besides, I think I'm doing important work in the meantime.

Boss: No need to get defensive kid. I'm just trying to look out for you. People would kill to work with me and I wanted to give you first dibs.

(No asshole.. people want to kill once they START working for you)

Me: I truly appreciate you calling but the timing just isn't right for me.

Boss: I know..you're too busy playing mom. When do you think you'll have more time?

"Playing mom"??? (insert string of expletives)

Me: Hmmm.... (ruffles papers as if I'm checking my appointment book) April 5th, 2019. I'll pencil you in.

(Serenity now! Serenity now!)

Boss man is brilliant and I know I sound like an ungrateful bitch but with the opportunity comes long (unpaid) hours, travel away from my family in my spare time, and discussions with a man who I am convinced has a mental disorder. Academic prestige would cost me my sanity and I'm not willing to part with that.

Every picture tells a story baby

2006-03-01T08:16:00.000-06:00

Thanks for all the anniversary well-wishes. Just to clarify we've been together 10 years, married almost 7.

Warning RANT AHEAD: Have you ever been so crazy-busy that your brain is still going 200 miles/hour even when you're sleeping? That's what's been happening with me. Some days I sit at my desk and the phone rings non-stop and the IMs come in like crazy while I'm being serenaded by the ding, ding, dinging of new e-mails. It annoys me that people from my personal life wonder why I don't call them right back or respond to their e-mails in a timely manner. If you really knew me, you know how chaotic life has been and you'll stop your bitching and/or passive aggressive behavior. (End of rant)

My stress level has been on the increase because my study is going outside the US which means Minty's been brushing up on her Spanish.

I've been spending a lot of time with my friend Sara. We met completely by chance and have grown quite attached in a short period of time. This past weekend D took the kids to stay overnight at his mom's in Wisconsin. I stayed home with Chutney, aka the world's dumbest dog. Anyway, I had a hot night of work, laundry and cable TV all planned when Sara called and convinced me to go to Devon (Little India) and grab some dinner. 3 hours later we ended up back at her place. Sara is going to help me redo the girl's room because she has a great eye for design on a budget. Most of the items in her house are hand me downs or toss-aways that she's fixed up. Here are pics of the discount saris she used at curtains.

That's Sara. We had a lovely time just hanging out and chatting and playing cards with some friends.

Sunday morning I decided to make a big breakfast for myself.

I mixed 2 of my favorite things in the world and...

Tada! Apple sausage stuffed pancakes

I've been trying very hard to leave my office at night and work on other projects to relieve stress. My latest obsession is organizing and displaying my photos. I decided to spruce up the kids bathroom by framing various pictures of them in the bathtub.

Bathroom wall before

Bathroom wall after

I know what you're thinking. Yes, the bathroom is bright green. It's the bathroom that the kids use so I let the Boy help me pick out a color. I told him it needed to be a color from the shower curtain.

I thought he would pick yellow or even a nice blue. Oh well, it's only paint.

Lastly I leave you with a pic of the collage that I made for D.
I even put a picture of me in there. : )

OK. Must get back to work!

If you've got the poison I've got the remedy

2006-02-22T11:47:00.000-06:00

This weekend D and I celebrated our 10-year anniversary. I came across pictures of us the year we met and we look shockingly young. I, Mint Chutney, was once 23 without a wrinkle on my face nor a trace of a toddler's breakfast on my shirt. For the big anniversary extravaganza we went for a fancy dinner AND a movie. This place was so fancy they had cloth napkins and served sorbet to cleanse our palette before the entree. Unfortunately by the end of the night my stomach wasn't feeling well. D decided THAT'S why he doesn't take me for fancy meals; my stomach's not used to such fine cuisine and he wants to spare me the abdominal distress.

We saw Transamerica. (Take one guess who got to pick the movie.) I liked it a lot. Felicity Huffman is phenomenal as a pre-op trans-sexual man who meets the son he never knew he had. The weekend before we saw Brokeback Mountain which I thought was a sweet love story albeit in a fairly weak plot. D asked if I was getting a discount from GLAAD to support all the Oscar nominated gay-themed movies out there. OK smart-ass..next up; Capote.

I think I've taken procrastination to an art form. I'm so behind on a particular function of my job yet I still can't muster the energy to get going. I was so incredibly restless today. I needed to reset my mind and body but for the life of me I just couldn't. Today I felt an emotion that I loathe; disappointment. In the end I realized I wasn't disappointed in anyone except myself.

You're gonna lively up yourself, and don't be no drag

2006-02-16T14:31:00.000-06:00

The kids have been sick all week so my biggest wish for Valentine's Day was that no one throw-up on me. Today everyone was gone and I had silence at my house for the first time in a long time. D went along to chaperone the Boy's field trip to see a play. Apparently the Boy has a crush on several girls in his class. A few weeks ago one of the dad's came up to D and said "So you're the Boy's dad huh? Apparently we should get to know each other well since your boy told my daughter he's gonna marry her."

Chatted the other night with the lovely Rat and Lavi who laughed when I described my love for my new washer-dryer. Hmph! Just look at it:

It's got a control panel like the Starship Enterprise and unlike my old dryer, I can leave this one on when I'm not home without fear it will explode and burn my house down.

Here's the only decoration I put up for VD. I just wrote VD because everyone else seems to shorten it like that but I wanted to mention that VD also stands for venereal disease and nothing says unromantic like gonorrhea.

The Boy and the Girl looking out the window.

I have no idea what to do with the Girl's hair. It's curly but some of the curls are nappy looking. I have pictures of what I call her little afro. Until it grows out I've been putting it in little pigtails.

Work is fine. I've been fielding calls with recruiters about some other home-based positions within my industry. The money sounds awesome but I feel like I'm finally hitting my stride with my current company. I wish I could reinvent myself without disrupting my life. I got my hair cut recently but it wasn't enough to appease my need for change. I'm probably a little restless because it's been very cold so I tend to stay home and eat comfort foods. The other day I thought something was following me but when I turned around I realized it was just my fat ass. A few more months at this pace and my butt will need it's own postal code.

Somewhere in between the waxing and the waning wave

2006-02-11T23:19:00.000-06:00

I've been tagged by Tablemannered. At first I wasn't going to do it because I believe there's no such thing as a perfect lover. Perfection is meant for dreams and fantasies and sometimes when reality seeps in you either realize how little you know about yourself or how much you are willing to accept about the other person. But for the sake of blog fodder...

The rules of the tag (simply copy-pasting from her blog):
1. The tagged victim has to come up with 8 different points of their perfect lover.
2. You have to mention the sex of the target.
3. Tag 8 victims to join this game and leave a comment on their comments saying they've been tagged.
4. If tagged the 2nd time, there's no need to post again.

My perfect lover is a man and he:

Should be fair- - -Take it as much as you give it. Hold yourself to the same standards as you hold others to.
Should be willing to step out of his comfort zone- - - Willing to try new things, willing to experience new places and foods, willing to whatever. This willingness should also cause him to take the lead and drag me kicking and screaming on occasion.
Should never forget I'm his lover- - - I may play different roles in his life (hypothetically; his wife, mother to his children, woman who folds his laundry, etc) but he should never forget I am his lover and he is mine.
Should show me respect- - - Pay attention to the finer details of our conversation. Know when I'm in need of 100% of your attention. Look me in the face when you say something you know I won't like. I'll never ask for more than I can give but know up front that if I'm in love with you I'll give everything I have.
Should know a little bit about a wide range of things - - - Example: Know how many provinces are in Canada (10 + 3 territories). Know how to lay new kitchen floor tiles. Know how to change a tire. Know where on my body to rub if you want me completely relaxed.
Should not spend more time in the bathroom than I do- - - Nor should he have more "products" than I do.
Should be passionate - - - It may be about a sport's team or music or food or writing or something that may seem completely random to me. It doesn't matter, just be passionate.
Should have a sense of humor and an amazing wit to match- - - Make me laugh (but don't be "on" all the time). Keep my interest as much as I keep yours.

Other miscellaneous things:

Should finish random movie quotes or music lyrics that I throw out there
Should be able to spend hours in IKEA without complaining that we've wasted our day
Should know how to kiss properly
Should realize that chocolate is not a treat... it is a way of life

Addendum: Motheater pointed out I forgot to tag people so I am officially tagging my link list. Conveniently Motheater no longer maintains her blog. : )

In your eyes (the light the heat). In your eyes (I am complete).

