in case you haven't figured it out..

i'm officially bidding the blog adieu. although it's been wonderful to have this outlet to express my thoughts in writing, i really just don't have the time to give it the attention i think it deserves. having this thing going for a few months really did re-ignite my passion for writing, so i've taken on several other projects, but in order to successfully balance those and my social life - something's gotta go. thanks to everyone who got as excited as i did about the blog - i had a lot of fun with it, and i hope i was able to make you guys smile a little cheese-like every now and then. :)

thanks for reading! see you on myspace! (until i get tired of that too. ;))

xoxo!

mooore pictures!

sorry, i realize this is the lazy woman's "post".. but, MORE PICTURES from the wedding! as if you didn't have enough. these were just too much fun.. thank you to kristen cahill for some great action shots! :)

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=19ptr919.bnlvrfg1&x=1&y=-6glv1k

if you have some time to kill..

the professional photographer's formal wedding pictures are posted. :) i'll give you fair warning that there are a LOT (213 from the mehndi and 409 from the wedding). again, the 4/14/06 ones are from the mehndi (the "pre-party" before the actual wedding) and the 4/15/06 ones are the actual ceremony and reception. (yes, i had a costume change.. i'm a bollywood film star!)

my favorites: picture 329 in the wedding album, and the entrance to the reception ones (pages 17-19).

enjoy!

www.imagesbyreflections.com

finally catching up.

ok, finally. i have some time in my schedule tonight to just relax.. and i am making the most of it. :) so.. you've probably caught wind of the fact that the past 2 months have been an absolute roller coaster for me. every big life-changing event a person has in life.. i've think i've had it.

it started in march.. when we settled on our house (see previous post). we've been moving in and trying to turn the drywall and siding from a house into a "home", which is absolutely no small task at all! i felt like ian and i had a lot of stuff, but when you move from a cramped philadelphia apartment into a modern, spacious house.. suddenly you realize that you don't have nearly as much as you think. i am absolutely dying for space filling furniture right now! (anyone have an extra palm tree or something that they're trying to get rid of?) anyway, i am trying to realize that making it the perfect home isn't going to happen overnight.. and it's those little touches that we add slowly that will do it, so.. i'm really testing myself, patience is NOT a virtue of mine! :)

march was also the month of my bridal shower, but shortly after that.. my favorite girls in the world surprised me bigtime with my bachelorette party! man, do my girls know how to do it right. ;) my sister tricked me by throwing me in the car and off we went.. to DEWEY BEACH for the night. good times were had by all.. and as excited as i was to tie to the knot, it reminded me that words can't describe how good it feels to get to throw down with my best friends in the entire world and act like we're in college again. these girls are truly the MOST hilarious and warm people in the world.. and i could never asked for a better time!

two weeks after that marked april 14th, the start of my 2 day wedding celebration! the actual wedding was on saturday, but friday night was the mehndi ceremony and party, which we just had at a local fire hall banquet hall on kirkwood highway. we ate, we danced, we did the Dandia (or as my friends like to call it, the "stick dance").. it was overall a blast and we had a ball! it made me wonder if saturday could hold its own against the fun that was friday!













which brings us to.. the wedding. i don't even know if i can talk about the wedding.. i might get weepy! in short, it was basically the most perfect day that ian and i could have ever asked for. it was a dream. everything flowed like clockwork, we weren't stressed one bit, we danced, we sang, we hugged, we ATE (important!), but most importantly.. we were in a room full of 315 of our favorite people in the world and the energy was just breathtaking. we had a few surprises thrown in there.. kristen and richie O sang mine and ian's first dance, mine with my dad, and ian's with his mom. :) and ian's YChromes "inducted" me in as a chromewife by singing Cecilia, which was adorable as well. (i am officially a Chromewife! although Matt's wife sarah will officially have the first Chromebaby.. oh my goodness!)

