And We're Back!

So I was informed last weekend that there are some anxious readers out there who were actually waiting for another post. I had kind of assumed no one read this and didn't feel bad not posting after I returned from India. But I'm not one to let a captive audience down! So I'm back :)

The India trip was brutal, but productive. We did nothing but shop every day for 2 weeks in the heat and crowds, using only the subway to get around. But we got everything on our list and brought back SEVEN suitcases. No, that's not a typo. We paid for overweight and an extra bag, plus we both had heavy carry-ons.

Things have been getting steadily busier since I returned from India. I went to San Francisco and Austin over the long weekends, we had our engagement pictures, and we moved all of our stuff into a new apartment (Maneesh himself can't officially move in until after the wedding). Moving is especially painful, especially when consolidating stuff and having to sell old furniture. Luckily the new place is absolutely amazing. We have this view that I still cannot believe. It's nice to live in a nice place for once. I've always sought out places with character in NY, which basically equates to old, but this place is so luxurious and comfortable. Definitely a step up!

I've also been going to DC every spare weekend, which has been good. We're doing pretty well on being on track for the wedding. We still have a few vendors to solidify. The decorator has been more than flaky, so we don't have a contract with her yet, but my parents think we're close. We don't have a hair & makeup artist for me, but we do for the rest of the family members. We don't have mehendi artists. MJ's family hasn't picked the caterer for their welcome dinner yet. And my mom said last week that her brother convinced her we need a videographer, so we're starting to look for someone now. All the other vendors are good to go, so it's pretty much the details and coordination that's left. Of course, the devil is always in the details...

The entertainment is another big thing that's left. MJ and I are still debating on first dance songs and steps. My dad has no interest in discussing the song for our father/daughter dance, though he still seems to want to do it. Other than my brother, no one in our families seems interested in picking their entrance songs. haha Fun times! My brother is putting together a slideshow for the reception, but we don't have enough pictures. So MJ and I brought back an entire suitcase and a box full of old pictures, and I'm going to start picking some out. He's going to do the same this weekend when he goes home.

Picking engagement photos for our guest book was fun, but picking a wedding band was even more fun. I'm excited about the one we got! It's so sparkly and pretty with or without my engagement ring :)

Stay tuned for the next post, which will regale you with the ups and downs of our wedding invitations...

Bon Voyage!

Well I'm off to India tomorrow. This last week has been extremely stressful and busy, but I'm making good progress on my to do list. It's going to be a busy, hot trip and I can't say I'm looking forward to 2 weeks of shopping.

We also booked the hotel for Maui for the honeymoon! It looks beautiful and I was able to get 6 nights on points, so we only have to pay for 2 nights there and the Big Island hotel. I'm getting the flights on miles when I get back from India too. So exciting!

My dad has the final contracts for the hotels. And now it's time for us to do invitations and get all the clothes, jewelry, favors, etc.! Wish me luck :)

Focusing Inward

Ahhhh finally the weekend! Man, it has been a really crazy week at work and we’re taking it easy tonight. A walk in the park and maybe a movie or something. I had a really good workout yesterday and am still on a high from that. I've been craving fruit like crazy every day this week and actually look forward to my work outs now. I may actually get in shape after all :)

I have felt really anti-social the last few weeks. I just haven't felt like going out much, though I'm not sure why. It's probably because I'm eating healthy and not drinking. That's a lot easier to do when you have a routine and are only at work and at home. When you're out with friends, it's easy to be more compelled to indulge. I guess I want to spend this time focusing on myself and getting to a place I want to be, so I'm trying to reduce distractions.

I was talking to a friend yesterday and was complaining how I can't take any fun trips this summer because of the wedding. Then I realized I'm going to India, Austin/Dallas, San Francisco, Scottsdale, and Chicago before the wedding! MJ's friends plan a big camping trip every year, which I'm hoping to be able to make too. So there are plenty of fun trips to look forward to!

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm currently obsessed with SparkPeople.com. One of the many emails they sent me was titled Living a Meaningful Life. It really struck me for some reason. I don't know what people would do that would make them feel they'd led a meaningful life, but I really miss volunteering. I used to do quite a bit of it in Austin, but it tapered off the more I traveled for work. But I have no excuse now and really miss it. I talked to MJ and we are going to make it a priority after the wedding. We have so much to be thankful for and both really want to give back. Of course I know it doesn't make sense until we've settled down after the wedding.

