Merry Christmas

We think little trees are the best...and for the record, our tree was labeled "LARGE table-top tree".

We're spending our first Christmas without either of our families. We miss them so much but are enjoying a very relaxing holiday with no travel involved. The only real excitement we've had this season was the other night when Sameer lit his pants on fire while lighting the Advent candles. These kind of things happen to Sameer...

backing up to October

Because this blog serves as my journal/scrapbook of our days, I hate that I never posted pictures of our time in CA back in October. So before Christmas comes or our baby is born, I must highlight some good times we had over 2 months ago. I know it's a little silly.

We got to spend a whole week in California leading up to Doug and Tracie's wedding. It was a wonderfully special and busy week....I got to go to a few fittings with Tracie, both for my dress and her dress. Each time we went (it seemed like every other day) I was a little bigger and she was a little smaller. So we kept one bridal store very busy!

We were blessed with not one but TWO baby showers. My mom threw a lovely ladies only shower for family and family friends. It was early for a baby shower (early in that I was only 22 weeks) but it was so special to me and my mom just has that certain touch - there were so many thoughtful details throughout the house.





Our friends Anna and Adam Bendorf also threw us a couples shower and that was so fun. It was so nice to see everyone and have them celebrate our baby-on-the-way with us. They had lovely desserts and then later gave us a scrapbook with pictures of the evening. I don't have digital pictures of that event but we do have a picture of all the stuff our little guy has been given from the two showers. I'd say his wardrobe is off to a great start!



Three days before Doug and Tracie's wedding, Sameer and I celebrated our FOURTH anniversary with a day in Pasadena. We ate at an old favorite - All India Cafe. Mmmm. Then we finished the night off with dessert at the Vines in Valencia. I don't think anyone in SCV ever eats there but since our wedding reception was at the Hyatt we've gone there for a special dessert a couple of times. The Florentine Art is my favorite - delicious! White chocolate mousse with fresh berries in a sugar almond shell. You can't go wrong.



Then of course there was the wedding and all it's festivities. Tracie was a good sport the night before when we took her out to eat and then back home for gifts and dessert. I'll refrain from posting pictures of what she got that night. :)



Finally, the wedding day. I couldn't believe how quickly it came. Everything was JUST BEAUTIFUL. Tracie was absolutely stunning and smiled radiantly all day long. She was also a cheerful & gracious bride to everyone throughout the day. Because it was an evening wedding we even had a nice relaxing morning sitting around eating breakfast with our cousin Erin.

The reception had Doug and Tracie's personalities written all over it - from the music to the candy buffet.





When the reception was finally over everyone was rushing around gathering things and Sameer and I were sitting around talking to people and trying to make sure we signed the guest book. Suddenly it was really quiet and empty and we realized that almost everyone had left. My parents, who were supposed to give us a ride home, had completely forgotten about us and had driven off already. Fortunately, Danny and Lindsay were still around so we did get home that night.:)

Soon we were on a plane back to NC. It's a strange feeling when something you look forward to for so long is over...it was especially hard to say goodbye knowing we wouldn't be back for Christmas. Hopefully they'll all be visiting us soon when the baby arrives!

our (kind of) "free" piano

Beautiful, isn't it? Read on to find out how it ended up in our living room.

The story of this piano is special to me, so to make a short story really really long:

When we bought this house we knew exactly where the piano would fit. It was always the plan to bring my piano over. When we looked into the cost of moving it from CA to NC, I realized it would cost more than the piano was even worth just to get it here. So I was piano-less for what seemed to be too long of a time. I had a digital piano but it DID NOT COUNT. AT ALL. Anyone who really plays the piano knows this. And my digital didn't even have speakers or normal pedals - and it was on a wobbly stand, so it was practically useless to me.

Last spring we started to look into purchasing a piano just before we found out we were pregnant so then we forgot about the piano idea for a while.

As time went on I kept thinking about pianos....wanting one, longing for one, probably too much. It just made me so sad to not have one around after playing the piano for almost my whole life. I wanted our baby to hear piano music. I wanted to be me - and the musical side of me had been buried for too long at this point.

So I decided to start looking on craigslist for a free or almost free piano even knowing that free pianos are usually a lot of trouble and have a lot of issues. I didn't care. I was desperate...for any piano, no matter how awful or cheap or old or messed up or ugly. I would have even settled for a spinet.

