My First Indian Wedding!

What an amazing weekend, wedding - WOW!

So, a good friend of mine, Suja, was set to be married July 26, 2008 in Seattle, Washington. I got her invitation about 2 months ago and was just so excited for her as it seems she is extremely happy and when my friends are happy, so am I. I immediately started planning - contacted my friend, Katherine, who I knew would also be invited to see if she would be there as well and of course she would! She invited me to stay with her which I immediately accepted and started planning on meeting many wonderful people and having a great time. The only downside to this I was to find out was that Robert's mother and sister were to be in town this particular weekend as a part of their trip/stay out here to Portland and that I would miss that weekend's activities with his family.

So, after trying to catch up on sleep I am remembering things that happened and just how much fun I had. I arrived Friday afternoon, made my way over to the Hotel where Katherine booked a room - The W. A beautiful suite to stay in, a beautiful view and on top of it all beautiful weather! We hung out for a bit and then decided on where to go for dinner - Campagne. My boss was nice enough to give me a gift certificate that was given to him to this French-American restaurant which made our decision a bit easier. We enjoyed a lovely dinner, a couple of drinks with dinner and shared a delicious dessert and made our way back to the Hotel, all within walking distance which made it even better! We hung out at the W's fun and hip bar. Made friends with John the bartender and enjoyed the people watching which there was plenty of.

The next morning we woke up early, trekked up to "The Sweatbox" where we worked off our butter-laden dinner from the night previous - ahh yes, and those four glasses of wine! Let's not forget those! We walked back to our hotel - a 2 mile round trip walk - grabbed some coffee and a pastry at the wonderful little French bakery across the street, Belle Epicurean, and back to the room! A shower and all that good stuff and off we were to Pike Place Market! We checked out the vendors and then grabbed some Mediterranean food for lunch at Sabra and then made our way up the street to check out the Nordstrom flagship store. As we walked up the street I started hearing "Light My Fire" coming from a car down the hill with it's windows down. I mean, it was blaring! As the car made its way up the hill we saw it - a pimped out black with gold accents Trans Am! I had to snap a photo!! As the car went by I looked in and it was a 50+ year old Asian man! LOL - too funny! There was a group in front of us that cheered him on as he peeled away from the stoplight and made HIS way up the hill. Here is the photo I was able to get of him.

On our way we stopped in Lush, got a wonderful hand scrub treatment, bought a couple of items and again, on our way we went! A quick stop in Nordstrom to check out the shoes, etc. and finally, back to our room to get ready for the wedding!

And now, the wedding. I don't know if it was the people, the setting, the religion, the tradition - I simply knew that this was going to be a GREAT wedding and a wonderful time. Maybe it was my attitude, my positivity, my happiness for this couple. The ceremony was to be a traditional Indian ceremony that later we found out was to be only 45 minutes long. It was definitely longer than 45 minutes and the only reason I knew was because I started getting hungry - it was fun though taking photos and being walked through what was going on - the Officiant was really good about that. And when Suja came out - wow. She looked SO beautiful in her super-ornate red Sari.

After the ceremony I recall the groom's father opening up these double doors and announcing that "the bar is open!" Hooray! I could tell that these people knew how to have a good time and was very much looking forward to the food as it was of course going to be a Vegetarian's feast! And it was!!! Katherine and I met a few people, chatted first with the DJ, DJ Aanshul, who approached us probably because we looked like we didn't really know anyone. Then we introduced ourselves to Suja's brother, Arun, and talked to him for a little bit as we grabbed our second drink. Nice guy. Chatty. Handsome. Charming. Then it was food time - we loaded up and while in line we met another nice gentleman, Hari. He was a very nice man and I think was particularly interested in Katherine. :o) He was a cousin of the family but decided to find a seat with us and enjoy his dinner with us which was nice. Then some delicious cake which Katherine and I shared as we were both stuffed and then, the dancing begins!!!!

