We're back in NJ after 2 back to back weekends of travelling out of town. We were in NC this past weekend, and in Chicago the weekend prior.
In Chicago, we attended the wedding of my cousin. This trip is the only trip of the year where we are going for an event on 'my side' as every other trip is for Kunal's family or friends events. It was such a joy to see so much of my family in one spot, especially since the last time I saw most of them was in October for my own engagement. As usual, being with my family hinders my ability to sleep. I want to soak up every second possible so usually sleep gets thrown off the 'to do' list. This just goes to show how much I enjoy my family time as sleep is one of my favorites things. Spending 3-4 days with my family was the cure for my apathetic spell I was going through here in NJ. I'm so used to always being around family that I never realized what a toll it would have on me when I go months without seeing them.
This past weekend, we went back to the wonderful state of NC for Kunal's friend's engagement party. I was beyond excited at the thought of finally going home. We hadn't been to NC since the holidays!! Being home was great, especially since my parents were actually here this time! (Last time I came home, for the holidays, they decided to go to Texas to surprise my sister and left me alone!) I was more than spoiled with food. I was getting over allergies or a cold, still don't know what I have, so my parents really babied me until I got well again. Sometimes I wonder why I ever decided to move out.
Now we are back in NJ, here to stay until mid-July when we go home again for more weddings. That trip will be great because I am staying home for 10 days. I am in the middle of planning my daily meals so I can be sure to get in all my favorites before I'm forced to come back to NJ. I think I'm more concerned with my meals that week than actual wedding planning. Oh, my priorities.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Monday, June 11, 2012
The Travel Bug
Everyone told me that once you 'grow up' you realize just how busy you become. There are 12 weeks until Labor Day weekend and out of those 12 weeks, we are out of the tri-state area for 6. And we'll be out of town for 2 more for some drivable weekend trips to CT and PA. Did I mention we have a trip planned every month after that? We are attending 5 weddings and 1 engagement from now until the end of the year. It will be lots of fun but I feel like I'll defintely miss the lazy weekends at home when the day is my canvas and I do what I please. This past weekend for perfect for that reason. We have no definite plans. We went to dinner with friends on Friday, planned our England trip, shopped, and spent time with more friends Saturday, and ended the weekend with some chores, tennis, and leftovers. It was a very nice "last weekend" at home until the end of the month.
I love to travel but hate to pack. I like being prepared for any type of situation which usually leads to overpacking. Since many of our trips revolved around Indian events, it just adds to my packing distain. Having to pick our normal clothing and accessories is difficult enough..then to have to throw in Indian outs and their accessories. It takes me hours making sure everything fits, it all has a string where needed, a petticoat for saris, putting together bangles, finding jewelry and a bindi to match. Then there's the shoes! I finally finished last night putting together my Indian outfits for this weekend. I haven't even thought about what clothes I'll be wearing the rest of the time in Chicago. Then there's deciding what makeup is needed, what hair supplies I need to bring. It is SUCH a process.
Our main plan this year was going to go to Hawaii for a real vacation...but the important life events of our nearest and dearest definitely take precedent over vacations, and there is always next year. In order to still have some fun 'us time' we planned getaways where possible.When we are in England, we've booked a 3 day excursion to Paris in the middle of switching from spending time with Kunal's family to mine. Since Hawaii wasn't going to happened this year, the next best thing is Miami. The dates of our timeshare coincided with the anniversary of our civil ceremony so that will be a nice treat. The following month, we are off to Boston for a wedding and we'll end the year out in the South for the holidays. The year is so planned that I feel like it is going to fly by so fast. Before I know it, it'll be my wedding!
I love to travel but hate to pack. I like being prepared for any type of situation which usually leads to overpacking. Since many of our trips revolved around Indian events, it just adds to my packing distain. Having to pick our normal clothing and accessories is difficult enough..then to have to throw in Indian outs and their accessories. It takes me hours making sure everything fits, it all has a string where needed, a petticoat for saris, putting together bangles, finding jewelry and a bindi to match. Then there's the shoes! I finally finished last night putting together my Indian outfits for this weekend. I haven't even thought about what clothes I'll be wearing the rest of the time in Chicago. Then there's deciding what makeup is needed, what hair supplies I need to bring. It is SUCH a process.
