Dinner

I just ordered pizza online. Again. They called back and said it would be 1 - 1 1/2 hours. I said OK. But I can't wait that long for food. So now I'm having cereal for dinner. It happens a lot. I like cereal for dinner. I'm writing very short sentences. I'm not sure why. It is mindless - writing short sentences.

OK, I will shut up now.

Following through...

I've recently realized that one of the worst things I know is when people say they are going to do something and then they don't follow through - or even communicate that they are not going to be able to follow through.

So I started investigating myself to see if I do the same thing. I think I do to a certain extent... Like backing out of doing the St. Lucia party at our house - but I sent an email out saying that I wasn't going to be able to do it. Or promising that I would finish something on a certain date and then not finishing on time.

Thus, my resolution for the day is to follow through. This means saying no to things that I am not going to be able to follow through on. That will be hard. I need to practice: "No, I'm sorry, I will not have time to do that until 2008." "No, I am not going to be able to do that. Did you check with XYZ person?"

Practice makes perfect. Or so they say. I just ordered pizza online. It was fun. Took probably twice as long as calling in the order and then I got a confirmation call anyway. So much for avoiding phone conversation.

fortune

I have a fortune taped to my laptop. It says: "You find beauty in ordinary things. Do not lose this ability."

Ordinary things... like oatmeal with raisins and cinnamon at the office after a hard morning run, or an interesting conversation with a good friend, or a tight hug from my favorite 9 year old... All beautiful things that one may very well take for granted.

I want to seize each moment, cherish the ordinary, and live an extraordinary life. Then I can die satisfied that no time was wasted taking ordinary things for granted.

Cold run and Thanksgiving fun

Well, here is the synopsis of the Thanks giving vacation. Yes, I actually did take some vacation. It was weird. I'm not sure how I will snap back into work...

Anyway, highlights included a visit to the Swedish Embassy / House of Sweden for some exhibits of Swedish art work. It was awesome. I learned that we invented the monkey wrench.

We also did some good eating at various restaurants and at David's house. Everybody chipped in to help with the Thanksgiving meal - even Rebecka! David's "little brother" and his mom also came over and brought some Bolivian treats.

On Thanksgiving morning, Todd and I went for an awesome run. It started drizzling in the middle, but it was pretty fun. I love my new warm running clothes. I should have worn them today - freezing - hello, what were you thinking Todd? "Yeh, shorts should be fine..."

Hmmm, what else? Oh! Yesterday, Rebecka and I went to the Museum of Natural History. We mostly enjoyed the gems and precious stones part. I learned that the Hope Diamond is from India. Isn't it cool?? We also saw an IMAX film about wild animals in Africa. Made me want to go!

Now we're back in Nashville and I need to take a shower so that I can go pick up Sophie from her doggie hotel (sounds better than the kennel). I miss her!

Back home...

...for 18 hours. Then it's off to Wisconsin.

We had a fun-filled time in DC. More to come with pictures and all that. It was nice to sleep in and be lazy and eat good food and be lazy some more. Hopefully the bags under my eyes are slightly diminished. I feel better. Slightly more relaxed. Ate too much though... Time to get back on that diet - ah hahahaha!!!!

Later.

mad dash

I have exactly two hours and 45 minutes between leaving the airport and having to be back at the airport to unpack, do laundry, eat some food (found out that we had Golden Grahams at home - very exciting), run to the office to turn in my expense report, blog (what the...?), do more laundry, sing a couple of songs at the piano, go through the mail, take out the trash, remember to bring the camera and a long sleeved shirt for Todd, do my time sheet for the week, pack...

I should probably stop blogging now, looking at all that. Off to DC for five whole days off. Weird.

annoying...

when people mix fonts haphazardly in documents.

19

Yeh baby! What the heck was I doing for four hours?

I'm sleepy. I should go to bed early. Or not.

I'm getting comments about baggy eyes lately - not good. Maybe there is something to that "beauty rest" concept. Sleeping is just such a waste of time. There is so much living to do. So much to learn and experience. So much fun to have and interesting conversations in which to partake.

So, we'll see what the evening brings.

152

The number of emails in my inbox four hours later.

11:11

That is the time right now. I am weirdly pleased by everyday life groupings of numbers that are symmetrical and interesting. Like a license plate that has 2 4 8. 2^1; 2^2; 2^3. Awesome.

Or like my brother's birthdate and time: 760707 - 00:07. It would have been cool if it had been 1977, but oh well.

I have 365 emails in my inbox that I need to address in some form or fashion. That means that if I stopped all incoming mail and answered one a day, I could finish in one year. Or - I could do one per minute and finish in 6 hours and 5 minutes. That'll work. See ya!

Happy Halloween!

Sophie, The Diva
Originally uploaded by tabita.

Halloween 2006 - trying to get home early from work to do makeup for our little witch (not Fluffy). Phone calls keep me at the office until almost 5. Great - traffic galore. Finally make it home - the witch awaits. She doesn't want lipstick after all, but she'll take blush and mascara. Her friends are over for a pre-party. Cute.

We get Sophie dressed in her Diva costume. She is not pleased. We all walk up the street. About half of the houses have welcoming lights turned on - not a bad ratio these days. We walk back down the street.

Todd and I trade places. I am now in charge of candy distribution. We have a special Halloween bowl with a hand in the middle that tries to grab little hands as they go after the candy. It's fun to watch them startle and then quickly grab what they can before they get attacked again.

One of the trick-or-treaters plays a Suzuki tune on the violin - impressive. I try to make conversation about the fact that I too play the violin. He isn't interested. He's got candy to collect.

Todd and Sophie return. Our Diva is now a very dirty Diva (it has been raining today). I take her picture. Then I relieve her of her suffering. She is pleased.

Rebecka is at her friend's house. Todd is reviewing something. I need to review something. Sohpie is wandering into the closet. I should probably go retrieve her before she does some form of damage.

Saturday fun

Todd is at the grocery store to buy the ingredients for the chocolate fondue for tonight's get-together with some friends, I am eating oatmeal after a hard run and blogging, Rebecka is getting into her witch costume so that we can go the the special Halloween edition of the weekly recycling at her school, and Sophie is trying to tear her new squeeky stuffed beaver to shreds.

It's an average Saturday morning at the Green household.

badly written...

There are few things that I find more disturbing than bad writing. I continously try to understand how colleges and universities allow their students to graduate without basic writing skills. Every other job description out there demands "Excellent verbal and written communication skills." Ha! Good luck with that.

It's not "it's" it's "its." Why can people not get this? Or "The children went their to meet there parents." Ugh!

And then there is passive and ending sentences with a "with." Yes, I understand this is how we speak, but write is different from speak. Unless you are "chatting," which seems to be a mixture between speak and write. Especially with the audio options these days.