2006-02-03T08:01:00.000-06:00

I was out "in the field" yesterday (as they say in my biz). Too busy during the day and too exhausted at night to post. I think this week has gone well blog-wise. I notice that the same group of commenters have visited me. I'm not good about responding to comments but that certainly and most definitely isn't from lack of appreciation. Here are a few cryptic messages for you guys:

He had a good thing in front of him and he let it go. It's his loss. ( I just realized that this message is for 3 people in 2 countries).
Congrats of your upcoming wedding! Can't wait to see the pictures (hint hint) (This is for 2 people, one of whom has a birdloving roomie who loves to salsa. *waves* Did you ever find out what your flickr account was??)
I rarely sign on my yahoo messenger so I always miss your instant messages. Would love to catch up real soon.
Yes, February has whizzed by! I like how your blog went from going to move to moved to living. BTW did you guys ever get my postcard?
I go to that Whole Foods so perhaps we've seen each other. Do you live in the building across from the library parking lot?
LOL. So you're saying inside you there is the soul of a toddler demanding undivided attention. I TOTALLY see that.
D is a non-vegetarian so he felt at home in Kerala. Hope you're having a great time.
I shall wear red today too. (I wish it was health reasons but really it's one of the few clean shirts left. Lucky tomorrow is laundry day)
I imagine lingerie with cartoons and fairytale characters and laughed.
I love being part of the Legion of the Funky Brown Chick (LOFBC).

My best friend just called and convinced me to take the afternoon off and see a movie with her. Since I don't have time for a proper post I'll leave you with one of my favorites of the week.

Have a good weekend!

You can try the best you can. The best you can is good enough.

2006-02-01T22:56:00.000-06:00

Exactly four years ago today my friend A gave birth to her second child. A and her husband are a bohemian couple. She is the daughter of a very prominent, high profile lawyer. She has her Master's in Public Health and works in setting up healthcare in inner city schools. Her husband has at least a dozen tattoos all over his body and rides a Harley. A gave birth at the hospital we used to work at. I left work early to visit her and see her new little boy. I stopped Little Italy and picked up some of her favorite treats including a huge cup of fresh Italian ice. She looked tired but relieved. I held JoJo (as I affectionately call him) and marveled at how precious his tiny fingers were. As visitors streamed in and out, the mood was so light and wonderful. I left her room feeling great and went to pick up the Boy who at the time spent Friday's with my dad. At one and a half the Boy had my father wrapped around his finger. Friday's were their days and I'm not sure which one of them loved their time together more. D called my cell and said he was running late so he wouldn't be able to make our traditional Friday dinner at my parent's house. (My parents used to live 5 minutes from us). He said he would meet us at home.

Exactly four years ago today I came home with the Boy and found D standing at the door with the phone in his hand and a stunned look on his face. His only brother had died suddenly. There were little details as T lived in another state. The next few days were a blur of activity as D flew with his mother and sisters to Arizona to bring home T's ashes. D cried only once during that entire time. It wasn't when he found out. It wasn't as he sifted through his brother's belonging trying to piece together the details of a life no one really knew anything about. It wasn't even during the funeral. The only time I saw D cry was when my dad saw him at the funeral home and gave him a big fatherly hug and held him tight.

To mark February 1st, we had a Fantastic February Feast (D picked the name). We made pancakes and scrambled eggs and sausages for dinner (the Boy picked the menu). I made a cake which tasted horrible because I was so distracted with work that I forgot to add eggs to the mix. D and the Boy said it wasn't that bad while the Girl gave me a look like "you can't make me eat that crap." The Boy has taken to annoying me by inserting the word "butt" whenever possible while he and D will talk about the Solar System just so they can say "Uranus" and collapse into uncontrollable laughter. Meanwhile the Girl struts around like she's the Queen of England giving one word commands: Milk. Up. Down. And her personal favorite; NOOOOOOOO. Our dinner was originally meant to celebrate the fact that January was over and we are one month closer to Spring. In the end I think we just celebrated being together.

(Footnote: For our March Madness Meal (March 1st if you wanna mark your calendar) I've already added vodka to the menu.)

Defense is paper thin, just one touch and I'll be in.

2006-01-31T08:21:00.000-06:00

I'm in such a foul mood. I got a total of 2.5 hours sleep because the combo of a new vitamin coupled with some cold medicine kept me hopped up all night. The only advantage of being up at 2am was I got to chat with old blogging friends across a few continents. I even got a head start on work when the UK office signed on around 3am. The UK staff thought I was really dedicated but I didn't bother setting them straight.

Read this post which really touched my heart. I live in a country where divorce is more or less widely accepted. (Note: I'm not making a judgment call. I 'm just pointing out a fact so if you're going to comment that I'm some sort of pro-divorce zealot save us both time and bite me.) However, if you are of a certain ethnic background there is still a major stigma associated with a "broken marriage". I recently saw a rerun of the Sopranos where Carmella tells her mob boss husband Tony that she has proceeded filing for a divorce to which he responds "We're Italian. We don't believe in divorce." I know plenty of divorced people. One of the guys in our circle of friends dated a girl for 6 months before he popped the question. It seems that as soon as the ring was placed on her finger the true Liz came out and the true Liz was a control freak. Liz was more concerned with the idea of getting married rather than the marriage itself. The planning of their lavish wedding took a toll on their relationship. Our friend kept downplaying her emotional swings as "wedding planning pressure". Seriously folks, the wedding ceremony is supposed to be symbolic rituals followed by a party. It's one day (or up to 2 weeks depending on your religion). The wedding is the easy part whereas the marriage is in the everyday good and bad. Anyway they separated 6 months after they got married. He's now happily remarried with a son while I believe she's still complaining that the roses in her bouquet were the wrong shade of lavender.

My cousin AJ is a wonderfully nice guy. He's 30, friendly, smart (surgeon). When he was in medical school in Europe he would spend his summer breaks with my parents in Chicago. AJ is also a sensitive guy. Tragically his 18 year old brother died when AJ was 11 and I think an event like that stays with you forever. AJ's mom has had some issues with depression which I think has, for the most part, gone untreated. His brother's death broke an already fragile marriage. My uncle barely came home after that and about 10 years ago married an Indian woman who worked with him in Saudi Arabia. My aunt seemed oblivious to it all and her mental health took yet another nose dive. There were stories of her giving away stuff from the house to leaching friends and relatives. It would start with little trinkets brought back from the Gulf and at some point escalated to the all the dishes in the house disappearing. AJ says he doesn't want to get married but I know the truth. He doesn't want to relive it or explain it all to some Ammachi who's trying to marry off her ultra-fair niece.

My cousin L and I got married right around the same time. The nitty gritty of it all as told by my busybody aunt is this: Aiyo! Minty mol is going to marry some white man she met somewhere (through friends). No, he doesn't have his Master's Degree. I think his family is farmers (Yeah. Wisconsin automatically meant farming). Thank God he's Catholic (ha! I went to church way more then D ever did) so their children will be saved. (just got the ring on the finger and she was planning out my off-spring). In comparison L had an "arranged marriage" (i.e. her relatives introduced her to someone they thought was suitable). She's an accountant and he's a doctor. They had checked this guy out and he looked great on paper. Unfortunately paper doesn't show stuff like overbearing mother-in-laws and the grooms increasing penchant for drinking with the boys. A few years ago we heard L got a divorce and people mercilessly speculated that it was all her fault. When L came down for my sister's wedding when we went out one night she confided the whole sordid story to me. Her high paying job at some multinational company was being phased out so she received a great severence package that included 6 months of pay and benefits. She goes home to India (mind you she was raised in London) and was relentlessly badgered by a few relatives about how old she was (26) and how she owed it to her parents to get settled down (her dad wasn't in the best of health at that time). She refused but after about a month she started believing it all. Now anyone who knows my cousin L, knows she's the life of the party. She is EXTREMELY outgoing and affectionate with everyone, including (gasp) men. She said the first few guys (or their moms) were completely scared off by her use of direct eye contact and her knack for conversation. By the time her future husband came along, she was beginning to believe that this was her only chance at a happy life. She ended up marrying a guy who was the biggest momma's boy on the planet. She couldn't have a drink without being referred to as an alcoholic. All of a sudden her shirts were too tight and married women don't wear shorts (even in 90 degree days in London). The friction between them intensified and it all came to a head one night when he hit her. She says hit but from the scene she describes it sounds worse. They're divorced now. L refuses to explain her reasons to the random people that ask. The height of it was her ex-mother-in-law confronting her saying she has forever disgraced her father and no one will ever want her. I'm stunned when she tells me this. I'm even more stunned when I realize she actually believes it.

Our house, in the middle of our street.

2006-01-30T15:56:00.000-06:00

Oh Pandora..why must you f- -k with me? Cher?? What in all of my musical choices made you think that I wanted to listen to Cher?? I let Celine Dion singing River Deep Mountain High slide because you must have thought River Deep Mountain High= Ike and Tina Turner=solo Tina Turner= old school Areatha Franklin which I love. But Cher??? You're just toying with me and like a 6th grade crush I know you mess with me cos you like me. But Cher??

