bethany725

Thanks I hope your day is good also!

Leaving for vacation tomorrow! We're going to Kerala, India for 5 days.. yeeeeey!! Our flights at 4:30pm, so I'll just go to the gym in the morning, then come home and finish packing, then get ready for the flight.

Anything fun on your schedule? School?

She's a nutter.

Oh, DO tell me..

That's your mom I (sort of) know and love!

Wow.. I'm disappointed.. I thought your mom was MUCH more trouble-some than that Just playing!

Was your mom simply playing on the forum while she made you do all the work?! HMPH!!

Hi Lily!

Just wanted to pass along my reassurances as your daughter starts looking to move out.. I thought my mom would DIE when I left for college at 18, even though it was only an hour away. We were very close and she cried and cried. Oh, she snapped out of it in about 2-3 months, and started doing fun things for herself that she hadn't time to before I moved out. And I've never moved back in, due to job, then marriage, and we've become even closer. Now I live in another country as she, but still talk to her just about every day. I know it's hard at first, but good things really do come out of a bit of distance -- Now when I talk to my mom and tell her things, it's STRICTLY because I want to and not because she's just "there," ya know? And she'll appreciate you so much more when you're not always around. Best of luck as she starts looking for apts, and you stay strong -- you'll see

Congrats on the new baby cousin -- so fun for you!

Why, thank you!

I finally found one I like enough to keep for a while... These avatars were stressing me out!

What are you reading right now ? (I know I know.. I should look on your profile.. but I can't right now b/c I'm typing this message!

Hi Kookie!

Cute avatar pic you have now

I'm on it! I'm going to take "Little Earthquakes" by Jennifer Weiner and possibly one other also.. I'll have a thriller, a light chick-lit read, and I'll make my last choice tonight for the 3rd book. Thanks for the well wishes

We're cramming as much as possible in before we leave India.. This isn't the norm for us, I promise!

Ooooh I started The Surgeon today... very good so far! I've missed suspense.... Thanks again for the reco. Will probably finish it over this next wk while I'm on vaca, so I'll report back when I get in!

I'm sure I'll love it...

I'll let you know how it goes!

I'm going to read The Surgeon prior to Life Support, since that's the one you rec'd first. I think I may actually read it after the book I'm reading now... I'm very excited! Will keep you updated.

Routine isn't bad... I happen to love routine I just have to take a break from it right now, but I'll get back there one day...

I'll definitely bring back pictures. Thanks for your Periyar suggestion!

I found Tess Gerritsen's "The Surgeon" today and bought it! I'm so excited!

And I also got "Life Support" by her.. Have you read this one also?

Hi again

The trip to Delhi, Punjab, etc went well.. A bit of a whirlwind (we went to 9 cities in 5 days!), but still a good time. I was surprised with how many of his family members spoke a little English, which helped tremendously.

We are actually finalizing our Kerala trip as we speak! We ARE going to visit Periyar Wildlife Reserve.. We'll be there 1 full day, and 2 nights, and are doing an 8am-5pm nature hike there.. Then we'll be going to do a houseboat for 1 day/night, then staying at the Lemontree Hotel in Alleppey (sp?)

We leave Friday around 1pm.. So excited!!

How have you been? Anything exciting going on w/you?

It was a whirlwind, but a fun one.. except for the finally getting the "India sick" for my first time. Luckily only lasted a day and a half!

How's it been where you are?

We did have a good time! And I was surprised at how many of Raja's family members could speak English... some of them he hadn't seen for 10 years and he said they couldn't speak a word of English then. It's so neat to see how they're growing and changing! I did take lots of pics.. I'll be putting them up on my blog soon if you want to check them out.

So I'm back from trip and catching up on the boards. Also noticed a visitor message from you, so wanted to reply! I'm glad your OH picks and chooses his travel destinations based on what he thinks is right.. I haven't traveled near enough to have a good knowledge base of where tourism money goes in which countries, but hopefully as I travel more I'll learn these things.

On the other front, I did GREAT with the light packing traveling! I took a shower from a bucket and pail.. not kidding you.. and wore every single thing I packed except for one t-shirt and one pair of socks! I'm amazed at how different India is for traveling, even when you're in a large city, across all levels of wealth. It's fascinating to see.

Hope you had a great weekend!

I haven't read it, but after his great experience, I hope to give it a try some day.

Hey guess what?

My husband was searching today for some info on "Pillars of the Earth" since he just finished reading the book. He came home and said "Is someone on your book club named Louise?" And I said yes and he wanted to see the picture/avatar. So I showed him, and he'd recognized your avatar from BCF (he's sitting with me a lot when I'm on BCF in the evening), and saw it again on another book club forum today while he was at work! Isn't that funny?

Yeah.. If he was here 2 years and he still hated it, he may have just been too into comparing it to back home. I was told the easiest way to adjust is to NOT compare it to what you're used to, or most parts of Asia will fall short. It's hard to not think "It was soo much easier to do ________ back home," but it really does help a lot.

How come some of the places in Asia have an ethics system that makes it difficult for your OH to go? Excuse my ignorance