Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations to my "A" MAN!!! :)) It's cake night here at this house!!!

Finally, we get to celebrate the man who's taking us to Houston, to new places, experiences, flavors, and flagrances!!!! Yeay for Hrishi! He's worked so hard all these years, took every single opportunity to better himself professionally and personally and have been such a wonderful, wonderful example for me and for Ella through thick and thin.

I am so proud of you, baby!! You are amazing! God bless you in your new adventure! I, like you, am so grateful for this new job as you have worked so hard to get to this poin. And grateful to your new employer for treating so nice. I know you will do an amazing job!!

Today you get to celebrate the close of a 10-year old chapter at CSG International and a new beginning in Houstonnnnn!!

Here's to you, my love!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bumpy days

There's been quite a few bumps in life over here lately but I can't stop but wonder whether I needed them to help me refocus, realign, and count my blessings more. The bumps certainly have not overshadowed the bounty of blessings we have received so far and continue to receive, I just see them as reminders of all this life is about: love, service, humility, and appreciating what I have. 

Bump #1: The house is off the market (and not of our own free will), we're starting fresh with a new agent. We're basically back to square one. Unsettling, stressful, but still a fact. A fact of life that sometimes things don't turn out the way they looked they would and how you would have certainly hoped they would.

Bump #2: I injured my arm (tricep tendonitis, I think it is from what I read) I've been through pretty much my darkest times so far in the health arena. I don't recall to have hurt so badly before, except maybe for when I was in the middle of childbirth contractions six years ago. The meds were supposed to make me feel better, but instead they made me feel worse. Aside from the excruciating pain, I have been nauseated, threw up quite a bit, light-headed, drowsy, and weak. I'm feeling a little better today, and hope and pray with my very fiber to get over this soon. I am aware this may take a while to completely heal, but all I'm hoping for some relief from the pain, or the ability to get better at coping with it. For the pain the doctor prescribed Vicodin but guess what, I couldn't handle it: I got really sick after taking just one pill. So no Vicodin for me, thank you.  But oh how much I've learned because of this (painful) experience: to love more, and be more patient with my body, with myself; to truly cherish every day of perfect health and take absolutely nothing for granted. I have learned to appreciate more quality (of workout) vs. quantity: that more reps do not necessarily equal to being more fit. I have learned to smile while in pain. (See, I was not very good at doing this before.) And I got to be spoiled with lots of kisses and hugs, and even got my "cast" ice pack signed by Ella. :)
[One thing is for sure though: this injury is not going to stop me getting better at what has become a passion. As I manage the pain, I'm going to be starting back up slowly with legs and back and working my way up to chest and arm hopefully in a week or so, God willing.]

Bump #3: Mom and dad are packing up. They're leaving for Romania on Thursday. We are all pretty sad, especially Ella who has spent so much time with them these past four months, and loves them immensly. We will miss them. I know I'll walk upstairs past their bedroom seeing and hearing no one and I will feel even more sad. I know that I will miss their smiles and love, their always caring nature and huge help with everything around the house.... But for now, we are trying to forget the departure pain and to look forward to next summer when we plan to go visit them in Romania.

Bump #4: Hrishi is leaving for Houston on Saturday. That means we'll have movers over on Friday and Saturday turning the house upside down and packing, packing, and packing some more. I am so not looking forward to it but this is a fact of life: we are moving. Our plan right now is for Ella and me to leave for Houston in another two weeks. We're staying behind to hopefully get a couple of more milk dose increases and a few visitors to see the house.

I am sad for all of this happening but I know that whatever we go through, it is somehow for our best. You see, there is just so many mixed emotions, all packed up in this week. I'm getting sentimental about leaving Dallas, about all that we've accomplished here as a family, and myself as an individual. But more on that later. I have to save some of this "mush" for another post, next week when the skies will hopefully be clearer.

