I Have Just One Thing to Say....

Aloha.
Till next week.

Hi-Ho Ohio

Last month I took a trip out of town. By myself. On a plane. What exotic location did I visit, you're wondering?

The happenin' state of Ohio.

Now, before you wrinkle your nose and say, "OHIO?", let me tell you the reason (s) for my visit. One...my grandma turns 90 this month, but she didn't want a big hoopla since large crowds stifle her. Her wish was for people to come and visit her...trickling in a few at a time...so that she could enjoy each family member's company to the fullest. Being her oldest grandchild, I felt I needed to make the trip. Going solo seemed the logical thing to do. And, the most enjoyable.

So, I flew into Columbus, Ohio, climbed into my stylish rental car, and waited for my GPS lady with the Australian accent (no, I'm not kidding) to tell me how to get around. I named her "Nicole" (after the Aussie Nicole Kidman). :-)


I found my way to Grandma's assisted living residence, and we enjoyed a wonderful Wednesday afternoon of visiting and catching up. I tell ya what....this lady is sharp as a tack where her memory and mind are concerned. Yes, some physical ailments give her a run for her money, but she's all there mentally. And, she's hysterically funny. I love to hear her laugh.

Look closely...you'll see who my dad and I inherited our blue eyes from.



The cool thing about Columbus, Ohio is that right after Animesh and I married in Texas, we moved there for a year while he did a fellowship. God sent us there amazingly...because Columbus is where BOTH of my parents are from. It was a great year spent hanging with Grandma and getting to know her better.


Dad is an Ohio State University alumni...and purchasing (and eating!) Buckeyes are a "must" if you're in the college town. Delish.




I was able to drive around the old stomping grounds Thursday morning. Thanks to GPS "Nicole" I was able to locate our first home ever as a married couple...a charming townhome in Columbus, Ohio. Nice memories.


My grandparents attended this church for many, many years. And, this is the church where my parents were married...AND where I was baptized as an infant. Very cool that we were able to attend this same church....Overbrook Presbyterian... when we lived in Columbus.



Lunchtime on Thursday I spent with the grandparents...it was a bittersweet time as Grandma kept acting as if this would be the last time I would ever see her.



Thursday afternoon I picked up Jeanne at the Columbus airport, and then we made our way to Cincinnati to see our dear friend, Catherine...a San Antonio native-turned Ohioian. It was so great to finally arrive and give her a big hug.



Cheers to some of the best friends ever!



Jeanne and I slept on the 3rd floor of the house...where Catherine's girls have their retreat. This sign welcomed us. Too cute.




Later....we found these on our pillows. Thanks to Catherine's hubby and the girls for this creative touch.




Thursday night the 3 of us went out to dinner...to meet up with someone special ---but on the way, we came upon a hot air balloon and was able to watch from start to finish as it was "fired up" and sent into the sky.






Finally. The blog friend I had never met. Heather and I poured the drama on thick (ok...maybe me more so than her) about meeting each other for the first time. I told Catherine about Heather when Catherine moved to Cincinnati...with the warning that I had never met Heather but she seemed nice on her blog. They should hook up! Thankfully, they get along great.



Dinner at Ohio's oldest hotel....




While we dined...we had a creature joining us. At first we thought it was a bird. Then we realized we were dining with a huge bat. Look closely...right in the middle of the picture. Click on the photo to enlarge. Gross. One of the servers, Jerrod, caught it. He was our hero.





Friday Catherine drove us across state lines to Kentucky to a great eatery. How fun to jaunt on over across state lines to "do lunch."





Pedicures were in order after lunch. Pretty toes.



Later that afternoon I did something I had never done...played guitar with someone other than my teacher. I'm not that good...but Kipper (Catherine's hubby) went easy on me and played s-l-o-w-l-y. Jeanne was quick enough to capture this on film. I'm sure it was the wine (see above picture) that allowed me to make such a fool of myself.




That night we watched the Longhorns in the College World Series...and then went to bed. Before falling asleep Catherine informed us that the area was under a "tornado watch" and that the basement was all ready for us should the warning sirens go off. Yikes.

True to form, I slept through the entire night. I was informed later that about 2:30am a transformer just outside the window by Jeanne's bed blew. It startled her so much she fell out of bed. Catherine, Kipper, and Jeanne were all out inspecting the tree branch that fell causing the mini-explosion in the middle of the night. Jen was sawing logs.


Jeanne inspects the damage the next morning.



We spent the whole morning drinking coffee and enjoying lovely cool temps on Catherine's cozy front porch.



Jeanne stretches and tries to work out the kinks after falling out of bed the night before.



Steve the lineman to the rescue. Yes, Jeanne found out his name. She makes friends fast.



Saturday afternoon Jeanne and I made our way back to Columbus to fly home in time for Father's Day Sunday. It was a great trip...and I look forward to when we can all be reunited again.

