A Chain of Miracles.

New Jersss

2011-07-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

Hello! So for a new update on life in our world, Prathap has landed a wonderful job at

Princeton University, so we have relocated to Princeton, New Jersey!

NJ is amazing! At least the part we are in, and miles around us... it's just beautiful! I think NJ gets a bad rap because of Newark, but there is so

much more to it than industrialized madness. It's so green and full of life. There are a ton of squirrels out our win

dows that run around all day. I can always hear the song of the cicadas and the fireflies! Oh the fireflies! Don't get me started! They are so beautiful and I can't believe I lived in a desert for so many years where there weren't any fireflies. Somehow they are just magical to me, I don't know...

I have also managed to get an amazing job at a charter high school in Trenton, which I'm thrilled about. I will start in nearly a week and a half, and after that I will be VERY busy, so I've tried to get as much travelling in as the budget will allow.

My brother drove across the country with me and my packed car, and that was an awesome adventure in and of itself. When he was still here we went to Philly, and then came home for a night, and went to NYC the next day. Since then I've been to NYC again, and we've also checked out many of the towns around us like Somerset, Ewing, New Brunswick, Edison, and probably more I can't remember. Our friend Ashlee is coming down from NYC tomorrow and we're going to take a trip to Cape May on the shore, which I'm really excited about. I can't believe I have a beach and ocean this close!!!

I am excited for many more chances to explore uncharted territory, and have new experiences with my love! Till then.

Tamil Blog!

2011-03-08T18:46:00.001-08:00

Well, it's been ages indeed since I've posted, and rather than bore you with all the wedding photos and all that jazz - it's on facebook ;) I have decided to update you about my new blog with Yoshi called Tamil Kutti (which is kind of slang for Tamil Girls). We are working on learning the languages of our loves! Prathap is usually patient with helping me with Tamil, but on the blog we can get answers from people who aren't sick of answering our millions of questions... stop by and check it out HERE if you haven't yet!

We're Hitched!!!

2010-07-27T10:06:00.001-07:00

Here are some pics of our happy day! We made an appointment at the courthouse and had our official marriage ceremony.
My brother, and our friends Anna and Holly were our witnesses.

The ceremony was actually much more romantic than I expected! We said vows to each other and I totally cried! We were so happy to finally be married after being engaged for nearly 2 years and together for nearly 4! Our reception is this Friday, so we are getting very excited to share our love for each other with the other people we love!

Another Miracle

2010-05-09T19:24:00.000-07:00

I know you thought it might never happen, but we have decided to begin planning our wedding! After being engaged for almost 2 years... miracles can happen! :)

Well, we have a bit of a complicated situation, what with student visas, pending graduation and job acquisition going on. We don't actually know where we'll be living this time next year,... but all the more reason to begin planning our wedding while we have the time!

We have a window July 22-August 9 - and the final date will depend on venue availability. Now that we've begun planning, lots of things have fallen into place nicely, but there are still many decisions to be made.

The best part is that we are both excited and both taking part in the planning process. I love Prathap so much, and have loved him now for over 3 years... it's going to be wonderful to finally proclaim our commitment and love in front of our friends and family!

Job Search 2009

2009-07-29T09:01:00.001-07:00

i finally have a job that i am thrilled about, but this road was long & hard...

i graduated with my master of education in special education, and was finally ready to delve into the world of applying for a job. i applied to almost every district in the salt lake valley because i was panicking about making sure i got a job somewhere...

i started interviewing in May, and i was offered the first 6 jobs i interviewed for. a funny thing happened at this point: i was simultaneously encouraged, and discouraged. on one hand i was encouraged that i had many things employers were looking for, but i was also getting really sick of interviewing & just wanted to have something set in stone.

unfortunately, in a moment of weakness & desperation, i accepted a job that i didn't feel good about, but it was with a district i thought i wanted to be in. i tried to look @ the positive and not worry about all the things that made my stomach feel uneasy. yeah, that little voice inside your head - ummm, it's good to LISTEN to it!!! duh liz.

so thankfully, last monday, i got a call from the assistant principal at the 1st school i interviewed @ and she wanted to offer me ANOTHER job! keep in mind that i had spoken with her a few times over the summer, and lamented that she had only had a 1/2 time position to offer me, but i was really impressed with her & her school, and her school was actually the bar that i compared other schools to (they never quite measured up btw).

my immediate gut reaction to this offer was TAKE IT!!! and this time i listened. i called my former district & got out of my contract 2 hours before the deadline - it would have cost me $1000 after! and i made the switch.

