Coloma Rafting and Camping

Cooking and packing loads of food....

Stuffing the car with all camping gear.....

Slathering on the sunscreen before rafting....

Getting soaked in the cold American river water....

The strategy to steal a water gun....and the taste of success.....

The water fights with the green water gun....

The whitewater rapids and the adrenaline rush....

The cool icy taste of orange squirt at the end of rafting....

The dislike expressed at site #15 booked for camping.....

Setting up campsite #53....

The fire, the burgers, the grilled onions, and avocado....

Watching the stars from the tent while playing scrabble and falling asleep....

Waking up to the sound of the birds.....

Showering and then having dudhi theplas heated up on the fire for breakfast....

The drive to Foresthill bridge and back....

The pitstop at Raleys for Gatorade to quench our thirst....

The drive back home with soothing music.....

These are my memories from last weekend's rafting and camping trip. 

Details in a later post with more pictures :)

What's your favorite perfume?

Aaah Perfumes :)

I love them....I indulge in them.....

I need to buy a new perfume soon. I am currently using two - Ralph Lauren Summer Romance and Versace Bright Crystal, and very soon they will be over :(. Both of them are gifts from my favorite people!!!!

I am extremely picky when it comes to buying perfumes. When I go to a store to purchase one, I will only find a couple that I would like. I get testers for the ones I like to try them out, and then come back after a week or couple weeks to try them again. Usually, I will figure out quickly if I really like them or not. If I do, then I indulge.....else the search continues :)

I love coffee too - so a simple act of trying out a perfume, then smelling the coffee beans, and then trying out the next perfume - gives me a LOT of pleasure :)

Since I get disappointed often with what's available in the stores, I do some research online before going to the mall. I look at all the top brands and best selling ones, and look at the top, middle, base notes of some of the perfumes that interest me.

Then when I go to the store and smell them, I have a better idea of how the perfume will smell when I wear it all day.

Over a period of time I have realized that the base notes of any perfume are the most important to me - I love a lot of perfumes which have one of the base notes as Sandalwood.

I like light perfumes with a clean and fresh smell. I cannot tolerate heavy smell.

Some of the perfumes I have used in the recent past are - D&G Light Blue, Hugo Boss XX, Burberry London, Estee Lauder (most of them), Maria Sharapova (for tennis), etc.

I have tried Chanel a few times, but never bought it. I do like it.

So since I will be buying a new perfume soon, I would like to know which one is your favorite and/or which one are you currently using?

Thanks a lot for your suggestions :)

A sneak peek to say hello :)

How are ya'll doing? Hope everyone reading this post is doing fabulous :)

The last couple weeks have been extremely busy at work. I've been working long days....and I am exhausted by the time I get home. I've also had visitors at home from out of town the last couple weekends, so I have had very little time for myself. 

The good thing is - work is extremely challenging and rewarding....and weekends have been fun as well. So living the "work hard, play harder" kind of life right now :)

I am enjoying my evening walks around the neighbourhood - I love the cute rabbits that I spot everyday.

I enjoy the beautiful Folsom sunset every single day - and I can't seem to get enough of it.

Yesterday, it was poonam (or full moon day), and the sight of the moon from my backyard was just fantastic. We live up on a hill -above the rest of the city.....and there are no city/street lights around the house....so the moon and stars shine oh very bright :)

I went kayaking again at Lake Natoma with my husband and bro-in-law. Kayaking was relaxing as usual, but swimming & diving into the lake was much more fun....after which we went to a famous local creamery here, Leatherbys....and shared a huge banana split sundae. Bliss!!!!

I am currently reading the book "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell. Everyone at work has read it, and we have a book discussion scheduled sometime soon....so I want to finish it ASAP.

I have also borrowed "Shantaram" from a friend - has anyone of you read it? Reviews? The book is 900+ pages, so I am not sure when I will be able to finish it (if at all).

I played poker with my gang last Friday after a long time....and it was a blast as usual.

I am also preparing for my housewarming party - which is tentatively scheduled for Aug 29th. I have yet to send out the evite though :(

I am waiting for Aug. 22nd, when my babie sis comes back to CA. She is doing an internship in Ohio, and I haven't met her since end of May....it seems just too long and I am missing her too much.

