Maria & Manish Married Life

[mariaandmanish]

I love this idea, of keeping a journal for after the marriage. Everything seems to be leading up to it, and I've heard of a lot of bride's being depressed afterwards because it's all over. This I think is a great way to keep updated the same way we did before the wedding!!

So, we've been married now for 12 days, and life has pretty much returned to normal. I didn't really expect things to change, and they didn't, so I think that's a wonderful thing. Manish, I think, was worried that things would be different, but he's told me a thousand times since our wedding that he's happy we got married. That just makes me tingle every time he says it!!:D

We're having a bit of difficulty with our marriage license. Because we got married in a different state than we live in, we had to drive down to the town we were marrying in to apply for our license, etc. Where we got married is a two hour drive from our home.

Unfortunately, upon getting back from my honeymoon, I looked at our copy of our marriage license that we got to keep, and saw that the date of the wedding was not on the license!! So, while the township has the license, they can't make it official because there is no date!!! I want to get my named changed and all that before I start my new job, but.... arg!!

So, I called the township again today, 3rd time this week, to find out what they needed in order to fix this, and they said they needed the pundit who performed our ceremony to call them. The first two times I called, they said they didn't have anything and to check back! I was really worried that it had gotten lost in the mail or something, so thankfully THAT didn't happen!!

Anyway, since I don't speak hindi and the priest barely speaks English, I called my SiL and asked her to check with them. But, the punditji is not going to be available until after 4:30 tomorrow afternoon, so I'm stuck waiting again!! It's really frustrating! If I don't hear something by tomorrow, I think I will have Manish call to speak with him and explain what needs to be done. Hopefully, when the punditji calls the township, he'll just be able to confirm that he performed the ceremony on August 5th and signed it, so that I can get our copies and start the legal stuff. Wish me luck!!

[Amanda&Hugo]

:D Good luck!! And I am glad to hear that things are going well other than the marriage license... congratulations!!

[Jenn060306]

Hey Maria.
I'm glad to see you will be doing the journal thing as well! I think it's so much fun! It's nice to have people in a similar place in life as i am i find.
What a pain with the marriage licence! Hopefully everything will get sorted out for you soon!
Congratulations again!

[WhiskeyGirl]

YAY Maria has started a After wedding journal!! How exciting! I look forward to keeping up to date with you hun!! :) Sorry to hear you are having such a headache with the marriage license! Hopefully things will work out for you soon!! Take care! :)

[mariaandmanish]

deleted post. sorry.

[LaceyinPgh]

My grandmother skipped my wedding because I was being ungrateful and spoiled for not allowing children to attend. She through this tantrum back in the March and I haven't spoken with her since. As far as I am concerned she and the rest of the family that decided to pull that stunt aren't alive in my happy little world. If I see them out I turn my head and go about my business. I won't even run a wedding announcement in the local paper of their town because they shouldn't get the satisfaction of getting to see a picture or getting one little detail.

To me, when you purposefully skip out on the biggest day of someone's life on purpose than you forgo the right to know anything about that person ever again. You lost your privlidges to share in their joy, sorrow, laughter, and tears forever.

[mariaandmanish]

Thanks, Lacey. You put it so well!! For me, it's not really that different,

[mariaandmanish]

So, I got some honeymoon pictures on Photobucket finally!!! Yay!!

Our honeymoon was great! We left at 6am, the morning after our wedding. We were literally both up for 24 and a half hours straight, but hey, what's a wedding without exhaustion, right!?

So, we went to Cozumel, Mexico. It was amazing! Incredibly relaxing, there were NO decisions that truly had to made more than "what should we eat for lunch/dinner?" After all the stress of decision making with the wedding, it was just awesome to not make decisions!!!

Cozumel itself is beautiful. They had had a hurricane last October that did an incredible amount of damage, but a lot of the vegetation has grown back already, and they're doing a lot of construction as well. Even with that, it was beautiful. Gorgeous weather, beautiful warm water, no clocks anywhere.. including our suite! We had to turn on the tv to the weather station to find out what time it was! lol. It really was great. Needless to say, we did not want to come back!!

Anyway, I'll post a couple of our pics!
:bbmrgreen:

[mariaandmanish]

One day while we were there, we rented a jeep and drove around the tiny island. At the southern point there was a park with an old lighthouse, and a naturla lagoon that had real live wild crocodiles. We took some great pics of the island and the croc's, and it was cool just to climb up to the top of the lighthouse and see the Atlantic ocean and the island spread out in front of us.

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Honeymoon/8efa3fb6.jpg
Me at the lighthouse museum.

Manish on top of the lighthouse. That's the atlantic ocean behind him.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Honeymoon/e9f43aca.jpg

[mariaandmanish]

This is one of the crocodiles. Manish got a better picture on his camera, but I haven't had a chance to upload that to my computer yet.




http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Honeymoon/IMG_0426.jpg

The same day, we stopped at a cool restaurant on the ocean and had more excellent Mexican food. All of the food on Cozumel was great, whether Mexican, American, or Chinese. (Yes, we had chinese food!!)


http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Honeymoon/6b7fb4a3.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Honeymoon/b632aa97.jpg

[mariaandmanish]

On Wed, we took a tour to the mainland to go to see some real Mayan ruins. That was really cool. It's always fun to see things taht are soooo old, and yet still here. We have a lot of cool pictures of the ruins themselves, and we'll always have the memories. It was sooo hot that day, and my shoulders got a bit burnt. They're just starting to peal now!

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Honeymoon/70b62feb.jpg
That's the large temple behind us. You can't climb the one at this site, but it's cool nonetheless.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Honeymoon/ea2d4e09.jpg
Us at one of the small outer buildings. Those Mayan's must've been pretty short, as even I had to duck to get in through the door, and I'm barely 5 feet tall!!
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Honeymoon/IMG_0511.jpg
The temple in the center of the site. Behind it are the cliffs and then the Atlantic ocean. Really cool.

[mariaandmanish]

On Thursday, we did somehting really fun and different. Cozumel is surrounded by natural reefs, so a lot of people go there to dive. Manish and I do not have diving licenses, so the best we could really do was snorkel. Except, that there is a company that owns a submarine. We took the submarine tour and got to go down 101 feet under water in a sub to see the fish in their natural habitats. It was awesome!! We didn't get a lot of great pics, but enough for our memories. Plus, we got to see some sharks, and that was really neat!!

The sub...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Honeymoon/IMG_0719.jpg
Mani, then me, in the sub
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Honeymoon/IMG_0610.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Honeymoon/IMG_0618.jpg
A parrotfish, through the glass of the sub. 100 feet below the surface...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Honeymoon/IMG_0643.jpg

[mariaandmanish]

The rest of the honeymoon we really just sat around the pool and went swimming. Walked around downtown, and got some sun. We had one night with amazing sunsets, and took advantage. We took some nice shots, and then just watched it. It really was an amazing honeymoon. Just being alone was the best part!:D

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Honeymoon/IMG_0807lightroomededitedcopy.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Honeymoon/IMG_0834.jpg

[mariaandmanish]

Chinese food restaurant... the one night we got dressed up a little...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Honeymoon/IMG_1020.jpg
Senor Frogs.... tons of fun!
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Honeymoon/IMG_0860.jpg
My husband thought it would be fun to tilt the camera for my pic, so I had to fix it on the computer!!
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Honeymoon/mecroppedandrotated.jpg

[cowboysbride]

Oh how cool! I don't think I got to post but your wedding pics were amazing, I have never had the pleasure of seeing a different cultures traditions and ceremony and thoroughly enjoyed yours. Your wedding was beautiful and the honeymoon pics were awesome! CONGRATS KEEP THE PICS COMING!

[mariaandmanish]

Well, I mistakenly thought that once the wedding was over, some of the business of our lives would slow down. Was I ever wrong!

My best friend turned 30 yesterday, so we had a party for her in Manhattan. We went to an improv comedy club, and it was hysterical. One of the skits they did involved finding out a recent event that had happened to one of the audience members, and of course,a friend of ours decided that it should be our wedding. They basically did our wedding broadway style, and it was the funniest thing I have seen in a while!! I wish we had a video camera so that we could have taped it!

Yesterday was also another friends 33rd bday, so tonight we're taking her out to dinner and then going to Foxwoods Casino in CT. Busy busy!!

And then at the end of the month, it's Manish's 33rd bday, and then on the 2nd of Sept, my FiL is throwing us a party!!

Plus, I am starting a new job, and trying to get all of my paperwork done for that!! Too busy!!

Today, we're going to go to the jewelers, get our rings appraised so we can insure them and see about getting them engraved. We got them only the week before the wedding, so we couldn't get them engraved before. We're engraving them with...

M & MC 8/5/06y

And then we're going to go shopping to spend our gift certificates that we got for our wedding, to put my name on Mani's bank account, and deposit the checks that we got. It's going to be a busy day and long night, and since I didn't get to sleep til after 3 this morning, I have a feeling I'm going to be exhausted tomorrow!! Thank goodness I'll be able to sleep in!!

Thanks for the sweet comments about our wedding and honeymoon. As I get more good pics, I will definitely post them. I can't wait the 2 more weeks until we get the professional pics, but I guess I'll have to!!!

[Jenn060306]

Wow! Looks like you and manish had a great time on your honeymoon! I would love to go to Mexico one day! (fingers crossed)
You definatly sound busy. We thought that things would slow down for us too... no such luck yet. Have a great time at your friends birthday tonight!

[mariaandmanish]

The weekend is finally over, maybe tomorrow I can relax a little!!

The dinner and casino were lots of fun. We won, and lost and ended up going home with less than we brought with us, but it was worth it, as we all had a great time. 7 of us went, and went our own ways when we got there. Each of us, seperately saw someone win $1600. Too bad it wasn't us, right!
Didn't get home til 4am this morning, so slept til 12 this afternoon. I haven't slept that late since I was in college!! Then, we went to see my inlaws. First time I've seen them since the wedding, and they both seemed to be in really great moods. They came over for dinner too, so that was nice.

Manish and I went to the mall and spent all but one of our GC. from the wedding. I love gift cards!! I loved everything we got, needless to say, but GC are some of the best gifts ever!! We got stuff that we definitely didn't need, but are cool either way. Like a chocolate melter and lollipop maker. I mean, totally not needed, but really cool. And I do like to make things with chocolate just hate having to melt it!

Basically though, we had a great weekend! Busy, exhausting, but great!:D

[mariaandmanish]

It's been such a busy week that today is the first chance I've had to even get on Onewed!! I've missed it!

So, I sort of started my new teaching job this week. School didn't start, but I went to a 3 day workshop with some of the teachers I will be working with. I also got to meet two of the three other reading specialists that I'll be working with. So far everyone seems very nice, but I also know that true colors will be shown once we're all working together. I'm a little nervous about the job as it will be my first year working as a "reading specialist". Up to now, I've been in my own classroom, only responsible for my kids. Now, I'll be working with other teachers to improve their kids...

The marriage license problem has finally been taken care of! YAY!! I was able to go and pick up my certified copy today, and then I went straight to the SS office and changed my name there. I'll have my new card in about 10 days. On monday, I'm going to go to the DMV, and will get my new license. It's nice to finally be able to do this, especially since I have only one more week off, and it will be harder to find the time to do that when I'm working.

It will still be another two or three weeks before we get our professional pictures, and I'm getting reeeeaaalllly impatient!! Oh, well... the price you pay for excellent work, right?

[Jenn060306]

Waiting for the pictures was terrible. It felt like soooo long. But when i finally got them. It was well worth the wait! Hopefully the time will go by quickly for you! I really look forward to seeing them!
Hopefully the teachers you are going to work with won't be a problem. I can see how it would be tough though. Good luck with that! I hope it turns out well for you! It sounds like an amazing and very rewarding job!

[mariaandmanish]

I'm home alone today. I was supposed to go with DH and my BiL and a friend to a car driving event in NJ, but when we woke up this morning it was pouring, and I didn't want to stand around in the rain just to drive Mazdas around some tracks. Don't get me wrong, the car driving events are a lot of fun, I just didn't want to deal with the rain.

DH, BiL and our friend went though, so I've finally got some real time to catch up on OneWed. I've been so busy that I had 6 pages of new posts to get through this morning!

Getting my wedding certificate was awesome. I mean, I know it's just a piece of paper and all, but it's just awesome to have it. Getting married hasn't changed anything much, but I've noticed that Manish is definitely more "loving" than he used to be. He's sweeter, too. I love being married, even if I don't notice any other changes. We still just get up and go about our business, same as before we got married. It's just different somehow... maybe just in my mind.

I'm sorry, I was rambling a bit there!! Well, I'm off to enjoy my day of quiet and peace. Gonna clean my house, and watch a movie.

[MOB Karen]

Have a great weekend, Maria!!! :D

[mariaandmanish]

Yesterday was a really nice day to spend at home alone. After cleaning up the kitchen and bedroom, I say in our movie room and watched four episodes of the show LOST. I bought the entire first season at Walmart, at a $15 discount over the cost at best buy or other stores.

Mani got home at around 5 or so, and we went out for dinner to Pizza Hut. Not really what I wanted, but it was easy, and the pizza is good, if really bad for you!! Then, when we got home we watched a movie... The Benchwarmers. Not a great movie.. pretty dumb for the most part, but it had a good lesson in it. The ending was cute, too.

Got up today and pretty much did nothing. Literally. We watched movies on cable til 4, cleaned the kitchen again, dishes and such. Then, went grocery shopping. After that we watched Chain Reaction with Morgan Freeman and Keanu Reeves. It was pretty good. And Keanu Reeves is just gorgeous, IMO... even when he's looking scruffy. Maybe it's just me??

Anyway, tomorrow is the big day. I am going to the DMV to change my name on my license. I feel that this is a very big step, and it's freaking me out a little. I mean, it's cool and all, but I've had my own name for 30 years now, and it's odd to change it. At the same time, it's like the final marriage step...the thing that makes it completed. After tomorrow, I won't have id with my maiden name except for my B.C. and I will officially be a . I just hope that I'm not standing around the DMV for too many hours!!

Now, I am off to bed, so that I can get up early enough to get to the DMV when they open, or close to. That way, I might be able to get to the banks too if I can leave the DMV with my new license. Wish me luck!!

Have a great Monday!:bbmrgreen:

[mariaandmanish]

Went to the DMV today to change my name on my license and registration. Had to apply for a duplicate title so that I could change my name on that, because I didn't take my title with me. If I'd wanted to come home and get it, I could have done that, but who wants to leave the DMV once you get there, right??? So, I paid the extra money and got my name changed!!
I had to take a new picture though. And it will be 7-10 days before I get my new license in the mail, so I have no idea how horrible the picture will be. Ahh... the annoyance of having to wait for a new picture on a license. Luckily, I was in and out of the DMV in under an hour. THis particular DMV has great turn around time and the emplyees are really very nice. It's so different from the DMV that is in the very next city. I would never go there after hearing horror stories about it!

