Losing my mind

Something is up. I am being more absentminded than usual. Day before yesterday, I didn't notice my boss had sent me a meeting invite. I didn't notice it because the way I've set up my inbox, his mails go into his folder, and it wasn't expanded. It doesn't show new mails in the main inbox folder. I keep checking my mail throughout the day. Didn't expand, didn't notice. Thank goodness, I was in on time and was able to attend it. It was an all day event, started at 9:30, ended at 5:30. Gahhhh!

Also, day before yesterday, I show up at the daycare to pick up M. We have to enter our password and check him in/out for the door to open. When I tried to check him out, it errored out, saying that he's already checked out. I just didn't read what it said, and since there were people behind me, I decided to checkout on my way out. The door was opened by someone and I entered. His teacher Jessy was going to use the bathroom and she saw me and said she'll be there in a minute. I went to his room, he wasn't there. I checked with the other teachers there, and asked if Jessy's class was here (sometimes they're at the gym at this time). They're supposed to be here. Mild panic sets in. Jessy came running and told me my husband has already taken him, and she forgot to tell me earlier. I think, okay, he must have gotten off early and taken him. But why didn't he tell me? My cell phone was off (battery out, I don't recharge it like I should) so he must be trying to call me. Okay, I think of going to Costco to pick up the prints I had given the previous day. Get into my car and then realize, it is HIS turn to pick M up, and also that I had given him the Costco receipt to get the prints THAT MORNING!! I just forgot that I had dropped him off in the morning, and he was going to pick him up!
Yesterday, I excused myself from the meeting around 4:00 to call DH and tell him to pick M up because I'm still in the meeting. He told me he was just going to go. And then he said "You forgot again!! It's my turn again. You dropped him off." I said, no, that I was just reminding him to pick him up. LOL! Nah. He didn't buy that :p

Anyhow, I wasn't able to run much yesterday because of the meeting at work. I only got 2 miles as I had 45 minutes to get down to the gym, change, run, shower, dress up, and heat my lunch and bring to the meeting. If it wasn't for the 100 miles by April 1st challenge, I'd have skipped yesterday for sure!

I haven't shown a Layout in a while. Here is one I did with Sophia Sarducci's stuff.

Niagara Falls

Journaling: May 2002. We were just about to go for the Maid of the Mist tour when this picture was taken. The view from the top of the tower was amazing. And the air was cold, even in May. I hadn't brought any jacket with me, and had to buy one on our first day there.

Credits:
Everything except stitching is from Sophia Sarducci Panty Drawer kit here
Stitching by Christine Nash

What day is it today?

Today is the day when Shalini completes a 5K! Yeppers! I ran my usual 2 miles, and then decided to walk the rest of the distance. 5 minutes in, and I was ready to run again! And I did, right to the end of 3.1 miles. Jenni gave me some tips to go longer, and now I can! The key is to go slow. I took 41 minutes, though. This isn't ideal. Most athletes would do it in under 30 minutes. Once I get used to running this distance, I'll improve my mileage. But today, I'm happy! Thank you, Jenni!

Jenni and I are going to run a 5K race in April. We live close to each other. She has already done (atleast) one, and asked if I was up to it. Sure am! The race is Stupid Little 5K I just looked at the course photos, and boy, it has quite a few up-hills. But the view is beautiful.

Slacker!

Not you, Me! I have been a slacker at fulfilling my obligations! Did I mail out the ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) for December? Nope. Have I finished the gift project? Nope. Did I do my Creative Team duties? Nope.

So, what have I done? Let's see, I got a whole bunch of work stuff done on time, including the preparation for the demo. Yeah yeah, what else? Certifications. Okay, I already talked about those twice! No more mention is needed.

What I haven't mentioned here is that I finished Mehul's First Birthday layouts. All 34 of them! Now only to get them printed and put in a scrapbook. I don't have trouble doing the layouts, it's the printing that kills me.

See, for printing stuff on time, I have to be more organized than I tend to be. I have to plan ahead. I get my prints done at Costco, which is near Mehul's daycare, where I go *daily*. Then, what's the problem? Well, some days I forget. Other days when I remember, I do not have my Memory stick with me. Rest of the days, I forget :o See a pattern?

So, what do I do to rectify the situation? Nothing. And I take on one more obligation. LOL! I asked to be on another CT. But her designs are *so* wonderful. I have to! Or I'll go broke buying all the stuff.

For the DigiScrappers, she is Sophia Sarducci, also known as Saxon in the digi scrapping forums. She is a brand new designer, and her goodies are to die for. I almost died.

Really Nice Day, But What Does It Mean?

Yesterday was such a nice day here in D.C. We had recordbreaking high temperature. 73F!! Apparantly, the headline in Delhi newspapers was, 22C in Wahington DC, and 4C in Delhi in January! What's going on?

We (along with the rest of DC, VA, MD residents) made the most of it. We decided to take Mehul to a petting zoo near our place. We have never been, and (I) got really excited at the sight of Ostrich, Lamas, and many more animals. Got to the gate, and realized it was closed for the season! I can't blame them. It's not usual for people to want to visit the petting zoo in the midde of winter! As we were leaving, we saw atleast 3 cars stop by! Really a bummer. But it's really only 15 minutes from our home, so it's no big deal. We'll certainly go back.

So, we decided to go to Great Falls State Park. The Potamic river runs through the middle of it, and forms a sort of waterfall. We just love going there. Saw some people were having BBQ there. Unusual sight for January!

