Rohan getting around

Cruising around the house on a weekend morning. In his new big boy car seat - facing forward now!

Big News - Baby is Mobile Now!

Sorry I haven't posted here for so long. I've been run ragged with Rohan getting up almost every hour most nights, plus trying to squeeze in work when he's sleeping, then house chores while keeping an eye on him.

That's all going to be much harder now, because the little guy is CRAWLING! Not only is he crawling everywhere but he pulls himself up and walks along the edge of furniture now. Of course he's been walking all over the house holding our hands since 7 months, but it seemed to take forever til he could even sit himself up. Then BAM, he's off and running at 9 months!

Now with the increased mobility it's time to baby proof. Actually the same day that we put a lock on the media cabinet he tried his best to get inside it. We're barely a step ahead of him. He's bumping his head on everything and licking everything! So just when we need to keep the house even more clean, there's less chance to do the cleaning. When he's awake, I'm just running after him every second. His toys aren't so interesting now that he can explore things like light switches, electrical outlets, laptop wires, the TV remote control, and a thousand other things we don't want him to play with!

To top it off, he doesn't seem to want to go in the potty anymore. His favorite place to pee seems to be on my lap. Next favorite: wherever he's sitting at the moment.

Ah, now motherhood gets even more interesting!

We're frantically shooting video and photos, as so much is happening right now. Soon he'll be really walking instead of his little wobbly penguin walk. Though I won't miss the phase where he stops putting everything in his mouth. I've been saying he's teething since late Dec. but he has yet to sprout a tooth!

Smilebox of Baby Pics

Nanna Lewis made a "Smilebox" of pictures of Rohan. Check it out!

http://smilebox.com/playEmail/4f5451784d4459794e5877784f5455334d7a49314d513d3d0d0a&sb=1

Rohan's First Day at the Beach

Today we took Rohan on his first daytrip, to St. Augustine. The weather was beautiful. We expected it to be cold, as the Atlantic was really cold last year at this time, but it was so nice and sunny! We dipped his feet in the shallow waves and he watched the water come up over his feet and wash the sand out from his toes... so cute! He wore his sunglasses from Nanna Lewis and got slathered in sunscreen to protect his skin. He loved watching all the little kids playing soccer, surfing and swimming and building sand castles, and there were dogs and birds, too. We'll probably spend a lot of time at the beach this year!

Messy Baby Disasters and Other Things Mommies "Fix"

It seems Daddy and Baby are getting into trouble so often these days! Just two nights ago when daddy was supposed to be putting Rohan to bed, I hear, "Mommy, come here" from the general area of the bedroom. Surprised to see the light on, I wonder what's happening. Then, behold a shocking sight. Daddy and baby standing drenched in the middle of a giant puddle of barf on the bathroom floor! I had to mop the floor while they stood there. Then I took Rohan and washed him and changed his clothes, as he was soaked through two layers. Daddy had a shower. Then I handed the baby back to daddy ... and up came more, again! This time in the kitchen. Once again mommy mops the floor, daddy gets another shower and baby gets changed. The good thing is that Rohan didn't seem sick or upset in the least, he just needed to empty his stomach for some unknown reason. All over Daddy!

Then, today daddy was home with a sore back. He played with Rohan so mommy could get some work done in the afternoon. After a while, mommy hears, "Mommy, I need your help", coming from the living room. Rounding the corner, I see daddy holding Rohan sitting up on his little potty. Except there's something wrong with the picture. There's poop all over the front of the potty, the front of the baby, and even down on the wood floor! Looking over to the right, I see a big pile of poop on the blanket where he was playing! Baby gets an impromptu bath, the potty and floor get a scrubbing - and daddy and baby take a nap. At least daddy didn't need a shower this time. Sigh.

Baby News

There's so much going on it's hard to know where to start!

First teeth - Rohan is showing little bits of white poking through his upper gums. His left incisor tooth is sticking through most, so he'll probably look like a little vampire once those come in. He chews on everything he can, and the drool is maddening. We just bought him some teether toys you can freeze to make them feel good on his gums.

Growing! - He grew an inch and a half last month, which is a lot, considering he has gone from 20 to 26 inches in his total 5 months. He now weighs over 17 lbs and is wearing mostly 9 months clothes (except for Baby Place stuff which is right on in it's sizes). He's now getting to wear more of the fun stuff Laura and Mom have sent, like t-shirts and shorts. Before he pretty much lived in his footed PJs, which are still a bedtime staple.

Starting on real foods - tonight is planned for his first meal other than breastmilk. About a teaspoon of organic brown rice cereal mixed with breastmilk is the menu. This marks the start of weaning, which I am hoping to do very gradually until he's 12 months... He'll probably have one meal a day for a while, in the early evening before his bath. He's been watching us eating and copying our hand and mouth movements, which is a big sign that he's ready to start. You should see him pretending to chew!

Drinking from a cup - The bottles we have came with little caps that double as baby cups. I have some breastmilk stored to feed him, but he won't take a bottle. But when I offered a little in a cup he just loved it! Cold, too! He ends up with more on himself than in his mouth, but he's trying his best...

Rolling over - Rohan's favorite hobby these days is trying to roll over. I've only seen him do it 2 times completely unassisted, but if you set him down he usually just keeps trying. It's so cute! He rolls on his side and then keeps sticking his face down to try to get some momentum to keep going. He tries to do it in the night nonstop if we set him down to sleep on his back.

Well, he's waking up now...

Baby Photos Off the Cell Phone

Here are a few photos that have not been previously released... I am having trouble getting devices connected to the laptop, so these have stayed put on the cell phone for months. (This also explains why I can't upload any more of the 63 videos we've taken... will have to work on this - argh, technology steals all my free time!)

Rohan's first week...

Dining out one early evening in Feb.

Feb. playing around the house...

Rohan's latest

I got Rohan a soft cloth diaper to help with his potty training. He can wear this when I'm watching him. It uses velcro to close and has an insert attached to absorb things. Cloth diapers have come a long way!

He loves to play on his activity mat. I saw him concentrating so hard trying to grasp he monkey's hand... it's adorable to watch him develop. Lately he loves blowing bubbles and sticking his tongue out. If you stick yours out he'll stick his out back at you!

He's getting to prefer the upright view of the world. Even when we hold him now, he wants to sit upright. This Bumbo baby seat keeps him perfectly upright.

Potty Training a 4-Month-Old Baby - Can it be Done?

Sameer's mom told me that in India babies are potty trained right from birth, so you can take them to a basin, say "ssss" and they'll go for you then. At the time, still recovering from giving birth and adjusting to taking care of a baby, I dismissed it as something that would never work here. The last thing I needed was one more thing to do! After all, I didn't want to spend my day cleaning up pee and poop that didn't make it to the basin... It's bad enough with the spit up :)

Then I came across some links by chance that talked about how some American women have adapted the concept for life here. But most importantly, I learned that it's natural for babies to go in a "potty place", like adults. They don't want to go in their own pants, that's something we condition them to do by putting them in diapers. Eventually they become desensitized to the urge to go, which makes potty training at 2 years of age more difficult.

A baby will send signals that he has to go. I guess some makes faces, others grunt. Rohan doesn't do anything except lie still when he has to pee, and I'm having to figure out his timing - within 10 minutes of waking up from a nap, 3-4 times in the first waking period of the morning, etc. (Apparently babies don't go in their sleep, they'll only do it when they wake briefly.) It's easy to figure out his bowel movements, because he puts in some effort, and it's usually while he's eating (breastmilk is a laxative). Sometimes the loud echo it makes in the potty startles him - that's so cute!

So, you must be wondering, once you know he has to go, how do you get him to the potty in time before he goes all over you? Well, he's never done that, and I figure it's because he's not a hose, he's a human. He needs to be comfortable to get the job done. So he's not going to do anything while I'm getting his bottoms off and taking him to his little Baby Bjorn potty, as long as I don't let him lie still. Then, the position he sits in seems to really help him let everything go! I think he much prefers it. The only shame is that I can't catch every one. I'm probably getting 1-4 pees a day and 1 bowel movement. At least I haven't had to clean up any messy blowouts since we started 2 weeks ago! I have enough laundry chores without scrubbing poo out of his onesies, too...

It seems that I may have started just in time - or too late, we'll see. Four months seems to be the usual cutoff time, when they've become conditioned to just let it all rip in their diaper and ignore that function. But he is responding better every day, so he may just end up mostly diaper free after a year! That's my hope anyway.

Daddy and Baby Rohan

Rohan's Schedule

Some people ask me whether the baby is sleeping through the night yet, or if he takes long naps, etc. Here's his general schedule, though it does vary quite a bit day to day.

7:00 am wake up, play with Daddy
8:30 - 11:00 am morning nap
11:00 am up for lunch, play with mommy (and Daddy if he's home for lunch)
1:00 - 3:30 pm afternoon nap
3:30 pm diaper free time, play on the activity mat, go for a walk in the stroller for some fresh air
6:00 pm bath, massage
7:00 pm sleep
10:00 - 11:00 pm up for a snack
2:00 - 3:30 am diaper change, snack
4:30 - 5:30 am up for some reason or another, sometimes wanting to play

You can see we still don't get much sleep. I try to take care of all the nighttime stuff, since Sameer has a longer work day (and Rohan won't accept a bottle for feeding, either). But of course Sameer wakes up with all Rohan's noises, too. I think we make it through the day fine, but come 8 pm I can feel my head swimming.

BUT, last night, Rohan slept 10:30 pm - 4 am!!!! Of course I still woke up every hour to check on him, as he did make a little noise (he sleeps in our room). And he didn't sleep much after his bath. Then he was up every hour after that and didn't get up this morning until 9 am, so you can see his schedule changes a lot, though he basically has 2 long naps during the day. The night before he was up for 2 hours in the night talking my ear off, so the night is the most variable.

Ready to blog again

After nearly 4 months since Rohan was born, I finally feel like writing in this blog again! Yay! It had always been such a great outlet for me to feel like I'm "talking" to people, as I've never been a big one for the phone (I know, still very one way). But with the baby I found I was too swamped to do much but post photos when I could find a couple spare minutes...

