oh, and i'm just waiting till the shine wears off...

*inhales deeply*

hmmm...so this is what the new year feels like

On new year's eve, I was super bored, played Guitar Hero World Tour all night long. No, I lie, I played it till 10 pm, then I went off to bed, woke up again at 11:45, watched the crystal ball drop on TV, and cried WOOT! HAPPY NEW YEAR! ate some strawberry shortcake, and slept.

Woke up at 4:00 am, got ready to go to the temple...dragged my self off of the little comforter I was sleeping on on the floor, brushed my teeth lazily, slipped into my best chudidar, the one that my auntie in Florida sent me, the white one, pulled on a hoodie (it was freezing, not to mention the sleeves of the chudi were sheer and practically made of tulle) and trudged through the heavy morning air to my uncle's car, and drove off to the temple.

At the temple, I kicked my fUGGs (fake UGGs...what? it was cold, and it was 4:30 am...I didn't know any better) off, and zombie-d up the stairs to the main area of the temple, where all the deities are.

And that's when it hit me...it was 2009.

WOW.

At that moment, everything in front of me changed, everything, everyone...I felt like a new person. Something spiritual was flowing through me...ha ha...makes sense that I was at the temple.

My family and I sat in front of the main deity, listening to the priests chanting the mantras and preparing for the abhishekham, the bathing of the gods.

A few minutes later, I separated from my family and went off to Shiva's shrine. He was my favorite deity, the destroyer, the god of Dance.

I watched patiently, intrigued by the beauty of the lingam, as the milk, the honey, the sugar, the yogurt, the water, everything cascaded down the smooth black marble. It was amazing.

Time to time, I diverted my eyes to the nataraja statue of Shiva.
(picture from google images, but it doesn't do him any justice)

He looked so fierce (ha ha...I sound like Tyra) with his locks flying behind him, as he stood in the famous position so perfectly...something that I, and the rest of my dance class, have been trying to do without falling down.

Ok, enough of the religious talk.
Then we went to watch a movie, and then had dinner at some restaurant called Ming.

Phew, now that that is over, let me post some pictures from yesterday, and the day before, over the break...etc

This is the dress I wore to the temple. I just thought it was wayyy too pretty not to post.






I like how it makes me look taller and skinnier.

This next photo is one that I took of the snow, on New Year's Eve, which lasted for no longer than 15 minutes.

Here are a few pics from the day trip to a temple that my family and I went to with our neighbors. It was beautiful there.









And finally, a picture of the headband I DIYed, using these instructions.

Yep, that is it...

I probably have more to say, but I have a term paper to write, and notes to scan.

toodles

:)