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To show you that I'm serious about letting you into The Inner Sanctum of Mint (TISOM) this week, I thought I would start by showing you my favorite room in the house. As a little digression; We were living in a 1 bedroom condo when I got pregnant with the Boy. I affectionately say I got knocked up because we were married and technically you don't get "knocked up" if there is legal documentation that practically requires you to share a bathroom with someone. The condo was ok for a young married couple. We had a life hence we weren't really bothered by the 70 year old Russian couple who lived next door and proceeded to get into heated yelling matches from time to time. (Although none of that was as freaky as the time we heard them make up. My ears still burn thinking of it). We knew we wanted to stay in the general vicinity and knew what our price limit was. We happened to see the ad in the paper for this house that was being sold by owner and decided to stop by the open house on a cold Sunday in December. We had spent the previous few weeks trudging to different houses. The nice ones were well above our price range and those we could afford looked like crap. (Ads that said "Needs some updating" usually meant that indoor plumbing was not included). We pulled up to the house andtried not to get too excited. The front exterior was brick and the backyard was a dream come true for D who immediately envisioned the garden of his dreams. We took a deep breath and was blown away with how cute the house looked. This was a visual illusion that is known as "staging". There are even TV shows now based soley on how to stage your house to sell. The color of the walls hid the cracks and the heat from the people milling around disguised the fact that the windows protected you from the cold as well as a piece of paper did. But something about the house touched our spirit. The sellers were a young couple with 2 kids who were buying a bigger house around the corner. In the end we bought it and I can honestly say I've never regretted it until...

I'm pregnant with the Girl. We now realize the third bedroom doesn't sustain heat very well and it's pretty small. Because we love the area we live in we decide that we'll build a master bedroom and bathroom upstairs. Countless delays and cost increases later we come upon my favorite room in the house. The bedroom has high lofted ceilings (something I love). If I had to think of 2 earthly possessions that I can't live without, they both happen to be found in this room. Drum role please......

Earthly Possession #1:The chair

I've always dreamed of having a big overstuffed chair in my bedroom. It makes me feel all grown up. The chenille blanket is supposed to look like it was just thrown there without a thought but the truth is I spent like 5 minutes trying to get it to look right for the picture.

The Balcony

D really wanted a balcony to sit out on and enjoy quiet mornings with a cup of fresh brewed coffee. The truth of the matter is that we have 2 kids and most of the time they're awake before us so ain't no quiet to be found. AND even though I don't mind it so much now, the balcony ended up eating into my closet space which I didn't realize until they put the drywall up. I told D if we ever run out of closet space it's HIS clothes that are going out on his beloved balcony.

The comforter (aka duvet or bedspread)

The pattern on the comforter is meant to look like patchwork saris but it cost a lot of money cos we have a queen size bed. America likes to "ethnisize" things and then charge ridiculous amounts of money for it. How do people with king size beds afford sheets?? I liked the color of the wall until I bought the comforter and then I realized the color needed to be a shade more sage green. Because of the delays in construction, D had to hurry and paint the room while I was still in the hospital recovering from the Girl's c-section. I tried to suggest that we change the paint color but he just shots me a look. Apparently he's willing to live with the wall color not matching the bedspread. *rolls eyes*

Earthly possession #2: The ceiling fan

Not to start any rumors but, I'm easy. It doesn't take a lot to make me happy. This ceiling fan was expensive it came with a promise that you couldn't hear it even on the highest setting. I'm a fairly light sleeper so a noisy ceiling fan may ruin my entire night. When it was first installed, D and I laid on the bed with our eyes closed and just enjoyed this fan for hours . When I die, I'm having this fan buried with me.

BTW, the multiple doors you see are; the door out to the stairs (far right), a linen closet, and to the far left is the bathroom with a walk-in closet.

Well that's it. We're living the American dream by living in debt. By the time we pay off the house, the kids will be out of university. I look forward to them bringing their respective boyfriend/girlfriends to the house for D to mercilessly mock.

Here comes the rain again...falling on my head like a new emotion.

2006-01-29T13:03:00.000-06:00

Some sad news on an otherwise happy Chinese New Year. My uncle (dad's brother) passed away last night. As with all the deaths on that side, his passing was sudden and unexpected. He apparently didn't feel well and turned to his wife and said "I think I'm going to die." He asked to see his kids but collapsed and died 10 minutes later. My dad has grieved the loss of 2 brothers in less then a year.

I'm currently sitting in our living room testing out the wireless connection on my computer. I rarely work anywhere except my office but I've been plagued with neck problems from my hours spent in front of the computer. D took the Boy to the library and the girl is currently napping. The house is quiet except for the creaking of our dryer which is on its last leg. Chutney is wondering around the house looking for clean surfaces to drool on.

Here are some recent pictures of our overgrown puppy:

The weather is so dreary. I really can't find anything positive to say about it. 2 weeks ago it snowed like crazy.

And now we have rain that chills you to the bone. With our choices of outdoor activities limited,
the boy and I baked a cake to celebrate Chinese New Year.

By evening we were so stir crazy that we decided to brave the cold rain and head into Chinatown.

We had a wonderful dinner and were it not for the drizzle and falling temperatures we would have gone back out for the parade today.

I'm trying to have more discipline in my life. I set little goals for myself everyday. I think I devoted too much of 2005 trying to just get by when I could have been enjoying myself a bit more. One of the goals this week is to blog a little more consistently. That's right folks. You will be treated to new posts everyday this week. I'm not promising any life altering, meaningful posts. I'm just sayin you'll get a full share of Mint Chutney in the days to come. Considering how boring my life really is I'm sure you'll be looking forward to my previous once in a blue moon posts. Don't say I didn't warn you...

What makes me think i could start clean slated, the hardest to learn was the least complicated

2006-01-26T20:22:00.000-06:00

Since I started working from home I nearly all but stopped watching TV. This is actually rather surprising since I used to be somewhat of an addict. People assume that I'm home so I must watch TV all day but the truth of the matter is that I can't stand daytime TV. I'd rather thread my own eyebrows then watch a talk show or a daytime soap. As much flexibility as I have with the job, it's a known fact that I'm in my office working every night after the kids are asleep. I TiVo a few shows that I barely get to watch. However, some nights when I just don’t feel like working, I come down and watch whatever movie is on regardless of how cheesy it is. Tonight for my viewing pleasure I’m watching the Peacemaker with George Clooney and Nicole Kidman. There are so many reasons for me to rip on this movie:

George Clooney is playing his character from ER the only difference being he’s a colonel in the US Army.
Nicole Kidman failing to keep her Australian accent under control while she’s playing the US Secretary of Missing Nuclear Weapons or some such nonsense.
Cheesy lines like “Let’s Rock and Roll” from Clooney as he commands his choppers into Russian airspace.
The majority of the shots of Serbian exiles have red headed extras which made me think they filmed it in Ireland.
The New York extras keep looking in the camera.

However the cheeseball factor never fully got in the way of my interest and I kinda got into it.

Even at the end when I got a big serving of Mozzarella with a side of Swiss.

The Pompotous of Love

2006-01-14T12:34:00.000-06:00

I STARTED WRITING THIS POST 4 DAYS AGO.

I've decided that on each new post I'm going to cite my favorite quote of the blogs I've recently cruised. Today's quote belongs to Ms Tablemannered who writes:

"I don't mind reality. I mind the awareness of our reality"

(sigh)
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I hate that people who don't really know me act as if they know me. I think I'm a nice person (for the most part). I try and be a positive person and I'm fiercely loyal to those I love. As much as I like people, I'm a loner at heart. I love my alone time and I don't feel the need to go out all the time. Recently an old friend of mine (we used to be pretty good friends but lead busy lives and have thus drifted apart) has been calling all the time to get together. She doesn't live too far and threatens to stop by all the time. After my third decline of an invitation to get together she asked "Are you depressed?" Huh? Where the hell did that come from? "No, I'm just busy." Why can't we have our alone time without it being interpreted as some sort of emotional crisis?

I'm addicted to Pandora (thanks Rat and Naaz). Pandora lulls you into believing that it knows your musical taste. Oh, you if like Peter Gabriel then you'll like this song by the Jayhawks. Since you like Bob Marley we'll throw in some Toots and the Maytals . Just when I think I've found the perfect DJ it throws in some random crap. How random you ask? Olivia freaking Newton-John random! My ears nearly started bleeding when Celine Dion came on. Unless there's a big ship going down and Leonardo DiCaprio has a wet shirt on then I can live without Celine. AND Mr. Pandora, just because I love some old school 80's music doesn't mean I'll like every fringe-jacket wearing band with over modulated synthesizers.

