Marathon of a weekend.....

It's been a week since i blogged. And honestly i can't remember what exactly significant happened worth writing about. I guess i'll write about my marathon of a weekend... The weekend started early on Thurday night for us. After some hesitation, i decided to go with Saji to our friend Lincy's house. It was the night before the wedding. So we drove down to Long Island. The night before the wedding is always so hectic and so this was no exception. Lincy seemed so stressed out, which i can totally relate to. But the night was still fun. A few of the GAG members were there including Saji's friend Jason from Florida. I won't go into the details but it was quite entertaining and there are pictures to prove it :) Anyway we didn't get home until almost 2 in the morning with Jason. We would have crashed there if it wasn't for the fact that i had a morning hair appointment.
So the next day was busier than ever. I got my hair done at Dana Cole's in the morning, nothing too fancy, just big wavy curls. By the time i got back from the salon, the boys were dressed in their finest. So i started panicking cuz i wasn't ready and we had promised that we'd be at Lincy's by 1 in the afternoon (the wedding was at 3). It usually takes me a while to put on a sari but i was fast, or the sari was easy to put on. I wore a black italian crepe sari with golden thread work. I love that sari, it's so pretty. I was initially a little hesitant about wearing black to a wedding. Black dresses are appropriate here but in Indian culture, it's not usually done. Anyway, this sari was pretty fancy for a wedding. And i wasn't the only one wearing a black sari, so it was all good. With friday afternoon traffic, we got to LI by 1:30. All the bridesmaids were still getting ready when we got there. They were running an hour behind. So I helped them get ready. Saji was so busy helping Libu (Lincy's bro) with last minute technical assistance with the Slide-show, and etc. By the time we got to church, it was after 3. And it started raining a little by then. The limo driver took the longest route, thanks to "Mr. Mapquest" to get to church so the wedding didn't begin until 3:30. It was my first CSI wedding that i attended. It was definitely different from Catholic or Jacobite weddings. Although the chorus was great, i still like our catholic weddings better (especially MC). I totally missed the tying of the minnu but i liked the fact that they have vows. Because saji was helping out, I went to the reception hall with my in-laws. It was at Crest Hollow country club, pretty fancy place. The place was packed with about 750 people. That's a lot of heads!! At the cocktail party, i caught up with saji's cousins, peeps from church and Saji's best man, Sunil and his wife Ligy. I love hanging out with them. We all get along so well and it's always a good time :) And the best thing was we were all sitting at the same table.
The night can't be complete without some mishaps. During dinner (while i was still working on the yummy chicken), saji accidentally knocked over my glass of wine and spilled it all over my sari. Thank God it was black so it really wasn't noticeable. By the time i got back from the bathroom, the plates were gone. And I didn't get any dessert! Thanks a lot Saj! Don't worry, it's forgotten, but i had to mention it here :) What else happened? I got hit on the nose with some girl's bangle while dancing. I didn't even realize how bad it was bad until saji pointed out that i was bleeding. So back to the bathroom to clean up my injured nose. I spend most of the time in the bathroom that night. Anyway i still got back on the packed dance floor. By the end of the night, i had a red nose, and a very aching feet. Although we had initally planned to sleep over at Lincy's with the rest of the gang, we ended up driving saji's parents to Yonkers at 1 in the morning. I didn't think i would be driving that night but there i was driving in a not so familiar place. Thank God i was following saji. I was so glad that we got safely to Yonkers. It was definitely a memorable night!
On saturday, we slept in until 11 o'clock, we desperately needed some rest. Then it was back to Lincy's again for the day after wedding Picnic. Although the weather wasn't the best, the picnic was great. It was the first barbeque i had this year. After the picnic, we finally departed LI and drove home to Peekskill. Reji (saji's bro) came with us and he hogged up the front passenger seat. i was stuck in the back with no leg room. So i ended up laying down in the back seat and took a nap. We dumped our clothes and changed in Peekskill and was off to attend the prayer meeting at my Uncle's in New Windsor. It was a special memorial for my aunt's father. It was nice to see most of my family members that i haven't seen in a while. We finally got home around 11, which is acutally kind of early for us. We attended church the next day. Church got out early so we got a chance to have lunch together at home. After that, i went to take a nap before getting ready for work. And saji went to his aunt's place for another barbeque.
Now i'm at work, it's almost 5 in the morning. And i'm glad i had a chance to catch up. I gotta get back to "work" now. Take care!!!