After the DMV, I went to my bank and changed my name on those accounts too. Now, all I have left to change is my employer's information, and my credit card. It's amazing how quick it is omce you get started. So, officially I am now a in the eyes of the government! YAy!!! It's quite exciting actually!!!

Now, all we have to do is decide what we're doing about health insurance. I am starting a new job next week, and the insurance plans are not really anything that are appealing to me, so tonight when Mani gets home, we're going to compare my two options with his health insurance, and see what would be better. We also might consider using both - his as his primary and mine as my primary, with each of us on the other's for secondary, so that in case he looses a job or soemthing, we're still covered under my insurance. I don't know though. Any suggestions?

[mariaandmanish]

Finally got my wedding pics organized on my photobucket account and was able to send the link to family and friends. I plan on adding more as I get them, or perhaps deleting and adding... depending on the qualities of what I get. The link is... http://s93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/ for anyone who might want to take a look. There are pics from the henna party, wedding, reception and honeymoon, with captions. I'm anxiously awaiting more pics from the people who've told me they would send me the one's they took. Hoping to find one or two that's amazing so I can print it out for a frame to last us til we get our professional ones back.

It's terrible how impatient I am!!

[Valmai]

They are beautiful maria - i love ur wedding!! Impatient? i thinkw e are all guilty of that when it comes to our weddings lol. Best of Luck xxx

[Jenn060306]

Your pictures are great! I loove your blue outfit!

[mariaandmanish]

Well, today is Manish's Birthday!!:happybday:

He decided to start his day with a trip to the dentist of all places!! (He always takes his bday off from work). Then, we went to the jewelers to have our wedding rings appraised so that we can add them to insurance. There may be a slight issue with mine, but I think we're going to check it again somewhere else...

Anyway, Mani is big into trains (my fault, I started it!!) and so I took him to our local train store so he could pick out his own bday present... easier than me choosing one for him!! ANd now, I have to run cause he needs my attention, and would kill me if he knew this is how I was spending my time while he went to smoke a cigarette!! Will fill in the rest of the details later tonight or tomorrow!!

[mariaandmanish]

Right, so Mani's bday!! Basically, for most of the afternoon we just hung around the house and stayed quiet. It was really great, as we rarely have time to do that anymore.... we're either busy or someone is over.

Then, I started making dinner at 6:30 or so. I had invited a couple of his closest friends who still live near us just for dinner and cake. With all the parties we've been having and going to over the past month, as well as the one coming up on Sat, neither of us were in the mood for anything hectic.

So, I made the lasagna (ground turkey, and bechamel sauce instead of cheese) and put together the salad and garlic bread. We were supposed to have dinner around 7:30, but some of our guests were late, so we didn't eat til 8. Which was cool, the food was still hot. THe good news is, that the first time ever in my life that I made lasagna... and it was really good!!! The bechamel sauce tasted just like the cheese spread would have, it was just creamier. And the turkey is always a good substitute for beef.

Then, after dinner, we sang :happybday: , and then he blew out his cakeful of candles!! And, then we cut the cake and ate it! It was also delicious!! I got some new recipe books at our wedding shower!! I used them tonight! lol

The cake was a brownie batter cake, and I put ice cream (chocolate chip) between the layers instead of frosting. The cake was from scratch. I love baking, it's just soo cool to make something from scratch and have it taste good!! I also made the frosting from scratch. The cake I made yesterday, and froze it over night (cause of the ice cream!!). YUMMY!!! Even our friend who never eats anything sweet (she's dieting all the time) had some and said it was good!! Pat me on the back!!:bbcool:

So, then, one of our friends got Manish some miniature Uno cards for his bday. You'd think it would be just a gag, we'd laugh it off and do something else, right? Nope, not us... strange people that we are!!! We played 3 games of UNO with miniature cards!! They're not even as long as my pinky fingers!! It was soo much fun! I haven't laughed as hard in a while!! And, the important part, was that Mani had a great time!!

Now, tomorrow, I am off to my old job to show them wedding and honeymoon pics. I should really get some sleep!!! :jpboard:

[mariaandmanish]

Well, this was a really long weekend. Fun, but long!! It started Thurs with DH's bday. We had people over for dinner and cake, and they stayed late, and then DH and his friend were up late playing XBOX Live, so we didn't get to bed til after 2.

On Friday night, I don't think we did anything too spcial, but we were still up very late again. We watched a movie, I think, and had dinner.

On Saturday, it was the party that my FiL was throwing for us. We got up late, around 11am or something, and ate, got ready, and waited for some friends to come who were coming to the party. We then drove the two hours down to Jersey in the very strong wind and rain. I was all dressed up in fancy Indian clothes, but apparently not dressed up enough as my SiL and MiL were wearing Sari's. So, I raided my SiL's closet and ended up in a Sari. Now, this was the first time I wore a Sari. It's actually comfortable, and the one I had was very light-weight, which was really nice.

Anyway, we got to the party. It was a lot of fun. I danced and just basically had fun. There was no pressure, and there were a lot fewer people than at the wedding, so it was easy to see people and say hello. My FiL was thrilled; I haven't seen him smile so much I think ever!!! He even hired a belly dancer for the event. I think that was a bit much, but it was fun anyway. The party ended at just after midnight, and we got on the road to come home at about 1 or so. By the time we got to bed, of course, it was almost 3am!!

Yesterday, we got up and went shopping at our local Outlet Stores (woodbury commons). It was crazy!!! We forgot that it was the weekend before school starts when we decided to go. The traffic in and out of the place was unbelievable! The food court ran out of food!!! You know it's bad when the food court runs out of food!! But, I still managed to get quite a few new outfits for school, so it was worth it. Then, we went over to our friends house and had dinner and hung out til midnight or so. We went to bed last night sometime after one, I think.

Today, was our only lazy day. Got up, haven't left the house once. Hung around. My BiL who lives with us left today for a 4 day vacation in the Berkshires (Massachusetts). SO, that means we're in the house alone, which is heaven!!! Of course, it would be even better if we were both not working, but since tomorrow is my first day back....!! Oh, well!!

I will post pics from the party as soon as I can download them from the site my BiL set up.

[WhiskeyGirl]

Hey Maria

So did your FIL throw you two this party to make up for him not going to the wedding then?? If so, do you feel like it makes up for it?

Sounds like you had a great time and that's whats important!! :D

[mariaandmanish]

Hey Maria

So did your FIL throw you two this party to make up for him not going to the wedding then?? If so, do you feel like it makes up for it?

Sounds like you had a great time and that's whats important!! :D


Having said that, yes, I did have a great time, and that was cool. No point in not having fun at a party!!! I'm posting pics now.

[WhiskeyGirl]

Having said that, yes, I did have a great time, and that was cool. No point in not having fun at a party!!! I'm posting pics now.


You and Manish will just have to make the best of things from here on out!! :chimp:

[mariaandmanish]

Me and Manish at the party...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Dad%20Party%20Pics/4b061.jpg
Manish's Parents
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Dad%20Party%20Pics/378e1.jpg
Us with Manish's parents...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Dad%20Party%20Pics/391f1.jpg
In order from left-right: My SiL, MiL, Aunt-in-law, Me, Manish, FiL, elder BiL, younger BiL.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Dad%20Party%20Pics/f9561.jpg

[mariaandmanish]

BiL and his wife and daughter...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Dad%20Party%20Pics/13e21.jpg
Good friend who came all the way from NY with us to go to the party...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Dad%20Party%20Pics/50e11.jpg
Us with my two BiL's... on the left is the elder and younger on the right.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Dad%20Party%20Pics/b7a51.jpg
Me, my SiL and her sister.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Dad%20Party%20Pics/a9461.jpg

[mariaandmanish]

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Dad%20Party%20Pics/6e272.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Dad%20Party%20Pics/82491.jpg
We would have been fine without the addition, but it turned out to be fun. She danced a few dances all by herself. THen, for the fourth dance, Manish and I had to go up and dance with her. Everyone seemed to join us then, and the she danced with us all. I wish I could dance like her!! I actually thought about taking Belly Dancing lessons, but that was before the wedding, and we needed the money to pay for the wedding. If I can find a place close to my house, I might still do it!!

[WhiskeyGirl]

You look so beautiful in your Sari!! I would love to have one, I'd think they would be the most comfortable thing to wear!!! :D

[mariaandmanish]

All Indian clothes are comfortable to wear!! The suits are just amazing!! SOOOO COMFY!!

As for a sari, it's comfy to wear, but hard to put on.. you really need two people. If you seriously want one, I can see if I can find you one that's not too expensive and send it to you... along with directions on how to wear it!

And thanks for the compliment!!

[WhiskeyGirl]

All Indian clothes are comfortable to wear!! The suits are just amazing!! SOOOO COMFY!!

As for a sari, it's comfy to wear, but hard to put on.. you really need two people. If you seriously want one, I can see if I can find you one that's not too expensive and send it to you... along with directions on how to wear it!

And thanks for the compliment!!

That would be soooo cool!! Do you have a paypal account? I could send you the money that way. How much do they usually cost???

[mariaandmanish]

That would be soooo cool!! Do you have a paypal account? I could send you the money that way. How much do they usually cost???

Yes, I have a paypal account. They're usually made from silk, so they can run pretty expensive, but I have a place near me that has a large Indian population so that's where we go and can usually negotiate a cheaper price. I will let you know. Otherwise, I know that there's a website that you can go to to order them for yourself.. that's how my mom got the one she wore to my wedding. I will send you the link as well when I talk to my mom next so you can check out what they have there. I think her's cost just over or just under $100 USD.

[WhiskeyGirl]

Yes, I have a paypal account. They're usually made from silk, so they can run pretty expensive, but I have a place near me that has a large Indian population so that's where we go and can usually negotiate a cheaper price. I will let you know. Otherwise, I know that there's a website that you can go to to order them for yourself.. that's how my mom got the one she wore to my wedding. I will send you the link as well when I talk to my mom next so you can check out what they have there. I think her's cost just over or just under $100 USD.

That's not too bad...let me know. Just Pm me and we'll set it all up. Of course don't stress yourself out about it and do it when you have time!! :grinhappy:

[mariaandmanish]

My first week at my new job is over already! I can't believe how quickly it has gone. SO far, it seems fine, but then again, I rally haven't started to work with anyone, so we'll have to see how we all work together in a few weeks. I'm going from being a classroom teacher, to being a reading specialist. I have finally found out what is expected of me in that roll, so that's good! Basically, I'll be going into classrooms in grades 3-5 and working with the teacher in whole group and small group lessons to improve reading and writing skills. Mostly, reading comprehension for the Language Arts tests that come up in January here in NY. Then, in grades 1-2, I will be pulling the lowest functioning kids out of those classes, to do small group instruction to improve reading abilities (mainly in phonics and decoding).

I will also have to cover classes if teachers are out and we can't get subs, ordering and organizing books, suggesting ways to improve teaching, and running workshops, and testing newly admitted students so that they can be placed correctly.

So far, all of the teachers that I have met are being very welcoming, so that's definitely a good thing. THe only thing, I miss having my own class a little, and I definitely miss my old colleagues. Oh, well... change is good!! Plus, I'm working a few less hours per week, and making a bunch more money! And, I'm sure that it will also be rewarding... working with the lowest functioning kids always is, becuase you can really see the improvements that they make.

[mariaandmanish]

I was just watching on CBS, a special from a documentary that was running when 9/11 happened. They were running it without any commercials, and it just brings back everything. THe memories, the horrible thoughts, and shock of that day. It really is the most emotional show I think I have ever seen.

I hope that tomorrow, everyone takes a moment, two, or more, and remembers that day, and says a prayer (or whatever you believe in) for all those who lost people, and who was lost on that day. As well as for all of us who survived it, whether you were in danger or not that day, it affected us all and we have all "survived" it.
http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/14/14_3_15.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZSzim029YYUS) http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/14/14_3_16.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZSzim029YYUS)

[mariaandmanish]

Yesterday, we finally got our professional proofs!! We spent most of the day going through them, and have already chosen the one's we want for our album. It was soooo hard. We originally chose over 100, and had to cut it back big time!! But, almost every picture is great! Now, we still have to go through and choose the one's we want to go into our parent albums. THen, I have to get more pages for the album someone gave us as a gift, and put the other pics in those. I'm sooo excited! And thrilled, too, that the pics came out so well!

Today, we're having a small bbq with a few friends. Relaxing for the most part, and of course, showing off our pics! Yay!

[mariaandmanish]

OUr bbq yesterday turned out to be nothing. Everyone who was supposed to come cancelled, except for one friend. So, she came over and ooohed and aaahed over our professional pics. And we fed her, and she went home. DH and my BiL screamed and yelled at the Giant's game and were basically bad hosts, but since she was looking at pics, it was okay. She thought what I thought... the pics are really amazing! I can't wait til they get online so that I can share them with you all!

Otherwise, married life moves on. My new job is going well, though I've been so busy unpacking boxes and organizing books that I haven't had any chance to get into classrooms and work with children yet. I miss working with the kids! I really don't feel like I've even started working again, except that I have to get up in the mornings! But, the teacher I'm sharing an office with is really nice, so that is good. More comfortable, which is important to me.

[mariaandmanish]

In addition to the professional pics, I got some more from my BiL the other day.. he sent me a disk. I'm still waiting for the disk my father was supposed to send from his camera! Arg! lol...

Anyway, there are some pretty good ones that my BiL sent that I will post as soon as I have a chance to upload them to photobucket. I love wedding pics!! Mine, and everyone elses! I don't know how I'm going to get all of them into albums!

[mariaandmanish]

Okay, here are some pics from before the wedding... mostly the Henna Party on Friday night, that I got from my BiL. I'm so glad to get more of these, since we didn't have a professional photographer for this party!

Close up of my henna:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Pre-Wedding/IMG_0151.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Pre-Wedding/IMG_0153.jpg
Me and DH towards the end of the night:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Pre-Wedding/IMG_0140.jpg
Me, and my sisters and my nephew:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Pre-Wedding/IMG_0135.jpg

[mariaandmanish]

Me, my MiL (on the right) and her sister-in-law on the left
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Pre-Wedding/IMG_0125.jpg
My older sister's henna:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Pre-Wedding/IMG_0155.jpg
My younger sister getting her henna done:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Pre-Wedding/IMG_0157.jpg
My sister and my Aunt
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Pre-Wedding/IMG_0086.jpg

[hummingbird521]

Great pictures maria

[SerendipityCrafts]

Love the pics. The henna job they did was so cool - they are amazing artists!