Ah, as I write, I hear the little guy waking up soon. He's been having his afternoon nap and I just finished my work for the day. I guess it's good timing, but that means I'll have to put off writing anything interesting here...

Photos from January so far

We've had trouble with the laptop that holds all our photos, so pardon us for taking so long to get these online! You can see tons more photos in our Picasa albums (the link is in a post below if you don't have it already)

More photos from January

Rohan's great aunt by marriage, Betty, dropped in for a night on her way through town. Betty is traveling around North America is a very cool "van" that has all the amenities of a house on wheels. You can see her blog here: http://elizabeth-roadtrip2008.blogspot.com/

Laura and Corey Meet Rohan

Rohan at 3 months

Dress Up Time

We decked out Rohan in all the bling his Aaji brought him from India - bangles, rings, a gold chain, anklets! We dressed up ourselves a bit, too, and tried to take some photos... He was losing patience with us quickly, though, so it was a short photo session...

Rohan meets his Aajoba...

More pictures since Aajoba's arrival...

Visit the complete album for the rest of the photos: http://www.sameerandlisa.com/2008/11/aajis-visit-with-rohan.html

Two Fans

Another Saturday watching the Gators...

Ooops, didn't make it past the first quarter!

Out for coffee...

Sameer and I took Rohan out for an afternoon to the Village Market in Haille. Rohan didn't even wake up!

Rohan's First Thanksgiving

Tonight we went to a Thanksgiving dinner at our friends Mandy and Vikram's house. Rohan got to meet their little girl, Jasmine, who is just 2 months older... Check out the photos here:

From At Mandy & Vikram's for Thanksgiving

Just chillin', watching the Gator game...

Today we watched the University of Florida Gator football team play their second to last game of the regular season.

Mommy, where are your Gator colors?

What? The Citadels actually got 2 touchdowns?

That's okay, we're waaayyy ahead...

Final score: 70 - 19 ... Just another day in the swamp...

Doin' the Gator chomp with Daddy...

Aaji's Visit with Rohan

More photos! Here are some so far from Aaji's visit:

Pics from Nanna Banks-Lewis and Auntie B's Visit

Here's a start on photos from Mom and Beth's visit. Check back later for more to be added to this album...

Rohan goes for a stroller ride

Today we took our longest stroller walk - 15 minutes, all the way down to the main road! Daddy still hasn't shaved...

I slept most of the way, but the fresh air sure felt good!

A big yawn... Our stroller is just a frame that the car seat/infant carrier snaps into. We like baby products that multi-task!




Mommy and daddy took turns pushing me. Mommy is not very strong yet, so we went really slow...


When we got back, Daddy changed my diaper...


And Mommy fed and burped me.

Photos from Dad & Shirley's Visit

Here are some photos we took while Dad and Shirley were here. The first set of grandparents to arrive, Grampie and Nanny were fantastic helping make sure we had hot food to eat in the evenings, cleaning the house, and picking up some things Rohan could use (like a wipes warmer that makes diaper changes much more pleasant!) This past week went much more smoothly than our first week home alone with Rohan. We even gave him his first bath!



A sleep-deprived Sameer is back at work full time, while mommy does her best to catch up on sleep throughout the day when little Rohan naps. It's amazing the amount of noise he makes, even when he's sleeping!

Photos of Rohan

It's been a whirlwind since the little guy made his appearance September 30th. Weighing in at 7 lbs 1 oz, he was completely healthy and all went very well. I'm just getting around to posting some photos in Picasa, so here's the link.



Latest happening, his umbilical cord bit fell off yesterday...

Rohan's Temporary Nursery Setup

We have set up a temporary nursery area for Rohan in one end of our living room. He will sleep with us at night (in the co-sleeper Pat and Stone sent us) but during the day he can sleep in the crib here (from Ken and Michelle Womble of Grasshopper Lawncare).


We got this rocker/glider for nursing, since babies find the rocking motion to be soothing. Even we find it relaxes us! Except when I'm rocking in it while typing on the laptop, like now, it makes me a bit queasy :)

We've got a changing station with all the supplies and a diaper pail complete with filter and fan, too (thanks to Sameer's co-workers). All his clothes and blankets, etc. are lined up in little baskets.

You can see the car seat Gaby sent us under the changing table, too. I've already got the base installed in my car, and there's another base that will go in Sameer's car, so we can just lift the seat portion in and out as needed.

We set up the mobile Pat and Stone sent us for the crib. It plays soft music or jungle sounds and the little animals at the top rotate under the leaves. When we set up the crib like this, I just wanted to get in and go to sleep myself!

The changing table and shelves here had been Sameer's workstation. We decided not to buy baby furniture and just make do with what we had as much as possible. I enjoy the challenge of that, and this stuff is actually among some of the first items I got when I moved to Gainesville in 2002.

One major thing we did buy was a proper vacuum cleaner. We just had a little cordless one that was totally ineffective on carpet. It's a bit of a pain dealing with the bigger, more cumbersome vacuum cleaner, but seeing the floors so clean is worth it!

More Maternity Photos

Today we decided to take some photos. I wanted to make sure we had plenty to show Rohan when he grows up, so he has that visual continuity from before and then after as we grow into a family.

Plus, I had my hair straightened earlier this week, and it was dang expensive so I wanted to make sure to get a photo of it ($65 for just a style!) Anyway, it's been a few days, so the effect isn't as good as when it was first done. Which do you like better, straight or curly? I think I prefer the curly, but it's nice to try straight for a change every now and then... and I certainly don't have the energy to do it myself these days.

Then we went for a walk on the boardwalk next to Lake Alice. It was actually nice in the shade, as the humidity of the summer has decreased and it's just plain hot, not hot and humid :)

Sameer's drinking an Americano from Coffee Culture, our hangout from when he was first searching for a job years ago. Their cheesecake brownies are to die for!


I'd like to point out that the outfit I'm wearing includes no maternity items! Though I've bought some maternity wear, I have made do with a lot of stretchy bottoms and tops with empire waists. It's a good time to be pregnant with the styles that are out there now. These are the only sandals that really fit me, as they are adjustable. My feet get quite big and puffy...

Ganapati at Kim & Salil's

Last week, Kim & Salil (and his parents) invited us over for Ganapati and some traditional Maharashtrian food. I looked for a kurta I could wear, but none of my Indian clothes can fit over my big baby bump!

As usual, I didn't take enough pictures, so you can't see that Sameer is actually wearing a long kurta, a very rare occurrence. And Mandy and Vikram are not showing here, either...




Mandy and Vikram brought over their little girl, Jasmine. She was born July 27, and I think she had almost as much hair on her head then, too! I'm hoping she will be a good playmate for Rohan when they get a little older.

Aparna and Abhijeet's Visit

This Labor Day weekend, Sameer's childhood friend and his wife dropped up to see us from Orlando. We made lasagna, my standby for when I don't have energy to cook much but still want something yummy. So we had lunch together and hung out for a couple hours. They brought us flowers and chocolates, which was a great reason to take a break from my strict diet for a day! I actually look like I have a bunch in my mouth or something here, but I guess its just the usual water retention. Fun stuff!



We got to show off our baby gear that we have stored in our spare room. We'll set all that up in the coming weeks. It was really fun to see Abhijeet and Aparna. I was surprised at how much Aparna knew about babies, but I have found that most young Indian girls I meet already know a lot. I didn't start learning about the details until I was actually going to have one!

Here's Sameer wearing his "Diaper Duty" toolbelt courtesy of his coworkers. They even included earplugs and rubber gloves! We'll post about the shower they threw for us when we get the photos...

7.5 months pregnant and growing!

Here's the latest pregnancy photo. I'm now at 7.5 months and 38 lbs. weight gain. The doctor is quite happy we've slowed that down!

I attended the breastfeeding class at the hospital last night and was glad to see plenty of other moms there who were much heavier looking, though I think my tummy was the biggest :) Some of the fathers also attended the class, which was nice to see, but I gave Sameer the night off to go play racquetball. There's not much he can do for breastfeeding but I passed along all the info the instructor had for the support partners.

The baby has the hiccups quite often these days. I think he must be upside down already, as I can feel the little rhythmic hiccups low in my tummy. And he seems to like to stretch his feet out the front or side of my tummy. Sometimes my whole belly moves and wobbles when he's playing around! My belly button is nearly completely popped inside out now. It's weird, I actually have a freckle in there!

Week 33, 7 more to go!

Here we are with only 7 weeks left til the official due date for Rohan's appearance on October 25. We asked our doctor yesterday if she is seeing more babies showing up ahead of time these days, and she said "no". It still holds true generally that your first baby will be just off the due date by a few days, usually on the later side.

But, there's no way to tell if he may be one of those that decides to show up early, so we are getting our hospital bag ready and things in order just in case.

Sameer maintains that the human race is evolving so that babies are not only smarter and grow up faster than they did in previous generations, but they also need less time to gestate. Maybe it has something to do with his 3-week early appearance... But if anything is likely to influence the date the baby is born, it could be the mother's own birth experience. Apparently I was right around the due date. And I was on the small side at 6.2 lbs.

As we get closer, we are finding we are very calm about both the delivery and newborn care responsibilities. We have learned so much over the past few months and really taken it upon ourselves to be prepared - we know we'll be fine as long as things proceed normally. It's really the things we can't control that are worrisome, like if there are any complications during birth and a C-section become necessary, etc. Anyway, those things are in God's hands, and that makes me pretty comfortable enough :)

Baby names

Thanks to all who have written with name suggestions for our little boy. We haven't really felt inclined toward any besides Rohan, though, for some reason. I guess it was Sameer who suggested that name a couple months back.

We figure it's easy enough to pronounce in any language and I like that it's also an English name as well as Hindi. In fact, it is the name of a place in the Lord of the Rings books (the riders of Rohan...), which were some of my favorite stories growing up. We've tried the name out on tons of people and it always gets a very good reaction (not just, oh, cute, but more like, hey, that's a really cool name). If anyone knows of any reason why we shouldn't go with this name, now's the time to let us know, though...

As far as meaning goes, I've seen different ones suggested.

One site says it's of Irish/Gaelic and Sanskrit origins, meaning "red-haired" or "ascending". Hmmm, that would be funny if he turned out with red hair. Wouldn't wish that on him... That same site says it's also a popular surname. Variations include Roane and Royan and it's related to the name Rowan.

