Its a slow day at work so here’s my countdown to exciting events coming up in my life.
105 days till I get married in utah
182 days till I get married in India
47 days till my birthday
96 days till I go to Utah
324 days till I graduate
Author: nainadg
Blogging...Mommy Style
Rainy day…Moping around
This morning, what was starting out as a nice relaxing morning quickly ended drastically on my way to school. I noticed my car was driving funny and I pulled over, only to find that I had a flat tire. I know, I know flat tires can happen to anyone anywhere, but I was especially upset because they were brand new tires. I had just replaced my tires last month and here I was in the pouring rain, on my way to school with a flat tire. I called J and he drove out to help me fix it but for some reason he couldn’t get the tire off to put the spare tire on. So we had to drive to Target, buy a fix a flat and by now it was raining quite hard. When we got to the car, it turned out the fix a flat had a defect and most of the goo ended up on J and we only had a little bit to fix the tire. We finally manged to get it to the mechanic and they assured us that they could fix the tire and I wouldn’t need new ones. Of course luck wasn’t on our side and they had to end up replacing the tire and it of course took a lot longer than they said it would. Ultimately, I am now poorer and had to come late to work and now I have to stay late too. Boo Hoo.
In other news, since I had a few hours at home this morning because of the car, I was able to make a yummy lunch and i decided to experiment with potato salad. J has been asking for poato salad lately and I’m really picky about potato salad. I absolutely love Jason’s Deli potato salad , where its all mashed and mustardy so I tried to make my own. I used
Horseradish mashed Potato Salad
smashed potaoes,
horseradish mustard
a little chilli powder
celery salt
black pepper
onion powder
Mayo
Bacon
I mixed them all up together until it was smooth and lump free and it was delicious. Next time I am going to add hard boiled eggs, for more flavor explosion. We were in such a hurry to eat lunch that I didn’t take a picture, it looked so creamy and delicious though. 😦
Here’s a generic pic thats close, only mine was creamier
i am so lame, i just blogged about potato salad. oh well
Snow Layout
I did this layout this weekend about the one time in snowed this winter in NC. I was going to use fewer embellishments but I thought the stickers were too cute to not use. Especially since I don’t know when I might see snow again. I think it still turned out okay though. I am still undecided about adding journaling.
Wild Weekend
Last weekend , I went to a Jungle Theme party at on of my friend’s houses. Everyone was required to dress up as something or someone that was related to the Jungle. I was convinced my costume was going to be really lame because I just used stuff from my closet but it actually turned out to be one of the better ones there. I tied a old sarong as a dress and wore big pieces of jewelry. Since the sarong has a wild print, it worked. Here’s a pic :
Life Art
Since I mentioned Cathy Zielske a couple of days back, I thought I’d mention another of my favorite designers- Ali Edwards. Ali, however likes to think of herself as a “life artist” rather than a designer and she also encourages most people who are inspired by her work to think of themselves as life artists as well. Ali’s designs are clean and simple, but always personal. I have been most inspired by her appreciation of the little things in life. Her blog is a great reflection of the things going on in her life. She is an active artist, campaigner for autism research and of course a mom. Her stories and layouts are so humorous and insightful that it forces me to learn more about myself.
Her stuff can be seen here and on her blog(listed under blogroll).
Lucky
I have been reflecting the past few days and I have decided I am a very lucky girl. This has been a rather calming thought in the times I get anxious about my upcoming wedding or life in general.
When I think of the different elements that are coming together for my wedding , I am so grateful for all this grace in my life.
I have very supportive parents. Yeah they drive me crazy sometimes, but I always know that I can count on them
Reasons why my wedding shows I’m lucky:
My super awesome fiance J. He is the sweetest and funniest guy I know and it doesn’t hurt that he is HOT! Sometimes, I can’t believet that he actually loves me. We have had our share of problems and we both know that we’ll probably have more, but I know that we’ll always find a way to work through them. I am so happy that I’m the lucky girl who gets to marry him
My friends. My best friend KD is my rock! Because of our busy schedules we don’t really get to talk much these days but I know I can turn to her whenever I need a good vent or need some advice or opinion.She is my biggest cheerleader and now she is going to be the officiant at my wedding.