One day I saw this 12 year old 48 inch Kawai piano listed for WAY LESS than it should be. (I had been looking for pianos on craigslist obsessively for weeks and this was a rare ad. Most of what I had been seeing were $700 Wurlizter spinets from the 1950's or something - bad deals)I showed Sameer and he said, "Wow, we have to figure out a way to get that." I was surprised because even though the price was really low for what it was, it was WAY MORE expensive than free and I couldn't think of any way we could possibly get it.

Then I started thinking - I own one piano in CA and a digital here in NC. What if I sold them both? Then we could get this piano. I honestly don't know why this NEVER occurred to me before. My parents are storing my piano for me in their home and I just always assumed I'd have it again someday if we moved back to CA. I never wanted to sell it. But neither of these pianos were doing me any good so I started listing them on craigslist and ebay. I called my mom and asked her to find the serial number on my piano and I told her my plan. Meanwhile I had emailed the owner of the Kawai and she answered my questions and said we could come by and look at it. The next day I found a piano technician who was available to go with us to look at the Kawai. We looked at it. We loved it. We left. The piano technician said it was a great deal. We went home. I cried. (I am pregnant, you know.) More people were coming to look at it the next day and I knew it wouldn't last and my pianos hadn't sold yet so we couldn't make an offer. My hope had been that since the economy is so bad, we would be the ONLY people interested in the piano and she would hold it for us or something until we got the money together from our other pianos. That was not going to happen.

My mom had told me to call her after we looked at the piano so I called her and told her I loved it but didn't think we could get it. That night Sameer and I talked about it. I was distressed by how much I wanted it. I mean, really...I have A LOT. And no one NEEDS a piano, right? I prayed that night that I would be content without it and stop wanting it. Sameer prayed that we could get it somehow. The next morning my phone rang at 7:30 - it was my mom and it was 4:30 am in CA so the timing of her call scared me. She told me that while she was having morning coffee with my dad (yes, they get up insanely early) she told him about our piano search and he said he would like to keep my piano in the family and would buy it from me.

When she told me this, I was floored. My parents already have a piano. This isn't the best time for them to be buying a second piano that THEY DON'T NEED that is already sitting in their house. He also offered the EXACT price we had hoped to get for the piano but I had never told my mom that number because it had NEVER occurred to me that they would buy it. Never.

I was so blown away by his extravagant kindness. I was teary all the way to work and then some. I just couldn't believe that he would do that so I could have a piano here. The great thing is, they're giving the piano they bought from me to my sister someday when she and Doug have a bigger place. My parents always sacrificed so much for us to continue taking piano lessons when we were growing up. It was never easy to squeeze it into the budget but it was important to them and to see that it was STILL important to them really really touched me. The way this all turned out was so special to me - way more special than if I had been able to sell the piano to a stranger. I'm not really sure how my parents could afford it this time of year and right after Tracie's wedding so their sacrifice means a lot to me and I feel very loved. I'm still blown away by the gesture. It's quite amazing to have someone do something so sacrificial for you so that you can have something that is not even a necessity.

My digital piano also sold quickly so the Kawai was in our home by Wednesday. (We had claimed it right after my parents said they would buy mine.) It needs to be tuned but we LOVE having it. I've been pulling out my books and getting back into Bach. Sameer is learning how to play it too :)

So, if anyone's still reading this, sorry for the long post - and thank you, Dad.

1 Month Ago

Doug and Tracie got married. It was the most beautiful wedding...and I can hardly believe it's been a month!

You can see their professional pictures here.

not the waltz!

On the way home from work I'm usually listening to the local classical station and every day at 5:30 they play a waltz. I'm noticing a pattern here - baby boy is quite active day and night but he seems to get particularly wild during the 5:30 waltz. Now it could be that I'm just extra hungry at 5:30 or this could just be pure coincidence....or maybe the baby and I have very different tastes in music. I must turn him on to Bach fugues before it's too late.

ladybug invasion

Help! We are sharing our home with several dozen lady bugs. We're not sure when we invited them in but they don't seem to want to leave. Any ideas?