[Jenn060306]

Beautiful pictures!
How long did the henna last?

[Valmai]

Great pics, id love to have henna work done i had a small sample done years ago but would love to get a large piece done i think it loks awesome! xxx

[Goin2thechapel]

where did you honeymoon??? The pictures are beautiful.

[mariaandmanish]

Beautiful pictures!
How long did the henna last?

Typically, Indian henna that is stained as dark as mine was will last weeks, 3-4 at the least. In my case, I spent hours at a time in the ocean, with the salt water rubbing off the top layers of skin, so mine was almost completely gone by the time I got back from my honeymoon.

I have a few friends, though, who didn't spend their time in the water! lol, and their's lasted almost 4 weeks before finally fading away. That's pretty typical, especially for bridal henna which is stained very dark.

[mariaandmanish]

where did you honeymoon??? The pictures are beautiful.

Thanks! We went to Cozumel, Mexico for our honeymoon. We did spend one day on the mainland around Playa Del Carmen and went to a snorkeling park and Mayan ruin. It was a lot of fun, and we had beautiful weather. I would recommend going to Cozumel to anyone, honeymooning or just vacationing!

[AngelinLove]

Your pics are great Maria, and I can't wait to see the professional ones!!!

[mariaandmanish]

Your pics are great Maria, and I can't wait to see the professional ones!!!


Thanks, Angel. I'm dying to get the disk and the website so that I can post them here! I was sooo pleased with how they came out!

[mariaandmanish]

My wedding shower was held on July 29, literally 2 months ago, but I finally just got pics! Not many, and not great, but here they are anyway! I have to badger my friend who planned it for the pics she promised! LOL

Me and Manish getting ready to open a present, with the help of my friend's 3 year old son, Christopher.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Wedding%20Shower/IMG_0403-1.jpg
All the kids help us open it!
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Wedding%20Shower/IMG_0409-1.jpg
And it's open.. it's a really nice clock that we've hung on the wall near our front door.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Wedding%20Shower/IMG_0411.jpg

[mariaandmanish]

This is a pic of a cake that a friend of my SiL made for us... it's a chocolate cake built to look like a skirt, and she put a barbie into the top. It was yummy, even though I only had a small bite and most of it ended up going into the garbage because there were not enough guests for everyone to eat.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Wedding%20Shower/IMG_0391-1.jpg
And this one is of Manish eating a bite...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Wedding%20Shower/IMG_0392-1.jpg
And the two of us talking right before we cut the cake that was bought for us
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Wedding%20Shower/IMG_0390-1.jpg

[mariaandmanish]

So things have been pretty busy around here lately. Work is going well. Beginning yesterday, I finally made it into the classrooms, so that's a good thing. I love working with the kids, and not just organizing books! lol

Now, though, it's the season for constant trips to New Jersey to see my inlaws. 4 weekends in a row we have to take the hour and a half drive (assuming no traffic) to go down. This past Friday was the first trip. My MiL's SiL has been here since April and just left on Sunday to go home to India. So, we went down on Friday night to say goodbye and hang out. WHen we got there, we learned that my MiL and FiL have also decided to go to India for an unspecified amount of time. My FiL is thinking he'll be coming back sometime between Oct 10th and 15th. My MiL's return depends upon how she's feeling. If she starts feeling unwell there, she'll come back with her husband. If she feels fine, then she'll come back at some time in the future.

Then the next 3 weeks coming up, we have to go down because a different person has a party each Sat. THe reason for the parties is because it is Diwali coming up. Diwali is the Hindu Festival of the Lights and goes by the moon, so the date changes each year. No one can have the party after the date, so they all do it before. This year Diwali is on Friday, Oct. 21st. Here's a link to a site that tells about diwali...
http://www.diwalifestival.org/

Anyway, this coming Saturday, my cousin-in-law is having her party. In NJ. THe following weekend is the party of a friend of the family. And the following weekend after that, it's my SiL's party. For each, of course, we all wear traditional Indian clothes. Usually for my SiL's party, the married women wear sari's. SO, I might have to find one somewhere, since I don't own my own yet. Otherwise, I can either borrow one from my SiL, or wear just a suit (salwar kameez), like what i was wearing in the henna party pics. My MiL gave me about 4 new ones recently that I haven't had a chance to wear yet, so at least I'll be able to wear them all now!

The only reason I'm not looking forward to all of this is because of the long drive. I strongly dislike the drive there. Mostly because we're not leaving there til after midnight or 1am, which means we don't get home til after 2am. Since I generally don't sleep late on Sat's, it makes for a really long day, just to see the same people that you just saw!! Oh, well... it's only once a year!

[Jenn060306]

Wow, the parties sound really neat! It is alot to do and a far way to go. I hope you and manish have a great time! Safe travels!

[MOB Karen]

Have fun at all your Saturday parties, Maria!!! Sounds like you're going to have some great times!!! :D

[NicksBride]

Everything looks sooo beautiful!

[mariaandmanish]

I did the coolest thing ever in my life today, without even planning too!!! My BiL and some friends that he works with had all planned a day to go sky diving. He had asked me to go with him, and even though I wanted to, I didn't think that we could afford it right now. Anyway, last night, my BiL was talking about it, and I just got paid (and got a nice raise at the new job) so DH and I decided that we could afford for me to go. It costs about $200 per person, per dive. So, I said sure.

We got up this morning at 5am to get there. GOt there, signed in and paid, and met our instructors. We were the first people of the day. We got all geared up, with our harnesses, and hats, and gloves (cause it was cold enough to see your breath on the ground!!). My instructor's nickname was Danish, and he was really cool. Very nice and calm, and had a great sense of humor!!!

Anyway, he talks you through what's going to happen and tells you what to do while you're up in the air, and then you get in the plane. You go up to about 13,000 feet and put your goggles on and they open the door. At this point, you're strapped really tightly to your instructor.... so you'd better feel comfortable with him/her!!

I was the last person out of the plane, which was awesome cause I got to see my BiL's face as he stood in the doorway. Then, it was my turn. THe only time that I felt even a little afraid was as we were actually jumping out of the plane. Then, you're just flying through the air. It's the coolest sensation, becuase it really doesn't feel like you're falling at all. It feels like you're literally just lying down on a bed or something. Other than, of course, the wind pushing at you, and the fact that you can see the ground below you! But it wasn't scary even a little bit, it was just cold and amazing.

The wind is loud, and pushes your goggles into your face (left a mark rhat was gone really fast and bruised my nose a tiny bit), but you still don't feel like you're falling. There's none of the feeling like being in a roller coaster or anything. No stomach loss, nothing. It's amazing.

Then, after what seems like only a few seconds, you pull the cord for the parachute, and then you're floating down through the sky. This is when you really can look around you and see how high you really are. It's relaxing, and cool. The instructor twirled us around a bit, and that felt a little like a roller coaster, but in a cool way. THen you land. And when you land, you lift up your legs and land on your butt. For me, the instructor controlled the parachute for the whole thing, and really slows you down as you're landing, so there's no jarring or anything.

Seriously, today was the coolest day! It was just soo much fun, and I definitely plan on doing it again!!!

Now, I'm off to get ready to go to Queens and then to Jersey! Will check on later tonight if I get home in time, otherwise tomorrow!

[Valmai]

Well done that sounds absolutely amazing - Lucky you!!! xxx

[Jenn060306]

Wow! Sounds awsome! I'm glad you had a good time!

[WhiskeyGirl]

Wow Maria!! You have more guts then I do!! lol. I couldn't do it!! Congratulations on being one hell of a gutsy woman!! I commend you. What's next on your list? Bungy jumping? Wrestling alligators?? lol. Just teasing and way to go!!! :grinhappy:

[hummingbird521]

What a wonderful experience this must have been. I wish I had the nerve to do this. I bet it was breathtaking to see and experience. Way to go girl.

[ikkin510]

That is so awesome Maria! I have aways wanted to do it, but the one time I had the chance to go, I chickened out and said I was sick. It seems like it would be such a fun experiance. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[AngelinLove]

I sooooo want to go sky diving, but will have to go without, cause Joel says he will not go unless he is doing it for a job...lol!! One day I will go!!! It sounds like you had and awesome time!!!

[mariaandmanish]

DH didn't jump with me, he jumped much later, but he took some pics of me, don't really know what pics, but when I go to pic them up, I will post more details about the day and I will post them with the pics! http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_8_23.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZSYYYYYYYYUS)[/URL] http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/7/7_10_5.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZSYYYYYYYYUS)[URL="http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZSYYYYYYYYUS"]

[mariaandmanish]

Sky Diving Details:

So, DH had said that he didn't want to do it at all, and was just there to take pictures. He sat around and watched, and waited with a friend of my BiL's wife. She didnt want to jump either, but her husband did. Anyway, we did our jump, which again was truly amazing!!!! and after we all told her and DH about it, they decided that they would do it too!!! So, they did!!

Anyway, we had truly beautiful weather. There were some clouds, but very light and far apart for the most part. THe sky was a beautiful blue, no wind to speak of, and the only thing that wasn't great was that it was cold. Of ocurse, it's going to be cold no matter what at 14,000 feet, so you just deal! lol.

So, DH only got one pic of me in the sky and none of me landing, but i'll post what I've got. If you ever get the chance to go, you should! Tandem jumping requires no knowledge, and no real guts, as you're strapped to someone else who's in complete control. All of the instructors there have done more than 2000 single jumps, so you know they know what they're doing, and you know they're being extremely careful, since it's their lives too!!! lol!!

Anyway.. here they are...

[mariaandmanish]

Me and my BiL freefalling. I'm the one just leaving the plane, and he's the one you can see in the freefall position with arms out!
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Sky%20Diving%20Sept%2030%202006/meandkeiljump.jpg
DH jumping from his plane
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Sky%20Diving%20Sept%2030%202006/manijumps.jpg
my BiL coming in for his landing with his instructor
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Sky%20Diving%20Sept%2030%202006/31_7A.jpg
DH coming in for his landing... he got the same instructor as my BiL
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Sky%20Diving%20Sept%2030%202006/Maniabouttoland.jpg

[mariaandmanish]

More pics!
My BiL after he landed..
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Sky%20Diving%20Sept%2030%202006/37_13A.jpg
Me after I landed. My instructor is the guy behind me picking up the parachute.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Sky%20Diving%20Sept%2030%202006/42_18A.jpg
Me after, not realizing DH is taking a pic.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Sky%20Diving%20Sept%2030%202006/44_20A.jpg

[mariaandmanish]

And finally...

DH before and after his jump (with his instructor)
Before:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Sky%20Diving%20Sept%2030%202006/09_9A.jpg
After:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Sky%20Diving%20Sept%2030%202006/23_23A-1.jpg

On my BiL's computer is a pic of all of us, those who were part of our group, that was taken after we had all jumped. When I get to his computer, I'll post it! Hope you enjoyed!!

[mariaandmanish]

I sooooo want to go sky diving, but will have to go without, cause Joel says he will not go unless he is doing it for a job...lol!! One day I will go!!! It sounds like you had and awesome time!!!


If you're ever coming to the southern NY area for a vaca or anything and want to go, let me know and I'll go with you!!!

[WhiskeyGirl]

I love the candid-ness of the last photo that you didn't know Manish was taking!! You look so exilerated!! And refreshed!! You are my second hero man, Ellen is my first! lol

[mariaandmanish]

I love the candid-ness of the last photo that you didn't know Manish was taking!! You look so exilerated!! And refreshed!! You are my second hero man, Ellen is my first! lol

Thanks, Shawna! I love that picture too! It's a great shot!! I really can not say too often how amazing and wonderful and experience it was. And how NOT scary, too!! It's just soooo strange, and just.. WOW! :D :D

[hummingbird521]

The pictures are great Maria. You do look so exhilarated and excited. It must have been a real blast.

[SerendipityCrafts]

Cool pics! Love the one of you.

I am going to live vicariously through you (you brave girl!) because I don't think I could do it!

[mariaandmanish]

So, today in the mail we got a DVD copy of our wedding!! Not the professional video yet, we still have to give them some pictures and music which we're going to do this week since we have to go down for our photo design session. But, DH's cousin took video at the Mehendhi party, the wedding, and the reception, and sent us the DVD today!! YAY!! It was cool to watch, and I remembered things that I had forgotten!! It was really cool to relive it for a little while, and now I can't WAIT for the professional video!!!

[Jenn060306]

That sounds awsome! A friend of ours recorded the wedding as well. He gave us a little teaser a while ago it was fun to watch! Hopefully your pro video will come soon! :)

[mariaandmanish]

Well, as of sunrise this morning (10/10), I am fasting as part of DH's religion. In the hindu religion, once a year, married women complete an all day fast (from sunup to sundown) in order to ensure the long-life and prosperity of their husbands. While this is not my religion, it is our first year marriedn, and I do of course wan thim to have a long life and be prosperous. So, this year, I'm doing the full fast. What that entails is that until I see the moon tomorrow night, I can't eat or drink anything. Not even water. THen, in the evening, I have to go to temple and when I get back, look at the moon through water and pray for DH. I've had to take the day off work to do this, because if I'm active and not eating, then I will almost certainly pass out. Even if I don't pass out, the 35 minute drive home after work would be dangerous. So, tomorrow I'm doing as little as possible. Wish me luck!! I've never done a full day fast before, and I'm not looking forward to it!!! lol

[MOB Karen]

Good luck, Maria! I don't envy you at all. Hope you can do it!!! :)

[NicksBride]

Hope you are doing well. THose sky diving pictures are amazing. I so want to do that!! Congrats!

[mariaandmanish]

Today, for the 3rd time, I called back the photographer to set up the session for creating our photo album. I had originally called more than 2 weeks ago and was told I would hear back to set an apt within a week. It took more than 2, and I had to call them 3 times! I'm a bit annoyed about that, considering how much money we paid these people!!! Arg!

Anyway, the good news is that we've got our design scheduled. The bad news is that their earliest appointment is not until JANUARY!!! ARG!! I have to wait until January!! That's just sooooo annoying!!!!!

Anyway, at least it's done. Now we just have to wait. And, this weekend we have to stop by there anyway cause our Thank You cards are ready, and we have to drop off material for our video.

I think I'm going to call them soon anyway, and find out when our pics will be posted on the website, cause if that's not until January, that'll really bug me. I mean, I want to post pics, and not have to take pics of my prof pics to post them for people to see!! hehehe...

Anyway, there's more stuff going on, but I'm not allowed to post about it yet, since it's a secret and you never know who's reading these forums!!

