First things first...

Do you like the new face of my blog? Mattie hooked suevee blog up with a face lift. I told him to think pink and polka dots and this is what he came up with. Thanks Mattie!!...I absolutely love it!

I can't believe it's Monday already. The weekend flew by....maybe it was because it was jam-packed with all sorts of events. Here are a few pictures in review of the weekend...

Sunday was Micahji's dedication ceremony at the church. Here's him sneakin' a peak over his Ma's shoulder at Ba-bo Masi. (that's me!)Here's Micahji all dolled up in his fancy shmancy tuxedo. Does it get any cuter than this?
Priya's half my age...and I'm half her height. She had to bend wayyyyy down for this upshot.

Binu, Me and Sandy Aunty...Now, you guys tell me...Does Binu look like she could possibly have a son who's a junior in high school?!?

Sandy Aunty, Blessy, and Baby Alexis. We haven't seen p ics of Alex since she was born...she's been out of commission...keeping her Mommy's hands full. But lately she's decided it's time to make a few public appearances and socialize a bit. ;)

Me and Winzy...in our traditional abnormally long arms upshot

Micahji was such a good boy during the service and all during lunch. But, by the end he was just tuckered out and needed some FOOD.Saturday was Biju and Suja's wedding! I wish I had a few shots of her in her dress...but due to bad lighting, I wasn't able to get any. Regardless...she looked beautiful...take my word for it.

The bridesmaid dresses...loved it!

I loved these floor candles. It gave the wedding a romantic vibe.

Sunu...as Fergie would say...G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S

I'm surprised we survived our little Dallas trip...I lost a few directions, wrote a few directions down wrong and got on her nerves just a tad...but she got on mine too...by tuning into the local Dallas Hindi Music station.

Group upshot...Sunu, Me, and my buddy Rick

Friday was Les's prom.

Les and her future bridesmaids

PC North Prom Goers...

And that was my weekend in review...I got to see old friends in Dallas...make new friends in Dallas...and make it back in time to see the cutest little guy in the neighborhood all dolled up in his tux! It went by way too fast...but I enjoyed every minute!

Is it Friday yet?!?

Ash and Abhi...

Ever the reporter...my man (although not a big fan of Bollywood actors) happened to see Ash and Abhi at the airport in Bombay. They were about to leave for their honeymoon...and like me, Matt never leaves home with out his camera!!Amitabh telling Matt to stop taking pictures...HA!

Ash and Abhi

Huggin' daddy.

Cute rings, Ash.

Have fun on your honeymoon!

Unexplainable things...

I'm beat. I was kung fu fighting in my nightmares all night long...and awoke feeling extremely tired...as if I never went to sleep at all. This is totally NOT what I need this morning...as if working in a pin-drop silent office isn't bad enough when trying to force myself to stay awake.

Let's talk TV. Last night was a very emotional night of television. AI was heart-wrenching and very difficult to watch. The statistics were unfathomable...Every 30 seconds children in Africa are orphaned due to a parent dying of aids....and every 30 seconds a child dies of malaria. The show totally made me want to be on the next flight to Africa...but then reality sunk in, and I realized I had to go to work today. =/

Lost...So let's get this straight. The plane was found and all the passengers were found dead? Uhm, all I have to say is that if they make this island Heaven or Hell....and if Ben turns out to be God or the Devil...I will never watch TV again!!!!!!!!!

In other news...I don't know why I have writer's block. My apartment complex is a wealth of story ideas waiting to be penned....or typed, I should say. I have cooky neighbors who have marital disputes out by the pool for the complex to hear and leave notes to each other outside the door....making it extremely difficult not to take a peek while walking past their door, I might add!! I also have a neighbor who is like a heroine in one of those "I am single chick. Hear me roar" type books. Then there are the Indians, who fry up potato subjee on their back porch and never smile at anyone...except me...cuz I'm brown too! There's also this one really cute chick with an out-of-control chocolate lab. She's often seen running out of control because her dog is dragging her down the sidewalk as it sprints toward the innocent bystander that's about to get jumped and slobbered on. But better than all of these characters...is the beast.

I wish I could describe the beast in detail, but I've only see it out once in broad daylight. Typically it's seen roaming around at night, taking a dump on the lawn where dumps are strictly prohibited or pilfering through the trash for the perfect trash bag to rip to shreds on the lawn. As if the destructive act is his own special way of flippin the birdie at management. The beast usually appears from out of nowhere and then often vanishes into the thin air. No one knows where it dwells.