Wow - I would say it was almost 3 hours STRAIGHT of dancing to current selections but my favorite - Bollywood! It was great and we made some more new friends on the dance floor. A particularly beautiful young lady, who the next day we found out her name - Sapna. She was fun! Such a great outlook and attitude!! Throughout the evening we had several fun dance partners and each other. Katherine and I were just enjoying and although we were both wearing probably 3-4 inch heels it didn't matter! Everyone was on the dance floor - that was the beauty. I really enjoyed dancing with Vikram's (groom) Dad, Dr. Rao, Suja's brother, Arun, and of course, Katherine. There was another guy whose name we didn't know yet that kept dancing with us and he just had the greatest smile - everyone was SO nice. We were introduced the next day and his name is Barack - no, not Obama, he says!

Anyhow, as the evening was ending I figured out what it was that I loved so much and I remember telling Katherine this: These families, these people, were so passionate. You could feel the passion in the air and when I say passion I don't mean, Days of our Lives passion. I'm talking these people LOVE and you can feel it. They love having a good time, they love each other, they love themselves. It permeated - it was intoxicating. I didn't want the evening to end.

A few more dances and about midnight the evening ended there - time to cool off and head "home." I changed out of my almost completely sopping wet dress and into some jeans and a cute top and again, we found ourselves downstairs with John, our faithful bartender with a good memory. We couldn't get over how wonderful the whole evening was and what a great weekend it had turned out to be. Which I knew it would but wow - it was more than I had imagined!

I really didn't want to leave. I was having such a good time but how great would it be to recount my stories when I got back home?! We attended the day after brunch at the bride and groom's home and had time to catch up with our friend, Suja, and to meet and chat with the nice people we had danced with the night previous. I think I'm still catching up on sleep - it was that good of a time.

A time and a weekend I will never forget. Thank you Suja and all of your family and friends for such a memorable and wonderful weekend. Thank you Seattle for again showing me that you are a beautifully unique city. Thank you Katherine for being such a great friend and for always being so positive and fun. Thank you.

Feelings...

I just have to say that I have been pretty emotional lately.  It feels to me that I can FEEL everything and that everyone is an open book to me.  Like you don't even have to communicate with me and I just KNOW what is going on......

Why do I have to feel this?

It hurts me a lot and is sometimes hard to feel what I am feeling.....but I know that what you are going through is a lot more than what I feel.

It just makes me really, really sad.  Just to know.  

My thoughts and my heart are with YOU.  Please know that - you know that I care for you and love you very, very much and that my friendship with you means SO much to me.

I may not be able to help and/or fix what is going with you at the moment but please know that I am here for you and that my love for you runs SO deep.  I would do anything for you.

Reach out.  I am here...

Sometimes it's good to suck (get your mind out of the gutter!!)

It is really amazing how your body is different each and every day.  How what you eat and drink one day can affect you the next.  This has become more and more evident to me because of my Bikram yoga practice.  Especially since I'm in a room heated to about 105 degrees or so!  Oh, the things you feel!  :o)

I'm amazed how one day I can't seem to focus on anything other than how hot it is in the room, how I MUST wipe the sweat from my hands from my arms, how hot my stomach feels - and other days, like this morning, my practice feels effortless; like a dream.  As if I'm floating from one pose to the next and yes, with effort, but not to the degree of I feel like I am going to die.  I really enjoy how humbling practicing yoga is - especially Bikram yoga.  Amazingly, it is a great feeling when you suck in class because it grounds you; makes you aware of you and your body, your mind.

If you have never tried Bikram yoga I challenge you to give it a shot!  My boyfriend was a good sport and signed up for the introductory package (which at most studios is around $30 for one full month of unlimited yoga) and he went almost every time I did.  He stuck it out and agrees that it is very challenging but that it wasn't for him.  See how amazing you feel after 30 days.  During my intro package I went 19 out of the 30 days and felt AMAZING!  I still go around 4-5 times a week and really notice a difference in my awareness and am thankful for each and every time I make it to class and for the motivation of having a "yoga buddy" to push me to go when I would rather sleep in!  Thank you yoga buddy (you know who you are!!)

So I Think I Can Dance!

I think one of the reasons I love watching "So You Think You Can Dance" every year is because I wonder what my life would be like now if I had pursued dancing professionally.  Not in the way that I hate my life now or anything but in the way that you wonder about a different possibility.  You wonder where you would be living instead of where you are now and who your friends would be.  What your family would be like now.  If you really would have made it or if you would have struggled like so many do in the world of dance amongst so many other art forms.