My good friend JJ is an inspiration to me. She is a such a great photographer and a has such a great imagination. I love reading her blog and looking at her great pics. I am so grateful that she is helping me plan this wedding. She has been invaluable to me by giving me advice, scouting out a location, giving me neat ideas for dresses, etc.
My friend JE is actually flying across the country to come to the wedding. I know thats hard for her, because she is a student and a single mom and its hard for her to get away. The fact that she is willing to make so much time for me makes me feel really special.
My cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. My extended family are a crazy bunch, but they sure know how to have a good time. Same goes for all our family friends as well.
There are so many more people and so many serendipitious things that I am grateful for as these plans start to fall into place. I have said before that one of my core values is that of a community and I couldn’t ask for a better one than the one I’ve got.
I am humbled by the grace in my life.
Scrapper
I think a mentioned a while ago that I have taken up scrapbooking. Its a really fun hobby and I have found some really great designers whose work I think is really exciting. They are simple and focus more on recording one’s thoughts on clean , graphic layouts and are less about embellishments and stickers. One designer who really inspires me is Cathy Zielske. She is often criticized that her layouts look too much like advertisements but maybe because I am a marketing major, I find them enchanting. My favorite is one where she finds inspiration in a Jones Soda Bottle Label. Jones Soda and Simple Scrapbooks (She is the creative director for the magazine) put it up here.
Anyway, yesterday after working out , I decided to go check out the Scrapbook store. There is only one in Durham, apart from Michaels and AC Moore. In a tiny little town in Utah there were atleast 4 or 5. Its funny all the major scrapbooking companies have their offices in Utah. Woo Hoo UT Scrap Capital of the world.
I am really happy with my new hobby and that it allows me to express my self visually and through words
WMC
My bridesmaid and good friend JJ went up to Brighton and spoke with the site manager for our venue. She sent me a few pics and here are my favorite ones
Front of the Lodge
Front porch/patio
The Main Room
Sleeping Area
River on the property
*All photographs credited to Jessica T*
Officiant
My MOH is now also my officiant. KD is now an official member of the Universalist Life Church and can perform weddings, baptisms etc. So now I can check off Officiant off of my list. I am so excited and grateful that she is going to be the person who marries me and J. Since J and I aren’t religious we felt having someone who is an important part of our lives officially marry us would give weight and meaning to our ceremony. I do believe in community, love, friendship and having KD officiate encompasses all those values.
Weekend full of Food
Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!! What a busy weekend! I had friday off b/c my parents were in town and now it feels weird to be back at work! Thankfully I only have half a day today!!! yaaay! I love working somewhere that lets me have a flexible schedule. Its been really nice spending time with my parents this week, even though my mom and I had our usual little tiffs. Friday and Saturday we went shopping and drove out to the country side near Chapel Hill and went on a fun little walk. Orange county has a really cute little dairy called Maple View Farms; it has rows of old fashioned wooden rockers and a nice wide shady porch. After our walk we got yummy icecream cones and enjoyed the shade and icecream. Yesterday we went to our usual potluck and I think my parents enjoyed meeting some of our friends and eating really good food. My dad leaves this afternoon and my mom leaves tomorrow morning and thinking about the house being empty again makes me sad! I don’t think I want to live with my parents again, because that would drive me crazy, but I do wish they lived at least in the same city.
Yummy foods I ate this weekend:
Indian Buffet
My mom’s chops
My new recipe red curry
J’s fab steaks
Spearmint Lemonade
Chocolate Orange Icecream
BBQ joint BBQ, Coleslaw, hushpuppies and garlic green beans
Kahlua Pudding
Mini gourds filled with shrimp
Pancakes (aaaagggggh!!!)
Mojitos
Sweet Potato Salad
Rhubarb Torte
Beer Can Chicken
Wow reading this list makes me realize how much time I spend eating. I wouldn’t have it any other way though. Although, I need to take a little breather from all this food this week.
Orange You Grape 