Yesterday, a friend from church shared this on her  facebook wall and said it reminded her of me... I felt really humbled and so unworthy, knowing all of my shortcomings and struggles... And yet I am so fortunate to have so many people surrounding me with much love and patience. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

"For truth and duty - it is ever the fitting time; who waits until circumstances completely favor his undertaking WILL NEVER ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING." -Martin Luther

Now, a splash of color would be nice, wouldn't it, so here come the pictures (when I get time to upload:)
 
Temple grounds visit:

Horseback riding: this little girl was over the moon about it. She had a blast.

The awesomest rider!!

 

"Mici" making with tataie: so delicious!!

Yummy glazed brownies made with love by mom:

We love you mom and dad and are so grateful for the wonderful times we've had together! May God bless you as you return home to Romania in safety and may HE be with you, 'til we meet again.

"Daily Thought"

So many rough edges to smoothen out, so much to learn, so much to change in order to some day see that diamond shine through....

From allergy mom to allergy mom

These have been going around on Facebook. Some, like this one, are well-thought. I found it at http://www.allergickid.blogspot.com/, one of my favorite food allergies blog.

 

Prayers do go up daily for the safety of my sweet girl, for her safety around food.

Sometimes, this mommy is dead worried. Some other times, she's very hopeful that one day, one day you will be free of these allergies. Until then, she prays, and prays, and prays some more.



Week recap

This past week has not been the sweetest. We've had lots of challenges and trials and I wonder honestly how or when they're going to end. Comforting words of wisdom in ward conference this Sunday helped refocus and gain additional hope that somehow all will be well.

It started or continued if you will, with Ella's upset stomach which she had to struggle with for almost two weeks. Two weeks of diahreea, cramping, and poor eating. She was sick of being sick and worried that she wouldn't get well.

Then mom got this really strange allergic reaction in both of her eyes that caused a lot of swelling, redness, itching, pain, and non-stop tearing. Poor thing, she was miserable. First, we went to the minute clinic at CVS thinking that maybe she had a bad case of pink eye. But the sympthoms were too severe. The PA there told us that she needed to be seen in a doctor's office. We went in at the clinic and after waiting for more than two hours to get in, mom was given an allergy shot (epinephrine, benadryl, and something else), prescribed steroids, antibiotics, and another medication to help with the swelling and itching. Luckily, the meds are working and she's now recovering well. (This was quite an experience as I got to see the other side of the world, where the less fortunate take their sick. My empathy for human suffering increased ten fold seeing these people. Them and us were blessed though, with a very good and caring doctor, a man who I could swear might have healed thousands in the rural Africa and was now on a mission to bring relief in my neck of the woods, or so I'd like to think. Ha-ha! (I needed the humor!!) He was in fact from Africa.)

Now playback to Monday when I got some not so encouraging news about my employment. Due to the fact that Hrishi's leaving the company was a hard blow to the executives, they were for a while considering whether I should be able to continue working for them or not... I felt pretty terrible about this and did a lot of soul and mind searching. I felt hurt as I have always stood as my own professional and proved myself over and over again as a top performer in the eight years I had worked for them. Fortunately, because of the wonderful boss that I have, Julie, things are looking up and they might be able to finalize a telecommuting arrangement for me, after all. As it was explained to me later in the week, their concern was around Hrishi's going to work for a competitor (which is truly not the case but of course, they reserve the right to believe and assess the situation in the manner they think most appropriate.) Hrishi, my parents, and sweet Ella have been extremely supportive through all this. Ella's prayers for mommy "not to be kicked out" from work, were absolutely precious and very effective, I am certain. (The funniest thing she did on Saturday: she saw my work headset on the counter, picked it up, put it on, and said "Hello, this is Julie!" (Julie is my boss' name, the nice one! :-))

Aside from these, we're now waiting to see if the buyers are going to walk or not from the house. While we had an offer signed and finalized last week, after the general inspection, they decided they wanted to do another inspection, a structural one, today. Hrishi had one of his friends in the ward, who is a civil engineer, come over yesterday after church and take a look, so we would be prepared for whatever news today would bring. He pointed out some cracks and movement at the foundation but indicated these were all so common here in TX due to the temperature changes and the soil composition. Today we will find out for sure how severe these are, and whether our buyers will walk out or not. Regardless, we will have to make whatever repairs are needed and deal with the aftermath... I've been praying hard that whatever the outcome, we will somehow figure things out and be able to move on with our lives in Houston and buy a home there. When you take all the facts and stack them together, that possibility is looking slim but with HIM all things are possible, so I will not worry anymore.

