Our New (Temporary) Baby

In the bath tub where Giggio lives

Is Giggio not the cutest thing ever??


Thursday we found little chinchilla running around our garage on Thursday. We were afraid it would get run over by the cars and didn't know what to do with it. Finally, Scott captured it and brought it upstairs and we've have been taking care of it since then. It's made a home for itself in our spare bath tub upstairs.

Poor little thing was so scared a first day or two. The funny thing is that we (really me) were afraid of it, too. But, we all have gotten used to each other little by little. I picked it up and held it today for the first time. It is the cutest little thing and so soft!! It's a cross between a cute mouse and a bunny rabbit. It's really cute, as you see from the photos. I've even named it: Topo Giggio, which is the name of an Italian cartoon character. It's similar to Mickey Mouse, especially since the word "Topo" means mouse.

Despite signs around the building and the manager's phone calls to the tenants, no one has yet come to claim the little guy. We will not be keeping it though. If no one in the building claims it, we're giving it to Scott's assistant, Lisa and her daughter Hanna.

Everybody say Ciao, Topo Giggio!

Happy Shadduchus

We were invited to some friends' house two Saturdays ago. They are news friends and this was our first time over. We were married by Jane, the lady of the house, who will have their first baby in five weeks. She and her husband, Brian are such a great couple.

The invitation, which came in the form of an evite about a month ago, said we were going to celebrating the "Shadduchus" holiday. Neither one of us had ever hear of this holiday. I assumed it was a Jewish holiday, since there are a lot of them I still know nothing about. The evite offered some information about the holiday. Shadduchus is normally celebrated in the first weekd of December (they were celebrating early this year since their hands will be full with their brand new baby in December). Shadduchus is celebrated by eating only sweets and desserts and nothing else from noon until bedtime, and its official colors are green and purple! We asked around to find out whether this was a really fun Jewish holiday we somehow had managed to miss all these days, but to no avail.

No one seemed to have EVER hear of Shadduchus.

Finally, I asked the hosts. It turned out that Shudduchus is completely, totally, and 100% made- up!! Jane and Brian are from very diverse cultural and religious backgrounds, and they wanted to have a day of celebration separate from each of their cultures and backgrounds. They also wanted it to be hassle free and without any cooking, so they decided to have the guests brings desserts and sweets to the party. The green and purple came about because the first year they had a Shudduchus party, the paper plates that happened to be on sale were green and purple!!

What fun! We loved the idea so much. And the party was totally fun. People came dressed in green and purple w/ platters of candy apples, brownies, choccolate chip cookies, cupcakes and other fun goodies to eat. The hosts provided real hot choccolates (made from choccolate bars) w/ marshmellows and other no alcoholic drinks. The other thing that was required was that each guest bring $5-$10 and the name of their favorite charity. The money went into a bowl and the names of charities were written down on small pieces of papers and put into another bowl. At some point our hosts pulled a name out and the entire money collected went to that charity.
Is that a great idea or what????

So, the two of us, also of such different backgrounds, countries and cultures are fast at work brainstorming for a made-up holiday of our very own. We're toying with the idea of having our own Shadduchus holiday and interpret it as we wish, but nothing's been decided yet.
Do you have any idea? If so, please write and let us know. We want something fun, hassel-free, different and CLEAN, so get your minds out of the gutter, put your thinking caps on and let us know what type of made-up holiday you would have!!

A Belated Happy Sweetest Day

With Karen & Robert

On Sweetest Day at the restaurant

Sweetest Day is like Valentine's Day. It's a Hallmark holiday, if you will. It's not well-known anywhere but the in the middle America. It is always celebrated on the 3rd Saturday in Ocotber. Scott and I learned about it while we were in law school. It became our tradition that while Scott plans for Valentine's Day, I would plan out and take Scott out on Sweetest Day. So, every year, I search high and low for a new place to take Scott for Sweetest Day dinner. This can be a very anxious time for me, as Scott is an uber "FOODIE". This year, we went to Cafe Pacific at the Trump National Golf Course. Such a lovely location, right on the bluff overlooking the ocean.

To my sweetest, I love you.