On the other hand, I still don't know how someone looks back on their life and thinks it was meaningful. Maybe if they made some huge contribution to society - like curing cancer or getting a Nobel peace price? But what about the average person? Being close to their kids and grand-kids? That seems rather fleeting. Otherwise it seems like all the things people do for fulfillment don't impact many people beyond themselves, which makes them less meaningful. Like running a marathon or traveling or making a certain amount of money. I suppose charitable works are the only way to lead a "meaningful" life?

Officially Engaged!

Last weekend my family drove and flew in for an engagement ceremony at MJ's parents house. It was the official Indian engagement, even though he proposed 4 months ago! 14 of my family members came in for the event. I was so touched! MJ's family had quite a few family friends there as well. They had redone the kitchen cabinets and counters, done some landscaping, and bought a new living room rug. It was a really nice ceremony and everyone had a good time. Lots of food and mingling and everyone looked so nice. MJ even surprised my brother with a birthday ice cream cake! There was even a cute moment where MJ got down on one knee to put my engagement ring on my finger again in front of everyone! Tee hee MJ and I thought it was good practice for the wedding - even though there were only about 30 people there, everyone was staring at us for the whole ceremony and there were probably 10 cameras/video cameras! Luckily I'd gotten my hair blow dried for the first time and tried to be as girly as possible by painting my toes and nails, and generally beautifying. My parents did so much work preparing for the event, so I'm glad it's over and everything went so smoothly.

I think we're going to sign a contract with a DJ this weekend. MJ has talked to the DJs and done all the research and it looks like we're going to go with the first one we ever talked to anyway!

I still never heard back from the decorator after we last met her. I sent her a final list of items we wanted and she never responded, despite multiple follow-ups. We're still hoping to be able to sign with her, but this isn't a good sign :(

My mom and I leave for India next Saturday (5/1). Hopefully the ash in Europe will be cleared up by then, since we're supposed to meet in Amsterdam and do the last leg together. I'm a bit overwhelmed by how much has to be done after we get back. We'll only have 3 months, but we'll need to send invitations, work on our first dance, register, find an apartment and move, take care of the legal marriage, book the honeymoon, and work through all the final details of the wedding day.

I'm still hoping to work a photo booth into the reception or cocktail hour. My brother has photo booth software on his laptop that we all played with when MJ and I were there a few weeks ago. We had such a blast! You can add your own backdrops and effects, so we were having a great time in my parents' living room, pretending to swim or climb the Eiffel Tower! I can just imagine how much fun our guests would have taking pictures of themselves. The hardest thing is to figure out how to make it work logistically. Do we have someone stand near the laptop and push the button for people? Do we strap it to a table of some kind and leave instructions for people? Do we create our own backdrop or use one of theirs? How do we ensure it's not stolen, dropped or has food spilled on it? We'll see if we can pull it together in time :)

Watch it Go

I haven't updated in a while, but I am home sick (yes, again!) and thought this would be a good time to catch up.


In the last few weeks I've been putting a lot of pressure on myself about losing weight. I didn't make much progress in March, due to a lot of stress at work. But I've lost 6 lbs already this month and only through healthy means. It seems pretty obvious, but the crash diets and shortcuts don't work for me. I need to use a consistent method and stick to it. I've lost 14 lbs since the beginning of the year. I'd hoped to lose 20 by the end of this month, but am giving myself a bit of a reprieve because of March. My new target was 15, but I've already lost 14, so I'll be happy with anything more :)

In terms of the gym, I found that doing a fat burn mode on the eliptical where I use it for longer, on a higher resistance, but go slower, hurts my knee less and gives me a better overall workout. I had been planning to sign up with a personal trainer when I got back from India, but tried a group class on Saturday and loved it! I'm going to try to integrate at least 1-2 classes per week into my workout schedule. I'm actually starting to look forward to my workouts!

I've also joined a site called SparkPeople to help me in the process. It gives me recipes, workout tips, provides an online community, and has an iPhone app to track my food and calories burned. It's shown me that, as my personal trainer used to tell me last winter, I don't get enough calories in a day. It's counterintuitive, but I need to eat more to lose weight. I've still been eating small meals throughout the day, but trying to eat a little more often. It's also just a very positive site with a community of people that are going through the same struggles. So I get emails with healthy vegetarian recipes, easy exercises, motivational emails, and just general positive vibes!

My clothes are much looser, but not too big yet. Clothes that didn't fit before comfortably do now. So yay!