It's official.

Bags packed: check.

Dogit: check.

Sandals: check.

Official offer: CHECK.



"On behalf of the Georgia Institute of Technology...we sincerely hope you will join our staff."

answer: YES.


florida for the weekend!

so lucky and thankful.
love love love.


and Magnificent March includes:
3.13 - mama's birthday
3.18 - andrea's birthday
3.31 - rafa's birthday
plus Darryl's visit from Canada!


ALSO: an absolute must-read: HALF THE SKY

http://www.halftheskymovement.org/

Say What?

i had a really clever theme for this post yesterday but alas, i have forgotten it.

last night i made more oreo truffles *sigh*
i was completely and utterly overJOYED when i found PINK CANDY MELTS! at Michael's.
pretty little babies, they are. they actually don't look as stellar as i was expecting, but thats okay. still pretty cute.


they look kind of baby pink here in the picture (which i love) but look a little more...not-so-baby pink in real life. they do, however, taste the same: wonderful. the sprinkles are too much color on the pink and the oreo crumbles on top just look whack, but dats okay.
i think they look aDORable on this cute little pink plate that lauren gave us. loves it. i will return her some treats (these) but will have to keep the baby plate...

good thing tomorrow is miriam's birthday - a wonderful excuse to eat these.

they took a little longer than i remember and i planned on making TWO batches...one with mint oreos!! but i got a little lazy. i still had some pink chocolate melted and didnt want to waste it, though...

YES.

it actually fell in. on purpose.

ohemgee. so good. and so easy! haha. not that this is a novelty treat or anything.
ok see how here the pink looks more like a piggy-pink? not my fav. maybe its just the dark underneath it that is throwing it off. probably on a cake pop it would be preciosa.

anyhow, i filled a little jar with these and tied it with a ribbon for miriam. then i ran into her when i was going into the office (after my badge wouldn't unlock the door and i followed her in. doh) and i think she saw them but didnt say anything, so...she will be surprised later. maybe.


hmm. what else is happening?

i really like my job. i feel so thankful and lucky/blessed (yes, blessed) that i have a job at all, moreover one that i enjoy, is a great environment, has smart and nice people, and takes care of you (me). i also really love how professional the people on my team are. so what if im 23 and just graduated from college? they still treat me like one of them, even if they are 40 years older than me. it is heart warming. i told rafael this and he was like" adina...its because they are professionals. that's how they should act." haha...right. i knew that.

anyhow, things are good on the work front. sometimes i feel bad, like i don't really "deserve" this job, to be this lucky, i feel guilty, etc. i think that must be the Guilty Jew inside of me. it's that crazy Voice Inside My Head - the one that i know isn't real.

i have actually been doing much better about silencing that crazy little Voice. what a nice feeling!

also, i have been going to yoga more regularly. love it. jocelyn is a new teacher at the studio (tuesdays @ 7:30) and i love her class. so...that is good. and the vista yoga tshirts are adorable. see:facbook

on another jewish note, here is one of the many hilarious jewish haikus that i have in an email (request and i can send to you):

The same kimono

The top geishas are wearing:

I got at Loehmann's.

on that note...i need to buy some new work clothes.
florida outlets on friday! yipeee

xo

Los Lovies

we use the word "lovies" a lot around our house.
it's actually quite amusing and i think rafael says it more than i do.
which is especially cute.
Jackson gets lots of Los Lovies around here too.

here he is in his first snow ever!

he was pretty confused at first...and then he tried to eat it a little bit...and then he he loved it and was going crazyyyy.

here is a picture of our little snowwoman that we made, too.

cute, right? the face is a little...large, but thats okay. we like her. and ode to Canada - thanks for the hat Darryl! :) that snow was so perfect for playing in. stuck together perfectly. i also have a video of rafa's mom rolling down our front yard yelling and laughing. it is glorious.



more Lovies from the past few days would definitely have to be the oreo truffles that i made courtesy of (duh) Bakerella...


seriously, like - ohmyGOD. oreos are probably my favorite cookie. and oreos in this form (which is shockingly easy and requires no oven whatsoever) was like, the best thing i think ive ever had.
i mean, thats a bold statement so who really knows. but they are awe-some. if you live out of town and get some in the mail, dont be surprised...har har.

i wanted to cover them in pink chocolate candy melts but they didnt have pink. bummer, right.