since i have the opportunity to use cyberspace as a public forum, i just want to take a moment to extend a huge THANK YOU to anyone who had a part of that weekend.. it was the best of my life and i have everyone who was there to thank! :)

next stop.. honeymoon time! ian and i went to Greece for two weeks. it was AWESOMMEEEEEEE. i highly recommend greece if you ever taking a trip to europe and can't settle on a country! we started in Athens, and then made our way to the islands.. to Santorini, and then Mykonos. i think ian and i are both in agreement that Santorini was our absolute favorite.. the views were breathtaking, the food was amazing, the streets were full of culture, and everything about it was just magical. we were fortunate enough to be in greece for Greek Orthodox Easter (which is the country's biggest holiday, even bigger than Christmas), so we really got to see the country shine in its prime. details of the honeymoon would take too long (and probably are more than you care to hear!) but it was a beautiful trip and an amazing time.. i would love to go back! (next time we go, we'd like to take friends.. anyone up for it?)











so now, here i am.. been back from my honeymoon for about a week and a half. how is married life? well, i don't really know yet. ian actually ended up getting a new job RIGHT before the wedding (a job that is great for him, so this is fantastic news!), but the downside is that they wanted him to go to Savannah, GA for training for two weeks, literally the day we got back from greece. we got back late on a saturday night, and they wanted him on a flight sunday afternoon (luckily, he was able to push it to monday afternoon). so.. i haven't really gotten to live with my hubby at the new house yet. but he comes back on friday, and i can't wait! :) it's hard to go from spending 2 weeks straight with someone, to not seeing them at all for 2 weeks. but it's ok, it's all for the best!

what's funny is that while i was in Athens, i actually found out that a CFO that i'd been working on for months ended up being placed at the company i wanted, so i was SUPER pumped. he actually had a second residence in greece, so ian and i ended up meeting him for dinner one night. (at the most fabulous restaurant of all time, but that's a story for later date.) anyway, as we talked, he realized i was only 24 (24 year old henna trying to sound as intelligent as possible to the top-ranking finance professional of a major insurance company, i think he thought i was older than that on the phone. guess my faking it worked!) during dinner, he said something to the effect of, "new house, great husband, job that's going well.. you really have it all already, don't you?" and can i tell you.. that statement TERRIFIED me. god, i freakin' hope not!! people need to stop saying stuff like that. if i've hit my peak at 24, it can only be downhill from here. my parents always believed in this thing called "nazar".. it's basically the pakistani equivalent of the evil eye. i swear, lately i've turned quasi-religious and can't stop thanking god for everything, because i can't help but wonder at which moment it's all going to come crashing down and be yanked away from me. yep, miss strong-willed henna has her stupid, nagging little fears. i can't help it. if anyone is secretly cursing me under their breath.. please don't, i'm a nice girl!

but in the meantime, i AM very thankful (mashallah) at the way things are going lately.. i am so blessed and so much of it is attributed to the amazing group of friends and family that surround us. it seems surreal every now and then, i have to pinch myself. ok, i'm sorry, this is getting heavy, i'm changing topics before i start getting into serious journal-worthy life assessments.

on another fun note, sunday was the first time i had gone to Point to Point at winterthur.. and DAMN that's a good time!! ran into a ton of people i knew from college and beyond (and enjoyed getting to blow everyone's minds with the fact that i'm hitched now). thanks to court for convincing me to wake up at 8 on a weekend (i hated you for it at first!) and dragging me along to that - i had a blast! we're definitely doing that again next year.

upcoming events.. sunny's birthday TODAY (happy birthday, sunny!!), justin and bethani's engagement party on saturday (can't wait!), mother's day on sunday (how does this 2 moms thing work?), and ryan and lisa's wedding reception with the ychromes next weekend. then it's memorial day at the beach, and then summer has officially started! where did the time go?!

until the next time (which won't be 2 months from now, i promise).. mrs. henna P, signing off. ;) besos!

just had to share this one..

this is so funny, i honestly think i peed a little at work. (thanks palak!!)