A nicer meaning is close to ascending - to rise, to climb, to attain great heights. Could be inspiring, eh? Also saw "the one who takes the higher path".

Regarding the use as a surname, apparently the Rohans were a family line from a place in Brittany that was also called Rohan. These viscounts, dukes and princes supposedly played an important role in European history with ties to British and French royalty.

I've seen in places that it's commonly pronounced with the "h" silent, so rather than ro-han, it becomes ro-an. The Irish pronunciation is apparently more like ro-wyn. It seems that people named Rohan get most frustrated when it's mispronounced with the han part more like the han in hand (that would be the redneck pronunciation I guess). I also saw online that some mispronounce it as ro-hon. The "a" in "han" is soft, like the word "a", just in case you were saying it like "hand" or "hon" before.

Another site says it means "sandalwood" in Hindi, as in the type of tree. We like the fragrant scent of sandalwood, so that works... That's Sameer's favorite type of soap, ha ha.

Not-so-interesting fact: In 2006 Rohan was the 521st most popular boy's name in the US.

It seems it can also be a girl's name in rare cases.

In Hungarian, it means "rushing" (e.g., to catch a train), a form of the verb rohanni, to rush.

ROHAN is the name for the Academic Computing Web Server at San Diego State University, named after the Lord of the Rings place.

I believe it is also used as the name of a role play video game in beta, set in the continent of Rohan.

Well, that's my research for now. We quite like the name, though I must say I was surprised by the variations in pronunciation.

10 Hours of Childbirth Preparation Education...

This past weekend, Sameer and I attended our Childbirth Preparation class at the hospital where we'll be delivering the baby. It was awesome! We learned so much... I almost wish we had taken the version of the course that's spread out over several weeks rather than the fast-track weekend version, as there was just so much information to digest.

We're feeling fairly prepared mentally for the labor and delivery now. We had a tour of the facilities, which are designed like hotel rooms with jacuzzi tubs and special beds that let you assume postions to help deal with pain and facilitate labor. One of the biggest things for me was just learning about things that are routine procedures at the hospital so I know what to expect. Sameer was given a lot of information on how to be a good labor coach. He's got his work cut out for him!

One of the funniest things was when we were trying a few breathing techniques in class. The instructor demonstrated four different ways of breathing that could potentially be useful for different stages of labor, especially if you want to avoid pain medications. There was one where you focus on making different sounds in a pattern as you breathe out, to take your focus away from the pain. The instructor got us all to practice, and it was the coach's job to help us keep focused on the pattern. Didn't Sameer just start laughing uncontrollably! He thinks I'll get by with simple slow breathing the whole time, but we'll see... That did get me through the MRSA ordeal last year and other painful stuff, but I've heard childbirth is incomparable to any other pain.

Anyway, only two months to go now! We plan to set up the crib and other stuff like that in September, so we're prepared if the baby happens to make an early appearance. We already have most things we need, but it's all stuffed in the spare room closet for now.

A Beautiful Horse Remembered

Sad news... last week Sarakenos passed away at the age of 21. She was expected to have at least 10 more years of happy horse days, but a bout of colic claimed her life after a painful struggle that lasted over 24 hours.

Mom and Beth, we're so sorry for your loss. Though I didn't know Sara that well, I always enjoyed her quiet, agreeable manner when I was visiting home. Beth and Sara won many shows together over the 18 years they were together, and Sara was loved by everyone in the horse world who knew her.



Mom sent this nice poem out to all those came to show their support and try to help Sara through her colic, including two veterinarians who were working round the clock attending to Sara and the other horses in need those few days.

Never think of me as dead . . I've just gone on ahead . . .
and the Love you gave to me I will carry through eternity.
Keep me always on your mind by loving others of my kind.
Do not linger in your grief . . . just hold onto this belief . . .
That when it's time for you to come this way . . .
I'll be waiting for you on that day.

Only 6.5 months and already gained too much weight!

Ooooh, there are so many things I'd love to "retouch" on this photo! I guess that's what happens when you're in your 7th month and feeling like you're just going to look like this forever, ha ha!

Anyway, the doctor has told me to cut out all sweets as I've already gained more weight than she wanted me to gain for the entire pregnancy! Yikes! I've been having so much fun eating ice cream every day, but I'm glad she has put an end to it. With the 3rd trimester now upon us, I'm getting tired again and need to get more iron-rich food into me somehow...



6.5 months, weight gain: 35 lbs!

My middle name

I can't believe this... the other day, Sameer was saying that looking back he didn't think he should have encouraged me to change my middle name.

It came up when we were chatting with his cousin Waidehi about baby names and what we were going to do for a middle name. As usual I was writing and reading out loud to him as he was playing carom. It came up about my changing my middle name to his first name, as it's the tradition in India (kids there also carry their father's first name as a middle name, regardless if they're a boy or girl). I had jumped in wholeheartedly to change mine, since it seemed like it meant a lot to him. Then, come to find out, he's feeling bad that I gave up the sweet middle name that my parents so thoughtfully chose for me!!!! Of course I had felt bad about that, too, but it seemed a small sacrifice for something that would help unite us properly in his eyes....

The funny thing is that in order to legally change my middle name, I had to go through hoops and run all over town getting fingerprinted, background checked, filing court papers, paying out expensive fees, etc. so I would have the legal documentation needed to change my name on my drivers' license, passport, etc. If I had simply changed my last name, all I would have needed to do was submit my marriage certificate! The irony of it all...

Anyway, I don't mind having "Sameer" for a middle name. I think it would have been hard growing up with a boy's name for a middle name, but it doesn't really show up as an adult so much. Except on mail from the bank, which always freaks me out because they write out my full name and I think it's for him not me at first. ha ahaha

So, our son will likely have "sameer" as a middle name, too.

Laura's Visit

Laura came down to see us July 1-7, a week after Aai and Baba had gone back to India. While she was here, we got to go to the Fourth of July fireworks in Gainesville, out to eat at a few places (Liquid Ginger on her birthday), and spent a day in St. Augustine. It was so awesome to see her, but I can imagine she must have been freaked out a bit by my huge shape! So I'm glad we got to spend some time together while I am pregnant... next time we meet there'll be a little nephew in the picture!!!!


Getthing slathered in sunscreen at the beach. Pregnant skin is more susceptible to sunburn, and I turn red pretty easily. We spent a couple hours splashing in the waves and turns out I did burn a bit anyway...

Laughing it up at the coffee shop in St.Augustine

Taking a stroll at Lake Alice

Relaxing by the kitchen after arriving - it's a long journey from Halifax... and her first flight was cancelled, so she had to spend a couple hours just sitting in the airport before takeoff for the next one. Door-to-door travel time (2 connections): 14 hours (at least she came into Gainesville so there was no drive from orlando or Jax)

Indulging in the bread basket at the Texas Roadhouse. I don't know why she loves those little buns so much!

A tummy full of baby and ice cream...

Living it up on her birthday!

Aai and Baba's Great Adventures in Gainesville

Aai and Baba visited with us May 30 - June 21st. We were so happy to be totally taken care of for 3 weeks with Aai's delicious cooking and Baba taking care of our garden and even going so far as to wash all our windows! While they were here, we bought a charcoal grill and got started BBQ'ing, our backyard now has two new beautiful blooming bushes and a key lime tree, and I learned at least 5 new Indian dishes. (I still have to practice making rotis, as they are not coming out quite right the 2 times I've tried since!) We went to Silver Springs park in Ocala, shopped a bit, and also spent a couple days in Orlando before they had to take off for a whirlwind tour of the Northeast US for a week and then back to India. While they were here, we also celebrated Baba's 60th birthday at Stonewood Grill and then back to our place for some cake and ice cream!

We left the photo-taking up to them, so I don't have a lot to show here... look for more later!


In the meditation church at Lake Alice - one of the rare times it was actually open and we could go inside!

Enjoying a martini at Macaroni Grill.
Loved the color of this sweater on Aai!

Sunset from the rooftop pool of the resort we stayed at in Orlando.

Gaby's visit

May 19, Gaby and her baby Santiago got to spend the day with me. Santiago was about 10 months old at this point. For those of you who don't know Gaby, she's our graphic designer at SEO Advantage, and a friend of mine since 2002 when we both worked at the same ad agency in Ocala. She moved a year ago from Gainesville to NJ, though we still get to chat regularly for work. Gaby is a great inspiration with her easygoing approach to everything - I especially love hearing her philosophies about pregnancy and childcare... and I hope I look as fit as her 10 months after the big event!


Gaby, Santiago, and Rodrigo.

April visit to St. Augustine

Every now and then we like to get out of Gainesville and go to a nearby town. April 20 we went to St. Augustine shopping outlets and the beach. The beach was actually too cold, as it's on the Atlantic, which takes a lot longer to warm up than the Gulf side of Florida. It was a fun little getaway, though - we indulged mightily with brunch at Cordova, a fancy restaurant in a hotel that looks a little like a castle. Mmmm mmm....

You can probably tell I've stopped wearing makeup most of these days - just don't have the extra energy with the pregnancy.

The weekend of May 3, Steve and Waidehi came to visit us. Steve had a conference in Orlando from that Monday (my birthday), so we treated ourselves to a day off from work and went down with them. Here are a couple photos from that weekend in Gainesville...

Another priceless expression by Waidehi!

Talking to uncle Anand back in India while challenging Steve at Carrom.

At a restaurant called 101 downtown Gainesville.

Need to get Waidehi's photos, as I'm sure they're much better than these!

Updated pregnancy photos - getting big!

June 26, week 24 - belly is getting a little unwieldy already, though my belly button has not turned inside out yet. Luckily no sign of stretch marks! I tend to waddle a lot when my feet get swollen toward the end of the day or after standing up a lot.





May 12 - week 17 - I think mainly my arms had expanded by this point...

Felt the baby move

I noticed the baby moving for the first time on Sunday. Sameer and I were laying on the couch to watch a movie, and I felt this strong swishing feeling on the left of my uterus. I had been waiting for it, as you normally feel the first sensations between week 16-22 and we were just at week 19. I had heard it would feel similar to gas, but this was definitely the baby. Then I noticed it several more times that day and then the next day too.