Our main plan this year was going to go to Hawaii for a real vacation...but the important life events of our nearest and dearest definitely take precedent over vacations, and there is always next year. In order to still have some fun 'us time' we planned getaways where possible.When we are in England, we've booked a 3 day excursion to Paris in the middle of switching from spending time with Kunal's family to mine. Since Hawaii wasn't going to happened this year, the next best thing is Miami. The dates of our timeshare coincided with the anniversary of our civil ceremony so that will be a nice treat. The following month, we are off to Boston for a wedding and we'll end the year out in the South for the holidays. The year is so planned that I feel like it is going to fly by so fast. Before I know it, it'll be my wedding!
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Byebye Appeal
So it has finally happened...I lost my motivation to be a grown up. More and more I find myself wishing and wanting to just go back home. I'm not sure whate brought on this latest case of homesickness but it seems to be sticking.
I used to come home and plan a lovely meal and get cooking, throw in some laundry, tidy up the place. Now, I come home and take a 2 hour nap because I'm so exhausted. And I still go to bed at 11:30-12ish. I'm not sure why I am just so tired all the time. Kunal is tired too..I think we both are worn out from New Jersey. It has yet to grow on either one of use and Kunal's at over 2 years and I'm approaching mine.
To use a term I learn in my literature classes, I think we romanticized "playing house" and now that we are actually in a house with real situations, we realized maybe we weren't as ready as we thought. For example, transferring Kunal's car from SC to NJ. You'd think it would be a quick process since his name is on the title. But no, it's long and complicated and I just don't have the motivation to figure it out. I mean, I just now made a eye doctor appointment, when I was on my very last pair of contacts because I hate doing anything that ties me more to NJ than NC. I still have yet to think about making a dentist appointment. I miss my mom in times like these!
We haven't been out of NJ/the northeast since Christmas. Maybe it finally caught up to us. Missing the south and everything that comes with it, our families, friends, the food, just everything. I'm hopefully our summer of travelling and spending time with lots of family and friends will liven us up and give us our second wind. Don't get me wrong, we have family and friends up here, but it's just not the same as home. Everything is different back home, it's just more laid back, fun, familiar. What we really need right now is a big dose of home.
Right now life just isn't has fun. My biggest accomplishment this week was actually making dinner 4 nights in a row. Being homesick makes me not want to do anything...except crave my mom's food. It's weird to be homesick because I was always the type to never get homesick while in school. Although considering "home" was always a quick 30 minute drive always helped.
Grown up world : 3 Me: 0
I used to come home and plan a lovely meal and get cooking, throw in some laundry, tidy up the place. Now, I come home and take a 2 hour nap because I'm so exhausted. And I still go to bed at 11:30-12ish. I'm not sure why I am just so tired all the time. Kunal is tired too..I think we both are worn out from New Jersey. It has yet to grow on either one of use and Kunal's at over 2 years and I'm approaching mine.
To use a term I learn in my literature classes, I think we romanticized "playing house" and now that we are actually in a house with real situations, we realized maybe we weren't as ready as we thought. For example, transferring Kunal's car from SC to NJ. You'd think it would be a quick process since his name is on the title. But no, it's long and complicated and I just don't have the motivation to figure it out. I mean, I just now made a eye doctor appointment, when I was on my very last pair of contacts because I hate doing anything that ties me more to NJ than NC. I still have yet to think about making a dentist appointment. I miss my mom in times like these!
We haven't been out of NJ/the northeast since Christmas. Maybe it finally caught up to us. Missing the south and everything that comes with it, our families, friends, the food, just everything. I'm hopefully our summer of travelling and spending time with lots of family and friends will liven us up and give us our second wind. Don't get me wrong, we have family and friends up here, but it's just not the same as home. Everything is different back home, it's just more laid back, fun, familiar. What we really need right now is a big dose of home.
Right now life just isn't has fun. My biggest accomplishment this week was actually making dinner 4 nights in a row. Being homesick makes me not want to do anything...except crave my mom's food. It's weird to be homesick because I was always the type to never get homesick while in school. Although considering "home" was always a quick 30 minute drive always helped.
Grown up world : 3 Me: 0
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Cutting the Cord
One less thing tying to me to my parents. One step closer to becoming self-sufficient. I finally purchased a NJ auto insurance policy. Now if you know me, of course I had to do go baby steps with it. Kunal, myself, and his car are on this policy and it's already a pretty penny! My car has to wait until we transfer the title from my father's name to mine. Can't imagine how expensive it will be then! The price was reasonable until I gave our license numbers and my fun little speeding ticket from September 2010 popped up and hiked it up. =(
Other than my car, the only thing my parents pay for is my cell phone bill....but I know those days are numbered too. As soon as my contract is up, I am definitely getting rid of Sprint and moving on to the bigger, better Verizon network. And I'm taking my dad with me! Figured he supported my phone habit for the past 9 years, the least I can do it pay for his phone now.