I fear that in 15-20 years, the art of writing will have deteriorated to a point beyond repair. Sigh.

But I will not give up! I will continue to mark up every document that I review like I was teaching Writing 101. The only difference is purple and green MS Word comments replacing the red ink. It does take away some of the thrill, but it is still fun. :)

Doh!

So I laced up my new shoes and headed down to the "fitness center" at this God-forsaken hotel that I'm staying at this week (no mints on the pillow, no banana pancakes in the morning, no Bath & Body Works shampoo). The door was locked, so I went to the front desk to get the key. I unlocked the door, swung the TV over to face the treadmill and started to step up onto the treadmill.... and there it was - the dreaded sign: "Out of Order".

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

After all that. New shoes. Got up early. Drank 20 oz of water. Guh.

So, I did lunges, abs, and other fun-filled activities in my room.

I guess I'll have to face the WI weather and go running in the business park after work.

Have a nice day!

New Shoes...

After a fairly long drive (I don't think the online map was quite to scale) and a pleasant chat with the owners of Performance Running Outfitters, I am now the proud owner of a new pair of Brooks Glycerin 4.

Yay!

I'm losing my mind!!!

Last night, I tried to check in to the wrong hotel... Yep.

Whaaahhhh!

I left my running shoes in Nashville!!!! What to do? Well, there's only one thing to do: Go get some new shoes tomorrow... I think I'm past the 300 mile limit anyway.

"I love me!"

Yesterday, as Rebecka and I were driving home from dinner at Panera, she made some comment that lead me to say: "You are such a cool kid."

To which Rebecka enthusiastically responded : "I know! I love me!"

Yes! We have officially succeeded as parents.

Btw, this is exciting: My favorite brand of granola bar (Nature Valley's Sweet and Salty Nut Granola Bars) has released a new flavor to the market... CASHEW!!! It is delicious.

OK - Back to work...

Extreme Makeover

Rebecka and I had a date night last night. The plan was that we would both go get our hair cut (and I would get my eyebrows waxed), go to dinner at Rebecka's favorite spot (Royal Thai), and go to the mall and buy some long pants (since she outgrows pants as you walk out the store with them). Well, we did all of that, but we also threw an extra little twist into the mix: Rebecka decided to get her ears pierced! I never thought she would go through with it, but sure enough, she now has cute little pink flowers in her ears and she is Queen of the World. :)

We finished off the evening with a movie (Monster's Inc), popcorn, and a sleepover in the bonus room (that got slightly interrupted when of of our offshore teams called me for an emergency at 1:30 AM).

It was an awesome evening!

Dressed for Success

Sophie Profile
Originally uploaded by tabita.

Studies show that people who wear more powerful looking clothing and clothing that is appropriate for their profession have a change of mindset. They go from "relaxed mode" to "professional mode" and it is reflected in their behavior.

And think about it - don't you behave differently when you're in a suit than when you're wearing cozy pj bottoms and a long wrap-around sweater (which is what I'm wearing right now)?

Well, I never knew that this also applies to dogs... Since Sophie got back from the groomer, she has been a little angel. In fact, she is so good that we (Todd and I) are no longer in a constant mode of plotting about how to get rid of her.

The only other option we can think of...

They gave her drugs at the groomer's. How else would they get the little devil to stand still?

Sissy Dog

Sissy Dog
Originally uploaded by tabita.

Sophie got her haircut today. She has pink bows on her ears... She looks like a girl dog for the first time in her life.

So other than Sophie... Well, I'm working around the clock. Todd is working around the clock. Rebecka is having fun around the clock. Just like it should be.

We have booked tickets for get-aways both at Thanksgiving and Christmas so there is no backing out of vacation now.

We need it!

in a daze...

got up at 4 AM on Wed morning to catch a flight to London... sat in meetings for two days and got up at 4 AM on Sat morning to catch a flight to Nashville...

spent about 3 hours in rebecka's bed last night (she wasn't feeling well) and lots of hours in my own (some including rebecka). dreamed of polar bears and friends. not what you would call a sound night's sleep.

now i'm watching "The Perfect Man" (for the 3rd time) with Rebecka and i'm working hard to stay awake... this is what my weekends have turned into - sleeping and watching movies - it rocks.

chao.

Aaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

Got up at 4... Now I'm sitting in my hotel room and there is a horrific band playing lousy covers with terrible "harmony."

Apparently, it's the hotel "Re-Grand Opening." Yippee!!

I'm so tired I can barely think straight... It was all I could do to muster up enough energy to drive from the office to the hotel.

I can't take this music any more!!!!!! It's like they are in my room - that is how loud it is...

Have a nice day. :)

Fun-filled activities

I'm working and watching Rent - at the same time... Could there be a better combination of activities for Labor Day? I don't think so.

Btw, isn't it weird to call a holiday "Labor Day"... Seems like that is the one day of the year one should be working... It's all very confusing.

Sophie at work

Sophie at work
Originally uploaded by tabita.

Sophie is the most social dog on the planet... Of course, she prefers humans. We went to the dog park and she spent most of her time under benches and in random people's laps. I don't blame her though... it was pug day at the park and those dogs were not super friendly.

Working at home while Sophie is out and about is a near impossible task. The problem is if we leave her behind her gate, she commences to produce the most annoying and at the same time pitiful whining that makes us feel like losers and comitters of animal cruelty.

She is a very smart little dog - and lucky for her - very cute. Otherwise she would have been the victim of an "accident" a long time ago. :)

Ahhhh...

Gatorade Saturday.

Just got back from the traditional Saturday run with Todd where he debriefed me on his progress on his dissertation and job search. It was an interesting history lesson on Herrestad gård (Herrestad estate) and one of its owners who was integral in the development of the deaconess movement in Sweden in the 19th century. The said estate is now a mental hospital where my family and I used to do a Christmas program every year. It's a small world.

Now its time for Dog Park Saturday. Lucky Sophie.

1 lb down, 9 to go...

Well, that was Monday morning. Now I have been in WI for a couple of days and eaten not the healthiest food in the world. But - I have also gone for two runs with my pal Katie. And this morning another colleague joined us and really pushed us pretty hard - it was great!

Btw, I'm back!!! As far as running goes. On Sunday, I did an hour run and felt like I could have gone on forever. Yay!

Considering that I'm still at work and it is 1:22 AM, I probably won't go for a run tomorrow. It's deployment time. Fun! Pizza galore. At least this time, I remembered to give a tip to the delivery guy. He seemed glad to know that I was not brain-dead today.