What was really weird was that at the ultrasound, I could feel it and also see inside to see the baby moving at the same time!

It's too small to feel pronounced kicks yet. It's more like butterflies or a goldfish swimming inside me but from all the activity, I can see I'm going to take a beating as he gets bigger!

It's a boy!

We found out this morning at the ultrasound testing at Shands. The purpose was actually to test for any genetic disorders like Downs Syndrome, Trisomy 13/18, and Spina Bifida, but as a bonus we got to find out the gender.

Of course the tests were very good - no signs whatsoever of genetic issues. In fact, the genetic counselor told us that we are at an advantage since we are from different countries. So the chances of us both having problems with the same chromosome would be much lower than if we were from the same background. Go generation beige!

The little boy was curled up tight in a ball, but then he kept jumping around when they were prodding my stomach with the probe. It was a resident doing it at first and she was quite rough. But there was clear visual confirmation on the screen - IT'S DEFINITELY A BOY!!!! They gave us a picture and recorded the whole session on DVD, too.

Two other ladies (Pat and Gaby) at my work had babies last year - both boys. My stepsister had a girl, so a boy will be a nice balance for dad. He's had 3 daughters, 2 step daughters, one (step) granddaughter, and now finally a grandson! (Though he does also have 2 nephews, so it hasn't been completely all girls...) For mom, I guess this is the first direct boy relative (besides 2 brothers of course. There are a bunch of nephews scattered throughout her family, but she doesn't get to see them regularly because they live at some distance).

I have to say, I felt more comfortable thinking it might be a girl, just because that feels more familiar to me. But now that we know, I've realized I'm going to have a lot to get used to. I used to babysit my 2 little boy cousins when I was a teenager, and also two young boys who lived up the road from us, and I found the boys were always so hard to manage - probably too much energy for me. My sisters are thrilled it's a boy - probably because he'll be more likely to stand up to all their on-the-go activities better than their slowpoke sister... ha ha

Sameer's mom and dad are delighted. And of course Sameer is thrilled that he'll have someone to play sports with in about 10 years... I told him he has to stay in good shape, though, to make sure he can hold up to it!

This is definitely going to be an adventure!

Attachment Parenting

My friend Gaby was visiting from NJ with her 10.5 month old baby boy yesterday. She filled me in on a lot of great resources and the parenting style she is using. She passed this link on to me, and it discusses a lot of principles I think we agree with, too. (Though I'm not sure about getting the whole family into a birthing tub! You'll see what I mean from one of the photos... hee hee)

http://www.attachmentparenting.org/principles/principles.php

We're so excited. We spend a lot of time talking about things like this...

Baby registry started

I'm trying to figure out what items we'll need when the baby comes, so I've started a registry online. I don't know yet that these are the best options, especially when it comes to strollers and car seats, etc. Gaby, my friend who had a baby last year, is going to educate me a bit when she visits from NJ next Monday... She has mentioned that it's hard to tell which features you will really appreciate until after the baby is here.

Anyway, here's a link so you can see the sorts of things I'm thinking of. I'll keep adding items as I find them, and let me know of any others you think I might need! I would also prefer to get most things second hand or borrowed rather than purchase from here. The baby will outgrow everything very quickly, so it doesn't make sense to spend a lot on things if it can be avoided.

Baby registry link:

http://www.toysrus.com/ControllerServlet?target=viewDetails&operation=authenticate_user&registryNumber=41914393&from=registrySearch

Weird pregnancy symptoms

I didn't get the usual morning sickness, and I don't have leg cramps, swelling and backaches - yet... but I did seem to get some unusual symptoms that you don't hear about as much. Rest assured, all of these are normal, according to the doctor.

Insomnia - I can't seem to sleep at night. In the first trimester, I spent most of the night sneezing and blowing my nose due to excessive mucus production. How lovely! But now that's over and I just toss and turn at night instead, not particularly bothered but definitely wide awake. Even after getting a great new pillow to help me sleep on my side.

The doctor said it's called "vigilant sleeping" and it means my body is preparing for looking after the baby at night. But even weirder than not sleeping is that I have so much energy during the day! Well, by early evening I start to crash, but otherwise I'm bouncing off the walls and doing all the recommended exercises, too. Most days, that is.

Drooling - Another rarely publicized symptom of pregnancy is increased saliva production. About 4 times a day I choke on my own saliva! It's a little embarassing to explain when people start asking if you need water or what you're choking on. In the first trimester I found I was drooling all the time.

Darker pigments - My freckles are darker, and my hair has gotten redder!

Breathless - Right from day one I've become of breath easily when I have to say more than 3 sentences in a row. Very early on before we told anyone, I attended a professional luncheon and had to stand up to introduce myself to the group. While talking, I started taking breaths as if I had just come in from running a marathon! It happens on the phone with clients all the time - I have to make sure I don't talk too much at once. It's amazing the changes that happen even before you start to show outward signs of pregnancy.

Forgetfulness - I can't seem to keep my wits about me. I'm usually very organized and keep a running list of things I have to do, but lately a lot of things seem to be slipping. The worst is when I discovered last night that I had forgotten to make payments on our 0% financing for our home theater system - now I have to go through their dispute system to try to get that promotion back and avoid all the interest charges! Not so amusing! But at least 3 times a day I find myself in a room of the house wondering what I went there to do. But the funny thing is I don't mind that much. I think being pregnant changes your perspective automatically so that things that were once top of the list just aren't as important anymore.

That's all I can think of for now. Probably forgetting a few...

My "niece" - flying into the lake

Laura sent me this pic of Kasper, her "daughter". I love it! Kasper is an energetic Jack Russell Terrier and the pride and joy of Laura and Corey. Here you can see her doing a running leap off the dock into a lake at a friend's place. She even has her own little life jacket (though she's a great swimmer).

First Official Pregnancy Photos

I had the idea to document the growth of my tummy so Dad helped us figure out how to set up a photo that we can take once a month in the same position. Here's the first one on April 6th.

Sameer is also developing a little bump, too! It's common for the man to also experience symptoms out of sympathy for his wife (though I think his bump was there before we got pregnant!) One of Sameer's colleagues actually experienced morning sickness even though his wife didn't!

Dad's Visit

The first weekend in April, Dad came down to visit us for a bit. He arrived into Tampa on Thursday afternoon, and I picked him up at the airport after a short visit with Stone and Pat and their 9 month old Aidan Max (he was so cute!!! They gave us some great supplies for when our baby comes, including a fold-up playpen and carrying harness...)

Dad's flight was a bit late and I was also late getting to the airport, so I was worried I missed him but we met up soon enough. That evening I cooked Balti Shrimp Paneer and parathas and we just took it easy. Even though the Maritimes are just up the east coast from here, it's quite a journey to get to Florida. Dad drove 4 hours from Saint John to Bangor, Maine, where he stayed overnight, as his flight left at 6 am the following morning. Then I think he had one or two connections before arriving in Tampa at 2 pm. (Going back it's not much better - his flight left at 6 pm and he missed the connection in Atlanta so spent the night there before getting back to Bangor and driving home the next day.

Friday morning I took dad for a 20-minute hike on the San Felasco trail. There were so many mosquitos! I was pretty tired after that, as I was still in the first trimester. Then I worked the rest of the day. Saturday and Sunday we hung out around Gainesville, eating out and going to places like Lake Alice and Haille Plantation village center. Saturday morning we also went to cheer on Sameer in a badminton tournament at UF. It had been two years since he had played regularly. He played doubles with Salil and their opponents were pretty tough, so they lost their first match. Too bad :(

Dad and Sameer played carom a bit. (He seems to do much better than I at that game! The striker never goes where I want it to...) There were some good basketball games on TV, too, so we all watched those together.

Dad also showed us two recipes - one for making baked chicken quickly and another for cooking salmon. We made the chicken and bhindi together one evening. I don't think Dad had ever had okra, as it's not common at home (at least I never noticed it there... it could be that I just didn't know what it was, though). The chicken was yummy, even though the "original" Shake 'n Bake flavor was different here in the U.S. We didn't have a chance to cook the salmon but I made it with Dad's recipe after he left. Turned out pretty good! Now we have a reason to use our oven more often!

I took Monday off so I could spend the day with Dad and take him back to Tampa. We went to Clearwater Beach. On the map it looks very close to the airport, but it took us 40 minutes to get there due to traffic. It was beautiful - perfect sunny day and the beach was packed with people. Dad went in swimming for a bit and I took pictures. I hope to do lots of swimming this summer but I wasn't prepared that day... Then we had dinner at the airport and I saw him off. Come back soon, Dad!!!!

Easter Weekend

It's Easter weekend here, so we had a holiday for Good Friday. I think we really needed the 3-day weekend and just took it easy. Saturday night Salil, a friend from the badminton club whose wife is also from Nagpur dropped by to visit us. It had been months and months since we'd seen him, and Kim was still in India finishing up her internship, so we had a good time catching up with him.

Sunday I took Sameer to a sunrise service for Easter. It amazes me the things he does for me sometimes! I had really wanted to go to this rather than a regular church service, as this was held in a very special place outside (I'll explain the significance in another post soon). But it meant getting up at 6:30 am on a Sunday morning, just when we'd be happily snoozing on a weekend, getting that much needed sleep-in. The service was quite nice, but my sinuses were acting up so I ran out of tissues and we had to leave a little early. We topped off the morning with breakfast at Waffle House just like the old days, and I went back to bed when we got home.

Easter is the most significant day in the Christian faith, as it celebrates the rising of Jesus Christ from the dead after he is crucified. This is significant because his death represents the sacrifice that atones for the sins of mankind, and his rising offers the promise of heaven after life on earth ends. If you're interested, Wikipedia here outlines a lot of information, including plenty that I didn't know!

Visiting Laura & Corey in the Bahamas

A couple weekends ago we took a short trip over to Grand Bahamas Island to meet with my sister Laura and her husband Corey, as they were on vacation at their timeshare. Though the island is only 55 miles off the coast of Florida (Atlantic), it took us about 7 hours to get there. We drove to Tampa to catch the first plane and then changed planes in Miami before going to the tiny airport in Freeport, Bahamas. We flew on small propeller aircraft with 5-10 passengers, and it was quite a thrill to feel how much more nimble they were than regular jets.