I am shopping around for furniture for my home office - desk, chair, monitor, etc. I have decided upon the desk now, and I know which chair I want so it will be easy for me to buy. I am still deciding which monitor to purchase....currently inclined towards a 24inch Samsung LCD with an HDTV tuner.....let's see.

I celebrated Rakhi yesterday with my rakhi brother who I met here in the US in 2006. We met at work for a diversity day dance meeting that I chaired....he came to help out. We clicked instantly. He helped me choreograph a garba dance that year, and I could participate in the dance as well coz he took over the choreography from me during the later stages. I cared for him as a younger brother (he is 4.5 years younger to me), and he is now family to me. So yesterday, him and my close friends took me to my favourite restaurant - Olive Garden - for lunch :) I made a card for him at home....and he loved it so much that he wrote a beautiful poem for me, thanking me for the card. 

I watched a movie - "The International" - with my hubby and close friend P. My review - Average.

My neighbour and friend, V, is back from India after a two month vacation. She was on sabbatical. I adore her two boys, A (6.5yrs) and R(4.5yrs) and I missed them while they were gone. I call R my munchkin and moto-moto, and R calls me his pinchkin and piggie-piggie :) I have known R since he was 6 months old, and have played with him regularly.....so he is very attached to me. He comes to my house and spends a lot of time with me...and he is my #1 stress buster :)

That's what I've been upto....I have a few topics in mind that I want to blog about....and I hope to find time this weekend and next to do so. 

Till then....take care.

Don't Forget to LIVE

My husband sent this to me yesterday. It's a powerful message so I am sharing it with all of you.

Yesterday morning when I woke up, I checked my email on my iphone. After that, as usual, I logged in to facebook (via an iphone app) to check the status updates.

I was shocked to find this message from an ex-colleague:

"CP is in shock and in so much pain at the sudden death last night of my husband, M. I would normally not post this so broadly, but so many of you knew him and I am asking everyone to spread the word for me so that all the lives he touched can know of this tragedy. It seems utterly impossible that I go thru these days without the person who loved me unconditionally. Please pray for our family during this time."

And another such message from her today morning:

"Nearly 24 hours w/out my M, our daddy, our son, our brother our cousin, our nephew and our friend. Such tremendous outpouring of support today from all of our friends, neighbors and family. I honestly don't know how to get through the next minute, other than to breathe and love on our kids. We will be setting GA and CA funeral / burial plans. Thanks you for ALL your messages, support & tears. I love EACH of you."

I could not digest this news. Even though I did not know my colleague's husband personally, its such a tragedy. I am still upset and very sad that she has to deal with this loss. She has 3 kids, the youngest only a year old, and I cannot even imagine how difficult it is for her and the kids.

As I read this, all my fears came alive. I was dreading everything that could happen to me.

Life is so fragile. I just simply assume that so many things will never happen to me....and when I read this post, I realized its not true.

I was suddenly thankful of having spoken to my parents the previous night, and to my sister the previous evening. These are routine things that I do but they felt special to me yesterday morning. I had spent a good weekend with my husband visiting a close friend who was sick. I suddenly felt grateful for that. 

I am praying for my friend CP and her family. And I hope they find the strength to go through this pain. And I hope somehow, with a lot of LOVE and with the passing of TIME, that they can lead a somewhat normal life. 

For all of us, I have this quote to share:

"Live each day as if it were your last, and Learn each day as if you live will forever."

Be blessed!

A visit to the local farmers' market

Hubby and I went to the Sunday morning Farmers' market last weekend in downtown Sacramento and it was so much fun.

Farmers' markets are places where farmers offer agricultural produce they grow themselves for direct sale to the public. By eliminating the middleman's additional costs and multiple product handling, both the farmers and the consumers benefit. Each farmer is inspected and certified before he/she is allowed to sell at the market. Most of the produce is vine or tree ripened. All the produce sold is from local farms. 

I used to visit this market frequently when I was single, but after getting married, I never went even once (don't ask why). Couple weeks ago, my husband went to the market with our neighbours to check it out, and he loved it. 

So last Sunday, we both woke up early, took a couple cloth shopping bags and cash in our wallets to go shopping. 