Walking Tall

I had an Awesome weekend, it definitely made up for last weekend. My brother Jary came over friday night. We went grocery shopping for dinner And stopped by Blockbuster and picked up 2 DVD's, Ray and Walking Tall. Unfortunately, i couldn't get any chick-flicks. OH well! By the time we got back, Saji was home from work. And while jary played his video games, saji attempted to help me make Chicken Parm and Ziti, until he sprayed marinara sauce all over himself and the kitchen. OOPS! It was actually my fault, i thought he knew it was open before he man-handled it LOL!!! It's always a joy cooking with Saj :) Neverthelsess, we had a wonderful dinner filled with some heavy discussions about college planning. Jary is a junior in high-school and he has been looking at colleges. He is so focused on RPI, his dream school and he wants to major in bio-medical engineering.. And he doesn't know much about any other schools or programs. So we encouraged him to look into other four colleges and broaden his major of interest a little. I don't want him to get discouraged if he doesn't get into RPI or if his major doesn't work out. It's always good to have plan B. He is going through what every high-schooler goes through at this time. He doesn't know for sure what he wants to do and he is frustrated but all we can do, as his siblings is to help him get through this confused adolescent stage. It's all too familiar! I have faith that he'll make the right choice with God's will. After dinnerand the heart to heart, we watched Walking Tall with my favorite wrestler, the Rock! :) It was a great movie, with great visual effects, CALIENTE!!!!!
Saturday was spent doing household chores: cooking, cleaning, laundry. I was able to squeeze in some time for exercise. I have been slacking, again.... In the evening, I went and dropped Jary off at my parent's house while saji went to his friend's bachelor party at some Brazilian steak house. Apparently, they serve various kinds of meat. Anyway, while he was pigging out, I had my favorite Poori and lamb curry with my parents. It was quite yummy!!!
Now we are both back home and ready for bed. Well, saji is already snoring on the couch. We have to get up early for church in the morning so Good Night and God Bless!

My "Support System"

I took a big step yesterday. I actually woke up early to go to an open house at College of New Rochelle. I haven't been motivated to go back to school, to finish my Master's that I started before my wedding. Actually i only took 3 courses. I have not felt really enthusiastic about restarting it. Mostly because i feel that i make a decent income now and i don't really know what i want to do with a Master's in Nursing. Besides with the morgage and other expenses, we don't have much money to spend on expensive college education. And with college and a full-time job, being a Wife with a house to take care of, when am i ever going to have time to just relax? I can come up with a million excuses but they are just excuses. But thanks to my supportive husband and family who convinced me to finish what i started. So now i'm planning on going back to school next fall. The problem now is choosing the right college. I can always continue on at Mount where i started or go somewhere else and CNR is my other choice (i narrowed it down to one). So i got up early and drove to the Westchester Mall, where Saji was meeting me. I did some window shopping while waiting for Saj. I can never afford anything there with my budget but it doesn't hurt to look. Then we drove together to the campus. It's a pretty campus, with gray-stone buildings resembling an old castle. I met with the Director of the Nursing program. I also met with the Dean briefly, who made a comment, "I see that you brought your support system along." And who could ask for a better cheerleader? :) Well anyay, I got some useful info.I'm interested in their Acute care NP program. So far, i like their program but now i just have to weigh the pros and cons. For one thing, it's a longer commute than Mount and they are only going to accept one of my classes to transfer. Decisions, decisions....
After the visit, we went to eat dinner at Malabar Hill in White Plains. We weren't really happy with the food but i got my favorite Masala Dosai. Yum Yum!!
Anyway now i'm at work, another quiet night... I'm looking forward to two nights off this weekend. And i heard the weather is going to be nice, finally! I'm going to have to go pick my brother up today from my parents, he is coming for a sleep-over. It's his spring break! It has been a while since he slept over so it should be fun :) TGIF!!!!!!!!!!!!