[rainbowtreat]

I can't believe you went sky diving. That looked awsome. And how did the fasting go? Your still with us right? lol

[blueeyedbride]

Hey don't keep us in suspense.....

[mariaandmanish]

The fasting was okay. It was long though. Basically, on Monday night I stayed up til 4am and ate something right before I went to bed. Then, I slept til noon. THat was deliberate because I wanted to have to be awake druing the fast as short a time as possible! lol. Anyway, so I basically got up and sat around teh house doing as little as possible cause I didn't want to have to use a lot of energy. I was fine til about 5pm, and then I was moving around more getting stuff ready cause I had to go to temple. Then, I found I was shaking cause I was so hungry and I was a little light headed. THe worse part of it though was the inability to drink anything. My mouth was like sawdust!!!

So, at about 6:30 or so we left so that we could go to temple. DH drove, and we stopped to get a few more things I needed for the puja(religious ceremony, prayer service) at the temple and then went over to the temple. Being a woman's ceremony, DH couldn't go into temple with me, and of course I was all dressed up in Indian clothes, so some of the women inside were just looking at me, and I felt a bit uncomfortable. The puja was basically over when I got there, unfortunately, so I did my circle, went to the priest and gave my offering, and then left.

We came home and I was drying for some water, but couldn't have anything at all until I saw the moon. So I kept sending DH out to look for it, since I was technically not allowed to look at it directly. At 9:30 we finally found it, so we went out and I did the prayer stuff I was supposed to do and he gave me my first sip of water! THen, I got to eat.

At night, I woke up 6 or 7 times for a drink of water, cause I was just soooo thirsty!! But, I survived it and it wasn't really that horrible. I can guarantee though, that should I do this every year, i will never be able to work on that day. The drive alone is just scary. I get way to lightheaded for that.

As for the secret, let's just say that it has something to do with Katie Couric's news show on CBS. And when I get the date and details, I will definitely share them!!!

Also, yesterday, I got my thank you cards so I will work on them today after DH and I go to buy the gift he was supposed to get for me for my fast on Tuesday. ALso, we picked up the unedited video footage from our wedding yesterday, so I'm dying to watch it!! Going to do that later today too!! Yippee!!

[Jenn060306]

Wow... The fasting sounds so tough and interesting! That is so sweet that you did it even though it's not your religion. i would too. Are you allowed to swish water arround your mouth and spit it out so you don't get the dry mouth thing? I did that when they weren't letting me eat in the hospital and found super cold water helped with the dry mouth very much.
I'm sorry you have to wait so long to meet with the photographer. That is super fustrating! I think i would be going crazy aswell!

[mariaandmanish]

So I did all of my thank you cards yesterday, except for a few I forgot because they weren't on my gift list... you can imagine why! lol.... I have to buy stamps for them all tomorrow and then I'm going to put them in the mail. Our picture for the thank you cards is completely untraditional, and I can't wait til I have all my prof pics on disk so that I can share some more easily than photographing them!!!

Doing all the thank you cards was very tiring, but they're done now, so one more wedding thing I can cross off my list!!!

We had also picked up the unedited video footage on Saturday, so we watched it yesterday while I was doing the cards. It came out very very nice. FOr the most part you could hear everything during the ceremony that was important to hear, and there were very few problems with any of it. I imagine that the edited version will be great!! Some of the things right now are out of sequence, but I am sure that will be fixed during the edited version. THey are waiting on me to do the edited version, as I have to provide them with 15-30 photographs of DH and I to be put into the beginning of the video as a photo collage of our life together up to the wedding. I think that I'm also going to put some of our honeymoon pics there, too!! I also have to find a song, probably our first dance song! and put it on a CD and give that to them as well. They'll put the music on top of the photo collage.

Other than that, we're back to going to the gym three nights a week. We're supposed to exercise for an hour each night, but so far are at about 45-50 minutes and working our stamina back up to the hour. I need to lose the weight I've gained since the wedding!! And before the holiday season starts!!! Wish me luck!!

[hummingbird521]

good luck with the weight loss maria. I bet the wedding video is great.

[mariaandmanish]

So, today is a yucky weather day! It's raining and chilly and generally just not a nice day to be outside!

At the end of my school day today, I was heading up stairs to the photocopy machine and to drop off some books with another reading teacher, and the fire alarm went off. On my way outside, I ran into the teacher I share an office with and she told me it wasn't a planned fire drill. She knew that cause she was in the office with the principal when it went off!!

So, we're standing outside and talking about how if someone pulled the alarm and there's no fire, the school will get a fine. Next thing you know, the fire trucks (3 of them) come screaming down the street and the principal tells them the fire is from the 3rd floor boys bathroom!!! Yep, there was an actual fire in the school!!!!!

Now, I'm standing outside freezing cause I don't have my coat or anything, and we're all just waiting to find out that everything is okay and that we can go back inside. My school building is brand new, construction was literally just finished last year. So, when they built it, they put in a full camera system. So, after a while we're told that we're allowed to go back inside, but no one can go above the 1st floor because of all the smoke. The principal and others were replaying the security tapes to find out who was the last person in the boys bathroom before the alarm went off, and it turned out to be a 4th grade boy. I don't know exactly what happened, but he was the last person in and out before the alarm went off. When I finally left school at 3:40, the police were in the building with the child in question and his mother was being called to come in. My guess is that he will likely be charged with arson. Could you even imagine!!!

Then, when the alarm went off, someone saw a teacher, I don't know who, return up to the third floor (which was already filled with smoke) and go to her room and get her belongings. The principal was fuming!!! She's going to write the teacher up. And honestly, while I feel really bad for the teacher who's going to get written up, I think it's right that she does get written up. I mean, she should so NOT be going back up to her room when she's on a lower floor and the fire alarm goes off!! And then when she sees the smoke, that should be an even stronger indication that she needs to go back and get out of the building without her things!!! I can't even imagine what she was thinking!!!!

The good news is that no one was hurt, and by 3:30, teachers were being allowed to go back upstairs to get their things so that they could go home. That was good. The smoke was still pretty strong at that point, but they were letting them up with an escort. Even some kids were being allowed up so long as they had a teacher and fireman with them. Lucky for me, my office is on the first floor, so I was able to get my things easily. Thank goodness it wasn't worse, or I don't know how many of us would have gotten home since most of our things were inside the building, including our cars (garage) and car keys!!!

[Jenn060306]

Wow Maria, that's so bizzar and kinda scarey! Esp. when you find out that there really was a fire and not someone just pulling the alarm.
I'm glad everyone is ok and you were able to go home not too late!

[hummingbird521]

Glad you or no one else were hurt. Sorry to hear about it however. I hope they find out it was caused from something else and not a fourth grader.

[mariaandmanish]

Glad you or no one else were hurt. Sorry to hear about it however. I hope they find out it was caused from something else and not a fourth grader.

Unfortunately, we're sure it was the fourth grader. He was found with a lighter on him and he confessed to doing it. He definitely did it on purpose. The principal called a meeting this morning and showed us pictures of the damage to the bathroom. He lit a plastic soap dispenser on fire, and it was pretty bad. There are burn marks all the way up the mirror and the floor. The tiles are burned pretty badly, and the sink below where the soap dispenser was is cracked. The soap dispenser itself is just a mass of melted plastic. It's pretty bad, but could have been so much worse.

Apparently, our head custodian went up after getting radioed about where it was, and took a fire extinguisher and put the fire out. He was thanked, but also told never to do anything like it again. Especially since the smoke when he opened the door, a huge amount of black black smoke came out of the room and into his face. He could have been so hurt just from the smoke!!

THe child himself is undergoing mental evaluations and is being put into a program run by the fire department for youths who have lit fires. He is also being put on home schooling during this time, because clearly he's not capable of being in a school. Unfortunately, he's a danger to himself and many other's right now. Luckily for him, it was his first offense, so as far as I know at this point, no formal charges have been filed against him. Hopefully, this incident is the last incident he'll ever have and the fact that it happened right now will be best for him. Keep him and his family in your thoughts; they definitely need it right now.

[hummingbird521]

How sad to know another youth is messed up in this world. Maybe he has got a chance now.

[Jenn060306]

I'm glad to hear that they are getting help for the boy. It's scarey when they do things that young. Hopefully they will be able to help him and he can lead a normal life again at some point.
The damage sounds really bad. It's a blessing that nobody was hurt!

[brewsells]

I'm so glad no one was hurt.. Unfortunatly, that is just something little kids, espeically boys, do.. Fire is so interesting. He will think twice though, because I know what the kids see when they go to those classes the fire dept holds. They show videos of burn victims and often times take them to the burn unit. It really is graphic. My son already knows alot about what fire can do. DH dad was severely burnt in an explosion, so we constantly remind him of what fire can do.

[SerendipityCrafts]

So glad to hear no one was hurt. It's so sad to hear of yet another "messed up child".

Can't wait to hear more about the secret tv thang!

Oh and I am so happy to hear that you are just getting around to your thank you notes now. And here I was, feeling badly that we haven't sent our out yet! DH did 99% of them last night. I just have to do the notes for my kids, and my mother. We have the stamps and they are good to go on Monday!

[mariaandmanish]

Well, yesterday was Diwali. Happy Diwali to all!!

We pretty much spent the day relaxing, which is good. I got up pretty early, and then I went to Linens & Things for a new shower curtain and a salad dressing bottle, so I could make ranch salad dressing for our "party". Then, DH and I went out and bought me a Bread Maker. We bought him an Ice Cream Maker on THrusday night! I love appliances!! I've gotten so many gifts lately!!!

For my fast, he had to buy me a gift so we chose a beautiful double heart pendant...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Wedding%20Ideas%20for%20Onewed/heartpendant2.jpghttp://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Wedding%20Ideas%20for%20Onewed/heartpendant1.jpg
I love it. Then, because it was my first Diwali as a married woman, he had to get me a gift for that too! That's why I got my bread maker. Now, normally I don't like to get appliances as gifts, but in this case, it's okay. How much jewelry can the man buy me??!!! lol.

So, now I have to go out and get bread flour so that I can make some bread. And he's got to make some ice cream!!

Anyway, as I was saying, yesterday was Diwali and we had some people over for a little dinner party of a sort. I made butter chicken (an Indian recipe) for the first time,a nd it came out tasting just like my MiL's recipe, only not as spicy. My guests liked it. I also made Ranch Dressing from a recipe I got and that went over well also. Then, we ordered some other Vegetarian Indian food from an Indian restaurant, cause DH and my BiL couldn't eat meat yesterday. All in all, everything was well liked, even by my friends who don't like spicy food!

After the party was over, basically around 10:30, some of us drove up to Foxwoods in CT (about an hour and 45 mins from my house) and went gambling for a few hours. DH and I did not win, as usual, but we didn't spend any more than we had brought to spend, so that was good. And, we did come home with $20, so it was good. It was fun, though thankfully not something we do too often. We got home this morning at 4:30am, and therefore slept til almost 1. It was good. Now, I have to finish cleaning up the kitchen. Our dishwasher seems to be having a problem, so we're trying to get it fixed so that I don't have to wash all the dishes by hand. Dishes are my least favorite chore after cleaning the bathroom!!!

And, for the rest of today, I've got to do some lesson planning and cleaning. All in all, though, it was a fun day yesterday. I like small dinner parties, everyone can talk and hang out, and there aren't so many people that you can't talk with everyone.

[hummingbird521]

Sounds like your party was a hit. Congrats on that. I too have a bread maker and have thought about selling it. I just don't like the taste of the bread. It doesn't have that yeast taste like doing it by hand. Let me know how you like yours. Glad your party was a success.

[mariaandmanish]

I'm feeling very upset lately about my new job that I took. THe reason is that I feel like I'm working under a microscope, everyone is watching what I'm doing, and I feel like I'm being judged. All of that, unfortunately, is somewhat true. I'm working daily in 5 different classes with 5 different teachers, who are watching what I'm doing, sometimes closely. I'm supposed to be the "expert" being a "specialist" and all, but it's making me a bit uncomfortable. I think it's mostly because I really don't like to be put on the spot, and that's just what this job is, all day long!!!

I guess I'll get used to it, and once I get to know my teachers better, I won't feel so exposed, I guess. But, right now, I"m just very unhappy and wondering if I made a mistake in taking this position. This job is good, in that it is very challenging (as you can tell!!) both on a professional and personal level. It's very difficult to plan lessons for 5 different grade levels every day, and then the added pressure of being watched doesn't help!!

I keep thinking that if I had the same position in my old school amongst teachers that I know and have a personal relationship with, I wouldn't be so uncomfortable and unhappy. By that thinking, I know that all I really have to do is give it some time and hope I'll feel better as I get to know the teacher's better both professionally and personally. But, it doesn't really help. I'm just very unhappy right now.

DH is being great about it... he keeps telling me how lucky this new school is to have me, and how upset my old principal must be knowing that with all the new stresses on him that he doesn't have me to "show off". It's so sweet of him, and I know how hard he is trying to make me feel better. I really appreciate how hard he's trying, and he doesn't even know if I'm a good teacher, cause he's never seen me teach!! I love him for that! :)

I guess it's just all left up to time. :(

[hummingbird521]

Maybe after being at this position for a while you won't be watched so closely. It is probably simply because you are NEW to them. I can understand though about changes being hard for you about it. I sometimes kick myself in the behind for not keeping my job I had when moving here just for the sake of comfort as well. But I can't go back now. So hang in there and time will pass and they will grow comfortable with you.

[Goin2thechapel]

Sounds like you married a wonderful man!!

Glad that he's soo supportive of you. Keep your head up hun, I hate starting new jobs. If it makes you feel better, I'm starting a new job on Monday!

It's in a prison :) (That should make you feel somewhat better)

[Jenn060306]

Your new necklase is beautiful! I love appliances too! lol. I dunno why, it's like a new toy! :laugh:
I'm glad to hear your party went well and everyone enjoyed the food! I loove butter chicken! Is it difficult to make?

I'm sorry that you're not feeling so great about your new job. They are mostlikely still trying to get a feel for you and learn more about you. Hopefully soon it will all come together for you! I'm sure your old school misses you lots! Your new school is very lucky to have a sweetheart like you working there!

[mariaandmanish]

Thanks for the support everyone!!! I know I'm just being silly, and I'll be fine eventually. It's mostly just me second guessing myself!! So far, everyone has only complimented me on what I've been doing and how impressed they are, but they do it in a way that sounds like they're surprised!!!! I'll get over it as soon as I get more used to it and they get more used to me. Also, I think I need to build my self-confidence as far as my teaching goes, so that's something I'm going to work on!!

[mariaandmanish]

I loove butter chicken! Is it difficult to make?

It is really not difficult at all to make, but the recipe seems difficult!! The main trick is to precook the chicken and add it to the sauce at the end of that cooking process. If you'd like the recipe, I have it!!!