On the bright side, Ella's finally over her sickness, has started eating well and is back in school. This blessing alone outweighs all the other trials.

On the fitness front which seems to always somehow help me find and keep my balance and sanity, I started P90X, my Valentine's Day present.

I did the Ab Ripper X workout on Saturday before I took mom to the doctor, then I did the Chest and Back workout and boy, they are TOUGH! I expected them to be, but the good news is that I was able to pass with flying colors, doing a minimum of 12 to 15 reps for each exercise. Wahoo!! (It feels great to overcome fears, do hard things, and know that you are getting stronger. The sweat and pain are nothing compared to THAT feeling!)

This should be a great training regime as I'm ramping up for this crazy event I signed up for, "We are Alpha", in our new home town, Sugar Land on April 7th.)

Yes, every mortal has a limit but we'll be there to push it further. :) (But I do think they could have picked a different less "ferocious" face for this poster!)
I spoke with one of the trainers at the gym who saw the training workouts and said this event will be a lot tougher than last year's. I say, let it be, we're stronger this year than we were last year.

Valentine's day

Remember our early plans for Valentine's Day? Classroom party, games, mommy gets to come and volunteer, etc.? Well, Valentine's Day turned out to be not the pinkiest, sweetest, most funnest holiday for Ella, as we had planned and hoped. Due to her upset tummy she had to stay home again yesterday missing the festivities at school and not being able to eat cake, candy, and the like. Instead, she visited the doctor's office, got a stool culture, and was told to drink even more gatorade and pedialite to help stay hydrated! Luckily, since she's been on the BRAT diet for a few days now, she was released to eat regular food. But didn't really have an appetite for it anyway. Poor thing, I felt so bad for her. She had made so many plans, wanted to give out her hand-made Valentine's, and just be there with her friends. (She's home today still, hoping tomorrow she can return to school.)



She taped a Valentine's themed pencil on the back of each of the bookmarks which she made with very little help from mom and I.

Since she was able to get back on her regular diet, mamaie made a cake for her last night and I prepared a "fancy" lobster dinner, baked salmon, couscous, and spring mix salad. She ate a little bit of everything except for the salad.

Messing around with the lobsters.

Hrishi and I were going to catch a movie after Ella went to sleep but were too tired to do so. Instead, we watched a "Mentalist" episode, one of our favorite TW shows. (It was a very good one. I love this show. It never gets old, at least for me.)
Oh, and here's part of my Valentine's Day present from Hrishi:

(Building that home gym, one piece at a time. The rest of my present is still in the mail. I have a feeling Tony Horton will soon become my best buddy!! :-)

Now some random pictures I've been taken and not posted.
Baked and decorated cake pops with mamaie:

Watering some freshly planted primrose bunches:

 
Finally, some beautiful portraits, by Ella:

I did it!!!

I ran   in this...

Yes, this Saturday I ran my first 15K race ever in the freezing cold temperatures above. The news of nasty weather ahead didn't change the feeling of excitement and the rush I had started feeling a week before the race. Of course, the night before the race I got hardly any sleep. Mixed in with the excitment was a little bit of nervousness as around midnight I checked my email on my phone and the organizers were advising 15 K registrants who ran 12 minute mile or more to switch over to the 5K race due to the freezing cold temperatures. I wasn't going there for a 5K, so I decided to 'man up' and stick with the 15K. I had planned on wearing enough layers and my heart was willing beyond anything.

Shoes equipped with the little D-tag that was going to record the start and finish times, feet ready to run! :)

Start line: the energy there in the middle of the crowd was electrifying!!!

And here I go... Hrishi somehow took a picture of me, a little after we took off, we're going uphill.