I'm rambling, am I not? Because I feel like a zombie... Too much of a zombie to actually work, but yet I feel like I need to be here and support the team. My eyes are so dry that my contacts keep sticking to my eyeballs - not good.

I need sleep. Lots of it. Why in the world did I agree to an 8 o'clock in the morning? Craziness.

Adventures in WI & TN

At the dog park
Originally uploaded by tabita.

I missed my flight last night. First time ever. It was not cool. I was sitting in the Midwest Best Care Club and nobody told me that my flight was boarding. Doh!

Well, I finally got home this morning and went almost straight to the dog park (we had to come back home first and get the dog). Sophie was scared for the most part and hid under select benches. She did venture out toward the end of our time there.

Now we're all kind of pooped, so Rebecka and I are going to go lie down and attempt to nap. We'll see how it goes.

Date night tonight - got reservations at Maggiano's Little Italy at 5:45 PM. No tiramisu this time though... :(

It will pay off!!! (this is what I keep telling myself)

Tired, oh so tired...

I'm going home now. I'm done. I'm exhausted. I'm going to watch TV and probably eat something unhealthy... I won't be able to stop myself. It was that kind of a day.

All of my sentences started with an 'I'. Weird.

Breakfast thoughts

The difference between a high quality hotel and a quality hotel is that a high quality hotel offers complimentary, made-to-order banana panncakes with hot syrup for breakfast. This is a high quality hotel.

All cleansers are not created equal...

So I just found out the hard way that the hotel-provided cleanser can not be used in the same way as the Oil of Olay cleanser that I typically use (and which I left at home). I.e., it cannot be used anywhere close to the eye. Aaaaahhhh - it stings.

Btw, another way to differentiate between a high quality hotel and a quality hotel is that the high quality hotel has soap, shampoo, lotion, etc from Bath and Body Works. This is a high quality hotel
- even if the cleanser isn't designed to remove mascara.

Day 1 status

I didn't have a cookie on the plane - they don't serve cookies on the morning flight. They did however serve small blueberry/peach and oreo muffins - I made the "healthy" choice and picked the blueberry/peach muffin.

Victory #1: I sat next to a box of Panera Bread cookies from 12:00 PM to 9:00 PM and didn't even have a crumb. My developers enjoyed them very much though. Cookies are the #1 tool in the Project Manager's tool kit.

Weakness #1: I ate eight very yummy (and very small) chocolate mints in my hotel room this evening. You know the difference between a high quality hotel and a quality hotel in that the high quality hotel has chocolate mints on the night stand or pillow. This is a high quality hotel.

I would say the victory wins over the weakness.

Good job me.

Announcing to the world...

OK - I am officially going on a diet. I'm 10 lbs heavier than I was when we moved here 4 years ago and - well - I'm sick and tired of it...

I figure if I declare it here for all to read, then I will feel more compelled to stick with it. It's so freakin' hard when you travel all the time to eat healthy, but I'm motivated.

So - 10 weeks - 10 lbs. That's the goal. I'll give you an update on October 29. Hmmm, just in time for Halloween - how convenient.

Well folks, have a pleasant week. I'm in WI Mon - Fri. Good times.

At Panera

I'm working.

I had a Morning Glory bagel.

Rebecka is reading.

She lost her 17th tooth in her Chocolate Chip bagel.

Todd is working.

He is taking notes on an article in Febe - a 19th century deaconess periodical.

Life is good.

My hotel...

...this week has an indoor water park. it is so big that they gave me a map to guide me to my room... which is an "executive suite," but doesn't even have a refrigerator for me to keep my water and rice milk in.

yes, my ritual these days is to go to the organic grocery store the first evening i'm here (WI) and stock up for the week: rice milk, soy milk, cherries, bananas, various organic granola bars, and fruit leather. no need to go out for dinner with such treats "at home."

today, i tried the evening workout concept. it was awesome! i watched Friends for an hour and ran almost 6 miles. felt so good. now a shower and some random sitcom later, i think it's time for bed. i'm trying all kinds of new things - like not working right up until it's time for bed. let's see how it goes.

Took the weekend off...

It rocked. Mamma, are you reading this??!?!

On Saturday, after an oh so painful run with Todd, Rebecka and I did some shopping, read books at Panera, and planned and executed an early surprise birthday party for Todd (he was soooooo surprised!). During one of the birthday party activities (watching HP2), I passed out and woke up the next morning feeling oh so much better.

On Sunday (after a much better morning run than on Saturday), Rebecka and I spent the day at Nashville Shores splashing in the water. Rebecka had an exciting adventure involving falling off an innertube right before starting a water slide ride. "I didn't think I would live to tell the tale," was her comment after the "accident." We had tons of fun and now both have very red noses (yes, the sun still does shine behind those clouds) that can fortunately be covered up by powder.

Rebecka started 4th grade today. She is so big! Cool thing is that she ended up in her Kindergarten room, so it's like everything is coming full circle. She also got to sit next to one of her best friends from Kindergarten, Elizabeth. They haven't been in the same class since - just same choir, Sunday School class, etc... Now they are finally back together. It's all good.

getting back into running

Ever since I went to India back in Sept/Oct (and didn't run for 3 weeks), I haven't been in the zone with my running. No more running back home from dessert parties on Christmas Day or freaking out if I have to skip two days in a row.

Yes, I completed a half marathon in the spring, but I'm still not where I was.

This is about to change. I have now run 1+ hour runs two days in a row and I'm determined to get back to the point where a run under 60 minutes just isn't worth the time it takes to put on my running shoes. The hot, humid weather (even at 6:30 in the morning) isn't helping, but I figure if I can get back into it in this heat, there is nothing that will make me stop.

Biggest motivator: catching up with Todd. No, I'm not competitive...

sleeping soundly

i took a nap today. it was a happy thing. when i fell asleep todd was next to me. when i woke up rebecka was next to me and sophie was getting ready to lick my face. not sure what happened there.

last night i slept through all sorts of adventures (todd was up all night trying to convince the electric company that they had missed our part of the street when the turned the power back on after the storm - he finally convinced them at 4:30).

of course, if my phone makes the smallest beep, i immediately wake up. todd says it's part of my disease - what disease?

hmmm...

stuck in the airport

good think i just signed up for Midwest Best Care Club. free food, drinks and, most importantly, wireless internet access.

i love comfort.

Would you rather run a fireworks store OR...

Tennessee Alabama Fireworks store
Originally uploaded by tabita.

The beautiful drive from Atlanta to Nashville is somewhat ruined by a row of fireworks stores on the Tennessee Alabama border.

As we drove by the most massive one, the Tennessee Alabama Fireworks, with it's Vegas-like lights, we started talking about why these huge fireworks stores were sitting here on the interstate, in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. We determined that one of the states must not allow fireworks stores, so the clientele was probably from accross the border.