Some pictures (and a rare one of me!)


Between yesterday and today, I have ran around 4 miles, and hiked 2 (at Great Falls). Yes!! I figure to complete my 100 miles in less than 90 days, I have to do more than a mile a day. I'm behind!

Looking forward to 2007

In 2007, I wish to focus on growth. Both personal and professional.

Professional

I have just cleared the certifications that bring me one step closer to where I want to be professionally. For anyone wondering, they are FileNet Enterprise Content Management and Business Process Management Java APIs (Mouthful). I want to be a Content Specialist when I grow up :) I am learning Filenet, and have experience with Documentum (FileNet's Competition, and a leading Enterprise Content Mgmt solution). A resume with both of these is really hard to find. Now, I need to get on a project with FileNet here, and I'm all set.

Personal

The fun part. I want to be a runner. I want to finish a 5K. I run at lunchtime sometimes, but I need to be more consistant. Currently, I can run 2 miles (3.2K) in 25 minutes, With a total of 5 minutes walking before, in-between, and cool-down. So, I'm joining the 100 miles by April 1st. Found it on ThermalGal's Blog The challenge is to walk or run 100 Miles. I would like most of it to be running.

I want to finish the scrapbook albums I've started - Mehul's First Year, and Mehul's First Birthday. After that, I want to start Mehul's Second Year, Travel Book, and Recipe Booklet. I don't have any heritage photos with me here so I'm not adding that to the list. I will get them on my next trip to India.

I also want to finish a few items from my 10 Stitching Project Challenge list.

Ofcourse, in addition to these, I'll keep knocking items off my 101 Things In 1001 Days list.

2006 in Review

There were many ups and downs along the way, but overall, it was a good year. Better than 2005 for sure. No one got majorly sick, for which I'm very thankful. I got to spend the first half of the year with Mehul, staying happily at home. That is the highlight of this year in my mind. I didn't know how much I had missed seeing him the last year!

In June, I got a good job that pays slightly less than last years contract, but is much closer to home. I'll take that over salary any day. Girish switched his project within his company and came closer to home too. Both of us are home at a reasonable time daily, and have time for family activities (even if it's just sitting in front of TV most days! LOL.) In September, we bought the house of our dreams. Couldn't sell the old place, but it's still working out. Girish turned 31, I turned 30, and Mehul turned 2.

We formed new friendships, and continued old ones. Both online, and in real life. I made contacts with a few people off the boards, and treasure them as my friends. I really hope to meet them in person. As a family, we met a few families via friends, and get along great. We had more GTGs this year than in the last 5-6 years in the US. A sense of community has formed, and we hope to keep it going in 2007.

I started a new hobby later in the year, Digi Scrapping. It has been a blessing. It's my creative outlet, and I find it extremely relaxing while creating memories at the same time. I always wanted to turn the digital photos into scrapbooks, but never thought digital scrapbooking would be the way to go! I came across a discussion on the Stitching BB, googled the term, and told myself I don't need another hobby. 15 days later, I was sitting with a bunch of freebie kits and trying it out! LOL. I'm mostly done with Mehul's first year photos, and his First Birthday Album is coming along really well. Only 5-6 more photos to scrap! I wish to do a Heritage Album for my side of family, and another for DH's, a travel album, and hopefully a recipe booklet! I started stitching again too. And we continue to do Home Improvements. I also started this blog and have been actively blogging.

Among the downsides, the stitching community lost a dear member - Laura Leigh. She was my age. We may not have had one on one contact, but I always felt close to her for some reason. I always thought she looked like me a little bit too. She came across as a very friendly person. It was such a big shock, and I still remember that day often. We also learned that a dear friend of Girish and his wife had a miscarriage. They were so excited about having a baby. They're doing better now, and we wish them the best.

Mehul started speaking a lot. He makes us laugh. Some of my favorites are "Miss Mamma" "Miss Dadda" "Mehul, I give you Timeout!" "What's dat name?" "My Lellow" (the color yellow is his fave), and many more. He can be seen giving timeouts to his Trains, Winny the Pooh, and Elmo. Eating battles continue. Despite all of our efforts, he continues to be a picky eater. Here's hoping it will get better in 2007. Three sounds like an age when a lot of picky kids start eating. Oh well, he's happy and healthy. That's all that matters :)

Here's to a Great Year 2007.

Happy New Year - 2007

Sorry for remaining absent for the entire week! A lot has been accomplished in that one week! I am preparing for a demo on the 8th, and I'm very busy with that. With the holidays, it was very difficult to hunt people down. The demo is coming along, it's but not there yet.

I also managed to pass 2 certification exams for work. One with 100% and another with 95% score. Yay!

I had a cookathon over this weekend. There is very little space left in the freezer. Lots of soup, soup stock, curries, beans, and pilaf! M & M came over on New Year eve. Lots of eating was done. I was officially responsible for blowing their diets the last day of the year. LOL.

Thanks for the comments on my MBR entry. We bought the mirror at BB&B, it was too close to the paint color so returned it, promptly found another one. All is well. Almost. DH is concerned that the mirror is too heavy for the drywall to support. He has to find the studs in the wall. Here's hoping there is one (or two) where I want it to go.

Resolutions. The only resolution this year is to keep knocking off things from my 101 Things To Do List. Currently 24% Done, 16% In Progress.