i am soooo grateful that i have had this opportunity! i was foolhardy & impulsive and it almost cost me my first year of teaching. the thing is, they teach you a lot in school, but leave it up to you to navigate the system of interviewing, and working with districts and choosing a school. but after this experience i definitely feel like i've learned a lot about the process.

my advice to future teachers: don't accept a job unless you really love it! there will be others out there you just might have to be patient.

snow and ice fishing

2009-01-25T16:03:00.001-08:00

after a short break it's snowing again... i am really pleased because i was so sick of the nasty terrible inversion air! pete and prathap are stuck in a traffic jam on I-80, so i am trying to pass the time & not be worried about the roads! they went ice fishing at rockport state park & are on the way back... no catches this time but they learned a lot from other ice fishers up there apparently :) i'll be going on one of those trips when a snowstorm isn't likely!!!

we're official!

2009-01-24T17:08:00.000-08:00

it's crazy but true... my prathap proposed to me on christmas morning 2008... i got a stocking from him and it was full of lotion, hair clips, chocolate and little trinkets, and at the very bottom was this box... i pulled it out and he grabbed it and said, "that's for me" then he took it and knelt down in front of me. he said, "i love you, will you marry me?" i totally started crying and hugging him saying yes yes yes... then he asked, "are you even going to look at the ring?!"

needless to say, it was a very happy morning and i am very excited to start our official life together. . . although we aren't planning on getting married for about a year. we need to have real jobs for a while first! ;)

Yard Sale

2008-06-14T14:02:00.000-07:00

werd. totally had the most rockin yard sale. i had pretty low expectations... didn't sell it all, but made $100. sweet.

2008-06-09T13:48:00.000-07:00

Prathap & i are now officially living together. We went to IKEA & spent too much money and got Costco memberships. whoa.

i am very happy to be sharing a home with him and moving on in building our lives together. it's cheesy but true. i am just crazy about him!

and kudos to Prathap for enduring a baker-filled weekend & a visit from mom! he made it through with flying colors! my family seems to adore him as much as i do, so i am very happy! ;)

<3

V.H.S.

2008-04-12T07:26:00.000-07:00

Virtual Historical Sacrament...

so far, this is the most groundbreaking, incredible blog ever written.

i can only hope that future posts will be made quickly, because i need to know where this is all headed.

i praise the Goddess & God for blogger.com so we can preserve this for posterity!!!

VIRTUAL HISTORICAL SACRAMENT... go there if you haven't yet!!!!!!

QuALiFiERs

2008-04-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

PRATHAP PASSED HIS QUALIFIERS... with a stunning 5 i might add!!!

I am so proud of all the hard work he's put into this! Months of preparation, a month of solid studying and writing and rewriting his now amazing paper!!! i am completely impressed with his skill & knowledge. Passing these qualifiers is a huge step for him towards getting his PhD done and getting any job he wants!!!

GO PRATHAP!!!!

remaking the blog

2008-04-11T08:44:00.001-07:00

this is now a blog about our love and life. i'm giving it a facelift. i am excited to start to document in cyberland all the wonderful & amazing things that prathap & i share together... i may create a flashback blog from time to time, of something from the last year and a half of our lives together, but mostly i will be posting forward with our new adventures.

the new title of this blog comes from the Secret Language of Relationships book,by Gary Goldschneider and Joost Elffers, which describes us as:
The Chain of Miracles
strengths: believing, spellbinding, ecstatic
weaknesses: out of touch, uncontrolled, disillusioned
best: love
"Ecstatic peak experiences can emerge unpredictably here, dazzling both partners."
(p.614)

LOOOOOVE

2007-03-03T15:11:00.000-08:00

i've been trying to think about one thing i loved and it was really really hard. i couldn't narrow it down... I love creativity - painting drawing writing building things, i love the way i feel after a really good workout, and the way i feel when i reach my workout goals, and saturday mornings when i can wake up and still lay in bed for a while in half-awake-half-asleep land, i love when i'm into a book so much that i can hardly tear myself away, i love seeing best friends that have moved away and finding that nothing has changed and we're still as good of friends as ever. i love camping and southern utah and anywhere where you can hear the heartbeat of the earth. i love struggle too, and hardship and lessons that are hard to learn because it's always worth it... i love life!

and i love my sweetheart prathap and so many more...

My Students and Web 2.0

2007-02-08T15:39:00.000-08:00

The students I work with have a blog online... it's an online newspaper for the school and they write about issues they face, movie reviews, book reviews, etc....

check it out if you want ideas for your students or a good laugh!

ARTEC news website