Here's to amazing girlfriends. I'm so blessed to have so many. And I would be lost without them.

Birthday Boy

It's been awhile, I know. I still have my trip to Ohio to post...it's taking me a long time to edit and sift through the 150 or so pictures I took over a 72 hour period. My friend, Jeanne, called me a shutterbug. While I'm certainly not a professional by any means, I suppose the name "shutterbug" is an accurate one.

So, until the slide show is done...let's celebrate my baby turning 4 today.


What a character this one is. I often forget how young he is because he's wise beyond his years thanks to the wisdom imparted to him by his older siblings. Yet when the time calls for it he'll play the "baby" card right on cue...just in time to melt my heart (or his daddy's, or his sister's, or his brother's....).

It's been a little sad to see how quickly Trevor has grown up. Having 2 older siblings meant that he jumped right over Sesame Street and Baby Einstein videos--and straight into Power Rangers, High School Musical, and the Jonas Brothers.

We have a running joke in our house. Trevor will do something so hysterical, and Animesh or I will ask him where we got him. One time he declared matter-of-factly, "from the zoo, of course." One time he told us we got him from Home Depot (Daddy liked that one). And just today he told me I got him from Disney World. Like I said...he's a character alright.

This song is one of the themes of our San Antonio Spurs basketball team. Our basketball-loving Trevor can bust a move like nobody's business when he hears this. This one is for you, birthday boy. We love you to the moon and back.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

If I'm known for one thing, it's my goofiness. I'm not sure my friends comprehend just how goofy I am because my true, innermost goofiness surfaces only in the privacy of our home. For example, I never know when the mood might strike and I'll feel the need to leap across the kitchen floor while opera singing a Jonas brothers song. And it's totally random when I'll feel the urge to shake my groove thang in front of the TV while the kids are really into a movie. Sadly, I've realized that my goofiness is now standard to them because instead of laughing at me...they'll just whine, "Mooom! Please move out of the way! We can't see the Teee-VEEEE!"

Regardless, I was so thrilled (and quite proud) when I found these on Priya's camera a couple weeks ago. She was apparently bored at some point and decided to follow in Mom's footsteps by taking self-portraits. She cracks me up. Talk about goofy. She truly is her mother's daughter.











I just love this little girl who is growing up way too fast for my liking.

Speaking of girls having fun...this week I'm headed to Columbus, Ohio---ALONE!---to see my nearly 90-year-old grandmother. What's also cool about Columbus is that it's where Animesh and I spent our first year of marriage while he did a fellowship. Can't wait to see the ole' condo we used to call home.

Then Jeanne (see previous post about the triathlon) is meeting me in Columbus, and we'll drive to Cincinatti to see our dear friend, Catherine. Cannot wait. Especially exciting is the chance to meet blogger friend, Heather! Can you say, "bloggable moments????"

I'm giddy with excitement about flying by myself, staying in a hotel by myself, SHOWERING by myself! And to have 3 full days of giggling and goofiness with some of my dearest peeps...well...I think it's safe to say that these girls are gonna be havin' some serious fun.

Keep Austin Wierd

That's the unofficial motto for Austin. Keep Austin Wierd. I did witness a few wierd moments while visiting Austin this past weekend (an almost drunken brawl, for example), but it hasn't changed my opinion about the city. With the exception of the traffic (ugh, the TRAFFIC!), I heart Austin. The edginess. The live music in every restaurant and coffee house. And the Danskin triathlon. Awesome.

This year I had very simple goals at the triathlon. Don't drown. Don't wreck the bike. Don't twist an ankle while running. I didn't train as hard as I did last year. So all I wanted to do is beat my time. Even if it was only by a few seconds. In spite of the chain coming off my bike...twice...I was able to do just that. Four minutes faster than last year. Two minutes off my swim. A minute off my bike and a minute off my run. Cool.

Here's the slide show if you're interested. The girl in the pictures with the grin from ear to ear is me. Happy to have accomplished my goal. And ready to do it again next year.

Make a Smilebox slideshow



Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus

Triathlon was a blast and a success.  I beat my time from last year...under 2 hours was the goal and it was achieved.   While nothing can top last year's experience (my first), this year was almost as amazing.

Until I get the triathlon slide show up and running, enjoy this hee-larious account of how men's brains are different from women's brains.  So incredibly funny.  And so incredibly true.

Slow Day for News

Jun 4, 2009

Such a fascinating story. If your name is Jennifer. I can't believe this was the headline when I opened up Yahoo. Definitely a slow day for news.

Headed to Austin tomorrow. Triathlon is Sunday morning...7am.

And, like the song says...I'll be reaching for something in the distance. So close I can almost taste it.

The finish line.

Wish me luck.