SuperBowl

I'm gonna serve my special crab dip for the big game. It's just regular dip, but I bitch while I make it.

Know what the Super Bowl would be without all they hype, pre-game shows, commercials, and half-time spectacular?
About an hour and a half!

Thought for the Day:

Success N Excuse Do Not Walk together. If you want excuse, forget abut Success, and If You want Success, Do not give Excuse.

Friday

We have been offline. I was working last night and it just quite working. We had 3 different people trying to get us back online. Finally we decided to go to lunch. Bob got a hair cut. When we arrived back home about 3 pm we finally were back online. It's the end of the month and it is always busy.

Thursday 29th

Heard from home and the weather is still cold and street are still icy. The Ground Hog will be showing up on the 2nd of Feb. I hope he doesn't see his shadow so we can have an early spring. I want to see flowers and sunshine when I get home not 6 more weeks of bad weather.

Saw a video today of Cade making snow angels in the snow. Checked out Roxie's, the new bulldog puppy in the family. She is so cute. I may steal her when I get home. Check out her new blog

Liquor Permit

We went to the prohibition office to get our liquor permits. It went just as we suspected. We have to come back next Monday. Getting all of our copies, filing out of the papers (3 copies of each), paying our fees. Still have to go back on Monday.

They was just going to renew for 3 months. We are going to see what we can do about getting a six month permit, it is actually supposed to be for a year, but being a US citizen we are only to be here for 6 months then you have to leave and come back. So that is the reason that you can only get a 6 month permit. You only get 4 unit per month. 1 unit is like 10 bottles of beer, 1 bottle of liquor or 1 bottle of wine. So it isn't very much per month.

Bruschetta

I have been on a quest for a Bruschetta.

I have found it with cheese, olives and other things on top. But I went to "Tomatoes", the chef there is our very good friend. He offered to make me Bruschetta. I took him up on it. I don't think I have had a better Bruschetta in the world. Maybe it was the fact that he made it just for me.

I found a recipe online for Bruschetta I am going to try it when I get back to USA. But for now I am going back to "Tomatoes".

Equestrian Statues

Do the number of hooves lifted into the air on equestrian statues reveal how the riders died?

The most common theory is this:
* One hoof in the air--rider was wounded in battle
* Both front hooves in the air--rider died in battle
* All four feet on the ground -- rider died of natural causes later.

Read More

New Jacket

We went to a Heirloom Art Festival. We were going thru the booths enjoying all of the beautiful materials, as you go by they try to get you to feel their material. When I approached this booth with this man in it. He told me: "I have sufficient size for you" I was very impressed with the approach. I have never been told that before. I really like the jackets and so Reasa and I tried on a few. Then I decided to buy for Rs 2000 ($50 USD). He wanted to take a picture of us in the jackets, so I got my camera out too. I hope that you will get to see me wearing the jacket. IT IS BEAUTIFUL!

Me in Diu

Standing on the balcony of our hotel room

Sunday 25th

It was a good day. Sunny's dad passed Friday. So we were invited to a Hindu "Besna" We had to wear white clothes. I bought me a pair of white jeans (I have NEVER owned a pair of white jeans in my life) and a white shirt.

First you had to take off your shoes on the street in front of their house. The men were all sitting outside on the sidewalk. NO ONE SAYS A WORD! The son (Sunny) and daughter (Kosha) were sitting on both sides of a picture of the deceased and a tray of flowers. You had to take some of the flowers and put in front of the picture. Bob sit down and I was taken in and upstairs to the back bed room where the deceased wife (Asmita) layed on the bed. When I walked into the room, I thought it was the deceased, I was so glad that it wasn't. Anyway there were women all sitting on the floor. I was instructed to sit on the edge of the bed beside her and bless her. NO ONE TALKING! I had NO idea what to do and lucky NO ONE WAS SAYING ANYTHING . I had heard that you only stayed 15 minutes.