Laura and Corey had gotten in earlier that same day (Friday), and they specially reserved a 2-bedroom flat so there would be plenty of space. Laura made pancakes for us in the mornings, and we ate out most of the rest of the time. Tried a local dish, conch, prepared 3 different ways but couldn't find a taste for it, unfortunately.

Though it was chilly at night, it was a lovely and sunny during the days, so we hung out at the beach and went into a night market at Port Lucaya one evening. It was a nice relaxing atmosphere all in all, and we spend the weekend just lazing around with two of our favorite people :)

After we left, Laura and Corey went shark diving and pursued their usual style of thrill-seeking activities... Seems like they had a really great time!

Yet another hairdresser gone...

I seem to have the worst luck with hair stylists. In December, I found a new one who I was totally thrilled with, after cutting my hair myself for over a year. He immediately understood my hair and cut it perfectly. When I called yesterday to make an appointment just for a shampoo and blowout, I was told he was "fired because he was caught intoxicated while cutting and coloring a client's hair"!

Thinking I'd just try my luck with another master-level creative designer at the salon, I made an appointment and went in. After all, it would be a good way to judge another candidate for dealing with my hair. But it looks like she will not be in the running. Not only was she half an hour late starting so we were there well past close, but she didn't do a good job at all!

I would rather have someone drunk doing my hair if he could do it the way the previous stylist could!

Devil's Millhopper

Today Sameer and I put on our hiking gear thinking we'd go for a good walk in one of the wooded state parks here in Gainesville. There are some with quite long trails, and we've gone for more than 2 hours at a time.

We ended up doing an easy one today: the Devil's Millhopper. If you've never been, here's a description from http://www.floridastateparks.org/devilsmillhopper/:

"...a bowl-shaped cavity 120 feet deep leads down to a miniature rain forest. Small streams trickle down the steep slopes of the limestone sinkhole, disappearing through crevices in the ground, and lush vegetation thrives in the shade of the walls even in dry summers."

It's just 10 minutes to walk around the top of the sinkhole, but the stairs are the real challenge. They take you all the way down to the bottom where you can sit on some benches and observe flora and fauna. There were so many people there today that we didn't stay long. It felt like Disney! Coming up the steps had both of us breathing quite heavily! Got to get in better shape... :)

Valentine's Day 2008

We decided to have a nice, relaxing evening instead of going out for dinner this year. Usually we go to one of our favorite places to eat in Gainesville for a romantic date, since the restaurants offer special menus and mood settings. But we always ended up disappointed, because the food is not as good as the usual we've come to expect from our favorite places. And of course it's quite expensive.

So, this year we scheduled massages at the student massage clinic, picked up some favorite dishes at our favorite Thai restaurant on the way home and then settled in to watch a movie, Little Miss Sunshine. (I thought it was hilarious, but Sameer's rating was 5/10.) This was definitely a nice way to spend Valentine's Day, especially with all our travels lately (Sameer spent a week in Boca Raton taking a project management course and then a week in Minnesota oveeseeing some tests for his work. I just had a conference in Orlando but I also try to go with Sameer when I can and work from the hotel.)

Sameer Playing Rambo in the Back Woods of Gainesville

Sameer had an adventure last week when his sports medicine team at work set up a day of team building activities - paintball!

Two captains were appointed, and he was one of them so he got to choose his team. He said he picked all the people who might want to come after him (you know the saying, keep your friends close and your enemies closer). They strategized and outsmarted the other team in several games where they engaged in guerilla-type warfare to capture a target, etc. Armed with guns loaded with paintballs, the teams shot at each other - if you get hit, you're out for the rest of the game. Their strategy was to find and take out the sniper on the other team first. He came back covered in mud and seems he had a blast!

Sankranti Haldi Kumkum

Shweta and her mom, Mrs. Mokashi, hosted a Sankranti event for Indian girls yesterday. It's a big thing for married girls to get together and do some little rituals and eat certain sweets.

I was thrilled to be invited. But when it came time to go I had to scramble to get there in one piece. I was on the phone with a client til 5 pm and had just a couple minutes to throw on some traditional clothes, hoping I would be choosing the right ones to wear (you're supposed to wear a black sari, but my choices were either a super dressy sari from my wedding or an almost-black everyday kurta. I chose the kurta, but could have just as well worn a sari as most of the girls were really dressed up and colorful!) Plus I had just discovered that I had lost my purse and was trying to call the places we visited the evening before, sticking a bindi on my forehead hoping it was in the middle and not upside down...

I didn't really know what was in store for the haldi kumkum, but it turned out really nice and I was there about two hours. The girls were really friendly, though I had never met most of them. Here's a brief rundown of what happened (I hope I've covered everything here!):

We all sat in chairs around the edge of the room, so it was like a big circle. Shweta brought out little trays of different items and applied them to us one at a time, going around the circle . First there was a small bowl of milk and water that she dotted onto each of our feet. Then she went around with a bit of turmeric and red kumkum that she applied to our foreheads. Next was a mixture of liquid with a sandalwood smell that she applied onto the backs of our wrists and "combed" with a ridged silver rod (it looked like she was combing our arm hairs!) This was supposed to make a little striped pattern of the orange mixture. A black dot was painted on in the middle of this. Then she took a small piece of cotton that had been soaked in perfume in a tray to each of us and we touched it with our finger and then applied it to the back of our hands, taking an appreciative sniff afterwards. Then she applied sindoor to the front of the hair part (this is a symbol of a woman being married). At one point, she went to each of us and pretended to put kajal (black eyeliner) on our eyes, comb our hair, and held a small mirror up for us to look. Then after we were all decorated perfectly, she passed out small items like puffed rice, an apple, some sweets, and a cute change purse, which we accepted using the edge of our dress fabric. We ate a plateful of food that included tilgul and modak (and something else - I'm so bad with remembering these names!)

Each item surely has some significance, but no one seems to know exactly what it is (Mrs. Mokashi probably knows, but I didn't have a chance to ask her). These traditions are passed down generation to generation and it has become more about an occasion to get together, dress up, and enjoy each others' company than about the meaning of the tradition. Which is probably more important these days, anyway, with families more spread out and the difficulty in finding time to get together with friends.

It was really lovely and I was amazed at the extent of the preparations by Mrs. Mokashi and Shweta. You can view all the photos here: http://picasaweb.google.com/shweta.mokashi/HaldiKumkum?authkey=r0efinCj9LY

I really like this photo of Shweta and her husband Ambrish, so I'll post it here too :)

To Pierce or Not to Pierce - a Discussion at Chopstix

Tonight we went to Chopstix for dinner, mostly for something to do since Sameer had spent the day at home (I went to the mall to get passport photos taken, since I need to submit my passport for my name change... I found a great new pair of jeans that were size 4!!!! I just had to buy them. I normally wear a 10 but for some reason these were sized so big that a 4 fit me. The clerk said they run big - I guess so!)

So at Chopstix I had Thai fried rice with shrimp and vegetables and Sameer got a penang noodle bowl. We got talking about baby names. It's a fun topic for us, as we want to find some options that work in both languages/countries. Of course we are hoping we'll be needing to pick out names soon...

Then we started talking about the Hindu practice of piercing babies' ears... I wasn't allowed to pierce my ears until I was in my teens. It was commonly thought to be quite a superficial thing to do, somewhere in between wearing makeup and getting a tattoo. And often parents want their daughters to wait until a certain age before doing those things (or never in the case of tattoos for many parents!) Sameer thought that since most girls will need to get their ears pierced later, why not do it when they're a baby, and that way they won't remember any pain and will avoid having to do it later.

I was wondering what my mom and dad might think to see their granddaughter with earrings as a baby - considering the big deal I went through as a teenager to earn the right to get my ears pierced! But I know they understand - as I think everyone around us does - that as a couple from quite different backgrounds there are going to be plenty of things that are new or different for us (and for them!) that would otherwise not even be questioned. It's really an adventure, and I'm so glad that Sameer enjoys talking about such things... It certainly makes us think deeply about our values and motivations.

Enough thinking out loud for the day. Sameer is falling asleep on the couch with tennis on the TV and I've got to go change out of these jeans - they're feeling a bit tight now after dinner!

Sameer's Photo Shoot

We got a copy of the employee magazine published by Sameer's company yesterday, and I just had to scan and post it! Months ago he participated in a photoshoot for the cover, as the sports medicine team was being featured.

You can see him here posing as a basketball player - I think he should have traded balls with Lindsey, the girl next to him, as he looks more like a soccer player and she looks like a basketball player. Plus basketball is his worst sport. Probably the only thing I could beat him at.

Anyway, you can get a peek into the people he works with for developing new sports medicine products at his company. They design and distribute allografts for athletes. You know when you hear of a football player with a torn ACL? Chances are the surgeon will be implanting a graft from Sameer's company. He's also involved in several other project teams, though this one has been in the spotlight recently. I've also posted the interior page which gives a little background on each person.

Whups, it's 8:30 am already, better go get geared up for the workday!

My new Little Niece

I've been wanting to post a photo of my stepsister Chelsea's baby for months now, but the photos are on my desktop and I have always updated the blog from the laptop. But today the photo will be posted!

Chelsea is the younger daughter of my stepmother, Shirley. Between Dad and Shirley, there are 5 daughters. Can you imagine! Anyway, Chelsea is the first of all of us to have a baby, and she has made Dad and Shirley proud grandparents. She named her little girl McKenzie, and here's an adorable picture of Shirley holding her around Christmastime. I can't wait to meet her when we visit in the summer!!!!

Happy Sankranthi

Yesterday, January 14, was a special day in India. Sameer's mom got on IM for a minute in the morning to wish me a happy Sankrant. I had forgotten it was that day - living here there are no reminders around you, of course. She told me that it's a day when women wear black and prepare certain sweets. So I wore black all day and enjoyed my share of sweets guilt free :) (Just FYI, black is not meant to be a color of mourning there, people actually wear white to funerals!)