Celebrated a late Christmas with D's family this past weekend. As much as I love them it's shocking how ignorant some (ok, mainly just one) of them are. We were showing a few of our India pictures and came across one of the Boy with his cousins hugging each other. D's step-dad goes "How did the Boy communicate with them?" I grimace. "They speak English" I calmly say while I sarcastically thought "Yes, they allow the natives to learn the supreme language once they build their mud hits and gather enough coconuts to last the winter." My brother-in-law Paul who's one of the funniest on that side couldn't help it and said "Get out! They speak English outside the US?"

The kids and their presents

My brother-in-law B with the Girl. I didn't think I'd like him so much considering he's a Republican with an NRA (National Riffle Association) sticker on his car but he's like a teddy bear who loves the kids a lot. We'll never see eye-to-eye on politics.

I know this will come as a shock to you but...it's cold in Chicago. Here's pictures of the snow falling in the back-yard.

These pictures are dedicated to those who have left the shores of Lake Michigan for the warmth of the Calcutta sun and the splendor that is Delhi. Now get off your exiled butt and put up a new post.

Blue Monday

2006-01-10T07:51:00.000-06:00

Greeting from California. I'm confused about what time it is but I'm fairly sure the sun hasn't come up yet. I went straight from the airport to the office and stayed late meeting with my manager and my team. There were people going out for drinks last night and as hard as they convinced me to go with them I retreated to the quiet of my room. I changed into my pajamas and ordered room service and took my laptop out to do some work. I remember eating my hamburger and washing up. I have a distant memory of turning on the TV and that was it. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep at 9pm (which in all fairness is 11pm in Chicago). I was awoken by a knock on my door at fucking 1am in the morning. I could here the drunken giggles of my colleagues and through the peephole I saw about 6 of them standing there waiting for me to open up. What was more disturbing was the group now included the cute Canadian business guy from my December meeting. I promptly climbed back into bed and under the covers and luckily they didn't persist. I watched Fraiser, one of the best written sitcoms in history, until 3am all the while eyeing my laptop on the table. When I have work that needs to be done my laptop beckons like a siren's call. Her alluring purr is a trap because when you start to work, the purr turns into a whirring sound. Perhaps it was always a whirring sound and I just chose to hear it differently.

The Boy called me at 5am to say good morning and to give me the run down on what he had for breakfast. D said the Boy slept in bed with him last night but he tosses and turns so it's not as restful as when I'm in bed. "Is that your way of saying you miss me?" I asked, to which he sighed and said "Yes..." (aw) "...plus you don't kick." (oh).

OK. I'm going to shower and get my day started. Tonight there's a big group dinner with "team building" activities and TL will be there so I'm sure to have a good time.

Cya

This is the powerful pulsing of love in the vein

2006-01-08T13:57:00.000-06:00

I'm leaving the cold of Chicago for a quick trip to Southern California. I figure my sleep schedule is already off by 12 hours so another 2 ain't gonna make much of a difference.

I left my make-up case on the plane to India during our layover in Frankfurt. I'm not a big make-up person but I do invest in a good cleanser and foundation. I took the case out so I could freshen up (i.e. brush my teeth) when I went to change the Girl's diaper. For various reasons it was easier for D to take her so I must have left it out on the seat. When we deplaned in Germany we were told to take everything off so they could clean the plane. The bastards took my make-up case along with my copy of the DiVinci Code. Anyway, today we went to the store to buy a replacement foundation before my trip to Cali. D balked when he saw the price. "You don't think I'm worth $XX??", I said to which he quickly (and wisely) shut up and walked away.

We've also found a cheap and warm way to entertain the kids during the winter; take them to the mall. Who knew they would find so much amusement going up and down the escalators?

Recently I've become pretty close to one of the Boy's tutors and am on a quest to renew her faith in men after coming out of a horrible relationship. I've done some matchmaking in my day and am proud to admit that I've got quite the track record; 2 marriages and 1 couple living together. His teacher is pretty hot in a wears-no-make-up-during-the-day but looks -hot-at-night. I'm kinda sorta ready to fix her up with a good friend of mine but he's being wishy washy lately and (in my humble opinion) there is nothing less sexy than a wishy-washy guy. Ms Teacher said if the obvious perks weren't there she would totally start batting for the other team at which time D's jaw nearly dropped 2 feet. OYE.

My older sister is came over tonight to watch the kids while D and I caught a movie. We couldn't decide so we drew names from a hat and Casanova won. Heath Ledger is yummy. I'm pleased I was able to slip yet another costume drama in on the heels of Pride and Prejudice.

I had a dream last night about a baby girl. I was nursing her in a rocking chair while I was softly singing. EVerytime a song would be over she would stop nursing until I started singing again. I must have gone through the usual list of llulabies because I remember singing Under African Skies by Paul Simon to her. I think dreams of having babies are not actually about babies but rather about new beginnings. *rubs her hands in anticipation*

D held my hand a little longer and harder than normal today. I guess sometimes I take traveling for granted but post September 11th has taught us that nothing can be taken for granted anymore. Without sounding too morbid it made me realize that we still haven't made an official will. D doesn't like talking about such things but they're a necessary part of life especially when you have kids. I've watched enough Six Feet Under to realize that grieving will bring out the worst in people. Yes, an official will. Definitely on my TO DO for 2006.

A Sort of Homecoming

2006-01-04T09:21:00.000-06:00

Up since 4am but feeling a bit more awake today. I think the worst part of taking a trip to a warm climate is having to return to the bleakness of home. It's cold and drab outside and it feels as if the sun forgot that we exist. We've definitely decided that our next trip to India will occur in the month of January so we are at least under the illusion that winter is somewhat shorter. Lucky for me I leave for the warmth of California next week for work.

India was a whirlwind. The kids did exceptionally well on the plane considering it was 22 hours of sitting on our ass. We arrived in Mumbai at about 2am and the change in temperature from Chicago was drastic. By the time we arrived in Kerala we were all excited and the hours spent on the plane seemed to be forgotten. My cousin held up a huge banner welcoming us and my parents nearly broke through the security barricade to hug the kids. At 18 months the Boy used to go to anyone who picked him up. The Girl on the other hand is a TOTAL DIVA. It's her way or the highway. By the end of the trip people learned to ignore her initial protests and just walk out of sight of me and D and she's be fine. The next 10 days were filled with seeing relatives, seeing the sites, shopping and eating. I warned D ahead of time that we would be seeing a lot of relatives and that despite the fact that we may have eaten not 10 minutes ago, there would be food waiting . He joked that he's always hungry and it would be no problem for him to gnash at each stop. Man was he wrong. Over the course of 8 hours one day we stopped at no fewer than 15 houses and at each house there was a full spread waiting for us. At about day 10 D pulled me aside and said "I love you but I can't eat anymore Indian food". My sister's husband R on the other hand tried a bit of everything that was presented to him including kadumanga (mango pickle). He nearly made it through the whole trip without any illness but drank a glass of roadside sugar cane juice which apparently he has all the time on business trips to Singapore. No offense but it was green... it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that it was a bad idea. An hour later we pulled over so he could throw up. Both D and R were such good sports. D (my gem) only got annoyed one or 2 times during the trip despite the fact we were constantly being pulled into 15 different directions. R is also a gem. He's super-smart and talented (engineer by day, DJ by night) and SO loving to J. Don't get me wrong, Dr J's quite a catch herself but she can be damn moody sometimes. R is really shy but he went right up to my grandmother and held her hand despite not understanding a word she said. My poor senile grandmother was wondering what the hell this 6 foot white guy was doing in her house.

Other thoughts from the trip:

D and I shared the same room (and in many cases the same bed) with the kids the entire trip. At one point I turned to him and said that having them there was a hell of a lot cheaper than getting an IUD.
Drivers in India are CRAZY. In America, sounding the horn is usually done as an act of desperation to get someone's attention and is generally looked upon as rude. In India, honking is you're way of saying "How you doin?...now get the hell out of my way".
What pills are Bollywood actresses taking and where can I get some? Is there some sort of lab somewhere in Delhi that grows these genetically perfect women?? The skin, the hair, the bodies...WOW. On our flight, Air India played a mix of entertainment including a Hindi movie. If D stared any harder at the screen we would have had to surgically remove his eyes from it.
One of the highlights of the trip for me was when my cousin convinced D and R to have an ayurvedic massage. Poor guys probably had an image of scantily-clad bollywood actress type women rubbing their backs. Apparently the message was done by not one but TWO big Indian men while a third (supposedly an apprentice) watched in the corner. D said the only thing that kept him chuckling was the fact that poor, unsuspecting R (who is SUPER shy) was waiting in the hall for his turn. As if the massage wasn't bad enough, the man actually helps wash the oil off afterwards. R couldn't had enough by then and insisted that he would wear his clothes without a shower. My sister said she's still trying to get the smell of oil off his t-shirt. Both guys came home and wouldn't even make eye contact with us. D said he felt like he was in the Shawshank Redemption. I gave him a kiss and said only a man who is secure with his masculinity would let another man rub oil on him.
I was mesmorized by some Hindi music videos, most notably one for a movie called Bluffmaster. There's a video MTV kept playing called Right Here Right Now and I can't get the hook out of my mind.
I did a presentation for the Kerala branch of my company which went well. Hopefully it will all pay off and I'll get to return more often.
Went to the post office to pick up our mail that was on hold and was so surprised when they handed me a package. I will respect the bloggers' privacy so I won't post a picture of it. Just know that it really was one of the nicest things anyone has ever made for me. A million thanks, hugs, and kisses.