The miles were long but running along side the rest of the 2,999 runners registered for the 15K, was like nothing I had experienced before. It was worth every bit of effort. Positive thoughts of recognizing how blessed I was to be able to do this and that I was there to enjoy it because it was not going to last forever, helped me through. There were a few moments of pure exhaustion but there also those of exhilliration where I would sprint and feel free as a bird in the wide blue sky. The mile markers with timers helped a lot. Seeing that I was running a 10 minute mile was HUGE booster for me. A new personal record. The adrenaline had something to do with it, I'm sure.
(The Gatorade handed out at every mile marker was pure manna, too.)

At some point on the last mile and a half, I was feeling like my feet were going to detach from my legs. I knew the Finish line couldn't be that far but yet it seemed like it was going to take forever to reach it. I instantly told myself that this was my time to enjoy, my time to feel and experience it all, pain and joy all mixed together, that once I crossed that Finish line, I was going to feel like I never felt before and so it was.

On the last 50 yards I sprinted like a mad woman and crossed the Finish line with a huge victory shout or growl or I don't know what because I was so high!! (I wonder what others might have thought, haha!! But I didn't care! I had done it! I had ran my first 15 K!) When I saw Hrishi, I just crashed into his arms and started sobbing uncontrollably, yes I know, prett crazy! But this was so huge for me.

With my greatest supporter, ever!! Freezing and worried for me. While he didn't doubt that I could finish, he was worried about me getting a bad cold. He is a sweetheart, isn't he?!!

After I found a little spot to stretch out, we quickly made our way inside the Automotive building where the amazing rich (almost too rich for me) hot chocolate and fondue were flowing rivers. :)

No, I'm not kidding here... :) (sprinting madness!!!!)

Just because I like numbers:

My other cheering squad was eagerly waiting for me at home. They were so sweet to take a picture of my wind jacket:

Having the house up for sale has caused quite an inconvenience having to keep it un spic n' span condition  and leave every so often on very short notice for one or two hour blocks.  Yesterday, after the race, we had to rush home, pick everyone up and go to the gym so that I could take a hot shower to warm up. (I am still not completely warm, I don't think. That cold got in my bones, that's for sure.) Unfortunately, Ella had developed a fever that morning, had a sore throat and was feeling yucky. So after the gym shower we went to Urgent Care fearing strepthroat. Luckily, she didn't have strep, just a viral infection. As it turns out, it's really stomach flu. Blah!!! But she's so sweet and selfless: today she told me that she'd give me anything I needed (knowing that I was sore), and massaged my legs. My wonderful daughter.

Finally, after the showings we came back home and had a little 'after-the-race' party: grilled some yummy pork shoulder, baked sweet and yellow potatoes, threw together a garden salad, and some steamed brocolli and had a feast! Oh, and Hrishi made these yummy refreshing fruitty drinks out of mango nectar, grenadine, and coconut cream, to die for!!

To some it may sound like I'm making too big a deal out of it. And maybe I am, but you know what, it helps me appreciate and be grateful for how far I have gotten and motivates me to keep going further and further. Placing overall at #1960 out of 3,000 participants, and  #283 out of the 480 women in my age group, has made me realize (once more) that there is no limit to what you set your mind to do, if you do believe in yourself and work hard enough to see it through. It strengthened my belief that this, my body, is capable of doing much more than I thought it would; that there are hardly any limits that can't be broken through.

So this was my wish, to be a runner. I can confidently say that I am one after this Saturday's race. I can be a better one and I will. I want to run a half-marathon by the end of the year and I will, God willing.

I will keep celebrating this victory of mine with much gratitude to Him for making it possible for me to do this, for giving me a healthy body and a willing heart. Willing enough to train hard and push my limits. I am so so thankful for the wonderful husband, daughter, parents, and in-laws that I have. For the friends who cheered and supported me so far. I'm grateful for my trainer, the one and only John Lee who put those dumb bells in my hands and taught me that nothing is impossible, that discipline, hard work, and dedication are the ingredients for success in sports, as welll as in everything else.

(In my case, I have never even dreamed to get/run this far.) 

What started back in 2010 as a weight loss program, is now a lifestyle change, a great gift of joy that keeps on giving.

I look forward to getting back in the gym tomorrow to work this body again. :)