It was very strange, but I was so glad that I got to go and experience.

Best song EVER!

I received a call from a really great guy! Everyone will be jealous! He sang "Happy Birthday". OK, he sang Happy Birthday Football, but I knew that there was love behind the words. Cade sang the whole entire song! It made my day!

Birthday in India

I just came back from Havmor. I purchased 26 ice cream bars to give to the employees. Here in India, you buy your friends something on your birthday. It cost me Rupees 260 which is $6 USD.

They are always glad to get chocolate or ice cream. That is a real luxury in India. When I leave to go back to US, I will buy them all a chocolate candy bar. They always love to see me that way.

I slept first part of the day, then checked eMail and worked a little. Dinner plans will be light and then maybe some more sleep. I will continue my post later.

Jan 23rd

Back from DIU! What a great time we had!

Bob and I and 3 other American's spent 3 days on the beach in Diu, this is owned by the Portuguese, in other words you can buy alcohol there and they have Portuguese food, churches built in the 1600's. I got to go inside that church, The nuns were going to the top of the church to ring the bells. There is also a fort there, actually the original city of Diu is inside the fort It was really old, we rode scooters all over the city, walked along the beach of the Arabian sea, swam in the infinity swimming pool, had drinks and ate. The streets of Diu are so small cars can't get down most of the streets. We had a really good time.

Thank you Allyson, Randy and Olivia for sharing such a great Diu get away.

Mon Jan 19

The most effective way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once.

A well adjusted woman is one who not only knows what she wants for her birthday, but even knows what she's going to exchange it for.

Sun Jan 18

Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened. - Jennifer Yane

A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun. Enjoy the trip!

Sat Jan 17

One week to my Birthday!

Off to exercise with Bhakti . Had a really good work out. I am sore from yesterday work out so I can imagine what I will fell like tomorrow. No pain No gain. We then went for lunch. We went to Iscon mall to find a coffee pot. With not much luck.

Talked with my parents on the phone. It was good to hear their voices. They said it was cold and they hadn't been out. I told her she can call me using my normal number and I would answer, and she could call me for any reason. She didn't know she could do that and she might just try it. Modern technology, isn't it amazing.

My Kite Flying

My first kite ended up in the tree. MOST of the kites ended up in the trees or on the high lines. But I had a really good time, I am not sure that I ever really flew many kites. I got to cut down 5 kites, so that makes it really exited. In the picture below is my fellow kite flyers. Right to left Indian man (relative of Snehal), Snehal (our Indian friend), me, Bob, Olivia and Randy (from Chicago). We stayed till the lantern kites went off. That was a very beautiful site as well.

Fri Jan 16th

Be sure to check out pictures that I have added.
The weather in Oklahoma looks a little COLD! 17 degrees and it feels like 8 degrees. THAT's COLD! Don't hate me I am sitting on the balcony in the sun, we are supposed to get up to 89 degrees today and low of 63 degrees tonight. Tomorrow you will be back in the 40's so that will be a lot better.


Be sure to check out pictures that I have added.
The weather in Oklahoma looks a little COLD! 17 degrees and it feels like 8 degrees. THAT's COLD! Don't hate me I am sitting on the balcony in the sun, we are supposed to get up to 89 degrees today and low of 63 degrees tonight. Tomorrow you will be back in the 40's so that will be a lot better.

Yesterday we took the morning to work and relax. We learned our housekeepers name: Artii. She is so YOUNG. And such a cute baby. We just call her baby. Bob is always giving her candy. She just SMILES at you. Heading to Reasa's to take Ben kite flying. First to Papa John's Pizza for lunch. Then we went to a new store that has a lot of American products. Femina Town, located at Omkar House, C.G. Road Navrangpura. I had to get some make up, Finesse hair mousse, Nivea soap,Panten shampoo and Dove lotion. They have a wide variety of products and I will return again.