40 ) "The I Need to OWN the bar guy": This guy that craves the attention of anything that breathes. He leaves the house claiming that he will "own the bar tonight," and he "knows people." He will go to amazing lengths to keep all eyes on him if it's buying the whole bar shots, committing indecent exposure, and repeatedly lacking all control. He has charm in the beginning until he drinks his weight and you find him commiting public urination on the bar or kissing another girl 15ft away. Ladies in Hoboken BEWARE.
39) The Seesaw – Boy likes Girl A. Girl A is not into boy and kindly passes. Boy moves on to Girl B. Wait! Girl A thinks she likes Boy and he dumps Girl B. Girl A goes on one date with Boy and realizes she was right at the beginning. There's something to be said for first instincts.
38) The Ray Pruitt – It's all fun and games until you say or do something that sets him off. His short fuse is easily lit. Your ADD is causing you to scan the bar, but thinks you're looking at other guys and tells you to focus. You spill a droplet of food on his carpet and he explodes. Inappropriate reactions are what he's all about.
37) The Jesus – The rules of the Jesus are finite and simple. He resurrects you once a year for some action.
36) The Astronaut – Where to find him? In your space. If he isn't around you, he is calling you, telling you that he wishes he were with you. When you are together, he has to be touching you at all times. If he's not touching you, he's desperately trying to grab at you, making sure you are unable to escape his astronomical grasp. How to loose him? You will probably have to move to a different country, change your name, or just kill yourself…or him.
35) The Goomba - We've all met him, easily identified by his gold chains, perfectly spiked hair and spray on tan. He has a summer share at the Jersey shore and nothing will come between him and his mango papaya facial. You meet him while wearing some intensely thick beer goggles and chalk his winter tan up to his heritage??? This relationship is quickly over when you realize that even though he's lives 20 miles away his accent provides a major language barrier.
34) The Competitor – You just got a raise? Well that's great, because he's still making six times what you do. You like skiing? He is the grandmaster of the slopes – the Olympic team invited him to join up but he was too busy. He's got a Ph.D. / Black Belt / Presidential Nomination in everything you say. Keep silent – it's better that way.
33) The Amnesia – Hard as you try, you cannot remember anything about this kid, yet you continue to date him. Each time you see him, you ask him the same questions. Where did you grow up? What school did you go to? What is your NAME?!?!?!
32) The Suburban – He owns a house, drives an SUV and is the Director of Management at KMS, INC. He likes to watch cable, eat home-cooked meals, and looks forward to Friday nights which is "Guys Night Out." You meet him when you are home in Bumbleville where your parents live. Cut to two weeks later when he wants to take you to Home Depot and Blockbuster so you all can have a crazy weekend. The only thing that's remotely interesting about The Suburban is that he has weird sexual fetishes like wanting his cats to watch him as he rides you like Seabiscuit.
31) The Comedian – Self-deprecating humor is lost on him. You tell him about the time you got arrested on Halloween dressed as a Hooters girl and instead of laughing, he says he's sorry and looks on with pity and dismay. His version of a joke is a pat on his own back, i.e., "This one time, I was in Vegas, and my friends and I were too drunk to even play and I won like Three Grand!!!" (Erupts into laughter at his own comment). Now it's your turn to look on with pity and dismay.
30) The Midget - Let's face it, he may be perfect but he's too short. No matter how much you say something like height doesn't matter, it does. He clearly has a complex about it which is displayed when he asks such things as "how high are those heels?" This guy is wonderful but because he's short you start to find major character flaws in him to deny the fact that you're dumping him for a material reason such as height.
29) The Ambiguously Gay Guy - He's your best friend. You can talk to him about every reality show from American Idol to America's Next Top Model. He makes you laugh like no one else and isn't outwardly feminine. However, he hasn't dated anyone since the 12th grade and claims to be in love with you. As hard as you try you will never be attracted to this person and constantly hope they will come out of the closet.
28) The One You Love to Hate – Proving that those playground days are not far behind you, you two simply DO NOT get along… or do you? Your conversations are equivalent to pigtail pulling and moving the football right before it's kicked, but underneath all that animosity is actually a strange, unfortunate desire. "He is soooo annoying," in this case, translates roughly to "I want him."
27) The Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom - If your body is a temple, then he wants to explore it. Usually through the back door. Not to be confused with the pervert, he just wants some anal action. You'll be hooking up with Jonesy, when all of a sudden you'll feel him start to excavate for gold. Through your shock and awe, you'll carefully stop his fingers mid-adventure. At which point he'll flip you over under the guise of doing it doggy style, where he'll begin to stealthily attempt to re-enter the forbidden passage, this time with his sharpened sword. Sick.