Then Todd said, "maybe we should just open a fireworks store." To which I responded: "that would probably be the last thing I would want to do."

This spawned a new game called "Would you rather run a fireworks store OR..." (we're working on a patent). We ended up playing it off and on for the rest of the drive home (mostly to stay awake) until we had to stop because I was laughing so hard I was having trouble driving in a straight line.

You can learn a lot about a person from this game (and that running a fireworks store really isn't the worst job imaginable).

For example, Todd would rather be a park ranger and a downhill skiing instructor than run a fireworks store. I found this quite surprising considering that he enjoys the "Great Indoors" and considers anything below a 3-star hotel roughing it.

Todd found out that I would rather run a fireworks store than be Miss February in the Nascar nude calendar or pose for Playboy Magazine. However, I would rather work at Hooters than in a fireworks store.

Most jobs involving a lot of handling of butts/feces/dead people ranked below the fireworks store - however, if it was only a small portion of the job, it could still rank higher (e.g. working in a nursery home).

For me, anything with music won out - even teaching the 6th grade obligatory choir with a bunch of kids who couldn't sing (I believe everybody can learn how to sing).

Todd would rather work in a cigar shop, because it sounds more distinguished (it's important how cool your job sounds when you tell other people).

I would rather be an anchor on Fox and Friends, but Todd would not (one of the rules is that you can't do anything that would get you fired) - anything to be in the spotlight...

Todd would rather drive a cab in NYC - this way, he can go see Rent as often as he wants to.

Finally - and I really struggled with this one since it involves living in India, my favorite new culture/country/world - I would rather run a fireworks store than be the caretaker of the rats in Rajastan's famous Karni Mata Temple.

Where does the fireworks store rank in your list of worst jobs?

See this face...?

Sophie in her new bed
Originally uploaded by tabita.

This is how Sophie gets us to take her out when it is pouring down rain, play "Go to your mat!" when we're supposed to be working, and generally work our schedules around her food and bathroom schedule.

Dogs like Sophie *have* to be cute to survive. Right now Todd is saying with his high-pitched Sophie voice: "Go get your keys! Where's your squirrel?"

Why do we even care where her squirrel is?!?!?!

Oh wait - because if she is chewing on the squirrel, it means she won't chew on us OR try to jump up in our laps as we're trying to post important blog entries OR get into our gym bags and destroy our headphones.

We love Sophie.

In Nashville

Isn't it amazing? These days, it feels like I'm more away than home. The committee in Rebecka's head decided that she does not like my job (apparently the only good thing about my job is that I get money for doing it).

Now I totally know why they have stuffed animals in every store at every airport... It's for the guilty parents! We're going to go broke here soon on guilt gifts. This week it was a TY cow, which Rebecka named Mrs. Mooooooo.

People actually seem excited to see me now that I'm rarely around. But nobody gets more excited than Sophie when I get back from one of my trips. She just vibrates from head to tail.

I gave Sophie a bath today. It was one of my TODOs on my home list. Check. If she hadn't gotten herself covered with mud, it would still be unchecked.

I'm such a procrastinator. I taught someone that word today. It's a good one.

My TODO list...

...has 56 bullets. This is just for work.

Took care of some of my TODOs for home this weekend: Exchanging Sophie's luxurious bed for a larger (and more expensive) luxurious bed, returning banged-up luggage (they said bring it back if anything breaks - i guess they did not envision 2 India trips and weekly domestic travel), trying on clothes and deciding that currently I'm right in between size 4 and 6 (two solutions: gain 5 pounds or loose 5 pounds - i'm going with the second option), getting Prasad's mail, and paying all the bills. Whew!

Today it's work, work, work. Better get to it.

Pleasant Surprise

The Peewauke Panera has natural peanut butter! It's so happy! Imagine expecting disgusting sugary, transfat-filled, slimey Jif (or similar) and instead getting finely crushed, pure natural peanut butter.

Totally makes up for the fact that I had to toast my own bagel, they only gave me one water bottle even though I asked for two, and I had to go back to the counter after I sat down to ask for my large fruit cup.

Time for some fun-filled BRD writing.

Actual count: 38

My bug bites kept me up half the night and bothered me so much throughout the day, that I eventually broke down and drove to Walmart (not because I like Walmart, but because it was the only place I knew of with a pharmacy) to see if I could find something helpful in the pharmacy section.

I told a nice lady behind the "consultation" desk my problem and she guided me to the Benadryl - Extra Strength Anti Itch section (they were conveniently out of the generic version).

As I raced back to the hotel to put the stuff on, it felt like it was getting worse every minute (my brain is kind of crazy like that). When I finally got there (btw, they put me in a very cushy room to make up for the mishap of putting me in a smoking room - I love good customer service) and started putting it on, I thought that it might be fun to count how many bites I really have.

Yep.

One step away...

New Deck Furniture
Originally uploaded by tabita.

Inspired by our friends Pete and Emi's new deck and deck furniture (from Mr. T's Patio - free delivery), we decided to finally do what we've been meaning to do for years and actually get some good outdoor furniture.

It arrived today! Todd has promised "fika" on the deck when I return from WI on Friday. Swell.

Now the only thing left is a dining room table - although the card table that is currently sitting there to fill up the space is really starting to grow on me...

20 bug bites +

I went for a lovely walk around my favorite lake with my fabulous friend Allison last night. We hadn't seen each other/talked in 6 months, so, needless to say, we had a lot of catching up to do.

So much catching up, in fact, that we stood by the car for at least 45 minutes in the dark with bugs swarming around us and having a feast. Today, my legs are *covered* with bites. It is insane!

And to top it off, I'm staying in a smoking room in a hotel in Waukesha, WI. Lovely... At least they are moving me tomorrow. Can't wait. But by that time everything will be smoke infested anyway.

So I'll be walking around with bug-bitten legs smelling like smoke for the next three days. Should be fun.

Sunday Morning

It's Sunday morning at 6:16 AM and I'm sitting in front of my laptop trying to motivate myself to work... I have so many things due, like, today. It's almost worse when I set my own deadlines than have other people do it. I'm brutal.

Sophie is whining in her kennel. I guess she wants to go out. But I took her out at 9:30 PM last night!! Just so I wouldn't have to take her out early in the morning. This dog (@%$&!!)...

Todd is asleep and Rebecka is at a sleepover. If the whining would just stop, this would be a very serene moment. Oh - it stopped. Maybe she gave up.

I think this is inspiring me to get back to my latest and greatest (ehm...?) design document.

Rebecka is singing in church today, btw. Should be cute! I love my child. She is so rockin'.

I wish that I had Sophie's squirrel...