Weekend of Work :(

I haven't wrote a blog in a while. It's because all i have been doing is working night shift this whole weekend except for sunday and sleeping during the day. And the whole weekend was such beautiful weather. Just my luck, last weekend rained endlessly! :(
Anyway going back to last thursday, i did an odd shift from 3 pm to 11pm at my old job (i still work there per-diem). So there i was driving home from work at 12 am, and i heard sirens behind me. I was on the phone with my hubby (on my hands-free head set). It took me a minute or more to realize that the sirens were directed to me. I got off the phone quick and i pulled over. I was so nervous. While the cop was looking over my profile, another cop car came and parked infront of me, blocking me. Mind you, it's mid-night and there is hardly any cars on the road. I was so scared. I don't trust Cops at all, especially when i'm alone at night. I was imagining all the horrible stories that you hear on the news. Anyway the first cop came back and informed that he became concerned when i didn't initally pull over so that's why he called back-up. He thought i was trying to get away. I had to laugh! I had no idea the whole time that the sirens were directed to me. Anyway we all had a laugh and he let me go. It took me longer to get home that nite but i was so relieved. And i promised myself that i'm never doing that shift again, especially with the long commute. What was i thinking??
On Saturday after working the night before, i got home, ate my breakfast and went to bed at 9 am. At 11 am, the secretary called me from work about a disaster drill and they wanted to know how long it would take me to get to work? But it's only a drill. They woke up me from a deep sleep to ask me that! I was so upset because once i'm woken up, it's so difficult to fall back asleep. And i didn't! On top of that, saji was home, going in and out of the bedroom. Of course, he was doing his best to not to wake me up. Anyway when i finally did fall back asleep, the damn alarm clock went off. I get very cranky when i don't get my sleep, especially when i have to go back to work. So i was extra cranky that night. And of course i took it out on my poor husband. I'm sorry kutta! And you were so good, got so much done while i was attempting to sleep. Even though i didn't appreciate it then, i do now :)
Sunday was my only day off and we had a dinner at Saji's aunt's house. We had dinner and watched our Wedding DVD. It looks like they still haven't fixed it fully. It'll probably be another month before it'll get fixed again. Eventually we'll have our DVD, the way we want it! It's so moving to watch our special day played over again. :)
Back to the present, It's almost 6 in the morning on Tuesday. I just worked another 12 hour shift and it's getting busy now. So i gotta finish some things up before the next crew gets in. It's been nice catching up.
God Bless!!

Sunny Days are here again :)

An absolutely beautiful day today, it actually feels like Spring. Spring is my favorite season, it's cool and not too hot. I hate the sticky humidity of the summer. It reminds me of India, where i spend my childhood. Although i had some good memories, i always hated the hot, humid weather. We went to visit India two months ago, and here i thought it's the cool season. Well i was wrong, because it was over 90 degrees every day we were there. It's so hot that you don't want to go outside. And of course since it was mine and saj's first time going to India since we've been married, we had so many relatives to visit. We'd leave in the morning, get in our little Ambassador car (with no Air-conditioning), and come back home at night completely sweaty and nasty. We took at-least two showers a day, if not more. And for me, the most frustrating part was trying to keep my hair to look decent. Let's just say, i never got the hang of it. I actually brought my Vidal Sassoon Mega Hair Dryer to India. And Electricity in India comes and goes as it pleases. Totally unpredictable! So the first time i used my hair dryer there, it blew out the fuse :) Saji was yelling at me cuz it took out the electricity, i guess it had too much power. OOPS!!
Anyway back to the present! I'm so happy that the winter is over. We moved into our new house in November and i did the long commute to my old job throughout the horrible winter we had. There was some scary moments. And the whole time we've been here, we have hibernated. We have yet to see the entire town. We just drive up and down Main Street or RT 6. So now that it's nice weather, we are going to go out and actually see the rest of Peekskill. It's actually a historic neighborhood, and it's located right on the Hudson and Bear Mountain. It's a picturesque area. Also now that it's nice outside, we have to do some cleaning up of our lawn and maybe do some gardening. We have so much work to do!! It should be fun though.
What else to write? Well, yesterday was my Mom's birthday. So we went to my parents house for dinner. And we also stopped by my aunt's place. She just got back from India after going there for her dad's funeral. My mom is in her early 50's, and she just been diagnosed with Diabetes. She always had hypertension and now this, two very bad combination. I'm a little concerned about her health. She exercises regualry which is good. She is in pretty good shape. I guess it's mostly her diet that resulted in the diabetes. Diabetes is so common among Indians, mostly because of the amount of Rice we eat. It's hard for me not to eat rice, atleast once a day because that's been my staple food. I feel like i'm not full if i don't eat rice. It's funny! I have to start watching how much i take though cuz diabetes runs in our family.
Today is my full day off so i'm just chilling. Actually i need to do some cleaning and shopping. But i don't feel like doing work. But i am being productive though. I've been meaning to check out some graduate programs. I want to finish my Master's but it's so tough to get back into the school mode. But Saji is threatening me, he is like "finish school or start popping out the babies." So i decided to enroll in College. After all, it's harder to go back once you have kids. Becuase we moved, it's going to be hard to go to the Mount which is where i started my Masters program. Also where i graduated with a BSN. So i'm checking out some colleges in Westchester. Pace is the closest one but it's too expensive. College of New Rochelle sounds good so far.
Anyway i gotta get back to doing some chores now.
God Bless!