We got cold drinks and headed to the top of the roof to fly kites with Snehal and his family. It was just as much fun. We didn't stay long today. We headed home to shower and change. We had dinner plans with Rob, Kristen and their two beautiful children Ally and Dillon. Rob is a pilot. I think this is the first pilot I have ever had the privilege to eat a meal with. He was really nice. We chose Crusie on S.G. highway. The food was good but we had fun making fun of the fajita's. They were served with french bread and was covered in the sauce. Rob said it also tasted nothing like fajita's.

Wed 14th

We had a great day at the KITE FESTIVAL. We first picked up Randy and Olivia (a model from Chicago, actually they are both from Chicago). Then we went to Pranva's roof and he taught us to try the strings and we got to fly kites. The excitement is there is fine glass in the string and you try and cut down the other kites flying in the sky. You have to put band-aids on your fingers to protect them, I somehow managed to cut down about 5 kites on Pranva's roof. Darshini fixed us breakfast there which consisted of a traditional rice dish and various fruits.

Then off to Neal and Tanuto's for lunch. Their cook didn't show up so we went out for lunch. We tried to fly kites on their roof, but not many kites in their area. So kite flying didn't last long.

We then all got in the car and drove down to old Ahmedabad. Snehal invited us to the roof of a hospital. You have never seen so many kites. I only managed to cut 2 kites. We got a couple of kites REALLY high before they cut ours. Snehal's mom, sisters, girlfriend and 2 daughters and alot of friends were there, they were all very glad to see me. Imagine that.




There was an older Indian lady in her Saree. She was maybe 80. She had climbed 8 flights of stairs and had to climb over a 4 foot wall to get where we were, but she was there with her sister and her husband. I was sitting on a blanket with Snehal's girlfriend Vatoo. This lady came and sit right next to me and started to talking to me, no at me because I couldn't understand one thing. Anyway Vatoo helped translate. I took pictures and will get them online as soon as possible. SHE was great.

Tues. 13th

We went to Kankaria Lake and walked all the way around it. I was a beautiful day. Then we went to the zoo. It cost us Rs 10 (25 cents) for the lake and Rs 10 (25 cents) for the zoo.

We had lunch at the Fortune Hotel. They had a very impressive buffet of veg and non-veg food. We then met Pranav for coffee and then returned home for a very beautiful evening.

When we returned home, I went out on the balcony and watched the monkey's on the concrete fence. The dogs kept chasing them up the trees. We had left our balcony doors open when we left. It's a wonder our bungalow wasn't full of monkeys. Those big long tail ones. They have bars on all the windows to keep the monkeys out. BUT the big quadruple doors we have unto the patio has nothing to keep them out. I think that would have been a BIG mess. But we were lucky this time.

Tomorrow is Uttarayana Punyakalam, Kite Flying. In India, where these kites were invented, they are flown daily from Rooftops and during the "Kite" season at large festivals. The line used is called Manjha, a glass coated line, and each flier attempts to cut every other kite out of the sky. The last kite flying is the winner.

We are having breakfast at Pranav's, lunch at Neil's and dinner with Snehal. So it shall be a very festive day.

Mon Jan 12th

We had a very relaxing Sunday. Slept in late. Then went to Hymalia mall. Ate lunch at Papa John's. They have pizza, but no pepperoni.

Went to Star Bazaar and got some fruits and vegetables. Then home to a beautiful day. we opened the balcony doors in the living room and bedroom. The breeze at 85 degrees was just absolutely WONDERFUL.

I am enjoying the girls that come and wash dishes and clean. The daughter is really precious. The first day she came and sit on my lap in the swing on the balcony. OK, she stole my heart. I showed her the pictures of my grandkids. I know that she doesn't speak English, but I think she liked looking at the kids pictures.

Reading and working on the computer is about all I did yesterday. Don't forget the naps.

