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HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

2006-05-14T00:45:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a couple of weeks - sorry. I have just been working and then on the weekends I have gone shopping. Today I went to church and they gave me a rose and wished me Happy Mother's Day - too bad I am really not a mother.

I just wanted to wish my mom Happy Mother's Day!!! I love you and miss you. I can't wait to see you in June and thanks for calling. I just want everyone to know that I have the best mother :0) and that's not just cuz we are alike! I can't wait to see all of my family. I will be home soon. Love and miss you all.

Wild Animal Park

2006-05-01T06:38:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I went to the Wild Animal Park here in Bangalore. I was excited because I was told we would take a safari and see lions and tigers and bears -oh my! It cost us 125 rupees, about $2. It was about an hour drive outside of Bangalore. The road we had to take to the park were horrible. It was like we were driving on a dirt road in a little Ford Festiva the whole way. It was rough!

I went with Anne, a colleague from England. It was dang hot!! On the way to the park I saw monkeys playing on the side of the road. I also saw some camels. It is just crazy what a different wildlife they have.

At the park we were put onto a bus that held about 30 people. The windows on the bus were all caged - so the wild animals wouldn't get us. We then drove around a section of the park that was fenced to keep the wild animals in. Throughout the drive we saw some animals that were playing in the wild ( a semi-controlled environment) and some animals that were in cages along the way.

It wasn't the safari that I was dreaming of, but what did I expect! Anne was telling me about a safari that I could go on that was real. They take you in safari jeeps and you are out all day looking for animals. It cost about $150 per day and is about a 6-8 hours drive out of Bangalore. I am considering it - we shall see. But until then here are a couple of pics of the wild animals that I saw!! :0)

Welcome to Emma!!

2006-04-21T02:59:00.000-07:00

This week have been eventful in Utah without me :0( Emma Reese was born on April 18th. She weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and was 20 inches long. She is number 10 on the list of nieces and nephews. I am so sad that I wasn't able to be there. However, my brother sent me cute pictures of her and her new little family.

Seeing the pictures of her just makes me want to cry. I just love to hold new little babies. I love how cute they are and how good they smell.

Well, here is the newest member of my family. I can't wait to meet her in June. The exciting thing is in June I will be able to see all 10 of my nieces and nephews, they are all going to be in Utah. How exciting!!! I can't wait.

Indian Culture

2006-04-21T02:48:00.000-07:00

Eariler this week I had the opportunity to go to a local temple as see a play. This play is a Hindu story about one of the Gods. I honestly can't tell you much about the story I was there to just enjoy the culture. The play was in Kanada (the local language) and they had some singing and dancing. Rama was the God in this story and I have attached some photos from the play. The parts of the story that are women, is really men dressed as women. Traditionally me play the women parts in plays. The play was about two and half hours. It was outside under a tent near one of the temples. The people were so nice and very happy that we were there. I went with Anne and Mike from work. Anne is really into attending these plays and know a lot about the culture.

Weekend of Fun!

2006-04-16T04:09:00.000-07:00

The riots have passed and now it is time for sightseeing. I was able to go into the office on Friday, but after that I started my sightseeing adventures. A guy I work with who has been here for the past 3 months showed me around. On Friday night we went to LeeLa Palace for a wonderful dinner of big juicy hamburgers and fries. We also did some shopping in the Leela Palace, it reminded me of Ceasars Palace in Vegas, but just a little smaller!

Saturday was a day full of sightseeing. We left around 11am and went to Fabindia first. It has India clothing and different linens for the house. I bought myself some authentic Indian clothing and some gifts for the family. Next, we headed over to Commercial Street for some market shopping.

It was dirty, full of people and little kids that were begging. It is what I pictured India to be. We shopped and had lunch of chicken egg rolls at a little shop on Commerical Street.

While walking through Commercial Street we headed to Russell Market where they sell fruits, vegetables and meat. It was disgusting. There were flies everywhere on the slabs of meat and it DID NOT smell pleasent. While walking down the street the butchers will throw meat scraps into the alley so that the buzzards overhead will swoop down and pick up the scraps. It is freaky! The buzzards are huge.

We then went shopping at The Bombay, which I love. I will be back at the store often. While there it started to rain. It was a down pour. It was a fabulous day in India.

Today, Sunday, I went to church. I wasn't sure if we were going to make it because my driver could not find the building - and I was not help. But I made it. It was neat to attend church, it was what I needed.

Sorry, but I don't know how to make pretty little arrangements for my pics. I only know how to post them all separate. :0)

2006-04-12T07:09:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of my stay in India so far. It is the view from my balcony at the hotel and what my living quarters are for the next 8 weeks! :0)

Crazy Day in India

2006-04-12T06:07:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is doing well. I am starting to adjust to my surroundings. Today has been a crazy day. I can now say that I have witnessed a riot. Ok, so not exactly, but the closest I have ever been.

Today Dr. Rajkumar, a famous actor, has died in India. Due to his death there is rioting that is going on in the city. Because of the unsafe conditions our office was shut down and there was chaos in getting all the Americans back to their hotels safely, not to mention all the Indian's getting home safely as well.

It was quite the site to see the VP of my company and the VP of the other company in our building out in front of our office building arranging drivers to take all of us home. They were lumping together employees from both companies into the same cars so that we all could just leave and get home.

The news is that there are people throwing stones and starting fires. When I was out front of our building waiting for my driver I could smell the smoke. Fortunately I did not see any of the riots. However, due to the riot and the death of Dr. Rajkumar tomorrow there may be a curfew, which means nobody is able to work. We shall see what the government decides.

Well no worries - I am safe!! :0)

India Here I Am!!

2006-04-08T12:54:00.000-07:00

I just arrived in India and I am sick of sitting in planes.

It is humid here, so that is an adjustment I will have to make.

Before I came everyone was telling me to be careful of the food in India because if I am not careful I can get sick. Well, they failed to mention that airplane food can do the same thing. I left Utah on Friday afternoon, my first flight served me lunch on the way to Chicago. Then from Chicago to Frankfurt they served us dinner and breakfast. My final leg of the trip from Frankfurt into Bangalor they fed me lunch and dinner. I feel like all I have done for two days is eat and sleep in a little recliner.

Well, now the real adventure begins! I am excited and I am sure I will be nervous going into work on Monday, but nothing I can't handle. :0)

India Here I Come!!!

2006-03-09T08:37:00.000-08:00

I just got the word that my works wants me to go to India for 4 - 10 weeks. I am nervous and excited!!! I think I am going to go for 8 weeks. I leave the beginning of April and come back the beginning of June. Crazy!! I will have to keep you updated on my upcoming travels. :0)

BUNCO BABY!!!

2006-02-12T20:03:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of my Bunco group!!! We are missing two members but the majority of us were here. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend bunco for the next two months because I will be busy with tax returns. As a result, I took a picture of my friends and am posting it so I don't forget what FUN Bunco is!!!!!

Tax Season

2006-01-27T11:09:00.000-08:00

As you all may know Tax Season is almost here and that means to me that I will have no life until after the April 15th deadline. AUGH!!!! I just wanted to post a thought of the day- I hope you all love it :0)

As income tax time approaches, did you ever notice:
When you put the two words "The" and "IRS" together
it spells "THEIRS"?

HAPPY TAX SEASON!!!

2006-01-03T10:25:00.000-08:00

Here goes nothing. My friends have recommended that I start a blog and I have refused until now. I don't know why but today felt like a good day to start one :0)