Being a grown up sucks right now. I feel like there is a constant stream of bills to pay and I can't just transfer a whole paycheck to my savings as often as I did before. My savings isn't growing as quickly as I would like and it is not cool. By the time I am done alloting one paycheck to bills and savings, I'm already thinking of what I can use the next one for! We have way too many things to pay off right now so I always think twice when I want to make frivolous purchases. There is still so much I want to do decorating-wise but feel like I need to wait until we have our money under more control. This is super hard becuase I want a lamp here, a bookself there, a storage cabinet in the garage and it all has to wait! My inner creativity is screaming at being held back.
Grown up world : 2 Me: 0
Other than my car, the only thing my parents pay for is my cell phone bill....but I know those days are numbered too. As soon as my contract is up, I am definitely getting rid of Sprint and moving on to the bigger, better Verizon network. And I'm taking my dad with me! Figured he supported my phone habit for the past 9 years, the least I can do it pay for his phone now.
Being a grown up sucks right now. I feel like there is a constant stream of bills to pay and I can't just transfer a whole paycheck to my savings as often as I did before. My savings isn't growing as quickly as I would like and it is not cool. By the time I am done alloting one paycheck to bills and savings, I'm already thinking of what I can use the next one for! We have way too many things to pay off right now so I always think twice when I want to make frivolous purchases. There is still so much I want to do decorating-wise but feel like I need to wait until we have our money under more control. This is super hard becuase I want a lamp here, a bookself there, a storage cabinet in the garage and it all has to wait! My inner creativity is screaming at being held back.
Grown up world : 2 Me: 0
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Dinner Parties
One of the things I was most looking forward to when we moved was hosting dinner parties. I absolutely love having people over, cooking a (hopefully) delicious meal, and playing the role of hostess. We are having our very first major party this Saturday and I am beyond excited for it. Last week, I decided to invite a couple of friends over for a pseudo-Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving is my favorite time to eat and I was really missing the food. I made a turkey breast roast in my slow cooker, whipped up some spicy corn soup, made stuffing, and of course had string beans. I wish I could have made macaroni and mashed potatoes but I was working with a limited pantry of supplies. The meal turned out well, granted it was only for 4 people but baby steps in the right direction.
Then this past Friday, I invited my aunt, her family and a couple of friends over for dinner since my sister and brother-in-law were in town. I was very excited to grill or rather have Kunal grill the food I prepared. I went from 4 people to 10 people. It was a good time though. We made Mexican style shrimp and chicken kebabs as appetizer and fajitas for dinner. Definitely learned a few things but I feel pretty ready for having a mass quantity of people over this weekend. I realized that I cannot partake in the multiple glasses of margaritas as that will lead to being lazy when it comes to cleaning up. This makes for a not so fun morning when walking into a messy kitchen. I should also prepare everything possible the night before so I'm not stuck getting food ready while everyone else is socializing.
My biggest flaw in the kitchen is that I cannot bake/make any dessert items. I tried making a cookie cake once and it turned out harder than a brick! I guess now that I have everything else down to a science, I can concentrate on sweets so I don't have to feed my guests cake and ice cream from the store.
Then this past Friday, I invited my aunt, her family and a couple of friends over for dinner since my sister and brother-in-law were in town. I was very excited to grill or rather have Kunal grill the food I prepared. I went from 4 people to 10 people. It was a good time though. We made Mexican style shrimp and chicken kebabs as appetizer and fajitas for dinner. Definitely learned a few things but I feel pretty ready for having a mass quantity of people over this weekend. I realized that I cannot partake in the multiple glasses of margaritas as that will lead to being lazy when it comes to cleaning up. This makes for a not so fun morning when walking into a messy kitchen. I should also prepare everything possible the night before so I'm not stuck getting food ready while everyone else is socializing.
My biggest flaw in the kitchen is that I cannot bake/make any dessert items. I tried making a cookie cake once and it turned out harder than a brick! I guess now that I have everything else down to a science, I can concentrate on sweets so I don't have to feed my guests cake and ice cream from the store.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Low Blow NJ, Low Blow
One of the most shocking things happened. Our car was stolen! Right out of our driveway! On a rainy Sunday night. Who does that???? Seriously one of the unsettling feeling I have had in a LONG time. I know I am melo-dramatic in general but this is crazy! I don't even feel safe in my home anymore when I'm alone..which has been never since we discovered the missing car. It's tragic to go from loving to come home, not caring if I'm alone to being extremely paranoid. I'm getting my car rekeyed tomorrow since there was a spare key in Kunal's. Hopefully that will be make me feel safer if there is no possible way anyone but me can get into my car.