Everyone makes the decisions that they do and for a good reason.  My reason for not following dance professionally was partly because I never really had the "dancer's body" but definitely it was because I knew it wouldn't pay the bills.  But would I have been happier?  Would I have felt more satisfied knowing that I had truly tried and followed what my heart really told me to?

It's something I think about quite often.  Even though I was only 125 pounds and 5'8" I never had the body of a ballet dancer which is what I truly fell in love with (ballet).  I started too late in life, according to the ballet purists.  I know I had/have talent but could it have been enough?  If it wouldn't have been enough why didn't I look into choreography?  I've always loved it and loved creating little shows and putting together dance routines for our annual concerts......but that was a long time ago.  (Photo above was taken at a performance at Palomar College - a ballet piece set to Bach - I'm on the left)

This is exactly why I adore and admire the dancers that are on the show.  They are truly doing what their heart is telling them they were meant to do and they are great at it!  They have SUCH passion!  When I watch them perform I sometimes DO wish that I could go back in time and see how I would have turned out if I had followed that dream.  I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be in Portland right now if I had, that's for sure, and I don't know if I would be willing to trade that for anything.

Dancing, choreography, dancers, music - it all speaks to me.  It moves me and I just love being a part of it and if the show keeps that fire alive in me, then great.  Last year I was lucky enough to have gotten tickets to their tour when they came here to Portland and scored some backstage passes - I met almost ALL of the top dancers and to meet them and talk to them even if for just a few minutes made me appreciate all that I have and all that I have learned over the last 10 years of living on my own.  I am thankful for all of the wonderful people that I have met throughout the years and know that I would never trade that for anything.

Still, it is fun to dream!

For all you LUSHes out there!!

I've been meaning to write about a new addiction of mine. Some of you who talk to me frequently may already know what it is. I don't know what took me so long to try and fall in love with this store and their fresh-made products - maybe it's because their only store in Portland is on NW 23rd and being that I don't live over in that neighborhood anymore, I dread the thought of making my way over there due to the bad traffic and parking is a bitch!

LUSH makes all of their products by hand and from fresh, sometimes 100% Vegan ingredients. A girl that I work with had told me about them and how much she fell in love with their products so finally one lunch afternoon a few of us headed up there with her to check it out. She let me try some of her "Love Lettuce" face mask to see if I liked it. These Fresh Masks are made fresh weekly with all sorts of interesting ingredients that are supposed to cleanse, renew, and refresh. These masks in particular have expiration dates and must be kept refrigerated as a lot of them have actual food items in them - avocado, almonds, and spices amongst other things. Let me just say that I am now addicted (thanks Babs) and my skin has never looked better!

What intrigues me about LUSH is their unique approach to skin care, skin maintenance and even how they try new things with their bath products. I mean, whoever heard of a solid shampoo?!?! Now, I had tried their soap products a few years ago thanks to an ex that brought them back to me from a trip to Vancouver, BC and he thought it would be a unique gift idea until I told him that we had a store right up on 23rd (and this is when I lived in NW). It could also have taken me so long because there was a girl I know that used to manage that store who I know didn't like me so much (different ex's ex) and that could have deterred me from entering their very fragrant front doors (immature, I know, but those were very different and dramatic times). Well, what ever it WAS maybe I just wasn't ready for them until NOW.

What's so great about it too is that it has me really excited about skin care when of course who thinks that washing their face and applying moisturizer could be exciting?? It's not. It's one of those things that most people think, "Okay, it's time to go to bed - gotta go wash my face. Ugh." But when you get such GREAT results from very reasonable priced products that are made with care and are also Cruelty Free and NOT tested on animals, well, I'm totally sold!

What I love best about "finding" something new like this is being able to share with friends and family. It's also great because there are all sorts of gift ideas I've got running through my head and lots of birthdays coming up. You Lucky Leos!! :o)

So I recommend that if you are lucky enough to have a Lush store near you to go ahead, walk in, ignore the somewhat overpowering scent of all the bath products and walk on over to one of their Uber-friendly associates and ask them what face wash they recommend for your skin type. The world is such a serious place that we should be able to escape every once in a while (or every night) when you are slathering up that face mask ready to apply and think, man, my skin is going to look great when I'm done with this!