And now for the picture portion of the show:

The day before we left it snowed. Here's a snap of the house across the street. What you can't see in the picture is the 85 inch TV they have in their living room. The screen is so big that astronauts on the space station can watch the Simpson's every day at 6pm sharp.

Here's a pic of R the day we arrived looking at the massive house being constructed across the street.

We went sari shopping one day and D holding the Girl attracted the attention of every sales woman in the place. D learned one new Malayalam word or phrase every day we were there. The phrase this particular day happened to be "English aryamo" (do you know English). He tried that line every chance he got. When he whipped out the camera every sales model grabbed a sari and posed for him. OYE.

The Girl wanted a bubble bath so we improvised.

We went on a wonderful houseboat cruise. The boat had AC (very important) as well as a dining area and living room space. Here's what it looked like from the outside.

The boat had 3 bedrooms. Here's ours.

I took a serious of B&W which I'm framing for my office. Here's one of my favorite.

The Girl enjoying the boatride.

View of the sunset from the houseboat.

The Boy and Girl at the Trivandrum Zoo.

From our "It's a Small World" file, R and J are friends with an Indian couple who were getting engaged and married the week we were there. R and J went to the engagement at some large estate which the bride's family owned. Here's a blog friendly shot of the couple.

Here's the 6 foot tree we lugged to India. The candy canes actuallymelted from the heat by the end of the trip.

Here's the milk and cookies we left out for Santa. We always leave a carrot for the reindeers.

Here's D putting the gifts out and eating the milk and cookies. I of course had to eat the carrot cos he acts as if he's allergic to vegetables.

Tree X-mas morning.

View of the hills on the way to my grandma's place.

Here's my grandma and R.

The sugar cane juice that made R sick. I took one look at the state of the machine used to get the juice and promptly got back in the car.

My hand hurts from typing. Friends and family can see more pictures on Flickr over the next week or so.

My dad has already called twice to say he misses the kids. I miss all my family there. I miss having someone cook my meals and wash my clothes. I miss the weather. I miss the sun.

I'm slowly returning back to life back in the US. It's my second day back at work and I'm already 3 weeks behind. It's good to be home.

All is quiet on New Year's Day

2006-01-02T06:35:00.000-06:00

I'm home. What time is it?...What day is it??... What year is it???

The journey home was a combined 22 hours. At one point I almost broke into the cockpit to ask the pilot if he could go any faster.

Will write a proper update later but the basics are this:

Had a great time
My parent's new house is lovely (spent a total of 3 nights there as we were travelling the rest of the time).
Took 983 pictures on my camera (no joke) of which I am only present in about 6. (I can hear Rat groan from here)
My head hurts.
My back hurts.

Happy New Year everyone!

Ring of Fire

2005-12-12T09:22:00.000-06:00

Yes, yes...it's been awhile. I initially decided that I would update whenever Motheater updated but then realized that I may be an old pensioner by then and my arthritis would prevent me from typing. Not even gentle prodding from her bird-loving roommate helped.

I'm here! Thanks for all the e-mails of concern and wonder from blogland on my whereabouts. Ok, "all the e-mails" makes it sounds like a lot of people wondered when in fact I received 3 e-mails BUT they were 3 sweet e-mails. (Rat! I didn't get the info today. I'll call you when I get to India). The truth is I had started 2 different posts but lost both of them somehow and got frustrated. Too bad cos 1 of them was a long juicy one which in hindsight I'm glad I didn't send. OK, so in the interest of time I will get you caught up in the life and times of Mint:

It's cold and snowy in Chicago.
Went to Dallas for work, my first trip ever to Texas. My presentation was well received and I like my team although since then one of them has officially burned a bridge with me. (He realized it as soon as it happened). The Brit stats guy was there although he wasn't as cute as I remembered him to be. This could be because my new thang is French Canadians. We have a new business development guy that made me swoon. The way he looked in his suit, the way he had a firm but gentle handshake and made direct eye contact when he spoke. WOW. I also have an Indian-Canadian team member based in Montreal and she was so beautiful with her French-Canadian accent. She had beautiful eyes and wore lipstick that was so perfect. Unfortunately you could tell off the bat she was a big-time smoker which was sort of a turn-off. We have lots of sites in Canada so I hope to visit our neighbor to the North in 2006.
It's cold and snowy in Chicago.
Went to Wisconsin to watch the big football game as well as have dinner with all my inlaws. Dinner was in some way-out-of-the-way place in the middle-of-nowhere, Wisconsin. Our new family favorite CD to play in the car is the best of Johnny Cash. The Boy knows all the words to Ring of Fire and the girl bops from side to side like she's his personal back-up dancer. Here are a few pics from that day:

Nothing but farmland

View of my sister-in-law's backyard. We've gotten a ton of snow lately.

Christmas store in Wisconsin. Christmas overload.

Cake

On the long car ride to and from, D and I had deep conversations about "meant to be's" and "the one." I've decided that it must be normal that you can be together with someone for so long but still have passing moments where you feel you have little in common with that person except the 2 kids in the backseat sleeping off their sugar-high. I look at my mother in-law and sometimes wonder how she and her husband have been married for 25 years. I personally think it was more about companionship. Her husband died leaving her a widow in her early 30's. She raised four kids on her own and didn't even consider dating until D (her baby) was in high school. Her (new) husband is all-in-all a nice guy but their personalities are so mismatched. His rocky relationship with his stepdad is the reason D moved to Chicago to go to college. It's plausible to think that had that not happened, D and I would have never met.

Here's D's mom and dad. They would have celebrated 50 years in July.

My mother-in-law and I discovered that we both love a lot of the same old Cary Grant movies, most notably An Affair to Remember.
It's cold and snowy in Chicago.
Have been out to 2 different movies in as many weeks; Pride and Prejudice and Syriana. Pride and Prejudice was good although D looked like he was going to vomit at the ending. He also thinks Keira is sorta cute but conceded that she could probably cut someone with her sharp chin and jawbone. Syriana is definitely a thinking sort of movie. There are 3-4 stories/lives that only come together at the end. I would say at least 10 people walked out cos it wasn't what they expected. If you're expecting Ocean's 20 DO NOT SEE SYRIANA. I liked it.
It's cold and snowy in Chicago.
Went to my parent's house and put up their Christmas tree last weekend even though they're in India. We also celebrated my sister's 26th birthday. The tree was sorta half-assed cos my mother wasn't there to give us any direction. D and I decided not to buy a tree this year cos we wouldn't be around to enjoy it. SO...we're bringing a tree to India. Yep...a little 6 foot tree with a whole buncha (supposedly) shatter-proof ornaments. Wish us luck.

Parent's house before

Our lame-ass, half decorated tree.

It was too cold outside so we put the plastic Santa near the fireplace. Perhaps we should place him in the neighbor's display where the 3 wise men are in the middle of the freaking North Pole.

The girl received a princess tea set from my older sister.

We leave for India today. Last week the boy was sick with a cold and I ended up sending D to the consulate to take care of the visas. At the consulate, he met an old friend he used to work with who we always referred to as the "reverse us" (American girl/Indian boy). I always thought D had a crush on Sue and wouldn't blame him if he did. She's like one of those totally put together people who walk into a room and everyone flocks to talk to. She is going to India over Christmas to meet her boyfriend's family. Of course, D being D didn't find out any important details like are they engaged? where are they visiting? is he cute?

Blog break. This one for obvious reasons (wish us luck!)

Happy holidays everyone!

Dog Day Afternoon

2005-11-29T14:22:00.000-06:00

I've had a shitty day. No, literally. I had a shitty day.

I was supposed to go to the Indian Consulate today to get our travel visas for our trip. (Dad, if you're reading this look away. Yes, I know you told me to do it 2 weeks ago. Yes, yes, I realize that you've called me from India 3 times this past week to remind me to get our visas. DAD! Stop yelling! We'll get the damn visas soon.)