I wish that I had Sophie's squirrel...
Originally uploaded by tabita.

Sophie is a friend,
And I know she's been a good friend of mine.
But lately something's changed
And it ain't hard to define.
Sophie's got herself a squirrel
And I want to make it mine.

You know, I wish that I had Sophie's squirrel.
I wish that I had Sophie's squirrel.
Where can I hurl a squirrel like that?

Courtesy Todd H Green Song Rewriting Company... Still need to work on the rest of the verses I think. But it is so funny!

She's back!

Back from DC
Originally uploaded by tabita.

Our princess has returned from her journey to the US Capitol. She had a swell time (especially in the wave pool) and misses her "Apple" David and Caroline.

We're glad to have her back safe and sound.

Garage Cleaning

Garage Cleaning 3
Originally uploaded by tabita.

So, we have been in our house for 10 months and for all those months our garage has been a wreck. At some point I moved things around so that we could at least get one car in there (since that is the purpose for garages), but we were never able to get to 100% (or even 55%).

Last weekend I had a revelation that we would spend 4th of July cleaning out the garage - and it materialized (I have this amazing power to get my husband to do whatever I want him to do). We spent most of the day tearing boxes and sweeping and driving things to Goodwill and sweeping some more and the result was amazing...

We can actually fit both cars into the garage now. It is so exciting! Apparently, the car is much cooler if it's been sitting in the garage during the summer and much less icy if it's been sitting in the garage during the winter. I can't wait to experience this for myself.

Now we're exhausted and plan to spend the evening watching the fireworks from our house - because we can do that.

Happy 4th!

IKEA

IKEA Food
Originally uploaded by tabita.

Spent a good 4-5 hours at IKEA yesterday. We started with the "browse". This is when you walk through the store, making notes of what you may want to pick up later and check on availability of larger items.

Second came lunch. This is when we eat Swedish meatballs in the IKEA restaurant. Oh, I forgot that before "browse", we did a mini-browse of the Swedish food shoppe and sampled Swedish food.

Third was the actual picking up of the items. By this time, we were kind of tired, but kept reminding ourselves about how much less "jobbigt" this was than our last trip (when we spent approximately 12 hours there).

Fourth was going back to the food shoppe and getting all the Swedish food. Todd was set on frozen Swedish meatballs. He bought two packs. This was the cause for step #5:

Drive off and find the nearest gas station to buy ice to make sure that the meatballs survive the 4-hour drive back to Nashville.

It all ended well. We still have one piece of furniture to put together - but that is it!!

I'm sure I'll be back within a month.

Back from India

In Delhi
Originally uploaded by tabita.

I feel like I should at least mention that I went to India - again... It was amazing as always.

This time I visited a third city - Delhi. It was HOT! I had thought about doing some sightseeing there - like go to the Taj, but it was just too crazy hot. In fact, in this picture, my bottom is soooo hot, that we barely had time to take the picture. It was also the only place we actually got out of the car (except for going to the office/hotel/restaurant).

Hope to go back soon. I feel like it is my third home country now. I'm even learning how to speak Telugu!

Todd Day

Since every day is Tabita, Rebecka, and Sophie day, we decided to have a Todd Day yesterday.

"What is Todd Day?" you may ask.

Well, it starts with a very sweaty and totally exhausting run in the neighborhood followed by a shower and light breakfast. It also involves no Sophie-duties on Todd's part as well as no cooking, cleaning, washing dishes, or other house-care-related activities.

This is followed by a trip to the nicest mall in town where we go to Todd's favorite stores and buy stuff. Lunch is at the Mellow Mushroom - Todd's favorite pizza place in town - and somehow we magically get a legal parking spot. Btw, Todd does not have to drive on Todd Day.

After lunch, we go back to the house so that someone other than Todd can let Sophie out to do her business. In the meantime, Todd sits in the reading room and reads Entertainment Weekly while he sips a carefully prepared root beer float.

Next, it's off to see Superman Returns at the 100 Oaks Mall. Rebecka somehow got out of this one and spent the rest of the afternoon in her friend's backyard. Todd really enjoyed the movie. Tabita enjoyed the parts that she was awake for.

Evening = eat junk food and play video games.

What a day! Can't wait for Tabita Day. Oh wait - that's today (and tomorrow, and the day after that...).

Well, friends - we're off to DC (Rebecka) and Atlanta/IKEA (T&T). Sophie is staying in Nashville to watch the house with our friend Katie. More later.

Rent

We're obsessed with Rent. Our whole family. We watch Rent, sing Rent, listen to Rent, dream about Rent, pay our Rent, work to Rent...

Today I was experiencing severe Rent withdrawals, because I was in meetings all day and didn't get to listen to it at all. It was not a good thing (just ask the poor people who had to be around me today).

We have downloaded almost all the songs from Rent - except for Rent.

If you haven't seen Rent - you must. Now - got rent it.

Taxes suck...

Yes - even with TurboTax. Does anybody know how the whole property tax thing works if you buy and sell a house in the tax year? We're confused.

Levi and Family

Namur and Family
Originally uploaded by tabita.

My little nephew Levi was dedicated in his church last Sunday. Here he is. Isn't he the cutest???

Speaking of that family, Levi's dad, David, aka Namur, recently released his 3rd album. Please buy it. It is awesome.

usorder@namur.nu

Peace.

Training

We ran 10 miles today... Actually 10.34 miles to be exact. Whew. I'm exhausted. Need a Frappuccino. Todd is going to go get one after he wakes up from his nap. Yay!

East Coast to West Coast

So we finished up our romantic weekend in New York with more shopping and walking and eating. All good things. Flew back to Nashville on Monday evening. Re-packed and slept for a few hours. Got up at 4 AM and said goodbye to my mom (she was going to leave before I got back) and headed out to the airport. Many hours later I landed in SF and got shuttled to the Hyatt Regency at San Francisco Airport. "What's going on there?", you may wonder. Well, let me tell you:

A gathering of nerds for the 29th Internationalization and Unicode Conference. Wow! These people are into their stuff. I learned lots and made a new friend: a Finnish guy working for Nokia. I asked him a ton of questions about I18n and testing and other fun things. Very smart. I like smart people.

Last night I had dinner with some friends that we knew when we lived here in the late 70s/early 80s. It was a lot of fun to see them and find out what is going on with all their kids (who were my age and older).

Had an awesome run this morning. Recovery time really does make you stronger. I'm on this 1/2 marathon plan where you only run 3 days a week, but the workouts are very focused (and intense). Today it was speed training (3 x 1600 at 9:30). I felt like I could've gone on forever. I love that feeling!!!

OK - time to head out to the airport for the fun-filled flight(s) home. It takes all day!