The first feeling I got upon reaching there is being in India. I used to go with my mom every Sunday morning to the city for buying fruits and vegetables. It reminded me of that experience.

Most of the shoppers were Asian, and some of the farmers were Asian too. 

We walked through the entire market once to see whats available, carefully observing the quality of produce and its price at every vendor. And then we started shopping!

We thoroughly  enjoyed our grocery shopping, and we brought home organic produce at very low prices. We were amazed to find fruits like fresh apricots and lychees which are rarely seen in the department grocery stores in our area.

What we bought:

- Blackberries

- Red Seedless Grapes

- Fresh apricots

- Melon

- White + Yellow peaches

- Plums

- Fresh Corn

- Red Potatoes

- Red Onions

- Green Beans

- Green Bell Pepper

- Okra

- Gourd

- Cilantro

- Basil Leaves

I also bought a small bag of dried lavender petals from a farmer, which I am using as my car freshener...and my car smells heavenly. It cost me only $2, versus a regular car freshener that I buy from Walmart costs $5. 

I could find rare items like bee pollen, local honey (for people with pollen allergy), and locally made olive oil at the market.

I am making a resolution to frequent this place more often now!

Enjoy the pics!

"Have patience with the growers. Smile at them and appreciate them. If you do, you will find them smiling back and appreciating you in return. That is what certified farmers' markets are really about. Smiles and mutual appreciation. Families growing food for families. Californians supporting California.". - From here

Congratulations DR. PP :)

We all wait for Friday. And most Friday's are just the usual.

Yesterday was a special Friday for me. My dearest, nearest, closest friend P successfully defended his PhD dissertation (on Friday, July 10, 2009).

It's just a matter of few days before P receives his official degree; it's just a matter of few months before he "walks" at his graduation ceremony, but for all practical purposes, P is done with all his PhD work, and I can now proudly call him DOCTOR!!!!

Yesterday morning, I prayed for everything to go well for him, and even though I was buried in work, I was anxious to hear from him in the afternoon.

This sooper busy and always forgetful friend of mine can easily forget to let me know how it all went, and keep me waiting until the end of the day when I finally run out of patience and call him. I'm so glad he didn't do that yesterday.

When he called me in the afternoon, I was so relieved to hear that everything went well. He got all the signatures of the committee, and sometime next week, he will submit his final dissertation and then it will be all over. I could sense the HUGE sigh of relief, and the tremendous happiness in his voice, from 3000 miles away. I am so so proud of him!

I met P in Summer of 2006. We lived in the same town and worked for the same company for a few months, and we became friends. I taught him how to play racquetball, and he taught me how to play poker. Whatever we did together, it was always a blast. It was not until he went back to his university to complete his PhD that we actually became such close friends.

P is THE hardest working individual I have known in my entire life. I saw him working tirelessly on his PhD, day in and day out. There was not a single day when I saw him slacking. His research was his passion, and I could see that zeal and enthusiasm in him to give his best to his passion every single day.

There are numerous sacrifices - small and huge, that have been made to achieve this goal. Dear P, I am really proud of you for your achievement. YOU DID IT and YOU ROCKKKK!

Once P was done with this research work, he accepted a job back in California, and I could not have been happier. I vividly remember the day he moved to CA for good. I was at a Bryan Adams concert, and as soon as it was over, I went and met him. We spent the night at his new apartment...all of us slept on the new carpet, with the security alarm beeping every few seconds, P being bothered by it and covering it with furniture pads, etc etc.

P continued to amaze me with the dedication he showed for his new job. Within weeks, he had made a mark in his small company. On an average, my buddy works more than 12 hours a day, including weekends. He never complains. He simply enjoys it. Hats off to you bud!

P, you are a HUGE inspiration to me, every single day. I always get motivated to do so much more when I think about you. I am extremely lucky and blessed to have you in my life.

Now that this huge stress is gone from his life, I look forward to spending more time with my buddy and having a blast, as always :)

Congratulations DR. PP :)

PS: Can't wait to give a huge bear huggie to my doc....hope we meet sometime soon :)

PPS: The graduation card that I picked for P has very beautiful words, which I would like to share here:

For the Graduate

We are all on a journey toward

becoming a complete person.

Along the way, we reach milestones - 

chances to step aside and 

take account of how far we've come

and where we still need to go.