Anyway,the applications were filled out and I thought I would call the consulate to confirm the procedure and was treated to the following conversation:

man: hello (even his tone makes it sound like he can't be bothered)

me: oh, hello...is this the Indian Consulate?

man: (sounding annoyed) yes. what is it?

me: I wanted to verify that I can drop off my family's passports in the morning along with our visa applications and our visas will be ready for pick-up at 4pm.

man: yes...Perhaps

me: umm...Perhaps? Could you be a little more specific?

man: ma'am if there are many people than you must come back another day.

me: Another day? Meaning I drop it off today and pick it up on another day?

man: yes, another day.

me: Well sir, could you offer me some guidance on how many days it would take?

man: I don't know. 1 or 5 days perhaps. Depends. Are you American?

me: I have an American passport but I was born in India. I'll be bringing in passports for my husband and children.

man: You don't sound Indian. Are they Indian?

me: (WTF??) We all have American passports. They were all born in the U.S. My husband is American.

man: But he is Indian?

me: No, he's American..

man: Yes, he has a US passport but he is Indian, right?

me: NO, he has a US passport AND he is American..

man: ma'am! He is Indian but born in the US, no?

me: NO! He is white...like rice. My husband is as white as rice! (I'm practically yelling at this point)

man: Oh. Yes, drop the passports off with the applications but you may have to pick it up another day.

me: Thank you! (click)

So J was on her way to pick me up when Chutney starts barking/yelping/crying from his kennel. This isn't unusual as the dog is a big whiner. I continue typing away at my desk when all of a sudden I get a horrible smell. As I walk to the basement I already know what it is. Shit. Chutney had an upset tummy and went all over his kennel. I spent the next 2 hours cursing the dog and cleaning up the mess. What's worse is one of my projects is being audited which leads to a constant stream of stressful calls. By the time J arrived (an hour late I may add) to pick me up, I was in no mood to go to the consulate. Instead, she convinced me to go for sushi and deal with the visa next week. (I'm out of town the rest of the week).

D called and asked what's for dinner. If looks could kill I'd be a widow right now.

2005-11-26T01:38:00.000-06:00

Short Thanksgiving Update:

I had a headache which turned into a migraine by that night.
Headache affected my tastebuds and made everything taste like metal. It's harder than you think to pretend like you're eating
Three pies this year; pumpkin, coconut cream, and chocolate delight (not pictured)

Going back this weekend for my mother-in-laws 25th wedding anniversary. If D's dad were still alive they would have celebrated 50 years this past July.
D's nieces and nephews morph between holidays. The pretty blond niece that wore pink tank tops now has braces and dresses like a boy
Oldest niece still going out with boyfriend. (2 years with a genuinely nice guy, which is a record for her)
Came home and took migraine medicine. Went to "Little India" (Devon Street) and picked up non-metal tasting food.

Thank you for letting me be myself

2005-11-23T14:10:00.000-06:00

Ms Lavi inquired about the purpose and meaning of celebrating Thanksgiving so this is my shout out to her. This is the short, watered down version...

In the early 1600's the Puritans left England to escape religious persecution. Many died on the ship journey over which eventually led them to the tip of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. By the time the pilgrims arrived in America it was a cold, harsh winter and many did not survive to see spring. As you may know, America was already inhabited by people referred to as Native Americans or American Indians. The Native Americans befriended the pilgrims and taught them to hunt and plant in this new land. Thanksgiving marks the celebration of the first bountiful harvest the pilgrims had in November 1621 which allowed them to survive and prosper in their new home. They invited the Native Americans for a feast of turkey and a boatload of other food. It's all a beautiful sentiment and school plays usually reenact the feast with pilgrims and Native Americans with lots of smiles and handshaking. Of course they don't go on to show that as the settlers expanded their quest for land across the East, they banished many native tribes and enslaved the very people who helped them survive. A more accurate depiction would show the exchange of corn from the Native Americans for guns and gonnerhea from the pilgrims.

Anyhoo, I never even had turkey until I was in the second grade and our teacher made little turkey salad sandwiches to celebrate. I had so many that I ended up vomiting and vowed never to eat mayonnaise again. Of course being first generation immigrants meant our celebration had a little spice to it and included chicken biryani, somosas, and corn (as homage to our American Indian brethren). As the years progressed, the celebration became more traditional and my mom would cook a little turkey breast. My first Thanksgiving at D's house, I was amazed at how big turkeys actually were. D's family made meals from scratch although being from Wisconsin meant just about everything had cheese on it. D's mom always makes 2 pies for dessert and every year we're all too stuffed to eat them. A few years ago, D took over the tradition of making the turkey for my family's celebration. 2 years ago, to celebrate my mom's survival from cancer, my parents hosted a huge Thanksgiving celebration with family and friends for which D cooked a 20 pound turkey. Somewhere there's a picture of my dad and D smiling over this gigantic cooked turkey. If I find it, I'll definitely post it.

Tomorrow we're going to D's sister's house for thanksgiving. My parents left for India last week so I thought there would be no official celebration for my side this year. However, D took the opportunity this past Sunday to cook a mini turkey feast for just the 4 of us. As my parents used to do with us, we asked the Boy what he's thankful for this year. He scrunched his face really tight as he was deep in thought and said "I'm thankful for my mom, my dad, (the Girl), Chutney, and my Mr Incredible remote control car". I'm thankful that we still rank above Mr Incredible. : )

Oh oh, come take my hand, We're riding out tonight to case the promised land

2005-11-17T00:45:00.000-06:00

I've been tagged by Rat although I'm modifying the list to include questions from other variations of this meme. As you can see, I can only muster up 5 things for each category:

Five Things I Plan to Do (the ones I can list):

Join the International Red Cross as a traveling nurse
Vacation with my mom in Rome
Speak at least 4 foreign languages moderately well
Skydive
Run the Chicago Marathon

Five Things I Can't or Won't Do:

Smoke
Stay mad at people
Whistle properly
Drive stick shift
Put a towel on the bathroom floor

Five Things I Can Do or Have Done:

Made snow-angels in the middle of Red Square
Be a really good friend
Camped out for U2 tickets
Play volleyball fairly well
A backbend

Five movies I can watch over and over:

It's a Wonderful Life
Cinema Paradiso
E.T.
Amelie
Shawshank Redemption

Five things I say the most:

That's so random
Oye
Fuck/Fudge (depending on who's around and my/their comfort level)
OK (but slowly and with emphasis like OHH-KAY)
How you doin? (a la Joey)

Five words I like:

kismet
bliss
municipality (newly acquired)
liaison
pharmacodynamics

Five important things in my bedroom (right now):

My husband
4 plane tickets to India
My journal
An overstuffed chair perfect for reading
A book my friend gave me

Five random facts about me:

I rock at Trivial Pursuit
I emotionally withdraw long before I mentally or physically withdraw
I can't sleep right next to a wall if someone is sleeping next to me (slightly claustrophobic)
I have a calcified protrusion on my right knee cap from where I dislocated it at age7
I'm allergic to pineapples

As for my future children's names- who the hell thought of this question? Besides, I'm done birthing babies in this lifetime. My son is named after my dad while my daughter was given a name that D and I both liked although her middle name is after my mom. That being said there's one certain girl's name that will always hold a soft spot in my heart. *wink*

Ultraviolet

2005-11-13T23:22:00.000-06:00

Picture if you will: 8:00pm on a cold, blustery Saturday night in suburban Chicago. D has already put the Girl to bed and I join him in the basement after I get the Boy to sleep. I prepare to download some new pictures I've taken when all of a sudden the lights go out. "Shit" D and I say in unison. 5 seconds later it comes back up. With barely enough time to breathe a sigh of relief, it goes out again. This time for good.

First and foremost I hope those of you who go through power outages a little more frequently will forgive me if I sound like a wimp at anytime during this post. Now D and I have been through an outage together while we were dating. We had this huge snow storm that dumped about 2 feet of snow and the power went out. At first it was all romantic as we lit every last candle I had in my condo. Unfortunately 2 hours later the thrill was gone and we went to bed with about 5 layers of clothes on. (Nothing says sexy like 3 pairs of socks, panty hose AND jeans. Yes, it was THAT cold). I can still sorta remember shivering the entire night.

