Crockpot Cooking for 2.5

Husband and I have agreed that if I'm working part-time and caring for Baby the rest of the time, I will attempt to be the Good Little Indian Wife he thought he married. For those of you who know me, you know that's an insane request. I am Good, I am Little, I am Indian and I am his Wife...but that combination of words does not usually come up when anyone is describing me.  My father asked him if he knew what he was getting himself into when he asked for my hand in marriage, therefore he made an informed decision.

Now that Baby is sleeping for longer stretches and sometimes even at night, I have more time to tend to other things like vacuuming, picking up around the house, cooking and regular showers! We're trying to plan a weekly menu and divvy up the cooking duties. Tonight was my night to make a Vegetarian Crock Pot Curry. I got the recipe from Stephanie O'Dea's blog - A Year of Slow Cooking. It seemed easy enough to adapt to whatever's on hand. Somehow it turned out a little too tomato-ey, but still yummy. I added more yogurt than indicated and used V8 Hot and Spicy which could have accounted for the too much tomato sensation in my mouth. Overall, not so bad for my second attempt at crock pot cooking.

While searching for easy dinner recipes, I learned that I can make desserts like walnut brownies or even some kind of apple/pear thingy.  I'm all over that this weekend while Husband is on a No Girls Allowed Ski Trip.

Wedding Pics

We've been married just over a month. We're starting to write thank you's and are still opening beleated gifts. Technically, not belated as guests have one year to give a gift to the happy couple. I find myself speaking in the terms of the royal 'we' more and more. In addition, I seem to stumble on my words when remembering I have a new last name...(not officially, but more on that later).

As I said in my last post, the wedding was fantastic and a whilrwind of activity. From what I've heard, guests enjoyed themselves, the food was great and the music helped keep everyone moving. Our friends serenaded us with our song, "Tell Me" by Sara Evans. My cousin's and sister wowed our guests with a Bollywood routine to "Desi Girl". I have no idea where it came from, but it was perfect with a combination of Hindi and English. During the traditonal garba (Gujarati Folk Dance), I snuck out and changed into the beautiful gold lenga choli that my Groom purchased for me earlier this year. Here are a few highlights of the day:

Ring Shopping

I have to find a suitable wedding band for Groom.  I'm thinking something sturdy and definitely a comfort fit band.  Men's rings have come a long way from the thin gold past of our parents' day. There are those fancy braided looking things, miniature diamond encrusted, or even that 'man' engagement ring look.  Groom inherited one of the latter, and it is beautiful, but very noticeable and probably not something he can wear everyday.  Maybe we'll use it in the ceremony, but even that might be a bit much. 

I just realized that I have not included a picture of my ring, or even blogged about rings for that matter. My camera is out of commision, so once it gets working, I'll post a picture.  While we were looking at engagement rings, what feels like forever ago, the sales consultant was telling us the benefits of white gold over platinum. Price and durability being the top two.  Platinum shows dings and looses it luster quickly while white gold tends to hold on to the shine or masks the dings.  In addition, white gold is also considerably less expensive than platinum.  This was all fine and good until we asked what would happen if I were allergic to nickel.  She stopped her pitch and said to Groom, "Sorry, but platinum is the only way to go."  I felt bad, but realized that he'd budgeted for the extra $1000 or whatever it was.  Luckily my ring is so ornate that I don't want to wear an additional wedding band with it, so he's not buying me a second ring.  

Since all this happened, I've found out that there are ways around the having to buy platinum. Titanium is an option, but you have to like that industrial and not shiny look. This seems to be more an option for men's bands since they like scratching up brick with out making even a scratch on their bands!  Another option is a gold band with a platinum setting (gold is usually very soft and many jewelers won't set stones in it).  The higher the karat, the softer it is...still pretty and goes with an Indian girl's gold sets, but I find that I don't wear my Indian gold that often...I am not entirely sure that my mom ever takes it out of the safety deposit box.  It's like a treasure hunt every time we open that thing up!

Anyways, if your finger or ears turn green or swell up or get all itchy, you might be allergic to nickel. I can't wear fashion earrings for more than a few hours and any other nickel containing jewelry makes my skin break out into a rash.  It's not pleasant and kind of sad when someone buys you something you want to wear all the time!  Since I've never fulfilled my stereotype of attending medical school, I would recommend checking in with a dermatologist to see what your options are. Maybe there's a cure or pill or shot or something.  Although really, why bother, just don't wear white gold and spring for the platinum. It's a girl's second best friend next to that rock in the center, right? I kid.  Groom is my best friend, the rock is just icing. 

Desi Girl Articles

South Asian Brides are combining their Eastern roots with their Western heritage (side note, East and West are SOOO Christopher Columbus, can we find something new please?). I digress.

Nirali and Sapna have a lot to say about fashion, culture, career and beauty. Nirali has some wonderful articles on beauty tips for the Desi (Indian) bride. The Sapna article talks about South Asian Brides combining elements from both sides of the globe and mixing things in from pretty much anywhere she darn well pleases to plan a day to remember.

I struggle with the excess of the wedding industry and the simplicity of just saying "I Do...now and forever". I am hoping to find that balance as we plan our big day. Groom and I are headed to find out the results of our FOCCUS inventory tonight. Will let you know how that goes tomorrow!