[Jenn060306]

It is really not difficult at all to make, but the recipe seems difficult!! The main trick is to precook the chicken and add it to the sauce at the end of that cooking process. If you'd like the recipe, I have it!!!
That would be great! I could surprise Mark with something new and different! I much prefer to pre cook the chicken. I don't worry so much about it not being done that way.
Thanks Maria!

[mariaandmanish]

I haven't really been in a great mood lately, so I've had nothing to write. I'm trying to come to terms with my new job and missing my old one. It's a day to day kind of thing. One day I'm fine with it, and two days later, I'm down in the dumps again. I'm trying to figure out what's causing the unhappiness. I mean, if it were just the job, wouldn't I be upset everyday? I don't know!! ARG!!!


Anyway, on Saturday DH and I had the evening to ourselves. We went to the movies and saw The Departed. It was pretty good. Long and a little dull in some spots, but definitely worth going to see. We went to a 10:30pm movie, so we didn't get out of the theater until almost 1:30am. It was really nice though just to go out and do something that was just the two of us.

Then, yesterday, DH and my BiL went to the Giants Game. They had a great time, made even better by the fact that the Giants won. I had the day to myself, so I made homemade ice cream and homemade bread using our new appliances. Both came out very very tasty, so that was good. It took me forever to find yeast though!! I had to go to 2 different grocery stores, and ask someone for help before I could find it! The 2nd grocery store keeps it in the dairy section next to the butter!! Now, why would I think to look there???!! lol.

Anyway, right now I'm not feeling very well. I have a dull headache... and I'm slightly nauseous. I think I might not go to work tomorrow if I feel like this in the morning. Not that I should take a day off, but I get 15 sick days a year, I should use them every once in a while, don't you think?? again, lol

In other news, I had mentioned in some thread that DH just bought a brand new SLR digital camera. Today, he got a lens that he had ordered so that we could get a larger rebate for the items. It's a macro lens (meaning for those who don't know... that it can take a pic of a teeny tiny flower from really really close up!lol) and he's upstairs right now using it. If I feel better tomorrow, I plan on trying it out when I get home from work. It's supposed to be in the lower 60's tomorrow, so it will be a nice day to stand outside taking pics of the few flowers that are left! If I can't find any, I'll take some close up shots of some leaves. If I get any worth posting, I'll post.

[mariaandmanish]

Last night, I had really bad heartburn that woke me up at 4am, so I decided to stay home from work today. About noon, I went out to Michaels and got some Halloween Decorations at 50% off... and came home and put them up. Nothing like waiting til the last minute right?? lol

Then, I took our new camera and lens and went outside to take some pictures. Luckily, we are having beautiful weather here today ... mid 60's, sunny and beautiful. I spent about 30 minutes or so, took some pics of the flowers and a water sout attached to the side of the house. The new camera and lens are pretty good!!

As soon as I resize them I will post some. And, in the meantime, I hope that everyone is having a Great Halloween Day!! and that you will all have an even better Halloween Evening, no matter whether you're going out or staying home!! Happy Halloween!!!

A pink flower just outside our front steps.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Wedding%20Ideas%20for%20Onewed/IMG_0250.jpg

[hummingbird521]

Beautiful picture Maria. You have a very Happy Halloween as well.

[mariaandmanish]

And in other news, I called the phtoography company today and our pictures will be posted on their website by the end of the week!! YAY!! When I get the link, I will be sure to paste it here. The only thing is that there are almost 2500 pics, so I won't blame anyone if they don't look at all of them!! LOL!!

I call this Red Velvet, cause the flower looks like velvet...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Wedding%20Ideas%20for%20Onewed/IMG_0284a.jpg
And another of the same flower:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Wedding%20Ideas%20for%20Onewed/IMG_0283.jpg
The Water Spout on the side of the house...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Wedding%20Ideas%20for%20Onewed/IMG_0302.jpg
And finally... a pipe on the side of the house that is all rusted out...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Wedding%20Ideas%20for%20Onewed/IMG_0320.jpg

[Jenn060306]

Maria your photos are soooo beautiful! You are iincredibally talented!

[ladymelissa]

Those pictures are awesome!

[mariaandmanish]

Thanks Melissa, Treasia and Jenn for the compliments!!! I appreciate it. This is the hobby that DH and I picked up a few years ago. It's great cause it gives us something to do together. Unfortunately, lol, it's an expensive hobby!!! But, worth it, as we get really good pictures most of the time! Well, unless we completely mess up, we atleast like our pics... can't say the same is always true of professional photographers, but it's okay!!!

:) :)

[mariaandmanish]

So, the secret is out, I guess, and I will share. Today, one of the classes that I am assigned to in the building was videotaped by CBS news (Katie Couric's show) demo-ing a new program created by Scholastic and Mohammad Ali. Being assigned to the class, I was one of the teacher's in the room during the taping. I don't think that I will be on the segment that they're going to show, but hey, you never know. And leading up to the day it was highly suggested that I might be. So. the segment is airing next week on the CBS Evening News (between 6:30 and 7 here in NY ~ whenever Katie Couric is on in any other time zone!LOL) either next wednesday (8th) or thursday (9th). Not sure on the date cause of the elections on Tuesday. I thought I would share with you all though. If you watch it and see a black skirt, lol, that's me!!!

As for everything else, I'm back and forth on how I feel about my job. Somedays I'm fine and go in and have no problems with my feelings, and other days, I can barely get out of bed I am dreading it so much. I don't know why I'm so back and forth, but I'm working hard to try to figure it out! Wish me luck!!!

Now, it's the weekend! And next week is a 3 day week. Technically, it's 4 days, but only 3 with kids. On Tues, there are no kids cause of election day but the teachers have to be in for Professional Development. One of the workshops I will be running with another specialist for the K-2 teachers. This will be the first workshop that I give, so I'm pretty nervous about that too!!! Oh, well!! I knew I had to do these things... it's in the job description! LOL!

THis weekend I'm going to try to think about it as little as possible. Mainly cause I get really nervous speaking in front of my peers!

[countrygirl]

Hey Maria, your pics look great. And I will totally watch the news to see if I see anything. How exciting. Did you get to meet Katie Couric?

[Jenn060306]

I will have to check to see when we get her. I know we do. I will be looking!

[hummingbird521]

How neat Maria. I will be looking for you on the tv here.

[mariaandmanish]

I am trying really hard not to call my photographer and scream at them!!! Our wedding was 3 months ago and we are supposed to have our photos available online for viewing. No one said anything to me about when it was to be put up, so I sent and email requesting information about it, and then last Tuesday called the person responsible for making them available. When I spoke with her LAST tuesday, I was told they would be up by the end of last week. It is now a week later, and no photos. So, at 3:30 today, I called her again for an update, and was told they would be up by the end of the day and that I would receive an email with confirmation, as well as the link and password. Well, the end of the day for them is 9pm (EST). It is now 9:19... and... guess what?... no email and no pics!!! I am SOOOOO FRUSTRATED!!!:hothead: :hothead:
My mother has asked me now 4 times for the link so that she can see our pictures. She lives 5+ hours from me, so it's not like I can show her my proofs. My father who lives in Fl. is also asking almost every other day.

So, anyway, at 9:10, I sent the girl an email and expressed that I had still not received any information and that I am trying very hard to be patient, but that I have family who are requesting the pictures and I need the link. So, I think that if I haven't gotten confirmation by 4pm tomorrow, I am calling my original salesperson and am going to have her take care of it. We paid over $3000 for our photos and video... and part of that cost was online viewing. Arg!!!

Any other suggestions of what I can do to get this taken care of immediately?

[mariaandmanish]

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our professional wedding pictures are online finally!!!!! There are 2587 pictures! Can you believe it!!! lol.... I wanted to just post the link on here, but it uses my first and last name (maiden) as username, so if you'd like to see them, please PM me, and I will be happy to share!!! I'm soooo excited! YAY!!!

Otherwise, CBS Evening News will be playing the segment they taped in my school this evening between 6:30 and 7pm (EST). I'm looking forward to seeing that as well, even knowing I'm not likely to be on it... they're still my kids! lol.

And, that's about it. Mostly just enjoying the warm weather while it lasts. And, that's made easier, cause there is no school for me tomorrow. So, I'm going to get up and go to my old school and visit. I'll share pics too, if nayone wants to see them!

[mariaandmanish]

Okay, so I figured out how to share without sharing tooo much!!! You all know my first name, so I don't have to paste that. And my last name is c.......o...c...h.....r....a.....n.......e (w/out the ellipses! of course!!! lol).

SO the site is

www.collages.net (http://www.collages.net)
The user name is my first and last names with a space between the words. and the password is 10874. It will ask you for your first name and email, but that info just logs you into the guestbook which is only viewable by me and DH. If you decide to look, enjoy!

[WhiskeyGirl]

It asks for an email. Is that going to screw up anything if I put mine in?

[mariaandmanish]

It asks for an email. Is that going to screw up anything if I put mine in?

Nope, not at all.... it just adds your name and email to the guest book. Only me and DH can see that, so there's no worries, unless you don't want to share it. Glad to see you back, Shawna!

[WhiskeyGirl]

Nope, not at all.... it just adds your name and email to the guest book. Only me and DH can see that, so there's no worries, unless you don't want to share it. Glad to see you back, Shawna!

Thanks Maria! I'm so glad to be back! I have no worries about you knowing my email!! :D

ETA- Beautiful pictures so far Maria!! :D You make a beautiful Bride!

[Goin2thechapel]

Maria,

I loved the pictures. Your henna came out awesome. I especially loved the blue outfit. looks like a great time was had by all :)

[nic1124]

Wow! Those pics are amazing!!! Seriously how many is there? Theres gotta be more than 1,000! Everything looked beautiful. Especially you. You have a great profile you are so lucky. I look awful from the side. Anyway wow again. :) Congrats, you will have an awesome wedding album!

[ladymelissa]

You are gorgeous! You looked so perfect like a porcelain doll! Everything looked fabulous!

[MOB Karen]

Just beautiful, Maria!!! I especially love this picture of you and Manish. It is just gorgeous!!! :)
http://www.collages.net/EventImages3NAS2/191000/191330/_MG_1517P.jpg

[Jacklynn]

Your pictures are amazing! It is going to be soo hard for you to go through them and decide what you want, there are soooo many to go through! Congrats on getting such great pictures!

[mariaandmanish]

Thanks, everyone!!! I was very pleased with them. That is one of our favorites, Karen.. and is definitely going in the album. As for the album, it has been almost impossible to choose... since there were so many and we're only able to use 40!

[WhiskeyGirl]

Thanks, everyone!!! I was very pleased with them. That is one of our favorites, Karen.. and is definitely going in the album. As for the album, it has been almost impossible to choose... since there were so many and we're only able to use 40!

Oh man!!! Its always hard to pick when it comes to the album!! I remember that all too well! lol

[BriansBride07]

Amazing wedding pictures. Thanks for sharing. You made a beautiful bride. It looked like it was a beautiful wedding. and enjoyed by all.

[mariaandmanish]

So things have been busy around here lately. Not that that is unusual. The TV news episode has not been on yet, so that's a bit annoying for the kids. It really stinks that htey keep waiting and waiting for it to be on, and it just isn't. Oh, well... we're supposed to get a copy anyway, so at least we should be able to show them when we get it.

In other news, this evening was Parent/Teacher Conferences. I really miss having my own class. Made clear tonight, as I had a much harder time talking to the parents about their kids than I've ever had. I just don't have that teacher/student rapport and I miss that. The new job is coming along well, though. I feel like I'm really starting to get my footing in the place, which is a nice change from how I've been feeling about it.

My in-laws are back from India. They came back last night. My BiL went to the airport to pick them up, then took them home to my other BiL's house in NJ. DH had to go as well, to bring my BiL back. So I was home alone last night til about 11, which was quiet. Then, they came home and we had a piece of cake because it was BiL's bday. He was 25 yesterday. He opened his presents, and we went to bed.

Now, today, I almost died! Seriously, people need to learn how to drive!!!! I was driving down a random road, and the light ahead of me turned red. I was going about 50, which is standard for that street. Anyway, the light turns red, so I slow down and stop. Well, the car that was behind me either wasn't paying attention, or simply didn't care, and didn't slow down. I'm looking in my mirror and see this white car coming at me at 50 mph, and I have NO place to go!!! I'm like, Sh&*, I'm going to die!! OR atleast get a serious case of whiplash and a totaled car!!!... Luckily, at some point the idiot noticed that I was stopped, and swerved onto the shoulder on the side of the road, swerved by me and went through the red light at about 45 mph. Keep in mind, as the idiot swerved, he only missed my car by a few inches, and then only cause I swerved a little bit to the left, barely missing the car in that lane!! I hate idiot drivers!!!!

[Jenn060306]

ARRRGH! I totally hate feeling hopelessly trapped when i can see someone eles is going to do somthing really stupid on the road and i can't get away from it. I've had the same thing happen where the car had to swerve arround me to miss re-ending me. I'm glad that he looked up in time to see you and avoid you!

Im glad you're feeling more settled in your job. I always enjoyed the teacher parents confrences. I don't know why though.

[NicksBride]

What gorgeous pictures!! You guys looked wonderful!!

[mariaandmanish]

Well, I have now learned the truth about priorities on television. I mean, knew it before, but it just bugs me.

So, as you have read, a class that I work with was taped working on a brand new program for the Katie Couric News Show on CBS. We wre originally told that it would be airing on Nov. 8th. Then, they called and switched it to the following Wed (the 15th). It wasn't aired either day. Today, they called us and said that it would be on tonight. Well, as usual, I've sat here watching the news (and keep in mind I don't like the Katie Couric show, or the news in general) and of course, it wasn't on again. I'm getting so annoyed. Not because I care if I am on television or not, but the point of this is that this is something that highlights something good that is going on in our schools, something that is reaching the kids in a positive way. And, they don't show it at all. It's so frustrating that their priorities are always on bad stuff, or stuff we could care less about. Tonight it was apparently bumped either because of the Seinfeld guys racist remarks, or the fact that the OJ Simpson book isn't going to be made. I mean, seriously, these kids have been waiting for 3 weeks to see themselves on TV and I would for once, like to see something positive about our schools on TV!! ARG!!! :irked:

Anyway!!! I just had to vent about this as it really bugged me! In the meantime, I had an exhausting weekend!!! Wed was my BiL's 25 bday, and he decided that we had to party all weekend long to celebrate it properly! I'm not a drinker at all, and I value my sleep, so....
On Friday night, we went to a bar and hung out until about 2am. THen, one friend was so drunk that he literally collapsed on our hallway floor, with his feet in the bathroom (where he'd spent a good while vomiting!) and his face in our dining room floor! He fianlly crawled up the stairs to where he was sleeping a half hour later, and collapsed on the floor at the top of the stairs! It was unbelievable! I think I got to bed about 2:30 or so.

