Equine Girl

We all look forward to Monday nights when Ella has her horseback riding lesson. It's exciting, fun, but also hard work.

This past Monday she asked to ride a different horse. Ms. Jackie let her ride a privately owned horse named Star. The two made a great team.  They went the whole nine yards: trotting, weaving, circles, and even cantering. What was probably even more exciting for Ella and even myself was that at the end of the lesson, she got to wash Star.

But before that, a few snapshots of the lesson. Here she was weaving:

Action shot of trotting in small circles:

Posting:

Water break. Doesn't she look beautiful on that horse??

These pictures paint best the enthusiasm and love this little girl of mine has for horses.

Hard at work shampooing:

Star really enjoyed her bath.... She had a eyes closed a lot!!!!I know, funny and cute. :)

Shine spraying:

Grazing and drying off:

Perfection:

One happy rosy-cheecked girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great job, Ella! You are one amazing girl, that's for sure!

On our way out, she wanted to stop by Jenkins' stall and feed her. She is her lesson horse after all. :)

And now some really exciting news: at the end of September Ella will be competing in her first ever horse show!!!! When I told Hrishi, he asked Sept 2012??? :)

I am on the barn distribution list and I get their updates, news and announcements. On Monday they sent out a couple announcements about these upcoming shows. I skimmed through them and the  words "pre-beginner" caught my eye. I casually asked Ms. Jackie and she said let's do it!! So we're doing it. Well, ELLA IS. :)

My missionary man

Something pretty amazing happened this past Saturday while Ella and I were at her Nutcracker audition. Hrishi had his first missionary experience as a non-member of the church and he was not on the receiving end, but on the giving end.

We were going to go the audition and he was going to stay home and wait for the exterminator to take care of some ants. As it's his wonderful habit, he was tiding the living room before the man came. I had left Ella's scriptures on the coffee table as I switched bags (used her church bag as a ballet bag just for that day.) As it's also his habit of keeping things clean and clear, he was going to put all the books on the coffee table, including the scriptures in the drawers but he said he got a feeling that he should leave them out. And he did.

This man, the exerminator, came in, did his job and noticed the Book of Mormon on our coffee table. He started asking questions about it and Hrishi answered the best that he could, letting the man know that he was actually not a member of the church but his wife (me) was. As it turns out this man had seen the TV special on Mormons a few days back and became interested in knowing more. Hrishi handed him the Book of Mormon and gave him the last week's ward program pointing out to him the Elder's phone number. Wow!! How amazing is this? How the Lord loves his children and always finds a way to reach out to them? Through us. Through my lovely "dry mormon" husband! :) He shared that with his close hunting Omaha buddy, Dennis, who is LDS and a very close family friend of ours. The Lord works, that I know.

I love my Hrishi so so much! He is the most amazing person! He's been working so hard and long hours lately and we miss him a bit ... well, a lot!!!!!!!

First Day of First Grade!!!!

Can't believe my baby has started First Grade this morning!! Prayers and lots of love going out with this sweet angel of mine.

Cornerstone Elementary, here we come!!

Mrs. Hodson, please take good care of her!! :)

 

Lemonade stand

Causes have a special place in our heart around here. I am always touched by stories of human suffering and jump at the chance to reach out and help. Ella is the same. She is been wanting to put up a lemonade stand for a while, and has been thinking what she really wants to do with the earned money. About a month ago she announced that she's like to maybe do a children's book drive, something like 'lemonade for books' and donate the books to a Children's hospital. I got to work and looked around on the area's hospital's websites. We went with Texas Children's Hospital in Sugar Land. They were happily accepting books but new books only, for obvious reasons.

She got to work and with a little bit of help with mommy, she made this nice poster:

I spread the word on my facebook page, in Relief Society, and at her summer camp school. We invited local friends and neighbors to stop by for some fresh ice cold lemonade.

So a couple of Saturdays back, she set up camp in the bright hot sun in the front yard selling lemonade.

Notice the cute umbrellas attached to the chairs? Hrishi got those and they came in so handy!! 

Isn't that the cutest lemonade seller ever??? :-)

With her first customers:

I'm so grateful for human generosity. To me that starts with simply stopping by to see what's this all about, and chat with this little child of mine. It meant a lot.

With her earnings. She was happy and proud but most importantly, she had this nice warm feeling inside, she told me. It didn't only envelope her heart but also mine and Hrishi's.

The lemonade was delicious, we made pink and mixed in Sprite. She got a lot of compliments for it.

She made $35 from the lemonade sale and Hrishi and I donated some more and she got a bunch of books and a DVD to donate.

She loved doing it and is already planning next year's event: a cupcake bake sale. We'll probably do it around Valentine's Day.  Yay for service!!

Food Allergy Walk

I was going to write about Ella's lemonade stand that she's put up last Saturday but after coming back from meeting with her school's principals, counselors, and teachers this morning regarding food allergies and 504 plans, and how to keep her safe and yet make her feel normal and included with the rest of the kids at school, etc., etc., etc. I AM REMINDED once again that food allergies are very real and they're not going away, at least not for a long time or until a cure will be found.