One big highlight

Todd asked last night: "What was the highlight of the day?" I started rattling off the various things we had done and realized: "It's all one big highlight!"

So here is the highlight broken down:

6 mile run in the hotel gym (yes - we're losers... we didn't feel like weathering the cold at Central Park - next time).

Breakfast at Ess-a-Bagel - yum.

Walking around in the Village and browsing hand-made jewelry. I *love* that stuff.

Lunch at a mediocre Thai restaurant. Ok - not a highlight, but it taught us that breaking out of our research and planning mode even for one small meal can be disastrous... :)

A loooong afternoon stroll in Central Park. Whew - I bet we walked 6 miles or more over the course of the day (not counting the morning run, of course). I particularly enjoyed the breaks on the bench parts.

Dinner at a cozy Italian restaurant on 44th Street - Osteria Al Doge. We got to sit on the second floor overlooking the rest of the restaurant, so that was cool. I felt like I was in "Love Actually".

Running from the restaurant to the subway station to our hotel back to the subway station back to Broadway - just so I could change into nice outfit for the show. Rent was awesome. The performers were awesome. The twizzlers I ate during the show were awesome. The trip back to the hotel was awesome (because we weren't running).

Falling asleep to the end of the Oscars. Why do I even watch? Todd already knows ahead of time who is going to win every category.

Now we're getting ready to check out before we head out for some final shopping. Yay for shopping!

The Big Apple

Yes - we actually saw one walking around today during the first day of our 3-day mini vacation to New York City. It's awesome to be here together - first time in almost 12 years.

Todd did some high quality research on what to do and where to eat before we left and we have been using his "report" extensively. Some highlights of the day:

NOT waking up at 5 AM to leave for the airport...

Eating pizza at John's Pizzeria (church turned restaurant - nice stained glass dome) after a *very* cold walk from the hotel (Omni Berkshire) to 44th Street.

Browsing Macy's on 5th Street and buying the best charcoal wool/cashmere coat ever (I've been looking for a good winter coat most of my adult life). I was on a buying high for several hours after that purchase.

Walking through Central Park on the way to DT-UT, a totally cozy coffee house on the upper east side of NY.

Making (and eating) s'mores at above mentioned coffee house and reading a good book curled up in a cozy chair.

And the fun continues... Stay tuned.

Gold!!!!!

They just handed out the medals - just waiting for the national anthem - "Du Gamla, Du Fria".

Sweden rocks!!! Yeh.

olympics

Sweden is rockin' and rollin' in the Olympics this year. It makes me very happy.

And tomorrow I'm watching the men's hockey final LIVE!!! Yes! I love life.

a real weekend

So this is what it is like to take the weekend completely off... (Ok - except for a quick feature review and filling my timecard for last week). It kicks ass!!!

I have gone through all the papers lying around in the kitchen, paid the bills, played the piano (a lot), visited an African American church in the neighborhood (black gospel rocks!!!), played Pictionary Junior and Apples to Apples, eaten good food (tack mamma!), slept in (two days in a row), read Runner's World in the reading room, taught Sophie how to lay down, gone to the grocery store, blogged (!!!), and, and, and...

Wow - I should do this more often.

Rebecka and Snowy

Rebecka and Snowy
Originally uploaded by tabita.

We've had a "good" amount of snow these past couple of weeks. This is quite exciting for me, since it feels like home and extremely exciting for Rebecka, since she hasn't seen "playable" snow for three years.

Here is the masterpiece we came up with after the last snowfall. :)

Btw, it's not good to have a slanted driveway on icy days. Yesterday, we got "iced in" because we couldn't get the cars out... It was great!

sledding time

sledding
Originally uploaded by tabita.

We went sledding today!!! And whatever grumpiness I had left over from dealing with a three-friend-sleepover is all gone!

Sledding rocks. Snow is cool. And now I'm going to have some yummy leftovers.

It's Saturday and it's a long weekend. Life is good.

Keep smilin'...

Missing someone...

Airport Fun
Originally uploaded by tabita.

12 days... Man.

Todd is having scanning problems. Apparently the little portable scanner doesn't like very old and dusty documents. Everybody please pray that his new scanner works better than the $200 one that he brought with him...

Good Lord! Is there no quality assurance anywhere?

people moving about

My mom came from Sweden on Thursday. It's very happy.

Todd is leaving for Sweden on Sunday. It's very sad.

I guess in the end, it all evens out...

breakfast in bed

I had breakfast in bed today.

Yes - Todd went all the way to Hardee's to get buttered biscuits with strawberry jam. We had been reminiscing about the days when going to Hardee's for Sunday breakfast was the big treat of the week. And today I got to relive it - in the comfort of my own home.

My hubby rocks.

still tired, busy, and happy...

Actually, today not too tired, except for that really good tired feeling you get from running 7 miles (yay!). Gearing up for the half marathon in April. New shoes on the way (Brooks Glycerin 4 - I've been on Glycerin 3 for a while). No knee issues yet. It's all good.

So, to you Fox News fans out there. Tomorrow, they will be showing a "fair and balanced" interview with Howard Dean. Ah hahahahahahahaha!!!! Ok. Just had to share that piece of amusement.

What else...? Working like crazy. It's good though. My friend Katie came back from India yesterday. Can't wait to hear about her experiences there... And apparently, she's bringing something back for me... :)

Watched the movie "Born into Brothels" last week. Too good. Sad though. I really want to do something for the poorest people in India. There are so many of them. Will let you all know when the plan is finalized - and you can all donate to the cause! :)

Rebecka is at her first chess tournament ever today. She's such a geek... Kidding! She's smart, that's all. Just like Todd. He's editing and indexing a book. Fun times. He survived LASIK surgery last Wednesday - without passing out or anything! Good job, honey. :)

OK - Excel is waiting. Number crunching time.

Chao.

tired, busy, and happy...

Whew - the weeks just fly by. It is pure craziness!

Last night, my hubby took me for an early birthday dinner at Tin Angel. Cozy doesn't even begin to describe that place... I had the Mahi Mahi special with sweet potato fries. Oh my gosh! Too good. It was a swell evening.

This morning, I had to get up early to go sing at the early service at our church. I sang a song from Sweden called "River of Love." It felt good to be singing in church again after over 6 months of nothing. Rebecka and I sang a duet in the 11 o'clock service - she got lots of compliments!! :)

OK - so now for the happy part... ;) I ate tiramisu today! I love it so much. It means "pick me up" or something like that in Italian and boy is that the right phrase for that dessert. I'm still in heaven (although I may soon have to go back to the fridge for another piece)...

Sophie is still nuts. But oh so cute. I'll be giving her a bath today. Joy.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Little Evil

This is one of the many terms of endearment that we use for our little dog. She chews on everything! Her toys (good girl!), the carpet, us (no bite!), you name it... She spends most of her days in time-out.