hmm. what else = los lovies today:
- grilled cheese with fresh bread & fancy cheddar cheese. the best.
- jocelyn's power flow class, tuesdays @ 7:30
- my babys
- good times at work
- reading liz's blog :)


on that note, sending lots of lovies to all.

snow! nieve! snow!

it is snowinggg!

and after a very long week, i was lucky enough to get a half-day today. and thank goodness, because i really can't imagine how much Atlantans are flipping out on the roads right now. and most are probably on their phones facebooking or tweeting about how bad the traffic is omgomgomg etc. etc..., which makes driving next to them that much more frightening.

anyways, la suegra and i are at home together and we have been baking the most cutest, adorable Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies ever!

all credit to Bakerella.com

i am really obsessed with this woman. she makes the cutest most adorable and delicious treats i have ever seen in my life. and she has totally inspired me to become...a Home Baker.

i really like cooking, but i'm not good with just throwing ingredients together, adding masalas, somehow figuring out what will go well together, etc. and what i love about baking is that yes, you can be creative (im crying from happiness just playing on this website) BUT you also have like, set ingredients.

i guess that is arguable because ideally, i will be able to come up with my own recipes/creations one day (hah) which would mean not following someone elses directions all the time...but regardless, i love baking and am ready to go to Sur La Table ($$, but so nice...probably somewhere more affordable actually...) with my next paycheck, cha ching!

i can't wait.
for now, i think i'll skip dinner and make some tea to go with my cake-cookie sammiches.

xo

hasta la bye bye, 2009

i have decided to make an honest attempt at this blog thing (again) and i'm hoping it turns out successful.

so...here's to 2010, a brand new year and a sweet new decade.

not gonna lie, 2009 was pretty much awesome. for me, at least. when i think about a year ago and where we were and who i was, it's like i can see all the things that have changed and how much i have grown sitting right in front of me. its a bizarre feeling, really, but a good one nonetheless.

december was a most enjoyable month, too!
1. i graduated :) GT alumna? over here, baby
2. i graduated WITH A JOB. shocker, we know. excellent, for sure.
3. andrea got a job in atlanta!
4. the most wonderful family came to atlanta to celebrate with me and i am so thankful.
5. we also got to celebrate christmas with BOTH of my families. too much fun.
6. mom and dad opened Vista Yoga! a true dream come true.


and that was just december (and some of november)! needless to say, it has been an exciting end to the year.
that being said, it was also a somber one.
Gpa died in December - slowly expected but still heartbreaking. i went to maryland with my mom to see him before thanksgiving and i am so. so glad that i did. it had been far too long and i am happy that i got to see him before he went to a better place. no more suffering for him (although i do miss his harmonica skills :) and i sing his wake-up song to rafa now...he "loves" it...baha)

it feels like a lot of people died this year.
not necessarily people that i know, but you know how we can relate to celebrities sometimes like we "know" them? weird, really.


also, 2009 was the deadliest year in mexico in their taunting battle against the drug cartels: over 7,600 mexicans lost their lives.

seriously, ya'll: this shit is fucked up.
and i dont know how else anyone can put it.
and i really love mexico, and the problems that it is facing seem slightly impossible, and that makes me even more sad. just to be a debbie-downer, every time you do drugs, it has someones blood on it. remember that. not that anyone reading this does drugs, but you can spread the word.
all the other reasons not to do illegal drugs aside, i think that should be enough to stop people.

...that is clearly not a majority sentiment.

the picture at the top is at a an iglesia in a tiny town in Michoacán (one of the deadliest states from drug crimes). it was beautiful. the picture at the bottom is my most favorite: it's a close-up of the front wall outside the church: Sanctuary, House of God and Door to the Sky.



however, i still love 2009.
:)
rafael and i are doing so great and it is wonderful. we have come so far in just a year and i love it.

other than that...waiting to officially start my new position at GTRI and wondering just what will come next in this crazy world. possibilities are out there so we will see soon what they will bring...



for now, here are some favorite pictures from the past year (most of which are from the past few months):

NYC, i love thee

the best picture from Dad's 60th


love her


the whole gang


techies! minus rafa


(delicious) reindeer cake pops!


my sweetest baby girl


and a favorite from NY

a final note: thoughts and prayers to the pipers and mcgill's. emily, you are a treasure.

It is right it should be so;
Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know,
Thro' the world we safely go.

Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine.
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine.

it is quite apparent that i am no good at keeping an updated blog.
i guess you can't really fault anyone for that considering how busy life can be sometimes.
but good busy, not bad busy :)

here is a quote that i cut out of my starbucks cup with my pocket knife last semester on the 5th street bridge (random) which i just found in my book bag and which i love:

The Way I See It #58

I have faith. Faith in our wondrous capacity for hope and good, love and trust, healing and forgiveness. Faith in the blessing of our infinite ability to wonder, question, pray, feel, think and learn. I have faith. Faith in the infinite possibilities of the human spirit.

-James Brown


apparently james brown is a sportscaster and an announcer for FOX nfl sunday.
who would have thought.

anyways, i love that quote. it makes me feel a little more confident about sincerely attempting to be positive and loving "all" of the time.

being in a sorority, or moreover, being in a leadership position in a sorority, definitely presents a constant challenge at that attempt. i have come to the conclusion that, while i want to change everyone's lives and help everyone to be the most positive, classy, loving and happy woman that they can be, that is 100% impossible. and i have decided that if i can make a difference in just one person's life, then it is worth it. all the stress that i mull over (much of it most likely unnecessary...) and all the effort that i put into the chapter sometimes seem insignificant and worthless and most definitely unappreciated.
but i know i am making a difference. somewhere, which i do not know, it is worth it. if anything, it is teaching me a lot and that must be worth it too. right?


on another note, this month is WAM - Women's Awareness Month :)
and i am volunteering on saturday at an animal shelter called Furkids and i get to play with kitties all morning!! sooo excited.



the end.

a blog?

it's true that i used to have a blog in high school...actually, it was an online journal. severely different, really. those are where you write all your intimate feelings about boys and friends and life with the knowledge that no one actually reads it but with a small glint of hope that maybe someone will read it and care? hah! mostly just dramatic feelings. oh, to be a teenager again.
not that i am too far past that, but i feel like i am? scratch that-i definitely am.

thanks to andrea for getting me to sign up for this :)
(even if you are the only one who reads it, hermanita...jaja)

life is basically moving at a fast forward pace right now...the past five months have been a huge whirlwind with ups and downs, but mostly ups :)





rafael and i met last spring, started dating in may, and got married on september 1st :) we now live together in midtown and are transforming our little town house into a real home, which is super fun. playing house for real? i never thought that would happen...buut it has and i am so so thankful.



school is stressing me out as usual...sometimes i feel confident about it-like, if i really just bust this out, or study this much time here and learn this and this and this, i can do it.
and then sometimes (more often than not) i feel like i will never be good at this school thing. thats probably just me being hard on myself, but its so hard not to get sucked down that tunnel. its really refreshing when you don't go there (the tunnel with no cheese), i just have to find that power within me somewhere...hmm. seems like it should be easy or something. negative.

on another note, rosh hashanah was on monday night and it makrs the beginning of the jewish new year. we eat apples and honey for a "sweet (literally) new year" and its always nice because its a happy holiday and in 10 days comes yom kippur, the saddest holiday of the year - the day of atonement. anyhow, my dad was saying something about how on rosh hashanah (and this is very figuratively, of course), it is your chance to be re-inscribed into the Book of Life. each new year, we get to celebrate this - no matter what happened in the past year, good and bad, its like our clean slate.
i kind of like this idea...and it's fitting because i am definitely starting a new, huge chapter in my life right now. sure, im still in school (and still ready to be out...) but coming back to school, moving off campus, getting married, being a fourth year, and basically now taking control of more responsibilities in life is all happening at ONCe. and its GREAT! it really and truly is wonderful. just a little overwhelming and tiring sometimes...but i guess thats life, right? truuuue dat.

i feel so so lucky to have such a wonderful family and awesome friends and i absolutely love all of them :) that pretty much explains itself.

im at school right now, in between classes and mentally stressing about how on earth im going to learn computer science and german history by friday morning, but i did just find this cute cute little cafe/eisnteins in the environmental science and technology building quad (these buildings are awesome and very new and gorgeous) and im sitting by the window with this awesome view of Atlanta and its encouraging and nice and makes me feel better :) also, my favorite Mana song just came on...yes. not Tiburon, andrea, but a second best. hehe

other than that...here are some recent favorite pictures :)