I hadn't seen him in a while and told my neighbor that he might very well be dead. But then yesterday, Mousse and I were taking a walk and saw it appear from out of nowhere. We both stopped dead in our tracks and watched with our mouths gaping open. The beast is black with brown patches. It has a wild flap of brown hair on the top of it's head that is about 6 inches long and flaps around in the wind...kinda like bangs. It's big. It's fat. And it's fuglier than even the fugliest of dogs. That's because it's not a dog at all!!

A courteous neighbor man saw me and Mousse standing in awe mixed with sheer terror and shooed the beast away. As it galloped away into oblivion, its turned away and shot me and Mousse a look...as if saying, "I'll be back for you." I quickly called my neighbor to inform her that the beast was indeed still alive. I told her that my new theory is that the beast is a cross-breed between two animal species...dog and horse. I think the beast eventually runs back to the farm to return back to its mother the mare and its father the farm dog. We are thinking of ways to trap the beast and run some genetic testing...but until then our imaginations continue to run WILD.

WEIGH-IN WEDNESDAY.

i GAINED .8 of a pound. but in my mind, it's a pound. i'm so ticked. at myself, of course. i guess i'm just going to have to buck up and become a food nazi. there's no other way to achieve this goal. bleh.

ps. if you know Sang and Rome, they had their babies today!! One for each...a boy and a girl. Healthy...and beautiful (like their parents), I'm quite sure! I'll post pictures of the lil' dumplins as soon as I get some!

randomness...

Well, I'm back. I was actually pretty busy the past two days, so I didn't get a chance to blog. That..and there was nothing blogworthy going on in my life. Not that there is now either...but I'm in more of a mood to ramble endlessly about a little bit of this and that.

Tonight's TV night with my neighbor, the Furball. She usually comes over on Wednesday night because we have the same must see TV line up...so we watch it over dinner. It's fun times. I'm most anxious to see American Idol tonight. They all did amazingly well last night, so I'm wondering who will get the boot. I'm hoping it's Lakesha...I'm particularly attached to BLAKE...and I want Chris around because I know he and Blake are friends...and BLAKE would be sad if Chris left...and I just couldn't handle that!! And, Jordin and Melinda are just the bomb.com. And...Phil is making a comeback, so it'd be kinda sad to kick him off when he's actually doing good now. So you see, Lakesha has to go.

Mousse is kennel bound on Friday. She's going to have a few shots while she's there, so I'm quite sure she's gonna be even more pissed at me when she comes home. I feel badly for the pup, but I have a very special wedding to go to on Saturday. My friend SujaT will be getting married!! We've both shared our horror stories through the years regarding our search for Mr. Right...so It's pretty awesome that we both found them at the same time and are getting married just a few months apart.

Speaking of....when will September ever get here??

I'z gotz some questionz...

It's Friday! What glee! I just scarfed down my breakfast...a strawberry peach smoothie....courtesy the Kumbankuzhi Christmas Dirty Santa present I won...correction, Sheryl won...but I somehow manipulated it away from her. =) It's a gorgeous day out today...I can only hope this weather will continue through the weekend. *fingers crossed* Tonight, the plan is to go try out a new coffee shop down town called "Bru-haha"...That's a clever name, wouldn't you say? Saturday, I have some wedding errands, LAUNDRY, Ms. Coco Chanel is gonna have a doggy birthday party, and my cousin Ash is treating me to a evening at a Jazz Lab. Should be good times!

I have a few burning questions this week as well...and again, if you know the answer to any or all of these questions, click the comment link below!!

Why does Fergie find it necessary to spell out words in nearly all of her songs? You'd think that if she was going to do this, she'd at least spell correctly!!

Why does something about Sanjaya remind me strangely of Michael Jackson? (thank you, America for putting him out of his misery!)

Why are my colleagues selling Nachos to raise money for the American Heart Association? Why not some more heart healthy snacks??

Why do my neighbors insist on having domestic disputes out by the pool for the entire complex to hear?

Depressing thoughts...

My mind is reeling with depressing thoughts this morning. On my drive to work, the radio djs weren't their usual peppy, nonsensical selves. Instead they were serious and sullen as they discussed the Vtech slayings. As much as they tried to focus on the victims instead of the killer, the conversation kept drifting to the question that has been resounding in everyone's minds these days....WHY? And when you try to comprehend the "why"...you are forced to give attention to the one person who doesn't deserve it. Another topic of their conversation, was the Murrah Federal building bombing that took place 12 years ago today in Oklahoma City.

It's hard to believe that 12 years have gone by...that the individuals who died in that building are somehow frozen in the memory of those who once loved them...where they are unable to grow or change while the world they once lived in moves forward with out them.