Then, Saturday night, BiL wanted to go to a club in the city. So, we did. We got there around 11pm, and left at 2. However, since most of us were hungry, we stopped for food and didn't get home until 4:15, and by the time we got to sleep it was almost 5am. Then, I woke up at 11:30. So, last night I was exhausted!!! I went to bed at 9:30 last night, and still had trouble waking up this morning at 7am. And to top it all off, my throat is killing me! Thank goodness it's a short work week!!! And, DH is going to pick me up some throat losenges on his way home from the gym tonight.

[WhiskeyGirl]

That sucks that they keep lying about when it's going to be on!! I hope they get it on the air soon!!!!

[ladymelissa]

I hope they air that segment! That is so frustrating!

[Valmai]

First time ive had chance to look at ur pics and i have to say they are wonderful it lovely to see a different style of wedding it looked fabulous! xxx

[Jenn060306]

What a pain. You've been waiting so long and now people doing stupid things in the world is over shadowing the really positive things people are doing. I saw that video of what the Kramar guys said. It's horrible! I have no respect for him any longer!

I hope you feel better soon. Your weekend sounds really interesting.

[mariaandmanish]

Thanksgiving is over! The Christmas season has arrived! YAY!!!!

Thanksgiving was nice. We stayed home and had a friend come over for dinner. Since there were only 4 of us, I only bought a turkey breast, and cooked that instead of a whole turkey. It was only 5 and a half pounds, so I only had to cook it for about 2 and a half hours. Therefore, I started cooking at about 12:30. I made the turkey, studding, mashed potatoes with homemade gravy, and broccoli. We also had cranberry sauce, rolls, and salad with homemade ranch dressing. Dinner was at 3:30 or so, and then after dinner we had pumpkin pie for dessert. DH made homemade Espresso Ice Cream as well, and it was strong according to him! (I don't like coffee at all). Later in the evening, we watched some movies (The Cave - not worth watching, and Cars - which I loved!) Then we watched ER and our friend went home and we went to bed. DH had to work today, so...

My BiL went shopping last night, and he's gone again today! He wanted me to go with him, but I have NO patience with the lines that I've seen at all the stores on the news! I've told him that I won't mind going tomorrow, if he wants to go then! Meanwhile, he left here about an hour and a half ago and Ic an only hope he found parking wherever he ended up! lol

Some pics of my dinner table yesterday:
Our table set before the dinner was ready. The candle holders were a wedding gift.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Wedding%20Ideas%20for%20Onewed/tablebeforedinner.jpg
And our table with dinner on it... as you can see, not too much, but there were only 4 of us, so! lol
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Wedding%20Ideas%20for%20Onewed/tablewithdinneronit.jpg

So tomorrow it looks like I'm going shopping. I will try to get my Christmas shopping started (if not finished, wish me luck! lol) and on Sunday we have a dinner for a friends' 30th Birthday. We're going to Outback Steakhouse! I love their food!!

I can't wait to start decorating for Christmas. I think tomorrow or Sunday morning I will be heading up into the attic to pull out the decorations! ANd, since our house is bigger this year, I will be heading to Michaels for some more discounted decorations!!!

[WhiskeyGirl]

I love your table setting, it is so nice!! And the food looks yummy!!!!!! :D I can't wait to see your Christmas tree decorations!! :D

[Jenn060306]

Everything looks great Maria! Sounds like you guys had a wonderful day! Good luck with the shopping tommorrow! You are a brave woman!

[ladymelissa]

Your table looks amazing! I can't wait to see your Christmas decorations.

Espresso ice cream, Yummy!

[MOB Karen]

Your table looks so nice, Maria!!! Good luck on the Christmas shopping!!! :)

[mariaandmanish]

Well, as it turns out, DH was dying to go shopping yesterday when he got home from work. He had to work a half day. So, at 2 or so yesterday, we went out to the stores for shopping. We went to Costco, Walmart, Circuit City and Target and got most of the kids that we have to buy for taken care of. That was nice. And, amazingly enough, none of the stores were crowded at all. We had no trouble with parking, or long lines at all. I was very pleasantly shocked!!!! We got home around 6 or so, and then wrapped all the presents we had purchased. We had wrapping paper and tags since the middle of October when we saw a lot on sale at Costco. Figured, we'd pick it up then and have it so that we didn't have to worry about it.

Then, today, we went shopping again. Today, we went to an Outlet Shopping Center in CT. It's about an hour from our house, but the tax is a lot cheaper, and there is no tax on clothes or shoes. NY has tax on everything!!We left this morning at about 10:30, and got there at about 11:30. We ate and then shopped literally until 4pm. That's when we got back in the car! I am sooo tired and my feet are killing me! lol

But, I managed to get 12 out of 17 people's gifts between yesterday and today. I have 5 main gifts to get, as well as two collectable items that I do every year for my neices and nephews. Other than that, I'm done! And, of course, when I got home, I wrapped everything!! I even managed to get some stocking stuffers for DH and my BiL! Yay! I love being almost done! The last little bit, I know exactly where to go to get them. Except for DH and my BiL. I really don't know what to get either of them this year. It's really annoying!!! Arg!! Hehehe.. and tomorrow, it's off to the attic to pull out the Christmas decorations!!! YAY!!!!! I love this season!!!!

[WhiskeyGirl]

I can't wait to see what your Christmas tree will look like!!! Go pull those decorations out! lol

[mariaandmanish]

We don't get to get the tree for two whole more weeks.:( We always get a live one so we wait until a few weeks before Christmas before we get it. But, the rest is coming out and going up very soon!!!

[WhiskeyGirl]

I'm sure the time will fly by and then you'll have your fresh tree. :D I can't wait!! ;)

[ladymelissa]

I can't wait to see some pics!!! I love Christmas decorations!

[mariaandmanish]

I am so impatient!! I couldn't even wait until today to get the decorations out!! I went upstairs last night and pulled out the boxes and bags. I didn't do anything other than that, though, except to hang our wreath on the door. We have to go shopping for a friend's bday present today, and then to her party, so I don't know if I'll get anything done today, but as soon as I have a few free minutes, Christmas decorations here I come!!!!! lol

[WhiskeyGirl]

YAY!! Christmas decorations!!! I'd come help but we just got a dump of snow and the roads are icey! *Shucks!!!* Have fun when you get around to decorating, can't wait ot see pics!

[mariaandmanish]

So, as of now, we have all of our downstairs outside lights and decorations done up. I still have to do all of the inside things, including the tree, but I'm happy cause our house looks Christmasy from outside! Yay!! Almost all of my Christmas presents are bought too. I only have DH and stocking stuffers left! I feel so relieved. It's really early for me to only have those left, too! Yay!!

Here are pics of the outside.. you can't really see, but there is silver garland wrapped around our railing and a wreath on the door.

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Wedding%20Ideas%20for%20Onewed/IMG_1660.jpg
Darker, to see the lights...I like how the lights around the window ended up shaped like a sled! We're going to add more lights to frame the entire window... probably tomorrow. I just need help and no one was home to help me today!
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Wedding%20Ideas%20for%20Onewed/IMG_1663.jpg
And here are all of our Presents, wrapped and pretty, just waiting for the tree so they can look prettier!!!

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Wedding%20Ideas%20for%20Onewed/IMG_1664.jpg

[WhiskeyGirl]

It looks great!! And wow, is one of those pressies for me??? Lol. Just teasing!! I can't wait to see more piccies!! I love pics!!

I just have stocking stuffers and two things to get left too. (and two to return, stupid me ordering the wrong size!!) But I have no clue what I should get Matt for stocking stuffers this year!! *sigh*

[mariaandmanish]

It looks great!! And wow, is one of those pressies for me??? Lol. Just teasing!!

You'll have one from me in just a few months!!!!!

[WhiskeyGirl]

You'll have one from me in just a few months!!!!!

:) I know!! You are such a sweet heart!!! Thank you again!! :D

[ladymelissa]

Oh wow, I love your x-mas lights. You did a fabulous job!

[BriansBride07]

The decorations outside look great. And your right the lights do like like a sleigh.. I can't wait to see pic's of your tree.

[mariaandmanish]

My Christmas Cards are Done!! YAY!!! I just filled them all out and put them in the envelopes! Going to the post office for stamps tomorrow!!!! It really does feel like Christmas! I'm so ahead of myself this year!!! LOL

[hummingbird521]

Maria it looks wonderful. I like the sleigh lights too. You done such a good job on wrapping the presents.

[mariaandmanish]

Maria it looks wonderful. I like the sleigh lights too. You done such a good job on wrapping the presents.

Thanks, Treasia! And unfortunately I did wrap most of them, though this year at least, my BiL wrapped a bunch. In previous years tthe only presents I didn't wrap were the ones for me! LOL

Tonight, I survived my very first Parent Workshop. In NY we have this HUGE language arts test that the kids in grades 3-8 take in January of every year. In my school, it's only 3-5, but... so what we did was "teach" the parents what they could do at home to help support what we're doing in the classroom. It was very nerve wracking, because I'm not a really big fan of any kind of public speaking, and my principal, assistant principal and some district office people were there watching as well. And, one of the district people was The ELA Supervisor for the district. It went well, though, and the parents really gave the impression that they were interested and learned something. Let's just hope that they actually put it into effect.

Tomorrow will be a pretty easy workday. 90% of the school population is going to watch the Nutcracker Ballet, so I have no classes to teach. Then, at 11am, I'm leaving to go to a luncheon that is honoring a retired teacher (who is currently substituting for someone who's been out sick for 2 months). Then, when the luncheon is ovr, we've been told that we can leave for home. So, hopefully I'll be able to come home a little bit early! I'm so exhausted from the stress of preparing for a workshop!

[WhiskeyGirl]

I started my Cards weeks ago, and you beat me to finishing them! lol. Good on ya for being on the ball, unlike me! lol

[ladymelissa]

I am glad the workshop went so well! Congrats!

Too bad you don't get to go to The Nutcracker. But, at least you get to go home early.

[mariaandmanish]

Well, on Friday I did get home a little early. Normally I get out of work at 3 and get home sometime between 3:30 and 3:45. On Friday, I had the luncheon through work, and the lunch was two towns over from mine. So, we left there at about 2 and I was home by 2:20, so it was really cool. An hour is small, but nice.

For the weekend we really didn't do too much. DH finished some more of his shopping on Saturday during the day, and I got my secret santa gift for work. Then, Sat night we had date night (double date) with a friend of ours and his Gf. We went to the movies and saw Touristas, the new movie about the American Tourists. It wasn't really scary, but it certainly teaches you a lesson about staying near big cities when you travel!!! lol

On Sunday, we hung out and watched football. I'm in the midst of crocheting a blanket, so I worked on that a bit as well. It's almost a quarter of the way done. I also wrapped the last bit of Christmas gifts that I have here already. Now, I'm just waiting for DH's last gift to arrive and I'm officially finished!! lol

Last night we went to the gym. And now today, my back really hurts. Mostly, it's my neck going down my back to where my bra strap is. I don't know what caused it, and am hoping that it's just a muscle pain. I put a bengay patch on it and I'm hoping that helps. If not, I'll be taking tomorrow off from work and going to the Dr. to have it checked out. Wish me luck!!

[SaralovesMike]

Last night we went to the gym. And now today, my back really hurts. Mostly, it's my neck going down my back to where my bra strap is. I don't know what caused it, and am hoping that it's just a muscle pain. I put a bengay patch on it and I'm hoping that helps. If not, I'll be taking tomorrow off from work and going to the Dr. to have it checked out. Wish me luck!!

Any chance it could just be a pinched nerve?
Any sort of back pain is just miserable! Hopefully you're feeling better so you don't have to see a DR. Good luck!

Not fair! Christmas cards are done and the shopping is almost done? Wanna come do mine? LOL

[mariaandmanish]

Any chance it could just be a pinched nerve?
Any sort of back pain is just miserable! Hopefully you're feeling better so you don't have to see a DR. Good luck!

Thanks, Sara... I have had pinched nerves before and this doesn't feel the same. But I could have simply strained a muscle at the gym last night, so I'm trying just to take it easy tonight and hope that the bngay patch works. Dh has offered an easy massage tonight as well, so it should get better!

Not fair! Christmas cards are done and the shopping is almost done? Wanna come do mine? LOL

Hehe!! No!!! LOL!! I've seriously NEVER been this much done this early! It's great! I feel so relaxed about Christmas this year!

[ladymelissa]

I hope your neck feels better, try taking some Ibuprofen as well.

Your weekend sounds like it was fantastic!

[Goin2thechapel]

Maria I am so Jealous of you!!!
I wish I could get my behind in gear and start my cards and shopping..Ughhh..You're soo lucky..LOL

[SaralovesMike]

Dh has offered an easy massage tonight as well, so it should get better!

I would TOTALLY take him up on that!


Hehe!! No!!! LOL!! I've seriously NEVER been this much done this early! It's great! I feel so relaxed about Christmas this year!

I know it's a great feeling not to be stressed this time of year. I'm jealous!
Our cards will be out by the weekend and we hope to get a good chunk if not all of our shopping done as well. Then it's time to sit back and let it all happen! :)

[BriansBride07]

Argh so sorry that your back is bothering you. THat is the worse believe me I know my back is horrible.. It sounds like it is just a pulled muscle. Try a moist heating pad that works wonders on muscle aches. You can leave it on for 20 min then take off for an hour then apply again. I hope it feels better soon.

[WhiskeyGirl]

I'm finished my shopping too! :D and my cards are in the mail as well. I still haven't pulled out my crocheting though! lol. We're always on teh same wave length Maria!! :D

[mariaandmanish]

It's true, Shawna, we are!! Two parts of one soul? lol


Anyway, I did end up taking today off. The bengay last night didn't really help at all, and I hurt a little more today than I did yesterday. I'm pretty sure it'sj ust a pulled muscle as DH came home for lunch today and felt the muscles in the area and said that they are really tight. He's guaranteed me a massage tonight when he gets home from work. I was going to run out and do some errands this afternoon - go to the bank, and get some Christmas gifts shipped through UPS. But, DH suggested that I stay home and just rest and I can do all that tomorrow. So, I'm being the good wife and listening! lol... I did take a very hot shower and that loosened it up a little bit, but that's all I can say at the moment. We'll see how it is later! lol

It stinks that I'm home because of pain because I really wanted to fix the Christmas lights outside that have died. Now I can't cause I can't stretch far enough to reach. :(

So, now I'm sitting around and trying not to move around too much. Stuck watching Soap Operas! LOL! Though, I don't mind them too much... you could not watch them for years and still know what's going on!!!