So here it is, folks! We're part of the FAAN (Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network) and we're participating in their annual walk/fund raising event on September 9th here in Houston. We did the same last year in Dallas and I was not very serious about fund raising then but I'm trying to get more serious about it this year and from here on. Any kind of support will be much appreciated. Every penny truly counts. The reality is that there are many scientists and researchers willing and involved in finding cures (not only for food allergies but for all other alianating diseases) but without the financial support their efforts can't go too far. I spread the word on my Facebook page hoping friends would open and read the links and maybe even donate. I sent emails to friends at work, and ward members. Now I'm on here, bringing awareness and hoping those who read our blog can donate and support this cause.

The details of the walk and more on FAAN here:

http://www.foodallergywalk.org/site/TR/2012Walks/2012Walks?fr_id=2250&pg=entry

Our individual fund raising page is here:

http://www.foodallergywalk.org/site/TR/2012Walks/2012Walks?px=1807216&pg=personal&fr_id=2250

Thank you in advance for your generosity!!

Happy birthday to me and last swim class

... so I turned 26 this Wednesday, oh wait no, 18, ha-ha! I'm actually quite happy that I turned my real age of 36! :)

It was a very nice day, full to the brim, just like pretty much every day around here. Crazy busy morning at work, with meetings starting at 8:15 am and lots of other work to do. I was grateful though that somehow I was able to take a 30 min break during lunch to walk around the lake in the beautiful hot TX sun which I so much love!! It was nice to get a brisk walk in  and take a quick but thorough inventory of all the blessings I've been given. I started with being grateful to be alive, healthy, moving, smelling, seeing, and breathing. It was wonderful. Then Hrishi brought home some delicious Indian food for a quick lunch. He is the best!!! We were going to go out for lunch but with the busy day at work, it was just not enough time.

In the evening we had a nice home made dinner of grilled bass, pompano, mamaliga, musdei/garlic sauce, roasted potatoes and steamed brocolli and finished up with a yummy blueberry/lemon yogurt cake.  Everything was really nice.  Now some pictures. (The beautiful flower arrangement is of course from Hrishi. Those flower have been blooming and filling up the living room with an amazing fragrance, I just love them!)

A closer look:

The cake!!

(What's up with the "18" candles?? Well, we decided to carry on with a little joke that started as a very nice compliment from a friend, who said I looked 18. The funnier thing was when Ella saw the candles: her puzzled look and question: "Mommy, are you really turning 81??" I laughed so hard!!)

Here's Shu, our dear friend who joined in the celebration. They were playing Hedbanz. What a fun game!

On Thursday we went out to lunch at a nice Mexican restaurant. My steak wrapped roasted poblano pepper (stuffed with cheese!!!!!!!!) was so good. But way too much, so I split it with Hrishi.

I love this awesome man right here who makes time in a the middle of a terribly busy day for him, to take me out to lunch!!!

Wednesday was also Ella's last swim lesson for this year (or so we planned), and she swam like a champ. I love how hard she tries and how once she gets it, she's on cruise control. Her freestyle is really beautiful nowadays, especially the breathing. But I didn't get a picture of it because I was too busy watching her do it and turning my head to the side every time she came out for air. Funny/silly, I know. But I have a few pictures of her backstroke.

     

We will miss Ms. Kim and she'll miss Ella.

After class, she went out to the outdoor pool, to slide and swim, and play some more. These girls know how to have fun.

I already feel summer days slipping out but I do look forward to new beginnings the new school year will bring. Ballet is starting next Thursday, school is starting the following Monday.

Life is good, God is kind and loving.

Ready for... school?!!??!

Technically, I think we are.

--School registration : DONE, CHECK, WHEW!! It's really incredible how much time and energy have gone into getting all the medical paperwork done but it's done and now there are just appointments with the clinic/school nurse, assistant principal, and cafeteria manager to be scheduled.
I will be a little more at peace once I get to meet them all and speak with them, make all necessary arrangements to ensure she'll be as safe as she can at school.

--School supplies: bought and waiting to be delivered! This year I had to go buy them at the store as opposed to ordering them through the PTA. Boy, that was interesting. I learned a couple of new English words in the process.

--School wardrobe: bought and ready to be used to the maximum! :)

I found this adorable Bento box at WholeFoods today. I had bought a smaller version of this for Ella a few years ago and they were great, lasted her a long time.

--What else? I know I'm forgetting something. Luckily I have a couple more weeks to remember, ha-ha!!

Dallas

A few weeks ago we took an overnight trip to Dallas to go the allergic clinic for a milk dose increase for Ella. She'd been on the .1 ml for over 4 months and it was a good time to go up, before school started and all.  She was super excited to stay at the hotel, like she always is. I don't know what's with her and hotels and traveling, she absolutely loves them. Too bad we can't do much of it though.

