Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

August 24, 2009

This weekend I was finally able to recapture that feeling I had in Manihi, that feeling of freedom, wind in my hair, propelling myself forward at a fast clip by only the power of my own two legs. That feeling of riding a bike.

Three years ago (three!!) I wrote an article about riding a bike in Manihi. I’ve wanted a bike for a while; I haven’t had one since I was in the fifth grade. When we moved to the house, the first order of business was to buy a bike. Raju managed to do this, but I, as usual, drug my feet. I didn’t know what I wanted. Actually, I did; I just didn’t know where to go about getting it. So while dragging my feet, I just stated that first sentence, “I don’t know what I want…” Big sigh….

This weekend, I was determined to buy a bike. I woke from my nap and told Raju, “I’m going to the bike store.” He, of course, knows what this means. I kid myself into thinking I’m just looking. He knows I’ll walk out with a bike.

And I did! I guess I actually rode out with a bike. The bike in the pic above to be exact. It needs a basket and a bell, and I still need a crash helmet, but I had fun this weekend. We rode to the pizzeria, we rode on the trail. We rode around the neighborhood, then we tucked the bikes in for the night.

Hopefully they’ll get some use this week too. I don’t want this to be just a weekend thing. It feels too good. It puts a smile on my face. I now have grand plans of riding to the lake, pic-a-nick-ing (watching, of course, to make sure Yogi isn’t around). Maybe strapping a backpack with camera on and discovering new places. We’ll see where it leads.

Ahhhhhh! To have a bike.

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the No Title Anniversary post

August 21, 2009

I cannot believe I’ve been writing this blog for over 4 years now. From the first post in Missouri with Milo enjoying the fresh air to the latest hiatus followed by domestic bliss, it’s interesting to read what I was up to then and the thoughts that swirled through my head.

A few days ago we celebrated our second anniversary. On our first anniversary we just chilled out on our deck, enjoyed the view of the mountains, and talked all night while drinking a bottle of Krug. For the second anniversary, we chilled out on *our* deck – the one we spent a weekend staining a month ago. Switch Dom for Krug, and last year’s conversation for something more light-hearted and less philosophical. Oh, and switch out the champagne glasses to the kitschy, heart-shaped, freebie glasses we used at our wedding, for nostalgia’s sake.

Then we decided we needed to eat this time around. Out we went to Zeni, and Ethiopian restaurant, where we enjoyed our favorite, kitfo. After eating all the meats, a little injera was left, and Raju showed his artistic side by carving Orion’s Belt into injera.

All in all it was a great night. Piece by piece it was a great night.

One year ago: Selling prints, reflecting on the honeymoon, spawning the idea for the gray room

Two years ago: We were gettingggg marrrrrriiiiiiiiieeeedddd!!

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Livin’ in Amerrrrica

September 17, 2008

Wednesday night we celebrated. After a few years of filing papers capped by a 1 hour ceremony, Raju became a US citizen.

The swearing in ceremony was interesting, though it left me wondering if the first thing a president does is make a video that welcomes new citizens. Does this happen before he is in office? Or, in that small cusp, do new citizens get to watch the former president welcome them to this country?

At any rate, gee-dub is the usual embarrassment, talking about religious freedoms and looking as if he’s reading the captions right off the screen. It really is hard to take him seriously.

But alas, celebrations ensued – handmade craft, beer, hamburgers, good friends and Rocky IV. Welcome to being an American!

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How Happy Everyone Was (including us)

August 31, 2007

I stumbled upon this photo while combing through some of the formals last night. I’m so glad Tin captured this moment… this is us.

I’m not sure what I expected from the wedding. I think combing through articles on the Knot, Brides.com, Martha Stewart weddings, etc. had braced me for a bunch of keyed-up assholes to attend my wedding, even though my family (and Raju’s family, now OUR family) are anything but.

So I’m glad it worked out that everyone was so happy and seemed to enjoy themselves both at the rehearsal and at the wedding. And no one took themselves too seriously, including Raju and myself. We had fun, we celebrated, we partied, and everyone pitched in to make sure everything went perfectly… or at least close to perfect.

But I don’t suppose the magazines and wedding blogs make this stuff up. Every vendor we dealt with gushed about how great our family was, how much fun everyone had, including themselves.

So, I guess we’re just really lucky and really blessed. And we know some fun people.

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I really did enjoy myself…

August 23, 2007

After all was said and done, I’m glad we blended so much of the Indian ceremony into our California celebration. The altar area was beautifully decorated and so many people got to play a part in the wedding. And, it was funny to have the Hindu priest ask us how to pronounce the name “Harrison” (I guess we’re not the only ones baffled by some names). I also got to show off my freshly pedicured feet while stepping on rose petals (seriously, some people pay good money to have their feet rest on rose petals… I think a few did at the nail spa).

Plus, I’ve decided I’m going to adopt my husband’s penchant for exaggerating the truth in order to spin a better story. Instead of “I circled the sacred fire 3 times,” I think I will say, “I performed a death-defying stunt in the middle of the ceremony. I was a daredevil, circling a flaming coconut, each time getting closer and closer, with a 10 foot train on my wedding dress!” I’ll have to let him finish the tale with some out-of-this-world meaning for making it around the fire, as I’m not nearly as good as he is yet… but I’m working on it.

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