By the way, I just bought and tried a new mask, Brazened Honey. Wow - it has all sorts of spices in it and it is supposed to spice up your skin, make you sweat and bring out any impurities. I was in yoga class this morning and I could still smell it - it smelled like I had eaten a bunch of curry last night! It's fun! And that is what skin care should be!

Meeting My Meat

I am once again disgusted with people. I was checking out The Masala Dose's blog that had a link to an article about the brutality of meat production. Now, it's been years since I have checked out PETA and read their newsletters, etc. My sister, Wendy, is a vegetarian and has been for many, many years. We've talked about it before and although I always thought it would coincide more with my beliefs, I never made that change. Call it laziness or what ever but I just never did it even though I absolutely 100% love animals and do not wish any sort of harm to them.

I watched a video called "Meet Your Meat." I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Poor chicks that are forced to eat and eat and they eat so much and grow so quickly their bones can't handle it - their legs break, they flop around, they can't get to water and a lot of the time die right next to a feeder or water but couldn't reach it due to their lame limbs. It was horrifying watching the cattle that also couldn't even walk themselves down the conveyer because their bones were as well either broken or lame due to the conditions that they suffered in. Throats being slit, animals falling off of the hooks they were put on and writhing around in their own blood. How could I not remember all of this was happening?

I suppose it is a testament to our willful blindness to these horrific acts that are happening daily. I'm not one to eat meat on a daily basis but I have definitely enjoyed a trip or two to the Brazil Grill where it is advertised as "All you can eat meat." Oh - how could I?! Well, I guess all I can do is make changes now and forgive and forget what I have done in the past and remain true to my beliefs in that animals should be treated humanely and should live normal, natural lives just like most everyone else.

I feel like me giving up meat just isn't enough though. What more can I do? I feel so helpless and wish there were more I could do but there are just so many people who could care less about a 6-week old chicken being hauled off to the slaughterhouse. I cannot imagine - never seeing the light of day. Never feeling the earth; grass. Never to breathe fresh air or feel free to roam around at my will. Horrifying. I know it's a downer subject but something very important to me. What ever it takes - I am going to make that change and be true to who I am and what I have always believed in. If you know of something more that I (we all) can do, please share!

Guys and Loud Music

Okay, so I've lived in Portland almost 10 years now and I don't think I have ever, EVER lived above anyone that hasn't been a single guy that LOVES to play his ghetto-thug music or his German Dance nnnn-ssttkkk, nnnn-ssttkkk, nnnn-ssttkkk music LOUD.  I maybe, just might have gotten a years reprieve when I lived on NW 21st and Kearney but all I know is it didn't last long.

So here we come to the year 2006.  I score a new place, the upper unit in a duplex, above the son of an old Manager of mine.  Awesome!  He's older - 39 or so?  I'm thinking, ahhh-yes.  Finally!  No young insecure guy (possibly gay - not that there's anything wrong with that) blaring his stupid ass music until one in the morning!  YES!!!!!!!

NO.

Ohh, boy, was I wrong.  Guys - how old do you have to be to finally realize that no one wants to listen to your stupidly BAD ghetto rap music (think Michael Bolton in Office Space) with the bass turned up all the way?!  Now, I know you're trying to impress the ladies and you bring them over and all that good stuff but seriously.  Turn the freaking music DOWN!  At least stop playing it by 9pm.  Now, don't think I haven't already asked him to try and keep it down because I'm an old lady and go to bed pretty early and that friggin' bass just keeps me up, because I have.  Yet it still happens and the bad thing is his living room is under my bedroom so when he's up, I'm up.  The flip side to that, just to be fair, is my living room is above his bedroom so when I'm listening/watching my obnoxious shows (i.e. So You Think You Can Dance) until 10pm with the volume turned up to 37, I guess I'm kind of doing the same thing.  But the thing is - this man does not own a pair of headphones and never sleeps.

And I do.