Anyway, the house is now pitch black and it's at that moment I remember the Boy asked to borrow our only flashlight to use as a light saber a few months ago. SHITE! Well, at least we have candles D says knowing how much I love candles. Yes, I respond, but do we have any matches? This would be a good time to mention that I'm pretty sure Chutney is mentally challenged. When D convinced me that a bloodhound was the breed for us I imagined that, God forbid the children were ever lost, our trusted bloodhound wouldn't stop until he lead us to them. This dog couldn't sniff out a skunk in an elevator. What's worse is Chutney is not graceful whatsoever. I constantly hear the thud of him running into a chair or door or wall. At night we are treated to irritating rattling as he tries to get comfortable in his kennel. With no lights Chutney was running into things left and right. I swear we got the only bloodhound on Earth with no sense of smell. D had to comfort Chutney in the basement while I searched for matches in one of the kitchen drawers. The problem with that drawer is that every miscellaneous item that doesn't have a home in our kitchen, including screw drivers and other sharp objects, can be found there. I decided I had to have light if I was going to continue to look. What does a modern girl looking for a light source use? Why her laptop of course. Luckily the battery was charged and set a soft glow in the kitchen as we searched for matches. I followed D around the house with an open laptop in some sort of deleted scene from the Matrix. In the end we couldn't find any and D had to run to the store to buy a lighter and new flashlight. He took Chutney with because:

the dog LOVES riding in the car
it's easier than me having to control him in the darkened house
I think D realizes, as goofy as he is, that dog is a real babe magnet

So there I am, alone in the pitch black house. Luckily the kids are still fast asleep. I stare out our front window and I can see the shadows of our neighbors across the street as they walk across their living room with a flashlight. So far the night is comfortable weather-wise but I worry that the early morning chill may be too much for the kids. I call my dad and find out they have power. We make a plan that if it doesn't come back in a few hours, we'll pack up and stay at their place. I decide to be proactive and gather all the candles from the four corners of the house. Suddenly I feel like a frontier woman. They didn't need little things like running water and electricity to make their homestead complete. I feel empowered and have an overwhelming urge to churn some butter and feed the men-folk. Suddenly I have a fear that the electricity is somehow connected to the water system and that our water will be cut soon so I quickly brush my teeth while I still had the chance. Anyway I figure that D and I will be talking a lot so I may as well have fresh breath. It's only then I remember that D and I had watched the Sixth Sense for Halloween. FUCK! What if a spirit trys to contact me? Good thing I just went to the bathroom so I won't piss in my pants. All of a sudden every shadow cast by the blowing trees outside and every howl that the wind brought is scaring the crap out of me. When D came home about 10 minutes later I nearly jumped into his arms as soon as he walked in. I decided I was so not meant to be a frontier woman.

We now have a working flashlight which makes a world of difference. We light a few candles (my Ginger Peach candle from Pier One smelled so much better in the store) and head to the basement for some good old fashioned conversation. D and I settle down in our family room which is now aglow with flickering candlelight. I made a mental note to take some blog-worthy pictures of it but sadly never got the chance. D barely gets his first sentence out when WHOOSH the power comes back and with it came noise and brightness. I never realized how many things around the house made noise.

Anyway a few things I'll take away from my experience:

Never let the Boy play Star Wars with the only flashlight in the house
Always keep the laptop battery charged
I was so not meant to be a frontier woman
Chutney is not the sharpest knife in the drawer

She's got a smile that it seems to me reminds me of childhood memories

2005-11-07T20:09:00.000-06:00

So much to say, very little to blog about.

Nice weekend in that the Girl was doing much better albeit a bit grumpy. At one point she literally threw herself 2 feet across the room in a tantrum about wanting to read "Oh my, Oh my, Oh Dinosaur" for the 900th time in a row. I can read it 600 times without batting an eyelash. Starting at about 720, I can feel my brain cells dying off one by one. D and I shot each other a look like "That's YOUR child" "No that's YOUR child!"
One of the hazards of parenthood is that you memorize every book you read to your kids cos they want to hear it again and again and again. This in and of itself isn't bad. The downside is that the space in my brain meant to store the common treatments for diabetic neuropathy is now clogged with stories about dancing barnyard animals.
Sunday, knowing we better leave the house lest we drive each other insane, we all went to the local super-mega hardware store and looked at all the Christmas displays. Who are these people who spend $300 on a 10 foot inflatable snowglobe with Frosty the Snowman? It's probably the same people who set up the life-size nativity scene in their front yard complete with Santa's elves watching over the baby Jesus.
We drove to downtown Chicago and showed the kids all the wonderful sites. We promised the Boy we would take him to the top of the Sear's Tower soon. It'll be nice to go there when we're not on a whirlwind tour with out-of-town relatives in tow.
Tomorrow is election day...I can't wait for 2008. Have I mentioned that I'm a political junkie?
Does absence really make the heart grow fonder or does it make you realize what you don't have next to you at that moment?
It's Fall in Chicago which means both the Chicago Bears (football) and the Chicago Bulls (basketball) have D's full attention. He's a diehard fan but not fanatical to the point of annoyance. Our weekends ooze testosterone.
I was thinking of starting a family band but unfortunately I'm the only talentless one in the group. Even the Girl has some moves she picked up on Teletubbies. (Dipsy can bust a move). Anyway, D's been giving the Boy guitar lessons and they do a mean duet on some Neil Young song. D even threatened, I mean suggested, that he take his old amp out of the garage and set it up in our basement. D smiled and said that I can be his groupie. Hmph! I've seen Almost Famous enough times to know what groupies do.

Anyway, enjoy pictures from our last jam session.

P.S. The girl is wearing a little outfit from Old Navy (the poor man's Gap). I'm not sure why there are 5 different prints between her pants and shirt. Must be what all the hip kids are wearing these days...

Guitar case with purple velvet. It as though Prince (or the artist formerly known as Prince) threw up in it.

That's not how you play Twinkle Twinkle!

You've got your chords all mixed up dad. Let me show you...

The candyman can 'cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good

2005-11-02T22:00:00.000-06:00

The Girl's been home sick with me all week. She's so sweet and adorable but she just doesn't understand the concept of being really quiet while mommy's on a teleconference.

Here are our Halloween pics. D took the Boy out foraging for candy while the Girl (who was slightly feverish) and I gave out treats at our house. For every 5 little kids who showed up in their adorable costumes I'd get a teenager dressed in regular clothes with a plastic bag. D laughed at how I gave each and every one of them a hard time. If you wanna Kit Kat then you need to show me a little effort.

The brave knight

Note how D is just sitting there while the Boy attacks my pillows.

Pink leopard

The Girl's latest obsession is her toy cell (mobile) phone. She is constantly yammering on it as if she's making plans for her little toddler friends to pick her up later.

Tried to get a shot of the little tail.

We're On Our Way Home

2005-10-30T11:16:00.000-06:00

We're going home
Better believe it
Two of Us by The Beatles

I've been trying to hear as much as possible about the blasts in Delhi as well as the train accident in AP but the US news is apparently made for extremely short attention spans. It's really aggravating.

I spoke to a friend this morning who asked if we were still planning to go to India in December. I didn't hesitate before I said "Of course we are". We had tickets booked for October 2001 when the Boy was a year old but with the uncertainty that followed September 11th we canceled our trip. My grandmother ,who is now in her early 90's, has been waiting patiently to meet D and the kids. Now that J is married, meeting R becomes an added bonus for her. Besides, I can't wait to show D and the kids where I'm from. I can't wait to show them that although there's green in the US, there's a lush green that you only see in Kerala. I can't wait to see D's eyes when he sees masala dosas the size of a small child or the Boy's expression as he wades in the Indian Ocean.

Terrorists or no terrorists, we will be on that plane 6 weeks from now.

Oh Canada

2005-10-28T22:48:00.000-05:00

J is one of my team members based in Oregon. I needed someone to go and visit sites in Canada and J sweetly agreed. (By the way, J and I happened to be talking about blogging last week and I told her about my blog. *waves* Hi J! Thanks for always making me laugh.)

********************************************************************************
(This morning, sitting at my desk trying to unjam my stapler)

Phone rings

Me: Good Morning this is Mint.

J: (whispers) Mint?

Me: (whispers) yes

J: (whispers) it's me, J

Me: (whispers) Why are we whispering?

J: (whispers) I'm about to board the plane from Seattle to Calgary...

My mind starts racing. Terrorist strike? Hijackers?? Starbuck's ran out of scones?? I'm touched that she would make her final call to me...

J: (whispers) Guess who I'm sharing the plane with?

Me: Who?

J: The BC Lions

Me: Who??

J: Canadian football Mint! (whispers) The British Columbia Lions.

Me: Oh.

J: I need you to look up who #45 is. He's damn hot.

Me: How do you know what number he is? Good grief, is he wearing his jersey on the plane?

J: No, they have it on their duffel bags. (They probably do that so women can look them up)

Me: (Looking it up) His name is Tyson. He's 6 feet tall and weighs 220 pounds. Good Lord, his neck is the size of my thigh in this picture.

J: *sigh* I love Canada.

Super Duper Love

2005-10-27T23:58:00.000-05:00

So guess what was on my doorstep today?? A package FOR ME courtesy of Ms Wandernut and Mr Box. Spreading love Malaysian-style!