This is a very special time - 

a time full of potential,

of unexplored paths,

of undreamed dreams....

Your graduation is

in some ways an ending,

but in more ways,

this is only the beginning.

Congratulations!!!!

A 32 mile bike ride along the American River

C.A.L.I.F.O.R.N.I.A - Absolutely LURVE this place :)

When I was applying to colleges in US for doing my MS, I always hoped I would get into some college in CA. And I did....Thank God for that :)

Couple weekends ago, I went for a 30+ bike ride along the American River Bike Trail. This was something that I had wanted to do for a long time, having lived in this area for close to 10 years now.

This bike trail is arguably one of the most successful and beautifully paved bike paths in northern California. Also known as the Jedediah Smith National Recreation Trail, the American River Bike Path is nearly 100% separate from vehicle roads (a mile or two shares the road).

Until now, I had done portions of this trail but this time I completed the entire stretch from Old Folsom to Old Sacramento. Sooper FUN!

We started from home at 7.45am, and got to Karen's bakery in Old Folsom at 8am. I met with few colleagues from Intel who were all going to ride together with me, and then got ready with the bike and gear (helmet, sunscreen, etc). Here's me and my bike :)


We started the bike ride around 8.45am....and one of the first views was of Lake Natoma area. I could not resist stopping here for a picture of the view.



The weather was purr-fect for biking that day. I was feeling great as well.

We saw many animals (like a peahen n its babies) and birds along the way, and some late spring flowers blooming as well.

We passed by Nimbus Dam, which is fantastic, and then through so many parks - Sacramento Bar, Rossmoor Bar, Ancil Hoffman Park, Goethe Park, Fair Oaks/Watt Area - along the way.

We took a long break at my alma mater - Sac State (California State University, Sacramento). We took our bikes up on the Guy West Bridge (a pedestrian-only suspension bridge modeled after the famous Golden Gate Bridge in SFO), and enjoyed the view. I used to live on the other side of this bridge for 3 years while I was in school, and would walk this bridge several times a day to go to school. Felt so nostalgic!



By this time, we had covered a distance of about 20 miles, and my toosh was hurting really bad coz I was wearing regular shorts and not proper bike shorts with gel pads. I was really debating whether I should go further or take the train back home. But the idea of turning back did not feel good. So my friend Andy asked some fellow bikers on how the trail was until the end, and they encouraged us by saying that it was very easy and doable.

So I borrowed Andy's jacket and used it as my toosh-cushion and continued the ride.



From here until the finish, it was a breeze in terms of riding. Yes my butt did hurt, but other than that, everything was fine.

We passed by Discovery Park, which is spread across 300 acres, and where the American River meets the Sacramento River. There were lots and lots of people enjoying various activities in the park, which was a sight of delight!

We also saw a beach (which I never knew existed here) where folks were enjoying water activities and sun bathing.



At this point, we thought we had reached Old Town Sacramento, but it was nowhere in sight. I have been there several times before, but never via the bike trail, so we were kinda lost. We asked a guard about the directions and he said we had still 2 more miles to bike (phew!) before reaching Old Sac. So we pushed ourselves to get there, and met Joan (our bike trip lead) on the way. She had come looking for us (so nice of her :)).

We finally made it into Old Sacramento....and I felt soooooooooooooooo relieved!!!!

As you would imagine, I was starving by now. So I ordered a Farmers Market crepe with pesto, tomatoes, avocados and cheese - a classic Californian crepe....and enjoyed my meal outdoors on the patio with the bike parked on the side, while observing swarms of people strolling by and shopping around.

I could not resist buying a pound of salt water taffy from the candy store across the street before walking to the train station.

The 45-minute train ride back to Old Folsom was so relaxing....the ticket inspector came to check the tickets (which only happens once in a blue moon) - not once - but twice - the second time she didn't even ask for our ticket...just smiled and passed by :)

I would love to do this ride again with few more friends, and improve upon my time from my first attempt! Yes, I won't forget to buy a pair of good bike shorts before my next attempt :)

Here is a map of the trail in case you are interested:



My next trip this weekend is to the Channel Islands National Park in Southern California, where I am going to try sea kayaking for the very first time :)

I Love SUMMER and I Love CALIFORNIA!