Sat. 10th

It's Saturday morning and I am sitting on the balcony. It is a beautiful morning just a slight breeze, but the sun is shinning. Bopal is a very small town on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. Women gather on the corner and talk, kids running and playing in the lot accross the street.. Lots of birds singing. 2 cows eating the grass in front of the bungalow. Chipmunks live here not squirrels, but there are 3 of them playing on the brick fence that surrounds the bungalow. It is so very tropical. The only thing that it needs is a beach on the other side of the fence.

Finally got some sleep and I hope that I can stay on track with the hours on this side of the world.

Had a good day yesterday with Reasa and Ben. We did a lot of laughing and did do our exercises. Couldn't get online last night, it was probably a good thing, because I went to sleep.

We have a "2" year birthday party for the "Tomato's" restaurants son. Then after that we are going our to eat with Allison. I am very excited about meeting her.

I am going to make 4 of my dolls. It was supposed to be for Christmas, but I am a little late. We found stuffing yesterday and I got the first one stuffed. I need to assemble them and put the hair on. I had sewed the parts, painted on the faces and had everything done but the stuffing so it wont take me too long to put them together. There is a little girl that comes with the cleaning lady. Bob has gotten attached to her. So the 1st one will be for her.

Education

If you think education is expensive,
Try ignorance.

Derek Bok quotes
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

Winter in US

My favorite thing about winter?
Probably eating lunch and then watching the sun set.

Just a thought

If it wasn't for people who over spend at the holidays, you'd probably never see garage sales in January.

Arrived

I arrived at 3:10 am on Aug. 8th. I was towards the back of the plane. So I figured it would be a while before I got off the plane. Then the stewardess said that the door in the back had been opened. So we got off pretty fast. I was the last one to get on the transfer bus to go to the terminal. So that put me first one off the bus at the terminal. WHICH put me in the FRONT of the customs line. By the time I got to the custom desk. The line had zig-zaged around the room and out the door. BOY WAS I LUCKY! After customs they have to scan you bag before you can leave the airport. Since I only took one carry on I beat most of the ones still waiting for the luggage to come out.

Out in front of the Ahmedabad airport on a early Thursday, 3am, it was like a circus. Hundreds of people waiting on people. Bob and Chirag was just outside and I was so glad to see his face.

All in all it was a great plane rides, just the long wait in NYC. Which I booked it that way, because you never know how the weather is going to be and if you will be running late. All of the planes that I got on had to be de-iced, except out of Dubai (of course). The plane that I was on out of NYC we wait about 45 minutes before we got de-iced.

We didn't get up until about 11:30am. We went to Tomatoes for lunch. I wanted to see Pranav. He was really glad to see me. He come and sit down at our table and we talked for a long time. We then went to Hymalyia mall to get some things. Then we headed back to the bungalow.

We are going to bed early so that we can get up at 5:00 am and go to Neal's to watch the OU game.

NYC

I arrived in NYC at 12:30pm today. I had to go from Terminal 3 to Terminal 4. Sounds easy? I found 2 other ladies and we all got lost. While we were on the air train, I learned one was from Fort Worth and the other from Dallas, no wonder we got lost in NYC. They were headed to Egypt. My seat mate on the last flight from Detroit to NYC was also going to Egypt. Sounds like I should have went with them. They left are leaving at 6:20 am. They are probably boarding their plane. I have till 10:00 pm before we board. Then it will be a 12 hour flight to Dubai. Then another 2 to Ahmedabad.

I don't think that there will be a big crowd when I get there. 3:10 am doesn't make alot of people want to come out to the airport to get you. Bob said that I could take a bus, they are right outside the airport.

Monday Jan 5th Back to Work

Well, it's time to go back to work.
Now if I can just figure out what mound of snow my car is buried under.

After a long holiday

The only thing that makes me glad to see the people I work with is having just seen the people I'm related to.

Problem

The problem with after Christmas sales is the lack of after Christmas money.

There are two things to aim at in life:

First, to get what you want;
and, after that,
Second, to ENJOY it.
Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second.

2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR!