On something new

The wait is over, we got Samsung S3 in white (Mr. got one in pebble blue). Blackberry is out of the picture. It's pretty neat when you actually have a working (smart) phone. 

Yes. He is an amazing brother. He got us the new iPad. Oh! We had our names engraved too :)

Let's not hope these gadgets will make us a robot. Mr.'s still gonna be a cute one, though. ;p

On finding a fragrance for the big day

I read the article somewhere about wearing a different fragrance on your wedding day. That way, if you happen to smell the fragrance that you wore, it would definitely take you back to the memory.* I remember really liking the idea without realizing that it could be difficult to do.

I searched high and low for it, but I want it to be a classic piece for sure. My casual go-to perfume is Stella by Stella McCartney. I so love this perfume. It's not too flowery and not too strong (my nose is not going to cooperate with a strong smelling perfume). Stella perfume has a freshness hint and I like the sexy-overnight smell even more. I won't go as far as describing it  since I'm not writing a perfume review. But it's hard to find something else that I strongly like.

Naturally, I want something totally different for the wedding day. Not totally change the personality, but don't smell the same. I went to several places, Dior, Lancome, Burberry, Chanel etc, but could not find any. Thankfully I did not give up. The actual problem is that I was indecisive, I needed that affirmation that whatever it is, it is indeed a nice-smelling perfume. That affirmation would later come from my mother. We went shopping together and visited Chanel. I did not like No. 5. I'm still not sure why it's one of the best selling perfume. I don't like perfume that smells like perfume (i.e. Chanel No. 5 or J'adore Dior). I liked Chanel Allure. But the problem was (this will sound ridiculous) the bottle was not pretty looking (Does this mean I judge a book by it's cover??). Before we moved on, we sprayed Coco Chanel Mademoiselle. 

It's so classic without being over the top. 

It screams elegance without being boring. 

It's sweet without being cutsie. 

It has a character without being an attention whore. 

Ok, I should stop there.  But, hopefully the message is clear; all of the above represents my personalities I feel like a million dollar wearing it without actually having a million dollar. 

   

Now the main message is to tell my friends (esp. Rebecca G. if she ever reads this) and my family or even any brides to be to take the time and find that one perfume that will make you remember that fine wedding day of yours.* It's really worth the effort.

* This is assuming that you do want to remember that day. For myself, as long as there is no 20/20 type of drama, it's good. Those dramas can range from: 'The story of wedding day goes dark as the maid of honor kidnaps the bride as she can not longer hold her feeling of love for the groom' to 'Sad tragedy in weddingville: the parents of the bride reveals that she was adopted and that her real parents are also the groom's parents' )

Hopefully is going to rain soon here in Mad-is-on.

On being a mrs

On what I'm reading

This particular edition is more on what I've read

    

       

Essentially, I kept putting of writing thoughts about these books. I bought 2 out 6 books (Cutting for Stone and The Power of Habit) and I borrowed the rest from the library.

a.       Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn

This is a story about a missing wife and who’s to blame. The book is un-put-down-able for me I finished reading it in a day. The first was really good and I felt like I could relate to the characters. The second part was pretty good too. It starts to reveal who did what and how. The third part, not so much. I did not like it or the ending. But, I know how hard it is to end a book that is brilliant. Overall, I like Gillian Flynn’s ideas and writing in Gone Girl and look forward to her other books (previously published).

b.      The Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg

This is a brilliant book. It’s very well written. Coming from an engineering background, I like the research that he’s done prior to writing the book. I itch every time someone states a “fact” with no base in science world (Here, I am trying to dodge bullet when someone asks “What about religion?” IMO, religion is based on personal faith. It’s a cheap shot for someone to judge/accuse/etc someone else based on his/her religion OR VICE VERSA). But, I took a detour. Anyway, I think it’s really useful to know the basic knowledge of habit and look at a lot of examples in different type of environments (personal, business, etc). I like his writing style of repetition. He repeated the important points throughout the chapter/book so that the readers will understand/sink-in those messages. I recommend reading The Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg for everybody (those who actually want to modify habits or not). I have always been interested in this field (social-psychology -behavioral-ish field).*

c.       The Tiger’s Wife – Tea Obreht

Honestly, I don’t want to spend a lot of times to review this book. I have only one good thought for it; I actually like the story of between his grandfather and the deathless man as well as between his grandfather and the tiger’s wife. These stories are good and I wish it’s just more about him. I had to read fast (the opposite of ‘take my time and enjoy the words’). It was painful for me. But, I don’t want to be saying bad stuffs too much. After all, the book has claimed major success. Tea Obreht won several awards for her work.

d.      Ali in Wonderland (and Other Tall Tales) – Ali Wentworth

I picked up this book after I read ‘Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me?’ (Thoughts below). The funny thing was that I did not know who Ali Wentworth was. It is an easy reading. The book kept me entertained for the entire time. One particular thing that this book gave me was more knowledge. See, I grew up knowing nothing about ‘In Living Color’ or ‘WASP’ or ‘George Stephanopoulos’ (I’m going to play my ‘being an immigrant’ card as many times as possible). But, this book ignited my curiosity and made me google here and there (I can hear someone gasp reading the word 'google') to quench it and thus added more to my (trivial) knowledge. I just don’t know a good time to tap that information yet.