On Monday, when this happened, I was just about ready to call it quits and figure out a way to move back home. NJ is definitely not like home and things like this definitely do not help make us feel any differently about this state. I keep telling myself it could have been worse, but this is still really sucky, sorry to sound like a middle schooler, but there isn't a better word for this situation. At least we have each other, to help with the homesickness, the problems that arise, the loneliness we feel. Who know how either one of us would have reacted if we were alone in this situation.
If there's a lesson we could learn from this, it's always double check the doors, never keep anything important in a car, and that it's us against the world. Knowing we have each other helps with the hardships of being so far away from everything and everyone we love. To quote a song by Tynisha Keli (that I just googled, haven't heard) yet, "Baby it 's you and me against the world It's ride or die till the very end."
On Monday, when this happened, I was just about ready to call it quits and figure out a way to move back home. NJ is definitely not like home and things like this definitely do not help make us feel any differently about this state. I keep telling myself it could have been worse, but this is still really sucky, sorry to sound like a middle schooler, but there isn't a better word for this situation. At least we have each other, to help with the homesickness, the problems that arise, the loneliness we feel. Who know how either one of us would have reacted if we were alone in this situation.
If there's a lesson we could learn from this, it's always double check the doors, never keep anything important in a car, and that it's us against the world. Knowing we have each other helps with the hardships of being so far away from everything and everyone we love. To quote a song by Tynisha Keli (that I just googled, haven't heard) yet, "Baby it 's you and me against the world It's ride or die till the very end."
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Family Visits
"Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city." Chaos is what happens when they come to visit.
This past weekend, Kunal and I solidified our grown up game by having a katha to bless our new home. I grew up with my family having kathas on a regular basis, especially when someone would move to a new place and that was something I wanted to continue. Granted Kunal and I had no idea what was going on or what we were saying as we poured water, flower petals, and rice over statues of deities. It was fun though, the mahraj understood we were newbies and was very patient with us. He explained what each thing signified so we weren't completely lost. While my legs lost feeling a few times, it was a good experience.
For the katha, our families came in from out of town and of course, stayed with us. There were a total of 10 people who somehow managed to fit and sleep somewhat comfortably. It was a huge slumber party that was super fun. We stayed up late, talked, joked, ate, the works. It was just want I needed after being miserable and homesick for the previous few weeks. Our dads joined forces and tackled our handyman problems like switching the electrical outlets and light switches. They put up a new light fixture in the kitchen, installed new shower heads, etc. It was great! Our moms made chai, cleaned, handled the kitchen. It was a nice break.
Kunal's cousin came with her daughter and it was fun having a little rugrat running around. She's quite adorable. Having everyone here really did put the icing on the cake of having the house feel like a home. I mean, we've had friends over but it's just not the same until you pack as many family members as possible for a weekend. Granted, we won't have this many people over for a long, long time, it was a great way to break in our home.
This past weekend, Kunal and I solidified our grown up game by having a katha to bless our new home. I grew up with my family having kathas on a regular basis, especially when someone would move to a new place and that was something I wanted to continue. Granted Kunal and I had no idea what was going on or what we were saying as we poured water, flower petals, and rice over statues of deities. It was fun though, the mahraj understood we were newbies and was very patient with us. He explained what each thing signified so we weren't completely lost. While my legs lost feeling a few times, it was a good experience.
For the katha, our families came in from out of town and of course, stayed with us. There were a total of 10 people who somehow managed to fit and sleep somewhat comfortably. It was a huge slumber party that was super fun. We stayed up late, talked, joked, ate, the works. It was just want I needed after being miserable and homesick for the previous few weeks. Our dads joined forces and tackled our handyman problems like switching the electrical outlets and light switches. They put up a new light fixture in the kitchen, installed new shower heads, etc. It was great! Our moms made chai, cleaned, handled the kitchen. It was a nice break.
Kunal's cousin came with her daughter and it was fun having a little rugrat running around. She's quite adorable. Having everyone here really did put the icing on the cake of having the house feel like a home. I mean, we've had friends over but it's just not the same until you pack as many family members as possible for a weekend. Granted, we won't have this many people over for a long, long time, it was a great way to break in our home.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)