And that's just how it is...when someone close to you dies...you feel as if something has been stolen from you. But it's worse than that...because it makes you feel like you can't continue to breathe...like you can't move forward and go on...But, you do. It takes a lot of effort to do something simple...like live. You walk around with this vacant hole in your heart. Eventually the hole heals...but you're heart isn't the same. It will never be the same. It's patched up...it functions...but in a single, solitary moment your life has been changed...whether you were ready for it or not.

Good Lord, expressing my depressing thoughts has probably put a damper on each of your days. So, I'll end with a joke to lift the spirits that I have crushed. =/

Tom had this problem of getting up late in the morning and was always late for work. His boss was mad at him and threatened to fire him if he didn't do something about it. So Tom went to his doctor who gave him a pill and told him to take it before he went to bed. Tom slept well and in fact beat, the alarm in the morning. He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work. "Boss", he said, "The pill actually worked!""That's all fine" said the boss, "But where were you yesterday?"

Ok, so if that didn't cheer you up and make you smile...here's something that will...TOMORROW'S Friday!

Weigh-in Wednesday!

8:45 am:
I have this huge feeling that weigh-in Wednesday won't be pretty today. I think I might have actually gained back the 2 pounds I lost last week. I'm preparing myself for the worst. This past week has been challenging...what with church potlucks and birthday dinners. Although, I know I can't blame these events when I could have definitely made better decisions.

I hate that I haven't been able to get myself in check just yet. I was much more committed and driven before. But now, I'm lacking enough of that for some reason and it's driving me mad. I've already thought up ways to improve the situation for next week. It involves being focused on the ultimate goal...which right now is wearing a sun dress on my honeymoon in South Beach. I'm vain...forget health/shmealth...the thought of that wasn't enough to keep me motivated.

12:37:
Well, a pound and half lost. I can't complain. although, i didn't make my 2 pound goal...I had a bad week...so at this point, i'm just thrilled I lost something. Next week will be better!!! I'm gonna die trying at least!

Somethin' to think about...

As Jana mentioned in her fotolog this morning, my heart goes out to all the victims of the tragic shooting at Virginia Tech. After hearing about this tragedy and then finding out that someone tried to break into my friend's home while his wife and child were in the house...I was once again reminded that is by grace that I am still here, safe and protected. It also reminded me of a thought I had last week...about purpose.

A few weeks ago, on Easter Sunday, a golfer, who had just won the prized "green Jacket" at the Master's tournament was quoted to say, "Whether I win or lose, my purpose on Earth is to bring glory to God." I started to really think about that and examine myself throughout the day. Did anything I do all day long bring glory to God? Sadly, I discovered that on 6 out of 7 days, I have fallen short. Anyway, I've now made a conscious effort to focus more on my true purpose...But, I thought I'd throw that out there for the rest of you guys to think about as well...sometimes we all just need a reminder.

In other news, 151 days till the wedding! I've already gotten the wedding invitations in...they come a lot sooner than expected. They're quite simple and to the point...kinda like me. ;) Matt sent me a picture of the finished bridesmaids outfit, and I'm very impressed. They're quite gorgeous! Everything is really coming together....

I got some questions...Part Deuce

I'm not going to complain about the fact that I felt like Noah as I was driving into work. I mean, it's April...rain is expected. Afterall, April showers bring May flowers. And in Oklahoma...April and May showers bring June flowers. But, why in the world is it still snowing in April?!? It's spring!!...it's high time to "spring" into some warmer weather!!

What dead animal was used to "help" Sanjaya with that moustache this week?

Why do people persist on using big words in the wrong context?!?

Why can't people just be happy for you when you say you lost 2 pounds? Why do they tell you that you needed to lose four? Which leads me to my next question...

How come some people don't know that it's socially unacceptable to be RUDE!?

Why does UPS tell you that they track your packages and then never update the tracking log on the website??

The best ever BBQ chicken sandwich...

I babysat last night. I can't say I could have done it without my neighbor, the Furball. She held Landon while I dog wrestled Mousse into her kennel for the remainder of the evening. Mousse saw Landy and felt the need to lick him like a lolly pop. And although Landon handled Mousse much more bravely and maturely than...oh...let's say...SONIA!!...I didn't want to subject him to a doggy bath. Afterwards, it was smooth sailing. Landon just smiled and played while the Furball and I watched America's Next Top Model. Then, at about 8 pm...right when American Idol came on, the tears began to roll down pudgy, pink cheeks. I can't say that I blame the baby...I wanted to cry too when I saw Sanjaya's moustache. The crying continued till around 9 pm, and then the lil angel stopped and went to sleep so Sue Aunty could watch Lost.

