It's not me, it's you...

After multiple frustrations with trying to make a cute post with pictures of the kiddo, I'm jumping ship to tumblr.

Check out the continued antics of all things Rama here: theramas.tumblr.com

Recent finds

...and no, I don't mean Christmas Trees and Apes, though who doesn't love a good Christmas tree and an ape to boot?!

Well, you may know that I was quite an addict to all things T.V. while growing up (and still somewhat to this day...though the bambino has changed much of that!). Anyhow, it has been a while since I've added any shows to my 'much watch' list, but there are a few recent additions I wanted to share with you, in case you find yourself with some extra hours here and there:



Parenthood
After much prompting from Danielle, we tuned into Parenthood. It's loosely based on the old 80's movie Parenthood (which I probably watched well before I should have, but who's counting?!), and it's definitely worth tuning in. It's just real life, honestly. And it's not pretty, and it's not taken care of in 42 minutes. And they used a Bob Dylan song for the intro, so there ya go.

Who Do You Think You Are
I stumbled upon this over the weekend, actually, during an extended naptime that I was trying to take advantage of. Thanks to our Roku and Hulu, I've been able to watch a few of these here and there. And honestly, it's been really neat. If you haven't heard of the show, it basically follows various celebrities as they trace their ancestors. I've never been one for genealogy, but it really has been neat to watch these people dig back through time. It's also been educational, as they dive into various parts of national and international history. Anyhow, fun to watch, and sometimes sad.

Sports Night
Now no, this isn't currently on t.v., but Amar and I are big Aaron Sorkin fans, and so we queued this up on Netflix and have been watching it (it also has ties to Parenthood via the main character). So if you like the West Wing(!!!), Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, or just good tv, then you should check it out. Note: we also recommend The West Wing (!!!) and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip if it wasn't obvious in the previous sentence...and while we're on the topic of Aaron Sorkin: see also The American President.

Parks and Recreation
So I caught this over the holiday break, and I wasn't that enthused about it. But when there was a household of sick people, I had some good TV time to burn. And I was pleasantly surprised. Even moreso now that Rob Lowe (um, West Wing alum!) has joined. Goodness all around.

The Biggest Loser
Now, don't get me wrong. I don't really watch this show. It just comes on either before or after Parenthood, and so I wind up catching a bit of it here and there. And honestly, I think it's great. They take people who are morbidly obese and just kick their butts right off. I'm not a huge fan of reality tv (with the major exception being Project Runway...which I miss, by the way. Where are you PR?!), but this reality show actually saves lives. These people are on the fast track to a short life, and to be honest, I cry whenever I watch it. Yes, I realize that 90+% of the time, these people have gotten themselves into this condition. But they are making a change, and keeping their family from the pain of losing them early in life.

Online shopping

Amar was looking for "something whimsical" to get as a wedding gift for his newlywed brother...so he had me type "husband and wife coffee mugs" at Amazon.com

This was the search result:



Which one doesn't belong?

Superbowl XLV: Musings and Observations

My thoughts upon watching portions of the Superbowl (and the commercials):

• Either Troy Aikman is a giant, or Joe Buck is tiny. I googled their heights mid-game, and still, I think the data has been falsified. My current working theory: Joe Buck has a long neck making his shoulders look really short compared to good ol' Troy.


• The Steelers' head coach looks like Omar Epps. Arguably, Wikipedia does not have a good picture of either man, but trust me on this one. Doppelgangers.


• I don't care what you say, I still get a kick out of the Etrade talking baby commercials. Good stuff.


• Also, on the marketing front, I'm digging the Snickers commercials. They took the cake last year with Betty White getting tackled. And this year with (ick) Roseanne Barr and (ick-ish) Richard Lewis getting smacked around. Also good stuff.


Taking a brief break...we just heard a crash outside and the back of the house shook...Amar is going to investigate...

...and we're back. Initial investigations didn't yield any findings. I'm off to investigate shortly.


• Not Superbowl-related, per se, but I'm contemplating starting a Twitter account. Anyone have any strong feelings either way?


• Not really looking forward to either of the upcoming Johnny Depp movies. Cartoon lizard? Pass. Yet another installment of Jack Sparrow? Meh.