Of course in India there are many ways it's celebrated. Here are some notes from Wikipedia:

Sankranthi, or Sankranti (in Sanskrit: मकर संक्रान्ति = "transition"), is a festival that signifies the beginning of the harvest season for the farmers of the Indian subcontinent. This is a harvest fesival celebrated all over India.

The day preceding Makara Sankranti is when people discard old and derelict things and concentrate on new things causing change or transformation. Sweets in generous quantities are prepared and distributed. Very important though, cooking is done by the women folk on this occasion. Families are joined together for this occasion without fail. Brothers pay special tribute to their married sisters by giving gifts as affirmation of their filial love. The landlord gives gifts of food, clothes and money to their workforce. On the day after Makara Sankranti, the animal kingdom is remembered and in particular, the cows. Young girls feed the animals, birds and fishes as a symbol of sharing. Travel is considered to be inappropriate, as these days are dedicated for reunion of families. Read more here if you're interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makar_Sankranti

In our own little tradition, Sameer and I dressed up and went to a Mediterranean restaurant in downtown Gainesville called Ti Amore. It was a great little place and we had a really fun time. Here's a photo the server took of us with my phone...

Lisa Gets a New Smartphone

Since my old phone had gotten a crack in the hinge (it was a clamshell design) I decided to upgrade to the T-Mobile Dash. It's pretty neat except the battery only lasts one day, it seems. Maybe that's because I've been spending so much time trying to set up different features on it. It has a camera with zoom, music, syncs with email, and a full keyboard of tiny keys! I really hope I don't have to exchange it because of a problem with the battery since I've already put in so many custom setting... :( I took the photo of Sameer at the doctor's office with it yesterday. The color is a bit off I think...

Ruling on the Wisdom Teeth - They're Coming Out!

Yesterday Sameer and I spent the afternoon at the dental surgeon's office. Sameer's lower wisdom teeth had been giving him trouble a couple weeks back, and his dentist referred him to a surgeon since they were impacted.

Today was just the consultation. On our way, we stopped at the dentist's and picked up his x-rays to take with us. It was funny to see his teeth so huge - the x-ray was from a 3-D image so it looked bigger than my whole head!

At the office, there was tons of paperwork and then we were taken to this little room (in the picture). There were hoses behind Sameer on the wall for Oxygen, Nitrous Oxide, and something else.

An assistant gave us some pamphlets and a speech about his options for anesthesia: local anesthesia only (shot in the gums), nitrous oxide (laughing gas to calm you), or sedation (pretty much knocked out). They suggested he have 3-5 days to relax after the procedure.

Then the doctor came in for a bit and chatted about Sameer's company, since it makes products for dental implants. Oh yeah, and he also made his case for why Sameer should also have his top ones removed, even though they're fully grown in.

It still wasn't over. Next we went into a separate conference room where another assistant went through costs and insurance details. Looks like cost is about $2000 for all to be removed with payment of about $350 by us. Not nearly as bad as I thought it woudl be. Offhand, I asked how often the doctor removes wisdom teeth, and she said 4 patients a day, with 7 on Fridays! Whew!

All of this is both scary and yet somehow special feeling. It's almost like being at a spa discussing treatment options, but the instruments look scarier. It amazes me because I hadn't thought of it as such a big deal. I had one wisom tooth get infected and went to Bear River (from Halifax) to have it removed, then drove back that afternoon. But I had to stop the car on the way when the numbness wore off - the pain was terrible for a bit! But there was certainly no nitrous oxide or resting! Then later I had 2 more wisdom teeth get infected and had to have both out - I think I had come home from Japan then and went to Dr. Zed in Saint John. He actually referred me to a doctor and they took both out again with only the local numbing. I didn't feel it at all. Normally my teeth give me a really hard time with dentists but for some reason the wisdom teeth were easy (except for being infected). Oh, and I didn't have dental insurance at the time, so I think it was $500 a tooth... that was painful...

New Year's 2007-2008

We went to Orlando Dec. 28-31 to meet up with some of Sameer's friends who he's stayed in touch with since childhood. Abhijeet and Aparna (his wife) live there; Chaitanya was visiting from Cleveland, and Gorakh flew in from Paris.

Dec. 28 (Fri.) - Stopped at the new Ikea next to the Mall at Millenia. Big, fun store, but Sameer got mad because they make it so hard to get out (you have to go through ALL their products). We were hungry so we stopped for a hot dog and pizza pocket just inside the downstairs doors. after that gross food, we went upstairs - and saw a nice restaurant at the top of the escalator. Oh well. Didn't buy anything, though I got some ideas for closet organization.


Checked into our hotel in Celebration and then drove back up to I-Drive to meet the guys at Buffalo Wings.

Dec. 29 (Sat.) - Lazed around the hotel a bit and went for a leisurely breakfast down the road. Celebration is a cute little town with a couple nice restaurants, fountains and a big pond in the middle.


Then we drove up to north Orlando to go to Wekiva Springs and meet Sameer's friends again. It was a really awesome spring, and those guys tossed around a football and sipped on sake for a couple hours. (This tradition of drinking sake at the springs seems to have been established a couple years ago when Abhijeet and Aparna visited us and we went for a hike on a trail in Gainesville with a flask of it.) Abhijeet also had the foresight to prepare a bunch of snacks including bhel in a bag.


That evening we went to a Japanese restaurant near our hotel. Chaitanya had mentioned that he wanted to try sushi sometime, and we'd noticed the place that morning, so it worked out well. we must have been there 3 hours, but Japanese restaurants are really fun when you're with a bunch of friends. There were lots of sushi, sake, and tempura type of things going around. Everyone was teasing Gorakh about the waitress, because she'd been impressed that he had come from Paris. Of course, the group is waiting to see who will get married next... In the end, he secretly paid for the entire bill and tried to get her to convince us it was on the house, but the scheme failed and we figured out it was him. Anyway, that was very generous of him, because I'm sure that was a monstrous bill!


The town was having snow falling on the hour throughout the evening. It was actually some sort of soap being blown out of devices mounted on the streetlight posts, but it really did look like snow! Until 40 minutes later on the ground it looked like dishsoap suds.

Dec. 30 - Gorakh left this morning, and we checked out of our hotel and drove up to Abhijeet's house. He has an apartment at a really nice complex, and we played pool in their clubhouse for a while. They actually had a basketball court inside, too! Then we played tennis for a while until it rained. I didn't take it seriously so I was playing it dressed up and didn't bother to put on my sports clothes, but I should have known with those guys that it would turn out to be actual competitive games! I got so many blisters on my feet!


Once inside Aparna made dhokla and we played poker for the evening. Actually, Chaitanya had to teach us all, as no one else knew how to play. I'm amazed he had the patience! We stayed there for the night.


Dec. 31. - We just hung out at Abhijeet's place and went out for lunch. Chaitanya's flight was around 5 or so, so we went home from there. We went to bed at 10 new year's eve, as we hadn't slept much for the past 4 nights, but all the yelling on the street kept me awake as people rang in the new year!

Christmas Evening with Friends

Christmas was really fun. We got up around 8 am and ripped into the gifts under the tree. It

was the first year to celebrate Christmas together as a couple (and also our anniversary!) And we had amassed a good-sized pile of gifts to open together. Sameer got me some really great clothes (alright, I picked them out :) and a surprise gift certificate for the spa for an anniversary gift. I got him a lot of clothes, a Waterford crystal glass to start a collection (for when he feels like having scotch in a fancy glass) and a leather jacket for our anniversary.

We went for a walk after lunch and dropped in to see one of his co-workers who moved just up the road from us. Then we watched a movie (Evan Almighty) while we were waiting for Abhijeet, Kishor, and Aparna to arrive.

After those guys got here, we hung out chatting, listening to music and playing karom until 11:30, when those guys had to drive back to Orlando. I mostly watched karom, since I really can't do it well. It's a lot like a game we used to play a long time ago (crokonol? not sure of spelling) but it's much more detailed.

It was a great day. Lots of phone calls wishing us a Merry Christmas and happy anniversary and time with friends. Now if only our families lived closer, it could be a perfect day!

Now we've had to work the day after Christmas and the rest of the week and are getting ready to go to Orlando for our anniversary trip. We'll also be seeing some more friends there!

Laying Low in Freezing Florida

It's not really that cold here, but it is chilly in the house. 58 degrees outside, 72 inside. Sameer and I are wearing long pants and sweatshirts and enjoying a lazy day. It's really gray outside so I don't even want to go out to the mall :) I refuse to turn the heat on - this is Florida! (I do use th heat on some weekdays when I'm working and it's uncomfortable totype because my hands are too cold.)

This morning I dove headlong into putting up new matchstick blinds I found really cheap at Joann's Fabrics yesterday. The only thing is that the middle one is narrow in my opinion. The next size up is 12 inches wider, though, and Sameer thinks that will extend too far off the sides. I think it would be more proportional than now. Let us know what YOU think!

Now Batman is on TV and Sameer's browsing sports web sites in the other room (he likes to use my office on the weekends for a different environment). We've already had a nap and then made balti shrimp paneer with asparagus for lunch.

Sameer brought me roses after work Friday!!!!

I am Legend

We tried to see I am Legend (Will Smith) on the weekend but it was sold out, so we decided on a whim to go tonight. I didn't really know what the story was, since they don't reveal much in the previews - just that Will Smith seems to be the only human alive, in a decrepit Manhattan. Well, it turned out to be a horror movie in which a virus had turned most of the humans into agressive hunting scary creatures and Will Smith was trying to find a vaccine thinking he was the only human who was immune. Well, the monsters were scary and there were really sad parts. It was a good movie in the end. I won't tell you what happens but if you don't mind scary stuff then go see it.

After, we came home and had some dinner. I made some cauliflower with spices and then Sameer heated up some rotis. See him at work here!

Visit from the Mokashi's

Sameer's mom belongs to a swimming club in Nagpur, and one of her friends in the club also has a daughter living in Gainesville who has just graduated from UF. Though Sameer didn't know her back home, we have met up a few times here. She and her husband, Ambrish, got married in Nagpur not long after us...