We need help... Tips anyone?

Gott Nytt År!!!

And to you losers who don't know Swedish... "Happy New Year!!"

And to my Andhra Pradesh friends... "Nuthana Samvathsara Subhakankshalu!" which is the Telugu way to say it (I'm trying to learn - it's not easy, but I have a very patient teacher).

We had a quite swell long weekend including a visit to the Adventure Science Museum, shopping, visiting with friends, New Years party, excellent Chinese and Thai food, and fireworks watching from our bedroom window, which overlooks downtown...

So some of my goals this year include learning more Telugu, finding a balance between work life and home life, running the half marathon, keeping up with my friends, playing more piano, and eating less ice cream (kidding!).

I think 2006 is going to be a great year...

Sophie update

Sophie is now 7 weeks and 1 day old.

She sleeps through the night without accidents - yay!

She did have an accident today, but that is because we left her at home for 4 hours to go shopping for a diamond and white gold necklace for me (yay! again) and surround sound speakers for Todd. Totally our fault...

Right now she is watching the first season of The Amazing Race with us (or possibly sleeping - she sleeps a lot).

We think she might be bipolar - but apparently that's how most puppies are.

She is still the cutest puppy on the face of the earth - and that is *not* our biased opinion.

Speaking of cute, my husband tells me that I snored last night, but it was cute (even sexy) snoring. I'm not sure how snoring can be cute (or sexy), but I'm glad that's how it came across, because there's some pretty non-sexy snoring out there...

Sophie's first bath

Sophie's first bath
Originally uploaded by tabita.

She was not pleased. Especially with the hair drying that followed.

But as the Swedish saying goes: "Vill man bli fin får man lida pin" (If you want to look good, you have to suffer the pain...)

God Jul!!

God Jul!!
Originally uploaded by tabita.

Merry Christmas to those of you who still visit this blog. I've been baaaad about blogging lately - just been so busy. I can't say that I'll be better going forward - feel kind of non-committal, but anyway...

We've had a good couple of days with baking and a Christmas Soiree at the house yesterday evening and cozy Christmas fun at the house today - including traditional Swedish Christmas buffet and gift wrapping. And of course lots of quality time with Sophie - she is so sweet.

Right now we're watching Elf - funniest movie ever. Ho ho ho...

Meet Sophie

Awwwww...
Originally uploaded by tabita.

Today, our lives changed forever (or at least for the next 15 years or so). We added Sophie to our family. Rebecka finally has a little sister.

Sophie is a Bichon Frise - and the softest little thing you ever held. We've been spending some good snuggling time since we got back from the breeder.

Right now, we're trying to get her to eat. It seems to be quite a challenge. She keeps on sliding away from the bowl on our slippery floor. It's quite amusing.

Wedding in India

The Americans + some
Originally uploaded by tabita.

So, I just got back from India. Again. This time I went for my friends Prasad and Madhuri's marriage. It was such a gift to be able to be present for their big day(s). Yes, it's not just a one-day event, for sure. Lots of rituals and formalities that we can't even begin to imagine here.

There was much hanging out and eating and dancing and shopping and more shopping. Last time I got made to order shoes... This time it was made to order jewelry. Too cool. My friend Balu is the best haggler in the world. :)

The procession to the wedding hall from Prasad's home was amazing. For the first part, I got to ride in the car with the groom and his sister and aunt. For the second part, I was "forced" to get out and dance with the other people. It was a blast. I suck at dancing. :)

Thanks to Todd and Rebecka for letting me go - they are so good. I promise I'll introduce you to my third home country one of these days.

Now I need to start thinking about Christmas. Shopping with Todd today - what a joy.

i almost fainted today...

yep. it was not fun.

i was skating with becka at the skate center - mommy/becka date. it was dark, lights were flashing, smoke was coming out of the ceiling. a little kid skated out in front of me. in order not to hit the kid, i fell over and landed on my hand/hip/who knows what else. not too bad - got up and continued skating thinking, "man this hurts a lot more when you're an adult..."

anyway, i eventually got out of the rink and sat down at a table and looked at my hand. bad idea. it was kind of blue and swollen. i felt the faintness coming on. i put my head between my legs to try to ward it off. it didn't help, so i stumbled up to the closest human being and told her that i was about to faint. her response: "go home..." man - people are so stupid. i finally figured out on my own that i should probably lay down, so i did and put my legs up in the air. it helped. they found a nurse for me and she said just put some ice on the hand when i got home. a few glasses of water and spoons of snow cone later, i was able to get up and drive over to panera for dinner.

whew. i hate almost fainting...

Annual Thanksgiving Race

me and todd

5 miles

46 min 43 sec

we are thankful for...

each other

and rebecka

and you

not funny...

I hit my funny bone today... It was not funny. It almost made me faint - man, I'm weak.

Flew in from Orlando and went straight to Panera. This is the official hang out of the Green clan. Went to pick up Rebecka and took her to get Cold Stone... I really wish I'd had guilty parents growing up. Becka has it good... ;)

Did I mention that we're finally getting a dog? Yep - Sophie the Bishon Frise. Apparently, it's just like me - high maintenance...

view from our house

View from our house
Originally uploaded by tabita.

We can see downtown from our house. We think that is pretty cool. We wish we were going to be here for 4th of July so that we could watch the fireworks from our bedroom window. Actually, we'd rather be in Sweden. So that's OK.

Elmer

I paid off my car today... Such a good feeling.

Elmer is finally 100% mine, mine, mine!!! :)

I love my car.

regularity

Rebecka is in the process of trying to define and put in a sentence the word regularity. It's pretty challenging/fun to try to explain this word to an 8 year old.

I do not write on my blog with regularity.
I do run with regularity.

My stomach is NOT known for its regularity.

Regularity seems a little boring but necessary.

Regularity is the state of being regular. It seems.

Rebecka goes to church with regularity. That is her sentence. Good one.

Happy Halloween/Diwali

Happy Halloween
Originally uploaded by tabita.

Yes - I know it's a little late, but it always takes me at least 2 days to get pictures from the camera and into the computer...

We had a splendid time with friends and chili (great job Todd!). Didn't have too many trick-or-treaters - probably because the hike up our hill would cause a heart attack for half of the parents.

And for Diwali, I went with many, many Indian friends to a South Indian buffet and had puri and dosa and many other good things. In the evening, I accompanied two of my good friends to the Hindu temple here in town. It was very interesting. I dressed in my Indian garb - quite fun. Afterwards, Diwali sweets at another set of friends's place. Good times.