Speaking of...WTF?!? So, Juliet's a fake? This show just astounds me more and more with each episode!!

I made a deeeeleeeeeeecious WW recipe yesterday...
Barbecue chicken sandwich:
In a skillet, brown 2 chicken breasts. Once cooked all the way through, pull apart the meat with forks.

In another skillet add 1 cup of ketchup, 1 can of diet coke, and 2 tablespoons of barbecue sauce. Season as desired Blend together and let it simmer. Add the chicken and cook for 15 minutes. Lower heat and let the sauce thicken.

Serve on a bun!

and the result is in....

2 pounds lost for week 1.

This and that and things of that nature...

I ordered a silly t-shirt yesterday from www.cafepress.com. It reads, "My name is Varghese. Wee as in Wictor." I can't wait to sport it. I didn't catch American Idol last night. I heard I missed Jenny from the block. I'm oh-so-disappointed! Was Sanjaya's performance dreadful?

SunuA and I went to another Hornets game last night. It will be quite sad when NBA fever leaves Oklahoma City and returns to New Orleans. It was a fun ride while it lasted. I'm not sure either of us were too captivated by the game. We were immersed in our favorite past time...people watching. The crowd would cheer uncontrollably, and I'd turn to Sunu and ask her what happened, and she'd shrug obliviously. The guy next to me wasn't quite enthused with basketball either. He pulled out his blackberry and was so bored that he struck up a conversation with me. I was about to lend him my copy of "the Lucky Bones" that I had stashed away in my purse (that Sunu forbid me to pull out and read). The sad thing was...it was a great game...neck in neck...and very action packed. I'm just not a sportsy-type girl, but I will never say no to free NBA tickets. Are u kidding me? It's where all the eye candy is!

I woke up at 5:45 this morning to run. Thank God the sun is up and shining...else, I'm quite sure I'd be really tired right about now. It's not like I slept well last night...wedding dilemmas plagued my mind. It was good to get out my aggression on the treadmill. Today's weigh-in Wednesday, so I'm hoping that my good eating habits will pay off on the scales. I shall check back in after lunch to share my poundage lost/gained with the rest of the blogosphere.

Happy birthday to my good friend, Derrick...aka "Dnuts." I selected this picture of him (the bald and beautiful one) and Roy pummeling Coco because it's a perfect depiction of his silliness...and no matter how old he gets, he'll always be silly! Happy Dirty Thirty, D!

As usual, the weekend went by way too fast, and I'm currently trying to resist the Easter chocolates left on my desk by a co-worker. I will just leave them sealed in the cute little bunny box that they're in and maybe I'll forget that they're there.

I've been reading an intriguing book lately. It's called "Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold. The book is about a 14 year old girl who was murdered back in the 70's, her life in Heaven and how her family copes on Earth. It's been a very interesting read...the kind you really can't put down. (in case you'd like to pick up a copy for yourself!!)

159 days until the wedding. Why does that sound like an infinitive number to me? It seems like it will take forever to get here, although everyone tells me that it won't. Cousin Leslie pointed out that the entire summer will be over and school will re-start...and then only will it be time for the wedding. Thanks for pointing that out, Les. *sigh*

Good Friday, all. Literally. It's a chilly Friday morning in OKC. The weather has taken a turn for the worse, and we are experiencing 30 degree weather and a few snowflakes here and there. But, I'm getting off of work early, so no complaints here.

A special goodbye post to my dear friend Ruby and her sweet husband Abu. The newlyweds are packing up and moving to Dallas this weekend. I have lots of mixed emotions...insane jealousy, excitement when thinking about their new life with new possibilities, and lots of sadness when I realize she won't be one stoplight away from me anymore. Ruby, you are an amazing friend!! I am ever-so-grateful that God re-crossed our paths. You have been a constant pillar of strength and support for me, and I don't really know what I'm going to do with out you. However, near or far...I'm quite positive that you are going to be my forever friend. I love you so much and wish you the best in Dirty Dallas.

Happy Easter to the rest of ya....I hope you all take some time out of your weekend to reflect upon the cross and resurrection of our Savior. The price he paid for our sins is often forgotten. But despite the many times we have hurt Him, neglected Him, ignored Him completely, doubted Him, and turned away from Him...His love for us has never faltered. We hear the sermons quite often..."Jesus died for our sins."...but until His death becomes real to us...until His sacrifice is something our minds can grasp...we will never truly understand the depth of His love and His grace.

Surviving D Day...