Anyway, Shweta's mom and dad are in town for a couple months and we had them all over for diner last night. Shweta's mom prepared everything, and it was soooo delicious! The dinner was a bit late, so I didn't eat too much as I can't sleep on a full stomach (and I was a bit nervous playing hostess), but Sameer ate so much he looked like he would burst!

She made curry chicken, usar (moong beans with spices) and shira (like halwa - a dessert). I tried to make falafal but it dissolved in the oil and we had to throw it out! I also made a cabbage side dish that was alright, and shrikand (a creamy yogurt dessert), which everyone seems to like. Oh, and Mrs. Mokashi also made fresh rotis - brought the equipment and rolled the dough out and toasted them one by one. MMMMMMM so good!

So, they left everything for us, and we had it for lunch today and then just made some cauliflower and had the usar and rotis for dinner! We were sad to see there's only a tiny bit of chicken left already - we're trying to stretch it out as long as we can...

It was a lovely visit. The Mokashi's are very nice people. Here are a couple pictures. I didn't get one with Shweta who looked smashing - I gave up because I felt a bit self conscious trying to take everyone's photos!

"I'm Your Laaaaddddyyyy" ?

I have not laughed so hard in months.

You know how you can set pretty much any song as a ringtone on your cell phone, right? Sameer and I were out at a store today in the men's section. Well, we heard someone's go off and it was Celine Dion belting out "cause I'm your laaaaddyyy... and you are my maaannn..." We turned around since it was so loud, in time to see a huge man slinking away hurrying to answer his phone.

It was hilarious! I expect it was either his wife's cell phone or his friends changed his ringtone for a joke. Never let anyone mess with your cell phone!

New haircut for Lisa

I finally found a local hairdresser who understands my hair! I had been cutting it myself for a year, but was recommended to this guy who has curly red hair himself and is a master with Aveda. So aftersome very strategic snips he was able to give my hair a much more flattering shape and then style it for the party tonight (Sameer's work party). What a nice change, after years of hairdressers chopping it all off or trying to cut it just like their own. Still want to grow it out another foot or so...

1-Year Anniversary Plans

Can you believe it's been a year already since we got married? This time last year we were heading for India right now. We're planning to go to Orlando and stay in one of the Kessler hotels (Celebration Hotel) Dec. 28-30 as a mini getaway. We've stayed in their hotels in St. Augustine and downtown Orlando and really enjoy them.

Can you believe there's actually a place called "Celebration" in Florida? It's just 5 minutes from Disney in Kissimmee, which is a weird enough name itself. But then we also have a Naples and Venice here, too.

Tim Tebow won the Heisman

Tim Tebow won the Heisman! You can see the video here and more about Timmy here. We're so happy for him and for Gainesville. Already can't wait for the 2008 season to start!

Permanent Residency Now Official for Sameer!!!!

I was so excited when I saw a letter from UCIS today in the mail. It's been 2 months since our interview in Jacksonville, and there was only one security check still remaining before Sameer would receive his greencard. But we got the letter today, saying "Welcome to the United States" and we should get the actual card within 3 weeks.

This means a lot for Sameer, as he can now travel without cumbersome visas to some countries, re-enter the States without as much documentation and worry, and best of all eliminate the need for a separate work visa. This was a huge barrier to getting his first job after graduation here, as not many companies are willing to sponsor a work visa. Now his work visa is tied to his current job, which makes it really difficult if he wants to change employers. (He doesn't, but it's nice to know he is "employable" by any company now.)

Guess we should celebrate tonight!

Sameer's new coat

We went out for dinner to Bonefish last night. It was a bit chilly out, so Sameer got to wear his new coat. I took a photo. He looks all posh in his wool/cashmere duds! I decided to get a winter coat from J.C. Penney ($69) rather than the J. Crew one I wanted which was $300! (Of course a week after buying the cheaper one I got a 20% off coupon from J. Crew! But I'd say it's still out of range...) Must stick to budget. Especially around Christmastime, there is so much shopping going on and it's too easy to get carried away!!!! So now Sameer is the fancy looking one in the winter. I need to get one of those little sewing tools for opening up seams, as the pockets are sewn closed too tight to get scissors in there...

Christmas tree photos

We put up our Christmas tree this weekend. Our friends the Fujikawas left us with a really nice artificial tree when they had to return to Japan a year and a half ago. We didn't get to use it last year since we were busy getting married in India all December, so I was looking forward to it this year.

It was super easy to set up and has all the lighting already attached. So we just plunked down the stand and stuck it in the base, and voila! We haven't put decorations on it, as we kind of like the clean, streamlined look with just the lights. Plus all the decorations are in the attic (also provided by Mamiko and the gang). The tree also has special fiber optic features, but we haven't quite figured out how to activate those. I think it turns different colors on the ends of branches. We'll get around to it...

Thanks to Mamiko and Taka, we have a lovely tree this year! Hope you guys are enjoying a nice Christmas in Japan!

We took some photos of the tree and just for fun also some facing the other end of the room (you can see our new flat screen TV!) The room looks a bit dim, but I took the photos without the flash since it looks more like the ambiance we usually maintain. When you use the flash, the walls look so harsh....

Home Repairs... sigh

We've been living in this house for just over a year now. Before that, both of us had rented only. So this past year has been enlightening about the amount of effort that goes into maintaining a home.

To begin with, let me just say that one of the reasons we chose a newer home was so that we would have minimal maintenance/repairs. And so far, it's been as expected. We continued with the same lawn service the people before us used, so we don't even have to mow the lawn. There's a sprinkler system that waters everything automatically. I don't even know what flowers are planted around the house!

The house we chose was built in 2003, and the previous owners were meticulous in overseeing the developers, and they took extremely good care of it the entire time they lived here. Since we've moved in, there have only been minor things to fix.

Like last week Sameer broke the toilet seat. Ha ha! Who would think of that?! But anyway, one of the hinges on the lid broke and we had to get another one. We upgraded slightly to get one with brushed nickel hinges instead of the cheapy white plastic. Now we've both been using only that one (it's the guest bathroom!) because we like that seat so much better!

Some things, not so critical, are just waiting on when we can figure out what to do. The accordian door on the pantry keeps falling off when we open/close it, so we just leave it open most of the time. And there are a few minor cracks in the ceiling and walls that we'll address when we get it painted. We also want to switch out some of the installed lighting fixtures and upgrade the bathroom towel bars, etc. But for now, just the laundry and cleaning is enough to keep up with...

Oh yes, I can't forget that miserable weekend trying to recaulk parts of the shower tiles!

UF Football - Quarterback Tim Tebow Front Runner for Heisman Trophy

We've been watching all UF football games fanatically this year. Well, Sameer always has, but I've definitely reached a new level of interest in the Gators, after resisting for a couple years. After the Gators football team won the national title last year, we hoped they might do it again. After all, the men's basketball team won their second in a row last year!

The team hasn't been very strong defensively, though offensively they are a powerhouse, thanks to sophomore quarterback Tim Tebow. He played last year under starting QB Chris Leak, so we had a glimpse of his talent in a few winning touchdowns. This year he's won the nickname "superman" for his ability to pass and rush, pulling out amazing plays to score touchdown after touchdown. He's the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy, which is awarded to college football's most outstanding player. He's just earned the record for the first college QB to ever score 20 passing and 20 rushing touchdowns in the same season, and he's actually at 29/22 after this weekend's win against rival Florida State University (total 51 touchdowns, which is 2 more than the highest number to be scored by a former Heisman winner).

Turns out Tebow was playing with a broken right hand after plowing through the defense in one of his rushing touchdowns in the FSU game (he's left handed). It appears that injuries don't stop this guy - he played with a seriously bruised shoulder when he probably should have been sitting out recoving earlier this season (though we did lose those games), and apparently he finished a game with a broken leg in one his high school games! The interesting part about Tebow is that football isn't even in his top 3 priorities - he said in an interview that every day for him is about 4 things: God, family, academics, and football, in that order.

There are a lot of other good players on the UF offensive line, too, which makes the games really exciting to watch. Percy Harvin, Keystahn Moore, Andre Caldwell, Cornelius Ingram, Jarred Fayson... I don't really know all these names, you can probably tell Sameer's behind this post feeding me info :)

Regardless, it's been an exciting season though UF is just ranked No. 10 at the moment and finished with regular season play. We wish all the best for the players in 2008!

A lazy Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving here. I'm mostly thankful that it has resulted in a 4-day weekend! In Canada, Thanksgiving occurs in October, and it's really not as big a deal as here. Our neighbors have decorated their house as if it were Christmas, with lights and a giant blown up turkey on the front lawn! All the stores are closed today, and people start the shopping madness from midnight tonight. They line up overnight at stores that open as early as 4 am offering deeply discounted deals. My first year here, I went to Best Buy (like the Future Shop) to see what the fun was about, and it was just ridiculous. The items advertised for good prices were gone already and I went at 8 am! Not to mention the wall-to-wall shopping carts and screaming people. It was a madhouse. We will definitely not be going near any stores this weekend, though some online shopping might happen. Some of the stores also offer deals through their websites!

We watched a Hindi movie called Lagaan today. About 10 minutes into it I realized we'd already watched it together before. But it's an awesome movie about some peasants 150 years ago who challenge the British to a cricket match in an effort to save their village from a heavy tax that would do them all in. Then Sameer went out to actually play cricket with some friends from UF. Now we're just hanging out and importing songs into iTunes....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Diwali gift from the husband

During Diwali, it's customary for the husband to give the wife a gift. So I picked out some earrings I liked from the jeweler we bought our wedding rings from. They didn't have a large in-store selection, so we ordered them from a catalog and they just came in yesterday. I tried to take pictures to show you here...

I wanted a pair that were gold and black to match my mangal sutra wedding necklace that I wear every day, since I don't have many other items that match it. It's a gorgeous necklace and I never take it off, so I figure I'll just build my jewelry collection around it. (That makes it easy for Sameer to find gift ideas for me! The jeweler was suggesting a bracelet next time, hee hee.)The only problem is that the mangal sutra is 24 carat gold, like most jewelry in India, and the gold items you buy here are much lighter colored because they're much lower carat. But these earrings look perfect! Thank you Sameer!