Trick or Treat

Would you believe that we still have Halloween candy leftover from last year? Last year we had SO many trick-or-treaters (is that a word?) that I had to go out and buy more candy because we ran out. Unfortunately, once I returned with the second round of candy our doorbell only rang two more times. SO, we had so much leftover candy that even I couldn't finish it in a year. We have a bag of those mini boxes of Nerds in our fridge and they've been there for 1 year...so do Nerds expire? Can we give them out tonight?

Twice in one week

There's this stupid mindless wasteful thing that I accidentally do occasionally...and this time I did it twice in a few short days. When I'm in the kitchen, I'm always cleaning up as I go and I often get ahead of myself. I love lemons and juice them often in my hand juicer for recipes or to make hot lemon water (a favorite now that it's colder and I'm afraid of most herbal teas since I'm pregnant). I have this horrible habit of juicing the lemon and then immediately cleaning the juicer (before I even get the lemon juice from it!) so I've wasted two lemons this week. I never even notice what I've done until I come to that point in the recipe where I need the lemon juice and I can't find it and then I realize the lemon juicer is rinsed clean and sitting in the dishwasher. How can I stop doing this?!? It's becoming a habit!

the Visitor

I rarely like movies - I can rarely even stay awake for a whole movie...but I really liked this one. Maybe you will too.

Doug and Tracie's first dance

Month (and a half) in review

I just read the baby ticker and the part that says "I wiggle lots & wake mommy up at night..." -- that is so true right now! Those ticker makers really know what they're talking about! I can't remember the last time I stayed asleep for more than a couple hours. I suppose I should get used to it - in between the leg cramps I'm still getting way more sleep than I will once February comes! I'm feeling the baby move all the time and Sameer can often feel it too. We love it!

Here's a valuable lesson I learned this month: When you're feeling queasy, don't eat a whole grapefruit and then about a dozen baby carrots. It's not a good idea. I repeat: it's not a good idea, even if your cravings say it is.

I'm STILL feeling sick several times a day and while it's a tad better than the first trimester, I do think all that talk about the wonderful second trimester is a big LIE. (or maybe I'm weird or wimpy) Sure, the fatigue is better, but the leg cramps?!? Wow! Even nightly yoga can't compete with these. I think I'd rather just be fatigued! Oh - and I'm suddenly huge - I can't believe how quickly this is happening! Look out, California! All in all, it's DEFINITELY worth it and we just love preparing for our baby boy.

The last several weeks have been full of great things. We are happy...and tired. We're heading out to California again later this week for Tracie's wedding and then after that I don't think I ever want to travel again. Anyone want to visit us in NC?

Back in August we went to Wrightsville Beach for the most relaxing weekend we've ever had. Because I wasn't feeling great, I was not my usual vacationer and I think Sameer preferred this mellowed out version of me. I normally want to walk everywhere and see everything, which ends up requiring us to walk an average of oh, 10 miles a day...my idea of a great vacation = Sameer's idea of torture. So for this weekend, we planted ourselves under this umbrella here and took naps. That's about all we did the whole weekend. I didn't take any other pictures because that would have required moving.



Then two weeks later we went to California for Tracie's bridal showers...


Tracie and some of her bridesmaids


Tracie and her grandmas


mom and daughters

I also got to go to Tracie's classroom and watch her teach her second graders one morning. My favorite part was when she led them in a song of "Yankee Doodle" complete with marching and hand motions. Really, Tracie is an excellent teacher and I loved seeing her interact with her students. (She's also really good at singing patriotic songs)

Since we've been back, we've joined a small group at church and we're really excited about that. Our life in Durham is becoming rich and full. We've even started developing this peculiar attachment to the city. There's this phenomenon that I've seen happening to people who move here. At first they don't like it...then it slowly grows on them (very slowly for some)...then they become committed to the place and end up staying for years. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say, "I'm committed to Santa Clarita" or some other place but I can't tell you how many times I've heard the phrase, "We're committed to Durham." If you've visited, you wouldn't understand because it's not that charming of a place at first glance. It's a peculiar phenomenon indeed, but it's kind of happening to us.

So just as we settle into an autumn routine here, off we go again -

to joyfully celebrate the marriage of this sister we so love:


Happiness!

Isn't that a beautiful smile?

Happy News

Well it's been a while since we've updated....because we've had a secret to keep.

Any guesses?

Whitney's pregnant! We found out on Father's Day and we are overjoyed. She is now 12 weeks and the due date is February 21.