It was all fine until the morning when she woke up being very anxious about the whole thing. Getting her to eat breakfast was a struggle and I was ready a couple of times to throw in the towel... . (Yes, this whole food allergy thing sometimes gets the "best" of me.) When doing desensitization, eating food prior to ingesting the milk/or any food allergen, is very important as it reduces the chances of an adverse reaction. The doctor visit went well and she took her increased dose of .3 ml. We waited in the infusion room for an hour to ensure no reaction occurs. Luckily there was none.  She's been on this new dose for over two and a half weeks now and she's been fine so far. No stomach issues like she had back in March when she was taking a .7 ml dose.

Relaxed and relieved after the doctor's visit, we went to Whole Foods to grab some snacks, and then headed to the Grapevine Mills mall, an old Dallas favorite, where we did Legocenter and Sealife. Just like in the good ol' days of Dallas living. :) I also got to do some school clothes shopping for her.

Here we were doing one of the rides at Legocenter. It's indoor and Hrishi took the picture through the glass from outside.

Before driving back to H-town, we stopped by Hard Eight's Barbeque, which boy we miss having around here. That's serious barbecue but the best part is that we can eat all the meats on their menu!!!

(She was HUUUUUNGRY!!!!!!!)

Busy/heavy weeks

We're always busy, that's for sure. One child only, two full-time jobs, plus all the things this one child is involved in, make for one very busy mom and family.

Aside from the routine busyness, I have been concerned with some family health problems for which things are starting to look up thankfully, and fighting my bad sinus cold. These have been making days a little heavier than usual. I know judging by my Facebook activity (lol), and my active life in general, one wouldn't think that. But life goes on and sometimes being busy helps deal with the good and the bad. Although fear and concern almost overwhelmed me at times, I felt the calming and comforting influence of the Spirit talking to me, putting the right thoughts and feelings into my heart. I am extremely grateful for that. And I am also extremely grateful for my wonderful husband who believes in the power of prayer and fasting and fasted when I could not, darn strong antibiotics that I was taking for my sinuses.

I have a few things to post from a few weeks ago when we had Hrishi's uncle, aunt, and their younger son visiting from Malaysia. We had a couple of wonderful days together and felt really sad when they had to leave. It's sure nice to have family visiting.

We took them around and showed them some of our stomping grounds: Sienna Stables, Brazos Bend aligator park where they also got to fish, we grilled, and had a great time catching up. Ella received a lot of beautiful gifts from both them and her cousins and grandma' from India.

We've had some nice family home evenings, with dwelveing deeper into the scriptures and having Ella start reading from the "big" regular scriptures. She does really well with that. I was impressed.
For one of the lessons we did Pres. Hinckley's B's and it was a lot of fun doing a mini scripture marathon matching the "Be's" with the scriptures and adding the "Bee's" to the beehive, as we found the right match.

Watching the Olympics on most nights has been a treat. This time around, it meant more to me as I now have a truly deep appreciation and some insight into what makes an athlete. It's also been a good motivator for me, helping me to continue with my workouts even through the tougher days. Our most favorite events to watch were swimming (we are big big fans of Michael Phelps, Missy Franklin, and Dana Voller, as well as the rest of the amazing U.S. swimmers), gymnastics (wow for the U.S. golden team and my home country Romanian team who got the bronze), equestrian, and track and field, of course. In fact, yesterday while I was running my 10K, I got to watch the 10,000 meters race where Galen Rupp, my favorite runner competed. It was amazing to watch.  In fact, all athletes from all countries were truly inspiring. Every single one has a touching story with a lot to learn from (see Dana Voller's and Oscar Pistorius!!!)

Ella is continuing to do a great job with swimming. She's now learned the breaststroke pretty well, along with freestyle and backstroke. She was beyond herself last week when she earned her yellow bracelet which means she can be in the water by herself and go down the big slide. Wohooo!!!
She'll be taking a break from swiming though once school starts. She knows she has only three more classes left and she's determined to make the most of them. :)

Horsebacking riding lessons have been going very well too. She is a delight to watch, her willpower, her stamina, everything. Her trainer is impressed with her and keeps telling us that she hasn't trained a 6 1/2 year-old as strong as her before and that she's very advanced for the short time she's been riding. Ella is actually getting some extra 15-20 mins extra lesson time, for free thanks to Ms. Jackie's passion and dedication.

Here she is with Lexus, the princess of the barn, a beautiful but finicky horse. :-)

On Thursday she "earned" the "magic wand", the prop.

Taking a break and talking to her biggest cheerleaders, mom and dad. I think we are quite funny to watch, as we "post" in our chairs and lean back with the "ho's."

And I went from this:

To this:

 

I think I just found the perfect haircut. I am very happy with the new look. I love change and I was ready for a new hairdo. Easy and fun!! Hrishi loves it but Ella sometimes wishes I still had my locks so she can "do" my hair. Short hair doesn't stop her though. :)