Apparently during Diwali the wife is also supposed to get up before dawn on a certain day, draw a bath for her husband and touch his feet in respect. There may also be fasting...? Anyway, that didn't happen, due to my forgetting as I was in a complete fuzzy state due to MRSA, but I think I might have fasted that day last year for him :)

For those who don't know what Diwali is, it's the "Festival of Light" in India which marks the beginning of the Hindu new year and signifies the triumph of good over evil.

Update on MRSA infection

I finished my two antibiotics yesterday and have been feeling fine. The bandage is annoying me, as it's itchy where it sticks to my skin, but that's not so bad after the drama of the last couple weeks.

So, I had a check up with the doctor today (I've been going every 1-2 days to get the bandage changed). They removed the "wick" and said I don't need it anymore - it was a 2-inch piece of gauze stuffed into the wound to help wick out the fluids. So I'm left with a dime-sized hole about a quarter inch deep, she said, and the skin will grow back from the bottom up until it's filled in. It's still going to mean we'll need to change bandages every day for 2-3 more weeks, but at least the infection is gone and we can change it at home ourselves!!!!

Now the challenge is to make sure it doesn't come back or Sameer doesn't catch it. Apparently it has a long life on surfaces and spreads just by touch. The doctor said she sees a lot of people come back with it again after 3 months. Yikes! I hope you guys are all taking care to wash your hands often and check for any bumps that look like a spider bite!

Ugh, tennis

The doctor today said it would be fine to exercise as long as I changed the bandage and showered right after, so Sameer and I decided to play tennis. He's been going crazy wanting to play for 2 weeks now, while I've been recovering from MRSA.

It turned out to be altogether unsatisfactory. To begin with, there seemed to be something wrong with the new balls I bought Sameer. They were so unbouncy that you had to really slam them with all ya got just to get it over the net. And I had almost no strength. Even normally, Sameer and I never seem to hit that easy rhythym you see in a lot of tennis rallies - we're always trying to hit the winning shot. So tonight everything went in the net or too short, and there was no way I was running after anything!

So right now I'm lying in a heap on the couch enjoying doing nothing and trying to get up some strength to go tidy up the kitchen. Sameer just went out to meet Abhijit, as he's in town just for a couple hours this evening.

Shopping on the Weekend

The end of last week was so cold that I finally realized that the coats we have are just not going to cut it. I hadn't wanted to accept the fact that it gets cold enough here to justify having a proper winter coat. But the last couple of evenings have convinced me otherwise. We went out to a movie, and I found I had stuffed on so many layers that I could barely move my arms. Then when we got inside I had to peel off everything. A nice warm coat would have been much better. Not to mention that Sameer's jacket from last year actually seems to hold the cold, making it feel colder than it actually is.


Though it was only around 0 Celsius, it feels colder, probably because we're now used to warm weather most of the year. But probably 5 months out of the year we actually have very chilly nights.


So, I went on a mission to find some suitable winter coats. It seems most other Floridians don't mind the cold, because there was a serious shortage of wool coats at the mall. I guess that's why I often see girls out with just tank tops even when I'm feeling like it's turtleneck weather!


Just in time, I got a 20% off coupon from Banana Republic, so I got Sameer this coat. The one I want is at J. Crew, so I'm going to have to wait for a coupon from them, I suppose!

We also got a cute table from Bombay Company, since we don't have a coffee table. Will have to take more pictures of the house now that we've added more items... Have to clean it first, though. :)

Sameer has been to the mall with me several times lately. Yesterday, he got a full hour massage while I did my coat research! The massage therapist there does a wonderful job, and I'm eternally grateful that she makes it easier to get my husband to go shopping with me!

Darjeeling Limited

Saw the Darjeeling Limited tonight. It's about three brothers who take a train ride through India, hoping to reconcile a year after their father's death. It was funny and sad, too, and we liked the way the director let India show through without making a big deal of it.

Sameer's favorite line: "I want to go pray in front of a different thing" by Peter when they were at the temple and Jack and Frances started arguing.

Here's a description of the movie and for those more visually inclinded, here's the official site with trailer, etc. It was pretty good, different from the usual.

Congratulations, Cynthia!

Just heard from mom that my cousin Cynthia's baby girl was born healthy and happy earlier this week! That's good news, as it seems it was a difficult pregnancy.

Hey Cynthia, hope you're recovering quickly. Otsukaresama deshita! (That's Japanese for "Good work!", very loosely translated. The Japanese feeling is a little more rich than the English, so it feels much more fitting here.)

The little girl born to Cynthia and Jon is named Lily Ellen. Lily was our grandmother's name and Ellen is Cynthia's mother's middle (and also my sister Beth's middle name!) My aunt Ruthie is going to help Cynthia as she's recovering and getting used to all the work involved in having a newborn. Here's a pic of Cynthia and Jon at their wedding...

Sameer's Birthday

Sameer's birthday was last week. I struggle so hard with gifts for him, probably because we usually just buy everything we need when we need it. And there seems to be nothing he really "wants". He has about as much jewelry as he'll ever wear. I buy him clothes all the time anyway, so that's not very special. And he has no hobbies or interests that require buying anything.

So, I had this great idea I was going to set up tennis lessons for him. He's been wanting to play every day lately. So I called several places but just got voicemail. I even visited the local tennis club and left messages. No one called me back in time, so I let it go. Instead, I made up a little "coupon" for lessons and got him some clothes for playing in the winter and some new tennis balls. Well, the new balls made him the happiest, and he didn't even want the lessons unless we were going to take them together!

I made a special breakfast rather than the usual cereal. But I hadn't counted on him coming home at lunch. I was out running errands (getting a cake, card, and last minute items since the lessons hadn't come through). Poor guy, he came home to an empty house and I was at the mall!

Anyway, after work we went to Liquid Ginger for a nice dinner and then had cheesecake and ice cream (with sparkly candles stuck in it) at home. It was a fun day!

Trip to Orlando

This year on the weekend before Halloween, Sameer and I went to Orlando. We just had the urge to get away, so we booked a really nice hotel and drove down. We were staying downtown, so there was a lot of partying going on. I don't know whether it's just me or if it's always been this way, but don't the girls' halloween costumes seem to get skimpier by the year? One girl we saw was wearing little more than underwear.

The hotel was so nice. It had a deck with a hot tub so we jumped in that every day. We went shopping at Premium Outlets, where Sameer scored some new clothes (more than me for once!) We ate Indian food a couple times, and tried the calamari at the hotel. It was supposed to be the same recipe as at the sister hotel in St. Augustine, but it wasn't as good. It was fun staying in downtown Orlando - too bad most people miss out on that when they come to Orlando, since the focus is always on Disney stuff. We still have lots of stuff we havne't done in Orlando, like go to Sea World and the Blue Man Group. Maybe over Christmas...

We also went to see the Hindu temple that was rumored to look just like one in Nagpur. Sure enough, it had all the architectural detail and very cool design elements. Balaji temple. We enjoyed sitting in the shade for a while and watching people go about their rituals.

Travel plans for 2008

Next year is going to be lots of traveling. We didn't go anywhere outside Florida in 2007, so we'll be making up for that. Here's what it's looking like as of this writing:

March 7-10 - Meet Laura and Corey in the Bahamas (booked)

July 4-12 - Toronto and Eastern Canada (booked)

October/November - Diwali in India (or possibly Christmas??)

Well, I guess I don't have all the details yet... I'll update here as I book the flights...

Missing Diwali

It was disappointing to miss out on Diwali festivities this year. First, Aai and Baba were going to be visiting us originally, but his poor dad had an accident and fractured his arm. It's been a long time healing but seems to be getting better, at least. It was a little sad that we weren't able to celebrate Diwali with them as planned.

So, we made plans to invite some of Sameer's co-workers over and light candles and cook up a storm of Indian food. But with me wiped out from the MRSA, that was out of the question. I could barely talk sense last weekend.

We were able to get on the webcam for a bit with the bhaubeej party in Nagpur. It was almost like being there! Glad to see everyone looking good and happy! It was early morning here and I had just scrambled to put on a salwar kurta and some bangles. Even Sameer willingly wore a long kurta! I totally forgot to put on a bindi, though. Ooops.

Getting over MRSA

I found out yesterday that I had MRSA, the staph bacteria infection that's resistant to antibiotics. About 10 days ago I noticed a bump on the back of my right hip but just kept putting tea tree oil on it hoping it would go away. Instead, it got bigger and an area the size of my hand became really red, hard, and boiling hot. It was so painful by the third day that I couldn't sit - I had to lay on my other side. Then it was hurting just to stand. So I went to the doctor's and was prescribed some antibiotics.

The next day, the skin over the bump broke into a sore about the size of a quarter and I had a fever, so I called Sameer at work and he came and took me to the doctor. They had to cut a hole and push on the skin to drain it. It was so painful I felt that even giving birth couldn't be worse. (The doctor told me giving birth is way worse.)

Anyway, they bandaged me up and I've been going every day or two to get the bandage changed. I noticed a second, smaller bump developing under my chin, so they added another antibiotic. Luckily, they treated it as if it could have been MRSA from the start, so I was lucky. If misdiagnosed and not treated in time, it can enter the bloodstream and lead to septic shock. Not good stuff.

Now everything's looking great! Bump on the chin is going away and the big one on the hip is now just covered by a giant waterproof bandaid and some gauze, so I just had my first shower in a week! Every day is better, and I expect I'll be almost normal tomorrow, except the antibiotics still make me a bit fuzzy in the head.

Sameer was fantastic. He came to every doctor's appointment and held my hand while I screeched during the draining, made dinner for us, kept the house in general good standard, and managed to go without sports for all this time without going insane.

More info on MRSA
Medically reviewed information
General description

In the local news
Students infected with staph in Alachua
Research shows drug-resistant staph explodes germ-fighting cells

Other cases
Blog of others' MRSA experiences

Welcome and kick-off

I've been thinking for some time to start a blog so our friends and family can drop in anytime and see what's up with us. We were using software from GoDaddy before, and it was just too cumbersome. I think it's been over a year since we updated anything! So the blog idea is hopefully going to be waaayyyy better.

This past year has been so exciting with so many changes, from getting married to dealing with owning a home for the first time. So, here goes! I'll do my best to add lots of photos and comment on anything going on so you'll always be up to date!