e.      Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and Other Concerns) – Mindy Kaling

I was skeptical. I like The Office, but Mindy character always appears soooo short. I thought to myself, “Why do you want to read about someone who is not really doing much?” But I did anyway and I’m super glad. After reading the book, I know that she’s smart and she’s funny. I’m sure she’ll appreciate those two compliments. I admire her growing up and I like her determination. I think this is a must-read book. I remember laughing in a bus shelter, outside our apartment, on the bus, in the car, etc. Yes, because I brought my kindle and read the book everywhere. Now, I can’t wait to watch her new show next fall, The Mindy Project. Also, what am I doing in the engineering field instead of comedy??*

If Mindy ever reads this, I’d like to say: Mindy, you’re a smart, funny, and minority woman. Triple threat!**

f.        Cutting for Stone – Abraham Verghese

I really thought I had written about this book in my blog. Yes or No? (Note to self: check your entries again). If yes, I still feel the same, ditto to whatever I wrote. If not, this is a perfect book to end this post. He’s able to fuse two of his identities (being a professor in medical field at Stanford and growing up in Ethiopia) and produce a good writing. I love the stories, I love the characters. I feel them. I fall in love with Ethiopia. I want to be a surgeon*. I cried for the last 20% of the book. I highly recommend this book and I can’t wait for his next book. Oh! I really have a lot of respects for him.

*I love how by the end of the posts, I have thought about 3 different careers that I’d like to pursue.

** No, I’m not being racists, I’m a minority myself. I’m just being trying to be funny.

On getting through the heat wave

Last week was painful. You would think growing up in a place close to the equator (air pollution should be added in the equation as well), I would manage not to complain during the heat wave in Madison, WI (read here). Well, I did not complain (too much), but I was close to pull out my hair. Our AC was (is) not working. We were forced to use the old-fashioned fan. Thankfully, we were working during the day (in a waste-of-energy-by-cranking-up-the-AC- type of environment), so the only problem was between 6pm - 7am.

We also tried the cheap solution, such as putting a frozen water (in a container) in front of the fan, but it did not work. It felt OK at night where we're sleeping as the fan was blowing exactly in the direction when we're sleeping. But, the main victim was not us (nor our dying brown grass), but it was Lucky, the dog. She's not so lucky after all. Can you imagine wearing a jacket (analogy for her fur) and not being able to cool off for a week?? I mean, the house was about at least 86 degree day and night. Poor girl.

That's why we decided on Thursday (second to lat of the heat wave week, smart owners) that we should get her a kiddie pool (Menards for $16). We filled it up, we took her in, and voila! we got a smile from her. She did not like to sit down though. I think she does not know what to do. It's not a real pool where it's deeper and she can actually swim in it. She does not like to sit or lay down either (you know, she can submerse her body then). I was sad looking at her not enjoying the true purpose of the kiddie pool. Eventually, she found something that kept her busy.

The bottom of the kiddie pool is a pattern of seahorse, octopus, and treasure chest. In bright colors. What would you think they are if you're a dog? That's right.
Daddy and mommy got me a bunch of TOYS! 
Let me grab one of these (as she tried to grab them with front paws)
Why can't I grab it? 
So then she tried again.
and again.
and again.
Basically, she kept making that scratching (whatever it is) movement everywhere.
Thankfully no holes (yet). But, she looked so cute and she seemed to enjoy herself. That made us a proud parents owners. I think it's over now. I think the weather is going back to be normal. But we still need some rain!

Stay hydrated.

How do you get this damn thing? (You can see the dying brown grass at the back)

On getting ready for pregnancy

Nope, we are not trying yet.

Mr. and I have not thought too much about it, although he's wondering why I have been looking up day cares around Madison area. I know, we still have a lot going on (i.e. house renovation soon, Mr. to finish his part-time PhD, me getting a job), but I like the idea of getting ready even before trying. I want to know what  to change or what to do to.

I checked out this website http://www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/features/protect-your-pregnancy-before-you-conceive and I break it down here:
a. Smoking - I don't smoke (check) But I do need to stop that a-glass-of wine-a-day thing.
b. Folic Acid - This is the part where I'm not sure what my daily intake is to begin with. But I remember that I bought one daily women's multivitamin. So, this entry is a reminder that I need to take this multivitamin that contains 400 mcg of folic acid from now :)
c. The two-week rule related to caffeine intake. I'm going to stop drinking soda. Before I got to the US, it's very rarely of me to drink pops. Caffeine intake from coffee? I'm trying to cut back, but I can't promise to stop drinking it, so I'll use the two week rule here.
d. Seafood - Geez. I love me some fish. But I know that the mercury is no good. I'll stop too (by this time, I can only imagine that soft shell crab taste in my mouth). Another thing that it mentions is fume from chemical (cleaning products). This is tricky. I'm the one usually cleaning up the house, so it's not really realistic to ask Mr., is it?
e. Pre-exam check - I am one of those women (if any) who actually have not checked anything related to my womanhood (I did check for STD and stuff, though). Should do it soon?

Now I think this is a weird post. But, good to know.

On being a mrs.

Mr. and Mrs.

Funny how those three words mean so much love.

I'm writing this so I won't forget. I'm falling in love with my husband all over again :)