Some Plans for 2013

Well, now that we're more than a week into 2013, I might as well post about some of our "resolutions" for the new year. Clearly, 2012 was a big year for us - school, graduation, moves, and living apart for a semester. This year, while free of school (Hallelujah!) still holds big changes in store for us. Hooray for moving, again! Even though we do not know where we will be after June, I've found a few things that I want to start this year.

1. Eat dinner at the table: 

I think this is starting because we'd spend the semester apart. Oftentimes we end up eating in front of the TV, because we've had long days and need some time to unwind. 

Mmm... Our Christmas Day dinner.

(We don't usually take the time to take pictures of our normal meals.)

2. Brew our own kombucha: 

Kombucha is a fermented tea that is full of probiotics (good for you bacteria). I've been reading a lot about it on the paleo blogs, so we bought some from the grocery store and tried it. We love it! It's strange, because it smells like vinegar, but tastes a little like sparkling cider. Buying bottles from the store will get expensive, so we're going to make our own! Those will be some interesting blog posts. 

Kombucha!

3. Read before bed (in bed): 

This is another effort to be more "primal" this year. I need to start turning off the TV early and read before I go to sleep. So far, I'm taking the time to read before bed, but I know I need to go to sleep earlier than Amit does. (I'm old.)

Even Emma likes to watch TV.

Here she's watching Dobby from Harry Potter.

4: Start a compost bin and maybe a garden: 

This one is contingent on where we move in June, but I'd love to start composting to reduce our waste, as well as grow some Primal veggies. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be able to try this goal out in 2013, but we'll see what happens.

5. Complete the 21 Day Sugar Detox
I've got a good start on this one, only one little detour (wings at Buffalo Wild Wings). I'm eating lots of meat and vegetables, but have modified the program a bit for me (I'm still eating dairy). I figure this is a good way to reset after the holidays. I promise to share a wrap-up post at the end of it, to share my thoughts. 

Well, those are the big goals I have for this year. Depending on where we move, I know I'll have more projects to accomplish, but I think these goals are a good start! I'll keep you posted on our progress, especially with the Kombucha! We've been using my dehydrator quite a bit, so once I master those recipes, I'll share our very primal, very natural snacks!

Nine

Nine years?! Even though it feels like we've been together for ever, it is a little crazy to think that we have been a couple for nine years already. Where does the time go? In the past nine years, we've moved multiple times within three states. We've graduated from high school, college, and graduate/dental school. No wonder time has gone by so quickly, we've been busy! Since we've spent this past semester apart and haven't really had time to celebrate an anniversary with anything more than dinner for a while, we thought we'd take a day just for ourselves.

We were actually home for our anniversary this year, but since everyone was still in school, it gave us time to go downtown for a real date. (What are those?) We spent the morning at the Shedd Aquarium and then had lunch at Rick Bayless' Frontera Grill. His food always looks delicious and I love his television shows. We never went there while we lived in Chicago, so Amit didn't really have a choice about this anniversary dinner.

Watching the Beluga check-ups and feeding.

See the little one off to the left?

That's the baby beluga!

Watching all that sea life made us hungry.

The guacamole was fantastic.

We ordered margaritas.

Mine was blood orange. Delicious!

Amit's dish was the mole trio.

I ordered the mahi-mahi in apricot mole.

The food was amazing!

The other highlight of our anniversary in Chicago? Spending our evening with these guys, right back where it all began. I wonder how we'll top this for our tenth?

2012 Annual Photo Shoot Outtakes

If you've seen our Facebook profile pictures, you've had a teaser of our this year's annual photo shoot. We had a beautiful day to take pictures, but with Emma, there are always more outtakes than perfect shots. The funny thing is, those outtakes tend to be my favorite shots, and I've started including one outtake on every Christmas card. We really aren't a perfectly-posed kind of family, we definitely have personality. Ready for some laughs?

Action Shots
AKA - "The Humans Look Ridiculous"

Emma says, "Let's go HIKING!"
(In the middle of trying to pose, btw.)

The pictures in the woods didn't turn out, 
but we bribed Emma to sit.

The humans know how to look at a camera.

This shot wasn't too bad, 
even Emma got in on the posing!

"What was that?"

Are we boring you, Emma?

I think she's done with the photo shoot.
She'd rather rest her head on my shoulder than take another picture.

We had a great time taking the pictures... and then looking at all of them! Hope you enjoyed our outtakes!

Settling In

It's hard to believe that a month has passed since we moved into our new place in New York! We've gone on so many other fun trips in June that we didn't really get to explore Webster until the last few weeks. So far, we're really liking our new home!

Emma loves her spot by the door.

Enjoying dinner on our new deck!

 When she thinks it's too hot out,

she lays in the AC, but still in the sun.

Silly pup.

Man, have we missed fun weather!

 We have tried some fantastic restaurants!

Chicken and waffles, fried catfish.

So excited about the southern cooking!

Did we mention that 

we're only a 5 minute walk from 

frozen custard?

And last, but not least,

the reason we live in Rochester...

Isn't he so cute??