Thanks for all the well wishes ladies.

[WhiskeyGirl]

Isn't that the truth about soaps!! lol

[ladymelissa]

DH suggested that I stay home and just rest
That is advice worth taking. LOL

Sorry, you were stuck watching soaps. I hope you feel better very soon. :)

[Jenn060306]

Bummer on being home stuck not able to do anything. Hopefully you'll be feeling better soon! Soaps are definatly no fun either!
Enjoy your message!

[WhiskeyGirl]

Enjoy your message!

And then send your massauese my way!! lol

[NicksBride]

Sorry you are feeling so bad!!! I hate backaches, I find that lying on teh floor helps although it does look weird!!!

[SaralovesMike]

How r u feeling? Any better today???

[mariaandmanish]

Thanks, ladies for all the good thoughts being sent my way!! Last night, DH gave me a pretty strong 15 minute massage of just my sore back and neck area with a bengay type product. I don't know how it really worked as I woke up this morning in the same kind of pain, though it was mostly in my neck. But, I went to work today and it's gotten a little better as the day passed. I'm a little sore now that I'm home but I'm on the way to feeling better!!!

Oh, and Shawna, I would send you my masseuse, except that he has an issue with cold weather, and you're a bit colder than us right now!!! LOL

[Jenn060306]

Aw, I'm sorry to hear you are still hurting. Hopefully you will be able to take it easy this weekend and mend all your muscles and feel much better on Monday.

[mariaandmanish]

Yay! It's now officially like CHristmas in my house!! We went and got our CHristmas tree this afternoon and put it all together. We still need a tree topper cause I accidentally broke ours last year and we didn't get a new one yet. So, when we got and get one (tonight while we're in Queens), I'll take pics and post!

I'm very excited though that we finally have our tree up and all our presents are under it and yesterday I put up our stockings too! I love this time of year!!

[rainbowtreat]

Very cool that you are all set. We have our tree up but that is about it. We are still putting touches here and there.

[WhiskeyGirl]

Maria!!! I can't wait to see your Christmas tree!!! How exciting is it to finally have it up eh?! Can't wait!

[ladymelissa]

:whoohoo: I can't wait to see it!!!

[MOB Karen]

How exciting! I can't wait to see it either!!! :)

[mariaandmanish]

Okay, well, I got the tree topper this morning, but had to wait until it was dark to take the pics, otherwise you just don't see it at it's best! LOL..

So, without further ado! LOL... Our Christmas Tree 2006... Our FIRST as a married couple! LOL

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Wedding%20Ideas%20for%20Onewed/OurTree2006.jpg
To the right of the pic, is clearly our stockings. The tabletop ornament that is lit I picked up today when I got the tree topper. It was on sale for 50% off! lol.

I also took a pic of one of our ornaments, just for fun. And thought I would share! LOL
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Wedding%20Ideas%20for%20Onewed/glassornament.jpg
All ready for Christmas! YAY!!!

[Goin2thechapel]

Maria!!!

I love your tree...It looks soo festive!!! YAY!!! What an awesome job you did!!!




PS..Got my Xmas cards done...Finally..LOL>...

[ladymelissa]

Your tree is gorgeous!!! And the pic came out so well, I couldn't seem to get a great pic of ours.

[mariaandmanish]

And the pic came out so well, I couldn't seem to get a great pic of ours.

Thanks, Melissa. We have a digital SLR camera cause we're somewhat amateur photographers, so I used that to take the pic. It helps a lot, because I can turn off all the lights in the house, put the camera on a tripod and let it sit for a longer amount of time to get the shot.

[MOB Karen]

Absolutely beautiful, Maria!!! Thanks for sharing!!! :)

[ladymelissa]

Thanks, Melissa. We have a digital SLR camera cause we're somewhat amateur photographers, so I used that to take the pic. It helps a lot, because I can turn off all the lights in the house, put the camera on a tripod and let it sit for a longer amount of time to get the shot.
The SLR makes all the difference!

[Jenn060306]

Maria your tree is beautiful!
You take the most beautiful photographs! I always enjoy seeing what you've shot.

[BriansBride07]

What a gorgous tree. Wow santa was already there LOL.... I need one of those cameras with that feature.

[NicksBride]

:candycane: what an awesome picture of the ornament! I love your tree, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

[mariaandmanish]

So I've been pretty busy lately. Spending time with a friend that I hardly ever get to see anymore and talking to other friends and family. Monday night I didn't even get home until after 10pm! LOL.. which is rather late for me!

I'm feeling all weird cause I'm ready for Christmas. This is just such an odd feeling! I even got my stocking stuffers taken care of and the last group of gifts shipped out. http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_15_61.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZNxmk788KUUS)

Had my annual dr's exam today. When I called to make the apt, I was told that my regular dr. is out on extended personal leave and they're not sure when she'll be back, but they can give me an apt. with her physicians assistant. I was pretty hesitant, since you know, you get used to one dr. and it's not exactly the most comfortable situation (lol!). But, as it turns out, this woman that was my dr. today is very good. A lot like my reg. dr., so it went well. And, whew! it's over for another 6 months! Being on BCP, I'm required to go every six months.

In the meantime, I've been really tired lately! THis weather up here is insane, and I just can't get used to it. Today it was 57 and tomorrow it's going to be 60! I mean, goodness, it's December already! So far, we've only had 2 REALLY cold days. Not that I'm complaining, at all, but it's just odd! Plus, everyone's getting sick cause they don't know how to dress! LOL> I think that's why I'm so tired too! DH is exhausted too, so it must be the weather! lol. At least, that's what we're thinking!

Well, that's about all I've been up to. Just one more week to go and then I'm on Christmas Vacation from school. And I seriously can not wait!!! I actually only have a 3 and a half day week next week, as we have early dismissal on Thursday and no school at all on Friday! Thank Goodness!!!
http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/39/39_10_1.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZNxmk788KUUS) for http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/8/8_2_100.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZNxmk788KUUS)

[ladymelissa]

Wow! You are ready for Christmas! I am glad the doctor visit worked out and that is awesome about the short week next week. :whoohoo:

[Jenn060306]

That's awesome that you are done all teh stocking stuffers and shipped everything! I wish i was that organized! lol! Stockings are close though!
I hope your last week before Chrismtas Holiday's go quickly for you!

[StaceyMc]

What a beautiful tree! Merry First Married Christmas!

[mariaandmanish]

Now, today, I remembered exactly why I've been so thrilled about being ready for Christmas! LOL... today a friend and I went to the mall cause she's still got some shopping to do. And the malls are insane! I was sooo tired and annoyed just by being there! LOL...

In other news (lol), I went to the movies twice this weekend. On Friday night, DH and I went out with another couple that we're friends with (who got married 3 weeks before we did!). The other girl and I went and saw Pursuit of Happyness with Will Smith. It was a really really really good movie. Laughter, tears, great story. DH and my friend's husband went and saw Apocolypto, the new movie made by Mel Gibson.

They loved their's so much, and we loved ours so much, that we decided that today we'd go to a matinee showing and switch. So today, the girl and I saw Apocolypto and DH and her husband saw Pursuit of Happyness. They liked P. of H. a lot. I liked Apocolypto, but it's very very very very gory. So, I would definitely not go to see it if you can't watch gory stuff! lol...

In Christmas news, DH's family is coming up from New Jersey for the day. That's 7 adults and 5 children coming. Plus we already have 3 adults here, so we're going to have 15 people! LOL!! Scary! I've never planned a dinner for that many people at once, never mind of a different culture! lol... I'm just going to make a regular "american" christmas dinner though. Let them see it my way. My mom traditionally makes ham, but neither DH nor I are big fans of ham, so I'm just going to do the turkey thing. And, they'll probably bring up some indian food, so we'll have a mix. His cousin is bring sausage and pasta, i think. Either way, it should be a lot of fun! And nice to have my first real dinner party.. you know, family holiday one? We'll see how it goes! lol

[ladymelissa]

Holiday dinner parties are great, I am sure it will be amazing!

I am so glad I didn't have to go to the mall! Driving past it and seeing all those cars was enough for me!

I am glad you enjoyed the movies, I really want to see P of H, it looks great.

[BriansBride07]

Sounds like you had a great weekend. Well except for battleing the malls yuck I did that a litttle to.
I hope your dinner goes well on christmas sounds yummy

[hummingbird521]

Sounds like a wonderful way to spend christmas. Enjoy all the company. I can't imagine planning and doing for 15 people. But it would be a blast to me.

[mariaandmanish]

Well, as my last post before Christmas, I'd just like to wish everyone a Merry and Happy Christmas. May you all receive the gifts you're most wishing for. I wish you joy with family and friends as well!

As for me, we're pretty much ready for the festivities tomorrow. I'm going to be getting up early to get the turkey in the oven, and to make some appetizers and munchies for people to eat when they arrive. We're not sure exactly what time they'll be getting here, but it should be anywhere between 10am and 2pm!! LOL... so needless to say, I've had to get lots of different kinds of food! lol... Anyway, I'll take pics and share after the holiday!!

MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!!

[mariaandmanish]

Merry Merry Christmas! It's over, by 12 minutes here. Just a quick update that everything went really really well here today. I was a little surprised at how well and smoothly everything went. We had 16 people total and it just ran very smoothly. Using plastic spoons and plates, I had almost no dishes to do, which was awesome.

I will write more about it tomorrow. I just checked in really quick before heading off to bed. I hope that everyone had a very merry christmas and got all the presents that they wanted and more!!!

[mariaandmanish]

Okay, let's try this post again!! ARG!!

Christmas Day!! LOL.... For the first time ever, we had family to our house for Christmas Day and dinner. I've never been the hostess for Christmas dinner. It was really cool, though. I was pleased with how smoothly and well everything went.

First, I got up at about 8:45 or so. I came downstairs and made a yogurt dish that's an Indian staple. Then, I cut some fruit for a fruit salad and plated up some cookies and brownies. Then, my sister called from Florida, so I talked with her. Then, I called my younger sister and left her a message. Back to the kitchen, and I decorated the table. See, we had a total of 16 people here, and our table only seats 6. So, since I knew we couldn't have a traditional sit down dinner, I made our dining table into a buffet table. I had decorated it simply in advance, with a green cloth and a red runner. THen, for the vase that is our usual centerpiece (a wedding gift) I added a circular surround at the bottom which I put christmas bulbs on. Then, I taped more bulbs at the rim of the vase. Then, I used two other circular "candle" holders on the table and put bulbs in those as well. Finally, I took fake snow and put it all over the table, in mounds in some places, so that it looked like it had actually snowed on the table. I wasn't sure how well it would go over, but when all our guests arrived, they complimented it, so I was happy! lol

After I decorated the table, I made the stuffing, prepared the turkey, stuffed it and popped it in the oven. By this time it was about 10am, and my mother called. DH and my BiL were still in bed. I was kind of surprised because I had started the morning by turning on CHristmas music, and it wasn't quiet! LOL

[WhiskeyGirl]

You know all that talking about food is STILL making me hungry today!! Lol. I'm so happy that things went well for you. I thought of you a lot yesterday and the BIG Christmas dinner at Maria and Manish's!!! I'm so happy everything thing went so well and that nothing was left over!! How great is that!

[mariaandmanish]

So, we talked o my mom for a little while. Then, when I got off the phone, we opened up our stockings and then dug under the tree and got out our presents to each other and opened everything up. It was a lot of fun. Then,for the rest of the morning, we just really hung out and kept an eye on the food. My father called around 11, so I spoke with him, as well.

Then, at about 2, the family arrived. It was the three of us who live here, DH's parents, his elder brother and family, Dh's cousin and her family, and a close family friend. Total: 11 adults, 5 children. It was really nice. They got here and helped out a little in the kitchen. My MiL had made an Indian red kidney bean dish, and made some rice when she got here. My SiL brought 2 small veggie lasagne's, and my cousin-in-law brought a sponge cake for dessert. DH, our friend, and his cousin's husband took the kids outside to the yard, and started a football game with the two older boys. They were outside for a while, which was nice cause they were out of our hair! LOL

We basically hung around until dinner was ready at about 3:15. While eating, we were watching some of the video from our wedding. It was really fun and nice to hang out and watch it with them. We hadn't watched any of it with anyone but ourselves, so it was really cool.

Then, after dinner, we opened up more presents. And then they went home at around 6. Having used plastic holiday dinnerware, I had only pots, pans and serving dishes to wash, so that made clean up a lot easier. And everyone helped cleaning up as well, so that was nice. I had a great tim, and wasn't tired at all until they'd left. LOL

[mariaandmanish]

Now, gifts and pics! LOL...

From DH, I got a porcelain doll, 1776-1976 Bicentennial Silver Collectible Coins, a silver eagle that's been changed into an ornament, two games for my computer, and some cool little things in my stocking. From my BiL, I got a few books, and a really nice comfy blanket that I can keep in my living room (cause I'm always cold!)lol. My father sent us a check, and my parents-in-law gave us a check as well. I got a few gift cards and a few more books as well. And a broach from my MiL. My SiL also gave us our 1st Married Christmas Ornament. For the most part, I haven't taken pics of any presents, except for the married ornament, so I'll post that. I was really happy with the gifts. And, the best part, is that everyone was happy with the gifts they were given as well. DH loved the flash diffuser I got him for our camera, and my BiL was thrilled with the collectible book I gave him as well. So, it went really really well.

And, now, without further ado.. Pics! LOL

[mariaandmanish]

The Ornament from my SiL...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Family%20Parties%20and%20Christmas%202006/IMG_1695.jpg
Table decoration....
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Family%20Parties%20and%20Christmas%202006/IMG_1696.jpg
Table Decoration #2...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Family%20Parties%20and%20Christmas%202006/IMG_1701.jpg
The football game...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Family%20Parties%20and%20Christmas%202006/IMG_1659-1.jpg

[WhiskeyGirl]

That ornament looks so cute!! How sweet!!!

Love the table decorations! Especially with the flowers, so pretty!!

And the football game looks like fun too!!

[mariaandmanish]

Family shots...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Family%20Parties%20and%20Christmas%202006/IMG_1675.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Family%20Parties%20and%20Christmas%202006/IMG_1663.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Family%20Parties%20and%20Christmas%202006/IMG_1674.jpg

[mariaandmanish]

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Family%20Parties%20and%20Christmas%202006/IMG_1677.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Family%20Parties%20and%20Christmas%202006/IMG_1678.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Family%20Parties%20and%20Christmas%202006/IMG_1682.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Family%20Parties%20and%20Christmas%202006/IMG_1681.jpg

[mariaandmanish]

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Family%20Parties%20and%20Christmas%202006/IMG_1672.jpg

[countrygirl]

Love the pics. THose kids are adorable. Any pics of you in there?????

