To the world, and whomever else this may concern,

I have in fact read all of The Sorcerer's Stone and loved it, even more than I expected to love it. Thank you for not throwing soft projectiles at me, as I was never even aware that the items to which I devoted my attention (courtship, school, church callings, starting this company, working for two additional employers, etc.) were cause for reprehension. Now my only concern is that I still make enough time for all of those things now that I have discovered for myself the wonders of Harry Potter. Good thing that at least courtship and Harry Potter are not mutually exclusive (but are, rather, "co-requisites", at least in my case).

Sincerely,
The world's newest Harry Potter fan
Daniel Harbuck

p.s. How in the world could anyone successfully translate the nuances of those books to any language other than English? That would require a gift indeed. . .

Trip!

Tomorrow at 6am, Dan & I are heading off to California for a wedding. I'm super excited because a) I love weddings, b) we get to stay with/see several of my cousins and their kids, c) it's in California, and d) Dan & I get to travel together. It's kinda sad, actually, how much I enjoy traveling together. Perhaps because it's somewhat rare that something else isn't vying for our attention (laundry, dishes, cooking, friends, callings, see here). We're all geared up with Pimsleur language training CDs (Dan stopped by the library the other day and picked up, I am not even kidding, FOUR of them: Spanish, Russian, Italian, and Farsi...no joke), movies, and HARRY POTTER!!!

It's true; I married a person who had never before read Harry Potter. Worse, he HAD seen the movies. I know, I know, it's reprehensible - please refrain from judging me, I've done my best, okay? You can throw something at him, but please limit projectiles to soft ones. And he really is making an effort now, and is not one of those who has a bias against it or anything, so that should count for something.

In any case, I am SO EXCITED for us to finally read it together. For those of you who don't know, I happen to think Harry Potter is some of the most engaging, thought-provoking, clever children's literature ever created, and competitive with much adult literature. Plus, it's just so dang fun. And I happen to abhor the movies. Yes, even the fourth one. Yes, even after not comparing them to the books. Sorry.

Plus, I first new I wanted to marry Dan on a plane. :)

Worth the Wait

For once, the cookies are actually better than the dough.

Holy heavens alive. These cookies are. so. good. I mean, they are beyond good. They are terrifically, astoundingly fantastic. I know, I know - you're thinking, "They're just chocolate chip cookies. I've had dozens, even hundreds of chocolate chip cookies." Oh, how even the thought of those words makes my heart hurt. It pains me that you might brush these cookies aside thinking they're like all the rest. Because they're just that delightful.

When Dan got home from EQ meetings last night, I asked him to try one, trepidation written across my face. "I'm scared to let you try them." He bit in somewhat hesitantly, soon exclaiming, "WHY?" I was quite justifiably worried that he wouldn't let me take them with me to my work picnic.

I woke up thinking about how I wanted to eat one. Dan almost didn't let me walk out the door with them. He made me promise on the phone ten minutes later that we would make them soon (aka tonight). I just can't say enough about these cookies. Just keep the butter cold. And use sea salt (heck, you could even go wild and sprinkle a teensy amount on top of each cookie). And if you really want to live on the edge, throw in a bit of coconut.

Indications that Preethi is OCD, aka Crazy

10. My closet is organized by category (e.g. short-sleeved casual shirts, long-sleeved, casual shirts, button down shirts, short-sleeved sweaters, etc. etc.), and by color within category.

9. I am a compulsive list-maker. I make them for everything - grocery lists, movies-to-watch lists, songs-to-download-from-iTunes lists, places-we-want-to-visit lists, recipe lists...my favorite, however, is the CONSOLIDATION LIST! I love making lists of lists.

8. All of our books and movies are ordered by genre and author and/or title.

7. It stresses me out if plans get changed last minute.

6. When cutting my nails, I absolutely must make sure they are perfectly even and rounded, without any points sticking out along the edge of the nail.

5. The other day when someone put the Parmesan cheese on a refrigerator shelf instead of in the door, I had to move it.

4. I pick up every single hair from the bathroom floor.

3. Each pot and pan gets replaced to a certain spot on the rack.

2. I feel the need to give the kitchen floor a quick sweep most nights just to gather any stray crumbs.

1. I alphebetize our spices.

Thank you for still being my friend. Particular thanks go to Dan for willingly being married to me.

In other news, we've had several visitors of late, particularly of the sisterly variety. Two weekends ago saw the arrival of Priya, and it was glorious in its relaxation and food consumption. This past weekend, Liz and her friend Spencer were here. We shopped and cute new clothes were purchased. We went up to NYC on Saturday and were submerged in Indian-ness (Indian food, Indian temple workers...). It was great fun to see a number of old friends. There was also more cooking.

Off to another week.