PS. Had ice cream and popcorn for dinner today. This is what guilty parents do with their children. I guess. It was soooo good tho.

I love my lake...

Lake beauty
Originally uploaded by tabita.

Yes - it is *my* lake! We went for a family walk at Radnor lake today. The weather was absolutely perfect and I just couldn't help but snap some "nature pics."

I have now resolved to get out there during lunch at least twice a week. It's such an amazing privilege to have access to nature like this.

Thanks God.

House Warming Party

House Warming Party
Originally uploaded by tabita.

It went well. People came, ate, drank, laughed, played games, chatted, and looked generally happy and stuffed.

I cooked/baked more for this event than for the past year combined (or something like that)... I'm thinking I will spread it out a little bit more going forward. And the next 20 parties will have pizza - and nothing else. ;)

But it was totally worth it! Smörgåsbords rock. Especially the meatballs.

new nephew!!!

I have a new nephew - Olof Levi Åhlén. He was born at 2:54 AM Sweden time in the living room. My brother David (aka Namur), delivered this new human being by getting instructions from the midwife via his mother-in-law on the phone in the kitchen...

How awesome is that?

Meatball fun

Meatball fun
Originally uploaded by tabita.

Doesn't it look like Todd and Rebecka are having so much fun in the meatball factory? (I.e. our kitchen)

Our guests should be so excited... ;)

just so you know

Singing and playing the piano is good for the soul.

my new phone

I have a new phone. It is sooooo awesome. Now I can work all the time - even when I'm away from everything.

Wait - is this a good thing?

Baked bread tonight. Quite relaxing, but now I'm ready to crash. Have lots of preparations for Saturday's party.

today...

i learned how to conference a second person in on my phone at work. i've just had it for 3+ years...

i'm a late technology adopter - i think.

it's quite exciting now that i know how!! makes me want to have lots of conference calls.

so much to do - so little time...

yep - that pretty much sums up my life.

got some fun-filled weekend activities coming up. like salmon dinner and movie tomorrow night; church history department party on saturday - oh yeah; and of course sunday school led by the famous church history scholar, Todd Green, on secularization in modern europe (or something along those lines).

now if i can just get through the next 24 hours...

letting go

I threw away my lunch bag of 10+ years today. It was just getting really challenging to unzip it and, yes, it was quite gross.

I enjoy getting my money's worth out of stuff. Why replace it if it's still (even remotely) functional? That's my motto.

One exception: clothes. I have no problems giving fully functional clothing to Goodwill.

That's just me.

tired...

Went on a field trip today. Thought I'd be able to avoid planes for at least one week. Not so much. Day trip though - good thing. Just finished call with India. Next one is in 8 hours and 18 minutes. Before then I have to sleep, wake up, shower, get ready, eat, and get to the office.

I should go to bed.

secret date and other weekend happenings...

What!?!?! Has it already been 5 days. Good Lord!

My life has been insane! So I tried to leave Boston on Thursday night, but there was some "mechanical problem," so that didn't work out. Spent another night there on a Delta voucher and got up at 3:30 AM to catch the 4:00 AM shuttle to take me to my 6:10 flight. And yes - my luggage had already gone, so I was quite nasty by then. Flight gets delayed in Atlanta due to bad weather and 50 aircraft ahead of us in the line. Good times.

Finally arrive in Nashville after having to cancel four conference calls and two meetings. I have about 6 hours before I have to be at a rehearsal dinner for a friend's wedding. 1) Go to VS to get a strapless bra. Check. 2) Go home and take a shower. Check. 3) Go to the office and say hi to everybody and answer India questions. Check. Whew - almost fall asleep up there in the sanctuary.

Saturday was filled with wedding fun. It was beautiful. The bride was beautiful. The groom cried and made all the brides maids (except me) cry. Party was swell because it had a chocolate fountain. Most adults were more excited about the Martini Slide. Todd and I danced. Rebecka danced more. She was *not* happy when it was time to go.

OK, OK, OK, I'm getting to the secret date. All I knew was we had to leave at 5, I needed to wear something nice (like my little black dress), and it involved dessert (that information I was not supposed to know, but it came out during the course of the day).

It was the best date ever... Appetizers, wine, dessert, and live music at the F Scott's Restaurant and Jazz Bar. Todd had done his research and provided the perfect evening. Everything from wine selection to etiquette to a nice gift waiting at home.

Man, I'm sooooo lucky.

steamed soy milk

I'm sitting in my hotel room, sipping steamed soymilk from the starbucks downstairs, and chatting with my husband.

It's cooooozy.

Btw - usability testing is so cool!

i'm loving this place...

It's so nice to be in a hotel where CNN is the default channel in the gym, the gym actually has more than one working treadmill, AND the treadmills are high-quality-just-the-same-as-at-the-Y.

Familiarity is golden.

i'm back in the country...

Yeh - just so ya'll know... :)

But, not in Nashville.

Nope - I'm at a fun-filled UIE conference in Cambridge, MA. This is the first conference I've attended as a professional. Makes me feel so grown up.

My hotel room rocks. Bed is the most comfortable ever. I need to find out where they buy their pillows. Probably have their own Marriott pillow factory...

Just got back from my first run since before India. I can not tell you how good I feel right now. It was tough and I only managed 50 minutes, but whew does it feel fantastic.

Todd has gotten into this insane running kick and is now running farther and faster than me. Scary. I need to get in good shape before the Habitrot on Thanksgiving morning so that he doesn't leave me in the dust. (I'm really proud of you, honey!)

OK - time to shower and find some food. It's cold outside, but I really don't feel like eating in the hotel restaurants. And I also have lots of work to do and don't really have time to spend an hour on dinner. Hmmm - the great dilemmas we face in life. I guess I'll figure it out.

I'm in India!!

PICT0114
Originally uploaded by tabita.

Yep - I've been here for two weeks now - crazy! This has been my longest bout of no blogging ever (OK - since I started almost a year ago). Everything is sooo fast-paced here that it is hard to catch your breath.

I've had an absolutely amazing time though. People are so good here - so generous. Went on a fabulous weekend trip to see the "Real India" with my friend Prasad. It was amazing... Rice fields, coconut trees, suger cane fields, "authentic" toilets - yep. It also included a day at the beach at Vizag - I have some pics from there on Flickr. I'll put more pics up at some point.

Right now I'm suffering from my second installation of stomach upset, so I'm on a fun-filled diet of steamed rice and curd (at home, people end each meal with this combination). Suppsed to be good for digestion... We shall see. Doesn't seem right to go to India and not get sick.

In Hyderabad now, will be leaving for Bangalore tomorrow. Will be back in the country on Oct 7.

Ordered 4 pair of custom shoes yesterday - so friggin cool. Can't wait to see them.