OXOXOX ~A~

Friendship (Part 2)

Julie, here with Scott
Brent, (Center) Julie's Husband

Jenny and I
With Dundee, My Friend with the Point
With Allisson, Who Recently Became a Bride Herself
We've dedicated a lot of blog entries to our friends in the past. The other day, I spoke to an old dear friend from law school. She and her husband could not make it out to the Left Coast for the wedding, even though they tried really hard and truly wanted to be here for it. Her point was that the blog did not mention those in their situation: those who are so dear to us and who really wanted to be with, but were unable to make it. To her and other good friends who were not at the wedding, I send all our love and say, "we know we're loved by you and although disappointed that you missed the wedding, we felt you there with us in spirit."

My Leading Ladies

At the Bridesmaids' Luncheaon the Day Before the Wedding

Love This One!

My Beautiful Girlfriends

Clockwise: Mitra, Karen, Me, Bahar, Stacy

With Stacy, my Sister-in-Law

I had three bridesmaids and a Maid of Honor. I originally asked six friends to stand by me at my wedding, but two actually dropped out!! Don’t even ask. And, don’t think for a second that this fact did not mess with my head and made me rethink my friendships.

You learn a lot about your friends and family when planning for a wedding. A surprising side effect for me was finding myself reminiscence about life and take inventory of old and new friendships, admittedly not the most positive of experiences at times.

That said I learned so much from my girl friends that committed and stood by me when I got married. They taught me about dedication, loyalty, love and friendship. I was so honored and privileged to have them participate in the wedding. It was very special and I cherish the experience always.

Karen, my good friend and dedicated bridesmaid who planned and gave me the most beautiful shower in the history of wedding showers, just got engaged and is now planning her own wedding. She was a great help and such source of support for me during the whole wedding planning process, and I’m so blessed to have her as a friend. I’m so excited for her and cannot wait to celebrate her wedding.

Mitra and I have been friends since we were in middle school in Iran. She is my soul sister and the friend who gets me completely. When my dad passed away three weeks before the wedding, she took the time to fly to Dallas with me for his memorial service. It was a hard trip for so many reasons and having her with me was a true blessing and such a source of peace and solace.

Stacy, my wonderful sister-in-law, was a force of nature throughout the whole planning process. She was so supportive and helpful and such a great source of knowledge and advice, since she was planning her own wedding at the time. She was my staunchest advocate and supporter, and I appreciated her dedication and enthusiasm.

Bahar was my Maid of Honor. She and I have been friends for nine years ever since we met in law school. Throughout the planning stages, she listened to my sob stories, tried to help with all the wedding related issues that popped up oh-so frequently, and lent a hand when she could despite her own life’s issues and difficulties. She just got married herself and is now planning her own wedding. She has honored me by asking me to be her Maid of Honor. I cannot wait! Let the planning begin.

Each of these amazing women, as well as so many others, offered me limitless love, tireless dedication and a shoulder to cry on when I needed it. In retrospect, I realize how perfect my wedding party was. Everyone who was meant to be part of my big day was and I’m so thankful for that.

Thank you all for your friendship and love. Thank you for being my friends!

Friendship

Law school friends at the morning after brunch

Dancing with my great friend who honored me by escorting me down the aisle

Love this photo!

A childhood friend dancing with his beautiful wife

Being silly with a great group of friends

A quiet moment before the reception with a colleague and close friend


For me, having friends around is everything. I was an only child and grew up in a very small family. I had cousins, but didn’t spend a lot of time with them as a kid. Once my parents and I moved to Europe and eventually to the U.S., the three of us was all the family I knew. And since my father’s death, the family I knew has gotten even smaller. That’s why one of the most meaningful memories of my wedding was having our amazing friends come from all corners of the country to witness our special day.

They came from Texas, Michigan, Washington, New York, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Illinois, Virginia, Florida and elsewhere. We met and made lifetime friends in diverse stages of life: childhood friends, co-workers, law school classmates, colleagues, volunteer fire fighters, concert buddies or friends of friends who became dear friends. No matter how we met, no matter how long we’ve known each other, what these people all have in common is one thing: their friendships mean the world to us.

I drew love, strength and courage from their presence and it was amazing to look around and see nothing but the faces of people who love and support us. After the wedding, we sent thank you cards to our guests for their love, support, generosity, and for coming out despite the trouble of traveling far and wide. I don’t know if they really understood how important it was to have them there.

So, this post is to pay homage to these remarkable, dedicated, loyal, sweet, funny, enthusiastic, devoted, generous people whom we call our friends. We love and thank you for who you are.

Love,
A&S