26) The Electra Complex – Your family would LOVE him. He's exactly who they would want you to be with… he loves to drink beer, is a little overweight, would make them laugh until they wee themselves, but somehow has very little ability to relate to people on any real level… wait, that sounds familiar. He's your dad! Crap. It's over. And into therapy for you!
25) The Pervert – The things this guy says to you in the bedroom could land him in jail. You want to put your what in my who? You fantasize about doing a what under a where? That's just wrong! He may look goofy and innocent, but this dude has a sick, twisted mind. Worst part? You kind of like it.
24) The Drunk Dial: You call him at 3:32 a.m. on a Wednesday after a night of drinking your face off because you are militantly certain he wants to hear from you. How long has it been since you've seen him? Who's to say. Do you actually want to get laid? Not even remotely. Do you want your whiskey-soaked ego stroked at a ridiculously inappropriate hour of the morning? Absolutely. With fantasies of mending "broken fences" and having him tell you that you are the "only girl he ever loved," your finger will dial his number that you are remarkably able to recall even though you deleted it at his request after the last time you thought he might want to chat at dawn. Eventually, he will change his number.
23) The Oops I did it again: A delightful mix of the martyr, the secret and the idiot, this is the guy that you continue to have sex with over the course of a decade. You have little to no interest in this fellow, but you are bored, a little lonely, wouldn't mind getting laid, and you know he'll foolishly fall for your line "I really missed you. I just want us to be together," for the 14th time since 1998.
22) The Academic: You can't quote passages from poems Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote? He can! You don't know how many rings Uranus has? He does! You don't know how many licks it takes to get to the tootsie center of a tootsie roll pop? He does! The only time he likes taking you out in public is when he wants to prove to his friends that he can live "on the edge" by slumming it with someone "less intelligent." If you do choose to be intimate with Einstein, remember that he will most likely be mentally noting moles and strange smells to help him write his next dissertation.
21) The Banker: You will know him by the blue shirt, large apartment and larger ego. His mating call is "whhhhshhhhh" (sound of powder flying up his nose). He'll awe you with tales of his fraternity days, and big, illegal trip to Cuba with his douchey friends. He'll spend some money, so hang out for a while – but don't count on this being an acquisition. There's always someone taller, blonder and trashier than you are.
20) The Agro: Sometimes mistaken as the strong and silent, you can find him lifting weights at the gym, butting heads with his buddy, sucker punching someone in a bar for bumping into his massive arm, or eating lean proteins. He doesn't have a lot to say, most likely because he is not that bright. Topic of conversations usually consist of "I benched 200lbs today," and "Damn, you look hot. Can we have sex?"
19) The Mooch (Aka: The Latch Key): Does he have an apartment? You aren't sure. All you know is one day you met him, liked him, even paid for his dinner seeing as how he had "forgotten" his wallet at a "client" meeting, and then the next day he has moved into your house. He eats all of your food, drinks all of your alcohol, and whines about how he has no money while simultaneously selecting which cable provider he is about to sign you up for.
18) The Party Provider: Where da party at? was a question once posed by the wise boys from Jagged Edge. This answer can be found in this guy's pants. He looks to impress you with his ability to "pound" 40s, and to out drink all of his friends to the point where he takes off his shirt and does the worm across the floor. His face is permanently flushed, and his beer gut knows no boundaries. . Sadly, you are usually left behind to take care of him at 5 a.m. after he pukes all over himself, while the rest of the gang leaves, looking on at you with pity.
17) The Inappropriate – Paula Abdul, relationship sage that she is, once said that opposites attract. This is patently untrue. He listens to painful techno, lives in Queens and shaves his back? You're a southern girl who likes rock and country and wears pearls and sweaters? He's an IT guru with a cat, and you're a Brooklyn rocker? Somehow, I don't see it working out…
16) The Girl – He's got higher thread count sheets, more hair products and a neater closet than you do. Are you a lesbian or is this guy gay? Either way, it's freaking you out.
15) The Story – If you're picturing your friends laughing at the email you send the next day and that's the only reason you're doing something, that usually means that it's not a great idea to do in the first place. You may wake up in someone's bed, with horror, and notice that they have 18 pairs of sunglasses and 25 towels, and determine that this means they are an axe murderer.
14) The Martyr – When someone says things like, "When I'm with you, everyone else is in black and white, and you're in color", there is already a problem, but particularly when this person is someone who you'd prefer to eat a light bulb than sleep with. That problem is worse when this person is a good friend. Why won't he move on? You're not sure – but maybe he likes making himself miserable, or maybe he just wants to take you down with him.