Off to go check outside...and, nothing. But I did see a shooting star. And apparently when Amar went outside the first time, the neighbor was also outside checking things out with a flashlight. Strange happenings in Central Austin, I tell ya.


Back to the musings:


• Half-time show? Seriously. People wearing neon light-up suits dancing around with boxes on their heads? Pass.

I'll leave things there for now. Best wishes for all of your Superbowl watching adventures!

Rama Weekly Wrap-Up: 2

In this, the 2nd installment of the Rama Weekly Wrap-Up, we have some hot topics to cover! So grab your favorite beverage, pull up a cozy chair and settle in.

Update 1: The nanny
We love our new nanny, Bethany! And better yet, so does Anjali. Seriously, it's been great. So for all you inquiring minds, yes, all three Austin-based Ramas are still fully intact and thriving thanks, in part, to Miss Bethany (ok, so she is married, but "miss bethany" sounds better that "mrs bethany" to me...just deal with it).

Cute baby picture #1..just to keep you reading:


Update 2: Apple products invade (bonus: smartphones arrive!)
We are now inundated with various Apple products at Casa de Rama. We got an iPad late last year. we got a cube thingy a few weeks ago to replace a (very!) dated desktop unit we got when we first got married. But are we done? Apparently not. Today, we welcomed a new member to the family - the MacBook Pro. Goodie! (Seriously folks, Amar may need an intervention at this rate.) Also, we finally joined the revolution and upgraded our phones to new ones. We are now both sporting the MyTouch 4G, and thanks to an employer discount and Amar's negotiating class at his Executive MBA program, they were practically free. Bingo!

Cute baby picture #2...work with me people:


Update 3: Snowpocalypse 2011
Yes, I realize that other parts of the country actually have, what are they called again? Oh yeah, seasons, but around here, not so much. There's essentially an on/off switch for summer, and if it's off, it's basically 50 degrees. If it's on, double that.

But with the rest of the nation facing a blizzard, we were feeling left out. And voila! Snow(ishness)! Here's what it looked like at our house for a few hours on Friday.

Rama Weekly Wrap-Up

Hey folks,
It's blog-time again around these here parts. I was just thinking that nothing that I wanted to share with the internets really went together, per se, so I just decided to do a "weekly wrap-up"...and who knows, it might become a regular segment. Stay tuned!

So, without further ado, here is the Rama Weekly Wrap-Up:

• The bambino:

She's officially 7 months old! She's sitting up on her own, and I just had to lower the crib this morning. For the past week or so, we've all been reeling from a daycare-inflicted illness, and ultimately, her first week at daycare turned out to be her last. We have a nanny starting Monday - goodie!


• The kitchen:

Since Amar's mom left, we've been faced with (gasp!) making dinner for ourselves on a regular basis. And for the most part, we've been doing ok. Last week was all about the slow-cooker, and this week was all about random stuff, including: chicken/broccoli stir fry, waffles and bacon, and pork tenderloin. They were met with varying degrees of success, but all in all, it was a decent food week.


• The casa:

During the week of illness, I had some time to think about updates that I want to make to the house. I even drew out (to scale!) what I want to do in the laundry room (including stacking the washer/dryer, updating the shelves, adding more storage, etc.). More to come on that in the near future, hopefully. I also stumbled upon some neat little blogs, one of which I wanted to share with you: Young House Love. Specifically, this post of theirs about the napkin that is serving as the 'jumping off point' for the color scheme of their new house really inspired me. I'm now in search of my own 'napkin' (or swatch, picture, etc.) that will serve as my inspiration for pulling this house together. Wish me luck!

And just for a sneak peek at what I'm going for in the laundry room, here's one of my inspiration pictures that I snagged:



Yes, I realize that it's a pantry, but what I'm going for is the neatly arranged bins of goodness, along with the overall curb (or hallway?) appeal of the space. Plus, if I can get some good baskets like that, I can move the cleaning supplies out of the space under the kitchen sink and into an out-of-sight/out-of-reach area for when Anjali starts roaming around the house on her own.

Also, one more find to share with you if you're looking for color-scheme type input: Kuler. I've just tinkered around with it a bit, but it looks like a total fun time waster. Good luck!

Quick update

I haven't been blogging much lately because both Anjali and Amar were sick over the past few days. Not much fun, but we did survive it all.