Thank you to the supportive comments on the previous post. I survived D day. Actually, it wasn't really that bad. I didn't gain back as much weight as I had assumed. If I achieve my goal of losing 2 pounds a week, I should be well on my way to better health by this summer...AND I won't look like a powdered donut on my wedding day. If I figure that I can definitely do this. I just have to approach it with positivity and excitement rather than fear and dread. As my friend Sheryl and Ice Cube always say, "You can do it...put your back into it." That's exactly what I tend to do.

I was disappointed to see rocker Gina go....and of course, Sanjaya stay. If it weren't for my secret crush Blake Lewis, I'd have quit watching that show long ago. It's really sad because this season is becoming such a joke, and it's not fair to the ones who have real talent. The minute Blake is kicked off, I'm done watching it. As for LOST last night...WTFreakkk? I think that show will always leave me with that final response.

In other news...I went to visit the reception spot last night...All this is beginning to become really real. aaaaaaaaaaaah! Anybody know a videographer in the OKC area??

D Day...

D Day has arrived. The day I've been dreading for a whole month. The day I have to step back on the scale to see exactly how much damage I've done to myself. It has come to my knowledge that I can not lose weight with out some sort of accountability towards someone or something. So, once again I joined WW, once again I will be posting pounds lost/gained on Wednesdays, and once again I will be attempting to reach my 3 mile goal on the treadmill.

It's so easy to gain weight, and so hard to lose it. But once it's lost, and then re-gained, the second go-around is even harder. Most people think that I'm back on the weight loss frenzy because the wedding is coming up. I'd be totally LYING if I said that it didn't have a large part to do with this...so does the fact that my fiancé is a staunch believer in balanced, healthy diets and fitness...as well as summer is coming soon, and I have lots of cute stuff in my closet that don't quite fit very well anymore....but MOST of all...I miss that feeling of being in control of the enemy I've battled with my entire life.

Keepin it Real...

I was talking to a friend this weekend about life as I see it.. How I feel that if you're different from the norm, you'll never fit in....how the closed-mindedness that we often fear plagues our parents generation has seeped in through the blood of our very own...how people recognize rude behavior when they're the ones receiving it, but not when they're the ones dishing it out...how it's so hard for people to offer up encouragement, but so easy for them to be discouraging and kick someone who's already down... but what's saddest about this is...these are the same people who hide under the guise of Christianity. They're the ones who preach it, teach it, sing it, shout it...but the light that exudes them is equivalent to that of faint flashlight wit a dying battery.

I'm disappointed...in people, in myself...I'm tired of saying yes to people when I really want to say no...tired of relentlessly trying to be nice to someone who clearly hates me and everyone else...tired of feeling a day late and a dollar short because my life doesn't necessarily match up to the Susan Varghese down the block.

Why am I writing all this? I'm not sure...I just felt like keeping it real today. If something I wrote offended you...you might want to stop and consider why.

Wedding Pictures...

Sadly, I don't have pictures of the most important people at the wedding...like JU and Sheetal *the bride and the groom* or my Binu Bing * he somehow escaped with out me getting an upshot*...but I'm sure Mattie will make up for it, so stay tuned to his blog. As I uploaded these pictures, I realized that I've never taken so many pictures at an event, which consisted so much of ME. I guess I was just a little extra smiley that day because I figured out that the next wedding that I attend in OKC will be my own!!!!!!! My BF (Sonjaya) and me. I came up with this new nickname since her and Sanjaya both like to show their grills.

me and one of my most favoritest, Ben
We tried to get SujaK in on this pic...but she declined the photo op, so it was just me and SnuK.

This girl always brings out smiles in me....my long time friend, Mercy was in town for the wedding. We had a mini-reunion after 6 years. It was so good to see her and catch up. Hopefully we'll be doing more of the same in 5 months. ;)

A traditional shot...NC, me, and Sonia

The two cutest fellas at the wedding * ben and eric* and nancy and andy

Kids don't get any sweeter than Miss Jenny

A traditional SueStan shot

Shines, Sonia, and Wins

The brothers...

Jess and Me

Yo...they're single and ready to mingle...;)

Jerin and Sonia are our two walking miracles... ;)

Sisters...

Jerin and Piper

me and my one and only mattie...* i wuv him even tho he is a VietCongese*

Piper has lots to smile about...his wedding is on May 5th!

There was 50 cars waiting in line to get out of the parking garage. Apparently some ditzy chick dropped her parking ticket in the box instead of just scanning it through. Sheesh...if I ever find out who that chick is...I'm gonna giver her a peace of my mind!