13) The Secret – You'll go bowling with this guy. But you'll wear sunglasses indoors and a Yankee hat. You might even lie to him about your name. If your friends ask, you stayed in. Why? You're way too embarrassed that you're bored enough to go out with this guy.
12) The Nursing Home – Wow. Seems like a good idea at the time - he's smart, successful, rich… but he and your dad probably dropped acid together at Woodstock. What's a 47 year old man doing dating a 26 year old woman? That's simple! Cheating on his wife! Or else, enjoying a midlife crisis! One thing's for sure, the wrinkly, gross kisses don't make up for the fact that he takes you about as seriously as Anna Nicole Smith.
11) The Ringleader – He's friends with the guy you're dating, and you hate him, because his favorite activities include a) organizing guys-only events to complain about how much his friends girlfriends all suck, b) exercising his Mommy issues by hating all women and c) trying to show how much more fun it is to be single by drinking Pabst until he's sick and hitting on Herpes-riddled bartenders. Looks like lots of fun, guy!
10) The Lurker – This is the guy you date who doesn't want to be with you and you're ok with it and ready to move on. Then he proceeds to linger and lurk in your peripheral vision for months and even years. Hey, possibly forever. He'll subtly pepper you with texts, emails, etc., but you can't quite figure out what it is he hopes to accomplish. He just stands there… lurking, even skulking, in your inbox and your phone. Creepy.
9) The David Copperfield – He whirls into your life with a big fanfare – here I am! I am really into you! Let me take you to expensive dinners and call you all the time! You give him the time of day and suddenly… wait… where'd he go? David??? He drops off the face of the earth, almost like magic. Possibly even leaving his boxers in your bed when he bolts. (Warning: This guy could easily turn into The Lurker if he resurfaces).
8) The Vulture – You're drunk. It's not surprising – happens sometimes. This guy has some sort of Doppler Honing BAC Beam that can breathalize you from across the room. He spots the weakest girl in your group – whether from booze, a recent breakup, or straight up lack of recent booty – and bam, he's all over her and he is PERSISTENT. He'll offer to walk you/cab you home. He'll ask to sleep on your couch because he lives in Pennsylvania or he lost his keys. He'll tell you he just wants to "talk" or "cuddle"… Next thing you know he's got his disgusting tongue in your mouth and you're letting him do it because he just wore you down.
7) The Equal Opportunity Employer – We all know that Equal Opportunity legislation is controversial, and we know which side of the fence this guy is on. He will give anyone a shot at that job (or no one, depending on how you look at it), but he is at least very fair. He would sleep with anything that has a pulse, and possibly even some inanimate objects. He would probably sleep with his grandmother if she offered.
6) The Loveable Dork – He looks like a cross between Carrot Top, Steve Urkel and Tom Thumb, but he makes you laugh until you nearly cry and would probably give you his kidneys, apartment and bone marrow if you needed it. If you could fight back the vomit long enough to hook up with him, you might get married and have 2.5 crappy-looking kids.
5) The Frenemy – You're pretty banged up from a recent unpleasant romantic experience with someone and you run into their herd at a bar. Know that friend who was always looking at your ass when you walked away and asking you deeply personal questions? He's flirting with you now, and well, you either a) miss ex-so-and-so enough to hook up with him or b) hate ex-so-and-so enough to hook up with him. He doesn't care what the reason is – he's getting some.
4) The Idiot – He's cute in a not-even-that-cute way, but he's so dumb that you know you can run his life and work him into a frenzy, and that's always fun, so you do it.
3) The Layaway Boyfriend – You meet him. You like him. You're his girlfriend. And things are good. It's just that simple... Wait for it… Seemingly out of nowhere your relationship steadily spirals into a maelstrom of near-constant hellishness, whether fighting or cheating or out of the blue questioning. Suddenly you realize that the ease at the outset was merely a "layaway plan" with no interest for a couple of years and that now you have to pay up – and pay you shall.
2) The "What's His Name?" – He's that guy on your "list" that you just forget about. You're trying to remember your "number" or what happened for those three months back in 2003 and you just forget he ever existed or what his name was. Did he have blonde or brown hair? Tall or short? Who the hell knows.
1) The Kryptonite – Everyone has their weakness, and this person is it. If he asked you to meet him at 3:30 a.m. at the bottom of the Hudson River you'd probably go buy a wetsuit and some scuba gear. You just tried to type that he's not even THAT great, but you know that's a lie so you deleted it. It's like this debilitating addiction and you're considering writing the dating version of "A Million Little Pieces" about this person as opposed to heroin/crack/booze. (Warning: Spend too much time with this guy and see #14 because it's you).