To all of you who asked, the pot roast turned out quite well. I even made another crockpot recipe the other day: chicken makhani. And yum - quite a success!

Also, just a fun moment in parenting to share with you:

Yes, as parents we occasionally talk about the contents of our daughter's diaper, especially since she's been sick these last few days. Well, today I asked Amar how the diaper change was, and his response was "it looked like the Scottish countryside on a gray and angry winter day." Well, that was informative.

Provisions

I'm cooking a pot roast. The fact that 1) it's cold and gray outside and 2) my mother-in-law is no longer here to cook for the family, means that it's up to me (somewhat) and my severely lacking kitchen skills to provide dinner for us.

I was inspired by A Year of Slow Cooking and so I'm trying this "old fashioned pot roast".

I just wanted the internet to know.

If all goes well, we should have dinner on the table by 6ish. If all does not go well, we'll decide to fast....or get burgers.

Wish me luck!

Holiday fun, Rama-style

There are times in life that I think God enjoys letting us venture out on our own, only so that He can be somewhat amused at what we get ourselves into.

For us Ramas, that time came over the Christmas break. Specifically, in taking an infant to a rather mountainous state and attempting to sleep for any longer than 60 minutes in a row. Did I mention that it was mountainous? Oh, and at the base of the mountain it was 10,000 feet elevation? And the room we stayed in was on the second floor, so that adds what, 12 feet? It was definitely those last 12 feet that the infant objected to so vehemently.

On the other hand, it was beautiful, so that was a good little bonus over the Christmas break.

All that to say that we enjoyed our holiday break and here are some pictures to prove it:

...anyone still there?

I know that I've been REALLY lazy about updating this here blog lately. If you're still with me, then THANK YOU! If you've given up on me, then, well you won't be reading this so I don't really care all that much ;)

Seriously though, things have been busy and "updating the ol' blog" hasn't really made it into the top 5 on the priority list. Hopefully, I'll be better about it in 2011, but who knows.

For my inaugural post of 2011, I thought I'd start with something light: what we've been up to in the wild and wonderful world of the Ramas.

Amar's parents have been with us since late August, and it's been amazing. Sure, the small house has become even more cozy, but it's a small price to pay to have such quality time with them and to watch them interact with Anjali. She loves them to pieces!

We took a "vacation" to Colorado...and I use the word "vacation" very lightly. It was more like a trip. An adventure. The baby did great on the plane, but didn't love the altitude (10,000 feet!) too much. Yes, it was a beautiful winter wonderland in the mountains, but I think our next family vacation will be much closer to home, in a much warmer climate and at a much more sane elevation. Mountains: 1, Ramas: 0

And it's official, we have a big baby on our hands. But she's proportionate, so it's ok. At her 6 month check-up, she was in the 90% for height and weight. Her head, however, is normal-sized (50%), so who knows. We've started doing some sleep training, with great results so far. Here's to a restful 2011!

On the pet-front, we got the Scotties officially groomed for the first time ever, and they actually look like Scotties. They didn't quite know what to think of their new 'do at first, but they were super cute and we loved it. They even smelled like perfume for the first week or so (I kept holding them and smelling them!), so they probably thought I was weird - what's new? Now, due to their new look, when they get running really fast, they look like flying carpets. Good stuff!

Over the holiday break, we saw our fair share of movies as well:
The Fighter
Overall, a great movie, though not as much about boxing as one might suspect. Any Marky Mark lovers out there will enjoy it. Yay! Note: you have to brace yourself for the very profuse and artistic use of the 'f' word....you've been warned.

The King's Speech
To be honest, I wanted to see this one because I really like a certain Mr. Colin Firth*. It was a good movie though, and I'd recommend it. It's a bit slow at times, but come on, what do you expect in a movie about British royalty? And note: there is also a bit of profanity in this one (not nearly as much as The Fighter), but it's done 1) with a British accent and 2) in such a way that you are cracking up...so I didn't mind it too much.
*How can you NOT love Mr. Darcy?!?

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Any Team Narnia folks will enjoy this one (I just made that up, by the way...good stuff, eh?). Reepicheep is great, and Eustace is believably obnoxious, in a good way. Overall, a fun holiday movie. Anyone know if any of the other books are being made into movies?

There has been much, much more going on, but you'll have to come back for more installments. Happy new year!