Next weekend we will be checking out our local Farmer's Market, hopefully going for a walk in another local park, and maybe even laying out on the beach (weather permitting). Even better than that? In about three weeks, I'll be back in NY full-time and we'll get to finally head to the Finger Lakes! We're excited to visit some wineries, and I definitely need to find some antique shops! 

Merry Christmas from the Patels!

Better late than never - here we are on Christmas Day, 2011.

Waiting for Christmas Dinner Scraps.

Nate has Max trained so well. He saw my food and started barking.

Didn't even have to ask him to speak. 

I swear, they really do love each other!

It was such a blessing to be able to dance the night away with our favorite people and celebrate Christ's birth with our families. The only thing missing from our Christmas was the snow!

Eight

Yesterday was our eighth anniversary together. It is so hard to believe that it's been eight years since we first started dating. We've spent a third of our lives together - that's crazy! It feels like we've been married forever, though it's only been two and a half years. Now eight years, eight years is insane. Now it's time to do what I really love - look back on those early years and enjoy how young we look in pictures!

One of our first photos ever. 

Look how young we are!

Eight years later, we're still cooking!

Look how young my boys are!

And now...

A few more blasts from the past...
(Gotta love co-ed track meets!)

It's amazing how much has changed in our lives since we became official eight years ago, yet so much more will be happening before our next anniversary. I can't wait to document all of the changes over this next year. It should be lots of fun! Now onto Chicago to hang out with those amazing boys that are still there for us eight years later!

A-Z About Us

We aren't up to anything fun right now, just lots of school work. When I saw this idea on a blog I read, I thought it would be fun for us to do. Hopefully this will tide you over until we get back from our trip to Savannah to explore and watch Kara get married! So here we go:

Age

H: 25 A: 24

(We’re 8 months apart)

Bed Size

Queen

H: We’d never find each other, we tend to roll to the edges while we sleep.

A: “It’s not the size of the bed, it’s how soft it is.”

Chore You Hate

H: Scrubbing the bathroom A: Dusting

Dogs

Max (technically he’s not ours, but we love him anyways) and Emma

Eggs?

H: Poached A: Sunny side up

Favorite color

H: Pink A: Blue

Goal

H: To fill my new house with restored and repainted furniture built all by me!  

A: To climb Mount Rainier.

Height

H: 5'8” A: 5'9”

Instruments You Play

H: Piano 

A: Guitar, trumpet, ode to joy on piano, drums, bongos, dhol

Job Title

H: Wife, teacher, student  

A:dental student, sex machine, master to Emma

Kids

H: Just our four-legged one for now A: zero
(And Emma likes Amit more – at least I think of her as my baby!)

Location

Needham

Mountain

H: Mount Rainier A: Mount Osceola

Nicknames

H: Amit says my nickname is "hey you"

A: Ankeet, Ankete, Onkeet, honey, babe, and Tima
(You can guess who calls him which nickname.)

Obsession

H: DIY/Crafting A: Craft beers

Pet Peeve

H: People who chew with their mouth open.

A: People that walk slow.

Quote

H: "Just keep swimming."

A: "Are you not entertained."

Recently Read:

H: Cesar’s Way, by Cesar Milan 

A: Adventures of a Continental Drifter by Elliott Hester

Song

H: Chicken Fried, anything Styx 

A: Banana Pancakes, Chicken Fried, Toes in the Water

Tool

H: Sander – “I don't have one yet, 

but I can’t wait to sand some old furniture so I can repaint them!”

A: “I like drilling things.”

University Attended

H: UIC and now Lesley University 

A: UIC and Boston University

Vegetable You Dislike

H: Peas A: Broccoli

What Makes You Run Late

H: When I forget to pack something the night before. 

A: You (meaning me, his lovely wife)

X-rays You've Had

H: Ankle, fibula (stress fracture), and obviously teeth

A: Ankle, fingers, jaw (Happy Turkey Day!), teeth

Yummy Food

H: I have two - tarte flambée and chips and guacamole

A: Ribs

Zoo Animal Favorite

H: Elephants A: Giraffe

Hopefully you learned something new about us; if not, at least we had a great time trying to decide and then talking about what we chose!

Christmastime is Here!

Emma's finally off our laps and playing with her Wubba, guess now I can start typing. Yes, now that Thanksgiving is over we can start celebrating our fabulous countdown until Christmas. The Christmas music is on, decorations are up, the chocolate Advent calendar from Trader Joe's is ready to go, and we just took our Christmas pictures!

John was awesome and took our pictures again this year, only we decided to make things a little more tricky. Emma was in them! Lucky for him (and us), she's doing great with training and knows sit! It was a little confusing for her to try to figure out that while we were telling her what to do, she was actually supposed to look at the camera. She did great though! Here are some of my favorites -

This one was a good start...

She was actually looking at the camera!

Peekaboo!!

I love when she perks her ears up!

Cute black & while ones

She loves her closeups!

And the best of all??

The photos turned out great! Thanks, John!! Emma's fabulous and we're so thankful for her. As Amit's favorite car magnet says, "Who rescued who?"