all married styles and what not :)

WOW. WOW WOW WOW!

so.. in the past month, i've had a bridal shower, a bachelorette party, a huge and wonderful wedding, and an amazing honeymoon. it's going to take me a little bit of time to get settled into my new house and get back in the swing of things.. but here is a bit of a picture montage to at least give you SOMETHING for now! i promise i will do a complete recap as soon as i regain my sanity :) just some of the pictures from the 2 day affair.. but much more to come! (will post the formal photographer's pics, etc when they are ready too.)

xoxo!

love,
mrs. pryor :)

crazysexycool life

i've been nagged lately for not blogging, and i'm so sorry.. but i am crazy busy. CRAZY BUSY. our knot webpage tells me the wedding is 23 days away.. we just settled on our house last wednesday and moved in 90% of our belongings this past weekend, and i am trying to balance all of this with a full time job and a social life! whew! but things have been REALLY good. i really can't complain.

saturday was move-in day. colin, justin, aaron, and ian showed their brawn and did a bunch of heavy lifting and moving, so i'm so thankful to them for that. we decided to take a break from moving to see "sunny's dance competition" at a place nearby in newark.. which turns out to be my BRIDAL SHOWER!! you girls are so sneaky. ;) i had a great time.. and special thanks to my MOH sister and my 'maids.. it was the best time i've ever had and it was just so sweet and wonderful.. not to mention that i was able to fill my cabinets with some amazing stuff! (and i'm proud to say i can pick out ian's leg hair from a crowd.. thank you, thank you.)