[WhiskeyGirl]

Lol I think we just saw some of your wedding video in the one pic!! lol NICE!

[WhiskeyGirl]

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Family%20Parties%20and%20Christmas%202006/IMG_1681.jpg

Am I right?!

[mariaandmanish]

Love the pics. THose kids are adorable. Any pics of you in there?????

How sad, but not a one!!! LOL

[BriansBride07]

Sounds and looks like you had a wonderful Christmas. I loved all the pic's thanks for sharing.

[hummingbird521]

so glad you had a wonderful christmas. Love the table setting.

[Jenn060306]

Looks like you had a great Christmas! The pictures are great!
The ornament is super cute! :)

[NicksBride]

Looks like you had a wonderful time, loved the pictures thanks for sharing. you have alovely big family!!!

[ladymelissa]

I am so glad your party went so well! Everything looked and sounded amazing. I love the flower centerpiece.

[mariaandmanish]

Wow, it's been a real long time since I updated this!!

I would say I've been busy, but I just haven't been in the mood to write, I guess, is the honest truth. Nothings going on, nothing changed, just tired a lot.

So, let's see. New Year's was a lot of fun. Mani and I, my BiL and a friend went to a private party at a bar in Bridgeport, CT (about a 30 minute drive). A previous colleague of Mani's goes every year and invited us, and since we're tired of staying home every year, we decided to go. It was dinner, open bar, and a little dancing. Very small party, but it was fun. I drank waaaaaaaay too much and regretted it on Monday! lol. 2 apple martini's and a bailey's on the rocks! But, it was great fun.

Since then, I've been back to work basically. The NY State exams are this week, and being a reading specialist, I've been proctoring every single day. In NY, our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades each take multi-day reading tests in January. Monday and Tuesday, our 5th and 3rd took theirs, and today, tomorrow and Friday, our 4th grades are taking them. I worry, cause the scores make a huge difference in funding and the general view of the school. Of course, you can only control so much, and the rest is up to the kids, so I try not to stress too much!

Got home today and found that my car is completely out of oil. The problem with this (other than the obvious) is that I just had an oil change this weekend, and apparently the head gasket is blown, so I can't drive it until it gets fixed. Luckily for me, it's still covered under warranty, so they should fix it for free. Of course, now Mani has to drive me to work tomorrow and Friday and pick me up. I'm so impatient , that I'm going to hate waiting for him to get me! lol. Oh well, as long as it's fixed quickly, I'll be fine, I guess!

Other than that, let's see. We're supposed to go to Atlantic City this weekend. I don't really want to go, but it's a whole family kind of thing, so I don't have too much choice without looking like the B*&ch who didn't want to spend time with family! lol. So, off we go.

Happily, though, in February (17th through 23rd) we're going to San Francisco. Mani has friends who live there, and I've never been, so I'm really looking forward to it. I'm also really looking forward to it cause it'll just be me and Manish and I always look forward to those times! Also, it'll be nice to see his friends, as we haven't seen them since the wedding. THey have a little girl, almost a year, and I really want to get a chance to spend some time with her, as I've really only seen her twice, and not for very long either time, since it was around the wedding and at pre-wedding events, so I was kind of otherwise occupied! lol.

I guess that's it. Nothing else to report. I know, boring! lolhttp://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/7/7_11_115.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZNxmk788KUUS)

[WhiskeyGirl]

It's not boring!! It's your life and I',=m interested!! :D

That sucks about your car. that happened to mine when I had to drive two and a half hours home to get it fixed. I had to keep stopping ot check my oil and fill it up if need be! lol

I feel your pain on the whole fam get together, except I actually skip out on them lately!! lol Have fun!

Have ufn in san fran!! Sounds like fun!! Can I come? lol. :D

[mariaandmanish]

Have fun in san fran!! Sounds like fun!! Can I come? lol. :D

Absolutely!! I'll save some room in my suitcase for you!!!

[ladymelissa]

I over did it on NYE, too! LOL I am glad you had a good time! Good luck to all your students!

Did they forget to put oil in when you had it changed?! At least it's under warranty though. Mike recently had a bad experience with an oil change, and his car is currently in the shop, too.

Atlantic City sounds like a blast and then San Fran! Your life is far from boring! Have fun! :)

[mariaandmanish]

Did they forget to put oil in when you had it changed?! At least it's under warranty though. Mike recently had a bad experience with an oil change, and his car is currently in the shop, too.

:)

I wish that were the case, but Manish did the oil change. He always does it for me, and I've never had a problem. When they did it, they noticed that the head gasket (or something like that) was leaking a little, and that I would have to call for repair, but I thought I had until the weekend. When my BiL got home this evening, he noticed a huge puddle of oil under the car, and then checked it and saw that the gasket basically blew completely sometime today. So, no more waiting to get it fixed! LOL. Oh well... that's life, right?!

http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_11_6.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZNxmk788KUUS)

[ladymelissa]

At least it wasn't a crooked mechanic. LOL

[NicksBride]

aww you are not boring, we love hearing from you! If something is going on in your life and even if nothing is we want to hear about it!!!
San Francisco sounds great, my mom loved it there... So much to do!!!

I forgot to put oil in my car one time and the engine blew up, so its lucky that didn't happen! :)

[mariaandmanish]

Okay, so it looks like the problem with my car is not as serious as we first thought. On Friday when I got home, we put a little more oil in it and I drove it around for a while. Then, when I got back home, we put some cardboard under it to see if it was still leaking at all, and it's been more than 24 hours now and there's no oil on the cardboard at all. What we think happened is that the people he bought the oil filter from gave him the wrong one, and therefore the seal is not correct. So, yesterday Mani picked up a new oil filter and some oil and he's going to redo my oil change tomorrow when it's not raining and the ground has had a chance to dry. Either way, though, I made an apt. with the service at the dealership to have the car checked out and fixed as need be, and it should be covered under the warranty. Then, I'm going to just get rid of it and get a new one, since I've really had some annoying problems with this one. Specifically, I've had to replace the front brakes three times, and I've got less than 40,000 miles on it!!! Arg! lol.

Anyway, we went to Atlantic City last night instead of today. I played $13.50 and won $300. So, I was happy. Dh lost only $60, so that was good. My BiL was up about $500 but he gave some of his money to his parents, so he only brought home $250 more than he took! LOL... as if that's something to complain about!! lol.. It was nice time, I guess. Mostly cause we were up and down, so we were able to sit on one machine for a long time with the same amount of money. Works better for me than when we just play it and lose it and that's it. LOL.

Got home at about 7am this morning!!! YIKES, right??!! So, needless to say, I've only been up since about 1:30 this afternoon! And, now, just sitting around waiting for my BiL to bring home breakfast!!

[WhiskeyGirl]

Man!!! I need to take you to the Casino with us!! lol THough I'm not a casino goer Matthew loves going and usually only loses about five bucks before he gives up!! lol. Last time he went with his best friend, his best friend won twenty or thirty bucks!! Maybe who ever we go with wins and we don't. Lol.

Anywho sounds like you had an awesome time!!!!!!

[ladymelissa]

You did great at the casino! Congrats!

I am glad your car is okay. Which car do you have your eye on if you do get rid of this one?

[mariaandmanish]

I am glad your car is okay. Which car do you have your eye on if you do get rid of this one?

Well, DH and I were looking a few days ago for something in our price range. I would like to have a hybrid, just for the cost effectiveness and the better environmental concerns as well. But, they're not cheap, so I would have to do research on them pretty well before deciding. Otherwise, I'm leaning towards a Subaru of some sort.. either a Legacy or Impreza. DH has had both of those cars and they're pretty good cars, good gas mileage and very few problems. I've got about a month or so, I think, before that decision is really made.

[NicksBride]

wow sounds like you had a great time in Atlantic City. WTG on your win!!!

[mariaandmanish]

wow sounds like you had a great time in Atlantic City. WTG on your win!!!


Thanks you very much!!

[ladymelissa]

Well, DH and I were looking a few days ago for something in our price range. I would like to have a hybrid, just for the cost effectiveness and the better environmental concerns as well. But, they're not cheap, so I would have to do research on them pretty well before deciding. Otherwise, I'm leaning towards a Subaru of some sort.. either a Legacy or Impreza. DH has had both of those cars and they're pretty good cars, good gas mileage and very few problems. I've got about a month or so, I think, before that decision is really made.
Sounds good, best wishes deciding!

[mariaandmanish]

So, after extremely warm weather the last few weeks, we finally got our first bit of snow today. Yippee... *sigh* lol...

I love the snow, I just hate going out in it and having to deal with it for a long time! But it looks pretty!! LOL.. .we only got a dusting really, nothing much. But I guess it's not completely done til tomorrow.

Here's a pic of the tree outside my front door...

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l71/mariachachra/Wedding%20Ideas%20for%20Onewed/firstsnow2007.jpg

In the meantime, we have our wedding photo album design session on Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sooo excited! It's about darn time! LOL... we have to sit down tomorrow and organize the photos we have chosen into an order we would like, as well as choose the numbers of the photos that we want for our parent albums. I'm really excited about the design session. Too bad it will take another 1 - 3 months to get the albums, but at least we're mostly there!!

So, that's about it. I continue to be very envious of Shawna being in wonderful warm Hawaii!! LOL.. wish I were there with her!

[ladymelissa]

Pretty pic! I love snow, too! We don't have any yet. :( I hope we don't get hammered in March, at that point it is too late!

Good luck with the photo album meeting, I am sure it will come out wonderfully as you don't have a bad pic of the wedding to begin with!

[NicksBride]

Oh snow, we have had our fair share as well.. Great picture though!!
Hope you had a good meeting for your wedding pictures, I am sure they all turned out really well!!!

[Kacie_bride]

Aww the snow is so pretty. I wish it would snow here more than once every few years.

[mariaandmanish]

So we went yesterday to meet with the album designer to choose our album. We had pretty much an hour and a half meeting scheduled, but because we had done all the work in advance, i.e. choosing all the photos, and putting them in order, our appointment only lasted a half hour. We chose our 16x20 photo, and 4 8x10's. We organized the 40 photos for our professional album, and chose 2 for color choosing. That means, that two photos of us with our cake will be b&w, except for our cake which will still have it's color. Then, we chose our album design and our photos for our two parent albums. Those are going to be gifts for our mothers for mother's day, and they don't even know it yet.. lol

The whole session went really well and I'm pleased with our choices. I can't wait to get it back, to be honest, though I think it will be a few months before everything is done. The best part, is that as soon as everything is done, we will get a disk containing the original files of all of our professional pics, so I might actually be able to post some of my favorites here! Also, we'll be able to print out others that we would like to give as gifts to family members and friends. I really can't wait!!!

[NicksBride]

YEA! That is so exciting to get that done, I bet it will be awhile, but it will be worth the wait, congrats on getting that done!!! :)

[ladymelissa]

Yay! More pics for us to see! :whoohoo:

I am glad the appt. went so well, I am sure the books will be fabulous!

[mariaandmanish]

So, not much has happened in the last week and a half. Working, working, working for the most part. lol... what else is new, right?

DH and I are looking into moving out of the NY area (I don't know if I've mentioned that before or not). The main reason is because NY is just too expensive to live here. YOu can't live here and buy here, you'll go bankrupt. Another reason is that he's really tired of the cold weather. So... we're looking all around the country for places that offer jobs in his field. Mine is easy... I can pretty much teach anywhere.

So, we've recently looked online and found that there's a possibility that Nashville, TN might work for us... or the area anyway. IN April we're going to go for a weekend to Nashville to check the area out, see if some of the areas that have houses for sale in our price range are worth it, and to see if there is really a job field for him. I'm hoping that it works out. I originally didn't really want to move, but now that I've had a while to think about it and get used to it, I'm actually quite excited about the possibility for change for us. To break away from the status quou and just live our lives, if you kwim.

Otherwise, I'm just looking forward to our trip to San Fran in three weeks. We've decided that we're going to go to Yosemite while we're there. We're staying outside of San Fran for 2 days by ourselves, so since we'll only be an hour from Yosemite.. and we're not likely to be there again, we'll stop in. There's also a cave exploration company in the area, so I think we're going to do that one day as well. I'm really just looking forward to being away.. out of NY and away from the stesses and hassles of the everyday.

Only 16 more days til we fly out!

[WhiskeyGirl]

Wahoo!! Sixteen days that are going to fly by for you Mrs Maria!! :D

Hey, question...you mean Mani is willing ot go into a cave? You couldn't bribe me enough to do it...lol...ok you probably could! lol

[ladymelissa]

I hope you find an area that suits you.

San Fran will be here before you know it, I hope it's a great trip!

[NicksBride]

Oh a trip that sounds like fun!!!
Nashville is a GREAT area, my dad lives around there and just loves it. They get some really nice weather, but sometimes they get snow as well. The city is sooo neat and fun! Hope you like Country music... :)

Enjoy your trip!

[mariaandmanish]

Wow, 16 days fly by sometimes don't they!!

Not much has been going on lately, which is why I haven't updated here. Basically I've been going to work, coming home, going to work, and coming home! LOL... same old same old.

I have been working out 4 days a week for the past 2 weeks, so I feel positive about that. I was supposed to be doing ice skating 2 days a week and yoga 2 days a week, but I need new ice skates and even though I ordered them, they sent me the wrong size, so now I've got to send them back and start over. Oh well!! I haven't seen any weight loss yet, not that I really expected to, but I can feel some changes in my abs so it's doing something!!

Good news is that I somehow got lucky and managed to get Wed and Thurs off from school due to snow days. Not that we got a lot of snow, but we did get an inch or two of ice. So... Wed we had off cause that's when the storm hit. It snowed about 2 inches, then iced for the rest of the day. Yucky. THen, yesterday, it was a nice treat and surprise that our school was closed again!! One of only 3 districts in the area that were closed! I was thrilled. Apparently, the roads and sidewalks were all still covered with ice, so they decided not to risk it. Worked for me, I got some errands done and an extra day to relax.

And this coming week..... VACATION!!!!! Yippee!! A whole week off... and I'm going to be spending it in San Francisco!!! WoooHoo!! We leave tomorrow and come back next Saturday. I'm soooo looking forward to this time away. I haven't packed yet, but our flight isn't until tomorrow evening, so I'm not stressing it at all! I did all my laundry yesterday, so I've just got to throw it all together. What a perfect time to have 2 days off too, just before a week's vacation!

Anyway, I'll catch you all up on the trip and share pics when I get back. HOpe everyone has a great week in the meantime!!