A Man of Conviction: Pope John Paul II

This has been one gloomy weekend. I was looking forward to a whole weekend off but the weather just plain sucked. Well i guess April rain will bring May flowers..
We also lost our dearly beloved Mar Papa, John Paul II on April 2, 2005. There is no question that he was a Man of true integrity, A man of conviction and Faith. He was also as President Bush described him "A champion of freedom." Well it truly saddens me that He is gone but i am convinced that he is in Heaven and will continue to look after us. We miss you! RIP Pope John Paul II 1920-2005.
This weekend started out with a dinner for me and Saj, and our friends Ann & Bobby at Ann's aunt's house on Friday. We are the Newly-weds at Church. Unfortunately Bobby couldn't make it but it was definitely good time. And i was stuffed, Yum Yum!! WE stopped by Saji's Aunt's house in Yonkers on our way home. When we got home, we were busy cleaning up the house for Our dinner on Saturday.
WE had planned a dinner for OUR PARENTS saturday night. We haven't had them over together in a while and it is my mom's b-day coming up on the 5th. So me and Saj cooked dinner all day while it was raining heavy outside. And unfortunately, the rain really got in the way of traveling. So my folks couldn't make it but Thank God, Saj's parents and Bro came over. And we ate Chicken Parmigiana and Salad for appetizer while watching Star Wars: Episode II and we had Rice, Lamb curry, fish curry and Spinach thoran for the main course, And of course Apple-Pie for dessert. Well somebody had to eat all that food that we spent cooking all day. And we have left-overs for the rest of the week :) :) It's always good time bonding with the In Laws.
Today, we actually woke up on time (even with the Day-light Savings time). I wore my silk navy sari with a lot of glitter and we were on time to Church. Definitely a good start! It was a beautiful service, remembering our beloved Pope. After church, we got invited to Lunch at Francis Uncle's house. And you definitely don't turn Francis uncle down. He is an AMAZING cook. And it was amazing. :)
So after all the calories we ingested in the last two days, we definitely needed to work out. I finally used our new Elliptical machine. I haven't exercised in over a year. So i'm going to feel some pain tomorrow. But it's all good, need to start somewhere, rite?
God Bless!!!

Meaning of Life

Not Yet The Long Sleep
by John LeClare

Glittering dark, dancing
Before my eyes, closed
Everything I see, shadowed
In roaring silence
I hear
Falling
A feather
Soundless, a brush
My lovers touch
Bitter, life's bile
Sweet, love's taste
Shadows of tomorrow
Darken the path of yesterday
What was will not be
What is, stands
Before my eyes, open
My life

As a Nurse, I've seen people at their weakest moments in life, where they are holding on to a thin rope to keep from falling. And as a health care professional, it's our duty to do everything we can. But from experience, i've learned that there is only so much we can do. The rest is up to God. In Terri Shiavo's case for example, health care professionals did everything to keep her alive for all these years through the feeding tube. Yesterday she died, after being deprived of nutrition for 13 days. I'm not going to go into deatils of this case but i feel it is totally immoral to starve someone to death. As a Critical Care Nurse, I've seen countless times where we torture patients at their end of life, with needles and tubes in every orifice imaginable. And there is instances where the patient's wishes are not clearly stated. Therefore, we must listen to whoever is the next of kin. It's such a difficult decision for a person's family to make, especially if their loved one never addressed their wishes to them. This is why i'm a big advocate for Advanced directives, Health-care proxy . A health care proxy is someone who you designate as your voice, when you cannot speak for yourself. Obviously when you make someone your health care proxy, it's important that individual knows ALL your wishes, and it's someone who you trust, and that can follow through with your wishes. If you want more information, check out this site, http://www.uslivingwillregistry.com/forms.shtm