From Box:

Mementos of Box's former careers including a CD with very funny agency promos complete with voice-overs.
A book of Eight Plays by Huzir Sulaiman
2 short stories written by the Box (Absolutely wonderful by the way)
1 short comic drawn by Box's partner at work
A stamp with my name translated in Chinese characters plus red ink! It's gorgeous and thoughtful and I just can't say enough.

From Wandernut:

Stained glass coloring book for the Boy
Mr Bean mini bear for the Girl
Little doggie mobile accessory
Chinese dress handphone pouch
Japanese Anime key chain
East Malaysian bangles
Bejewelled hair accessory (which I'm wearing right now)
Glow-in-the-dark rosary
Lavender incense
Lavender soap
Postcard
Container of HOMEMADE chocolate-mint cookies!!

When I told D about the cookies his first reaction was "Is that legal?" Who the hell cares??!! It's homemade and it's chocolate, nuff said. After having one of her cookies I think even D is willing to do some jail time.

There's also 2 wonderful CDs; The Wandernut Jazz Bar and The Box Set.

It's been pretty obvious that I don't blog as often as I used to. Some of it is blog burnout and some of it is the fact that my life is pretty busy. I use blogging as an outlet from a fairly demanding but completely blessed life. Nowhere in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would get to know so many wonderful people from all over the world.

Thank you both from the bottom of my heart.

Mirror in the Bathroom

2005-10-24T21:54:00.000-05:00

It's cold and dreary and wet and all the leaves are falling and my uterus hurts. I hate celebrating my womanhood.

I dropped off Chutney for a bath today. He took one step outside and looked at me like I was nuts. Sort of like "Mint honey, do you realize how cold it is??"

Yes, he's now a 62 pound puppy.

I've been having some very interesting conversations lately. The majority of the girls I knew from grade school have chosen to be stay-at-home moms. They are all in their early 30's and most have 2 children. I think being a stay-at-home parent is the hardest job in the whole world. That being said, I have never had the desire to quit my job and stay home full time. I took this job because it allows me massive amounts of flexibility and although it is common to see me up at 11pm working on stuff, I've never feel left out of my kid's lives. Today my one friend made me feel bad that I don't keep the Girl home with me. I wish I felt more guilty about working but the truth is I don't. However if it's ever becomes possible I would cut down to part time in a heartbeat.
Then there's the other argument. I recently spoke to my mentor and found out that one of the papers I helped him with has been accepted for publication. Dr B took this oppurtunity to lecture me about how I'm selling myself short in my current position and how I should return to acedemia. Acedemia is definitely intelectually stimulating but I'm not in a position where I can deal with grants and funding and long hours of writing and rewriting. The mortgage aint gonna pay itself.
D called this morning to tell me there's a rainbow outside. After some recent rough patches we've been communicating so much better with each other. I was 23 when we first met and I thought I had all the answers. It's only now I realize that I didn't even know half the questions.
Lots of talk recently both in and out of blogland about marriage and relationships. If I was forced at gunpoint to offer advice I would summarize as follows:

1. Don't be a drama queen: That goes for you AND your partner. Life is hard enough and marriage aint exactly a picnic all the time so the last thing you need is additional drama when things don't go exactly as planned.

2. Learn to let go: Even if you snap at each other, deal with it and then move on.

3. Pick your battles: I've asked D a million times (conservative estimate) to soak the dishes he puts in the sink. There's nothing worse than trying to wash off dry crusty oatmeal that's been sitting in a bowl for 3 hours. Sometimes he does. Sometimes he doesn't.

4. Variety is the spice of life: Um... not gonna say much about this except you should try to evolve in all areas of your life. *readjusts her halo*

October and the trees are stripped bare of all they wear.

2005-10-23T22:52:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Rat for encouraging me to blog again..

Thank you to D and AKR for the latest lovely postcard I received from the exchange. The cute thing was that they took turns writing on it just like their blog.

My best friend is finally engaged. Knucklehead proposed last week and I'm happy for them although my first thought was "Oh Lord...yet another bridesmaid outfit"
Found out that D reads my blog every once in a while. *waves* Hi honey!
Saw Elizabethtown. I thought it was OK. D said it was 2 hours of his life he'll never get back.
We carved pumpkins this weekend.

One of the first times D met my then-work friends was at my colleague's annual Halloween party. This picture was taken as we were leaving with our prize winning carved pumpkin. Technically it wasn't carved...we stuck potatoes for his eyes and nose and licorice for his smile.

I think this was like 7 years ago but it feels like yesterday.

Rock Me Amadeus

2005-10-17T20:07:00.000-05:00

After a particularly long day imagine my delight when I walk to my mailbox and find the following:

This is courtesy of Mr Vignesh who was in Austria last week and who, by chance, will be in Chicago this weekend. Thanks Vig. Thanks for the kind words and thanks especially for understanding. I played your CD for the Girl this evening and instead of enjoying the song you originally intended for her she was jamming to Groove Armada.

Send in the Clowns

2005-10-16T23:30:00.000-05:00

First things first. I received the following wonderful postcard from Dr Sunrayz.

Now if I were a guy I would worry about how her postcard was twice the size of mine but I'm not, so I won't.

Thanks for the wonderful words Sun. I'm heading to London to see my cousin in the springtime and will definitely look you up.

I've had a rollercoaster of a time the last couple days. Unfortunately life doesn't come with an instruction manual and sometimes you just have to wing it. In the meantime enjoy some pictures of my weekend.

The Girl and I went on a shopping expedition while D was away.

At the Pumpkin "Patch" which was more like a parking space with a few dozen pumpkins.

Shopping for Halloween costumes.

The Girl is going to be a pink leopard.

The Boy in some sort of swine mask. In the end, he chose a knight costume.

Birthday party for the Boy's friend.

You learn something new everyday. Today's lesson: The girl is deathly afraid of clowns.

Check out the homemade cake. It was a carousel with horses and a canopy (missing in the photo)

Rock the Cradle of Love

2005-10-12T21:44:00.000-05:00

OK. This woman is obviously sleep-deprived and delirious. WTF? D and I have always agreed never to let the children outnumber the parents. I love my children to death but sometimes I have questioned my own sanity after dealing with the tantrums and over-dramatization of the most inane situations. PLUS, I find that prolonged, consistent exposure (like for example when your husband is having a nice holiday in New York the same weekend your 15 month old daughter decides that she no longer needs an afternoon nap and would rather try her hand at riding the dog like he's the Black Stallion) leaves even the most intelligent adult as coherent as Rain Man.

Case in point, on Monday while I was training a team member on our new software I actually said the following "And if there is no adverse event then you can click the tool bar to make the screen go bye-bye." Smooth Minty. Very smooth.

Dancing Queen

2005-10-11T21:51:00.000-05:00

D's back from New York. He said he was surprised about how much he enjoyed New York City. He brought me back a really cool calendar with pictures of vintage French posters on it. You know how much I love calendars.

Rat's beautiful postcard from the exchange has been sitting in a pile of unread mail on our computer desk for a while now. I could easily blame D for not telling me it was there but I won't. He has a quote-unquote system for handling mail and bills. They have yet to shut off our electricity so I suppose I have no reason to doubt him. He says he looks forward to meeting "the Rat" in December.

Thanks Rat! I can't wait to take a picture of my refrigerator with all my postcards on it.

Shake It Off

2005-10-10T20:15:00.000-05:00

Hide your young. Minty's pissed and she knows how to swear in multiple languages.

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I just wrote one of the longest, most heart-felt posts of my entire blogging life and it's all gone. I just started typing and I couldn't stop. I don't even remember half the crap I wrote.

And please, don't freaking comment with suggestions that I use Word or save as a draft more often.

And, the fact that I have children doesn't mean I can't use profanity. Tas de merde. I NEVER swear in front of my children. I've become very accustomed to using "oh fudge" or "aye caramba" in my moments of dispair. BUT. If I can't let loose here, then what the hell is the purpose of blogging??

Neither One of Us (wants to be the first to say good-bye)

2005-10-07T01:10:00.000-05:00

My stat counter shows a flood of people who have been misled to my blog in search of Mint Chutney recipes. Is there some sort of contest or ethnic condiment craze that I'm unaware of? Sorry to disappoint. Try here, here and here.

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D leaves for NY tomorrow. Now I know how he feels when I travel for work.

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13 postcards for the exchange have been sent to the US, India, Singapore, UK and Cyprus. If you sent me your address, I sent you a postcard.

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Just prior to leaving, both Kafka on the Shore and Fingeek mentioned signing onto their computer and finding they had absolutely nothing to say. I hit that wall today. I've been here before but today I actually had no interest in finding my way around the wall. I kinda like it on this side.

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Oye! I am blogging about the fact that I have nothing to blog about. That's never a good sign...