Baby's first picture: (Taken last month at 7 weeks)

New Favorite

Delicious, hot or iced.

I Heart Root Canals

Really I do. I highly recommend them. (If you need one, that is). My teeth haven't felt this good in years.

Does anyone know where I can find these?

Over Your Head

This Saturday my brother and sister-in-law (Danny and Lindsay) will be featured on HGTV's show Over Your Head. From HGTV's website, the show appears to be scheduled for Saturday, May 31st at 11:00 am (PT and/or ET). Others in the family say 8:00 am. Who knows. We don't have cable. Hopefully we'll get to see it at some point. But what we did get to see was their bathroom. HGTV helped them turn a Bathroom Debacle into a bathroom delight. (They filmed back in December so we got to see the finished product when we were out for Christmas.)

My parents came to visit us and we had an absolutely lovely time. We showed them around Durham, they got to see our daily routines, and...

they were each appointed seats to the House of Representatives!! Just kidding. We actually just went on a fun weekend trip to Washington D.C.



Roosevelt once said, "Speak softly, and carry a big stick." D.C. is in fact the home of America's largest and pointiest stick, which can be seen in the background above. This explains why Roosevelt indeed spoke so very softly.


Just as we have with so many of our other beloved visitors, we all went to Duke Gardens.


We never grow tired of the gardens, because different flowers have been in bloom each time and the tulips were particularly big and beautiful this time. You can't quite see the scale on this picture, but the top of the flower goes up to about where my neck is.

It was such precious time and it went by so quickly. Thanks so much for making the trip to see us!

Tracie's Engaged!

Engaged to be married, that is.

Congratulations, Doug and Tracie!

lawn mowing, friends in town

We bought this beauty last Saturday. It doesn't match our house AT ALL but Sameer convinced me to settle on it anyway, since designer lawnmowers are so expensive these days. Sameer put this ugly orange thing to work and mowed the lawn today. If only we had taken "before" pictures....you would have been impressed with the height of our (mostly crab) grass. A week longer and we'd have had to go out there with a machete just to prepare the lawn for mowing. I was surprised that we hadn't heard from anyone in the homeowner's association about it - my guess was that they couldn't successfully make their way to the front door.

Lance and Cassie, friends from Yale, drove down last weekend to hang out with us. The main purpose for the visit was to help us buy a lawn mower. But afterwards we still had some time, so we did some other stuff too. Most significantly, we introduced them to The Office. They successfully watched Seasons 1 and 2 in a very short period of time. Thankfully, they don't seem to ever require any sleep. Anyway, we're so glad they're Office fans now too, because that is the only thing we know how to base a friendship on. I am aware that I ended that sentence with a preposition - but it just felt like the right thing to do.


Thanks for coming to see us! Your presence was very enjoyable, as were your omelettes.

He is Risen!

Said the angel, “He is risen!”
Tell it out with joyful voice:
He has burst His three days’ prison;
Let the whole wide earth rejoice:
Death is conquered, we are free,
Christ has won the victory.

Come, ye sad and fearful hearted,
With glad smile and radiant brow!
Death’s long shadows have departed;
All our woes are over now,
Due to passion that He bore—
Sin and pain can vex no more.

Come, with high and holy hymning,
Chant our Lord’s triumphant day;
Not one darksome cloud is dimming
Yonder glorious morning ray,
Breaking over the purple east:
Brighter far our Easter feast.

He is risen, He is risen!
He has opened Heaven’s gate:
We are free from sin’s dark prison,
Risen to a holier state;
And a brighter Easter beam
On our longing eyes shall stream.


- Cecil Alexander (1846)

We've had some visitors recently...and what a joy it was!



Heather and May took a long train ride to visit us for a few days while they were on this side of the country. Thanks Heather! We miss you!

The neglected blog.

Um, since it's February 29 I thought I'd post so we could at least have a post under Feb. 2008 (ridiculous, I know). Unfortunately we're too tired to think of anything to write. Or maybe it's just that it's been so long that we don't know where to start. Anyhow, if you haven't already seen the video below, welcome to the world of "Charlie Bit Me". This blog is pathetic. But here you go:

Sorry No Posts for a While... But Please Accept This Goaty Goodness

The guy who coined the euphamism "like a deer in headlights" had to be kicking himself after he saw this...