also.. against everything that made sense for me to do less than a month before my wedding, yesterday i went rock climbing. (she who busts her chin open doing yoga. yea, i know.. DUMB.) there's a place in philly that our friends timm and rachel suggested - it's an indoor rock gym off delaware ave (www.govertical.com if you're interested) and not gonna lie, i was pretty apprehensive about doing it. it was ian's idea, and i was more going for his sake, because he loves that type of thing.. but i freakin' LOVED IT!!! it was a total rush and i actually made it to the top of some of walls quite a few times. it was definitely the stress release i needed.. another henna "highly recommended" activity :)

i could write pages, but realistically.. downtime is few and far between lately, idol is on, and i'm only in my apartment with lauren for another week and a half, so i'm going to enjoy it.

p.s. if you want to do your good deed for the day.. please sponsor my sister in the Relay for Life. you can donate anonymously, even $5 would help her out.. thanks!

i'm back..

...from the hospital. :( i am now the proud owner of 5 new stitches in my chin. i busted it open. how, you ask? was i rock climbing? wrestling wild animals in the amazon rainforest? kickboxing against a brute, 6'5" man?

nope. i busted my chin open doing yoga this morning. YOGA. which, by nature, is relaxing and spirtual and a non-contact sport.

i was doing fine in my vinyasas for the first 40 minutes.. downward facing dogs, cobras, etc etc. no problem. and then.. the instructor says, "we're going to try a hard one.. CROCODILE POSE." i can't seem to find a picture of it, but it's basically this, with your legs straightened out to the back:



so anyway, the smart thing to do would have been to say, "ok henna. you have no arm strength. you can't do ONE push-up. clearly this is beyond your level of yoga expertise, so i ought to just stretch for a moment and sit this one out." but no, i have to try it. i try it.. and i actually get most of the ways up, until BAM!!! my arms give out and i'm chin first into the floor. and 5 stitches later..

dammit. all this before i get MARRIED in a month and a half. argh. i now have a love/hate relationship with yoga.. but you know i'll be there next week.

only me...

the A$$ word.

so, i have a question. how come the word a$$ (oh yes, i did the dollar signs) is now totally acceptable to play on the radio, when it was formerly a HUGE radio edit? i remember it was so scandalous to have that word make it through the airwaves in the song. i was listening to that new eminem song the other day and it was all "shake that a$$ for me" about 6 times in a row, no bleeps, nothing!

it kinda makes me feel old. remember juvenile on the radio? "girl you look good, won't you back that thang up." THANG. it was a THANG. what happened to my thang?! and then we'd get dancing all up at da club and be singing the real words all scandously and feel real grown up about it. what happened to those days? when did shouting a$$ on the radio become socially acceptable?

whew. i'm going to apologize in advance.. blogging is going to be VERY few and far between for the next 2 months. i realized today that i have.. 1.5 months until my wedding and honeymoon (and which point i will be bathing in the sun here for 2 weeks), then just 1 month until i'm moving to delaware again, only 2 weeks until we actually settle on our house, and i can start moving some stuff in, and then.. tomorrow's my 24th birthday! :) a little busy lately. so, forgive me guys, if i neglect the old bloggerito for the next few weeks. i promise i'll keep this thing mildly up to date if i can. i have so much to say and no time to say it.. (hence my return to yoga, gotta maintain sanity somehow!)

also, congrats to Catherine and Kenny on the recent engagement! :) we're all dropping like flies.

more fun stuff :)

so.. ian and i did a photo shoot last week (along with a guest appearance by our maid of honor and best man, sun and colin), and it was a surprise.. until now!

check out the cover of the Spark bridal guide issue! :) and the article too.. yayayayay. i am so excited to get married. (side note: the wedding is in April, not March per the article.. we're settling on our house in march, so it was just a slight mix up. and it's my aunt's dress and uncle's sherwani.. so the real outfits are still a surprise! WOOHOO!)




special thanks to my girl Kelly Housen for thinking of us!

i'm an aunt! (sort of)

say hello to the newest little member of the Merchant family! my cousin Ranu Baji gave birth to this beautiful little girl a few days ago :)

meet Raylin Jasmine Burton - her hair rules the school!

grammy recap.

so, i only caught the last half or so.. but i have two points to make about the Grammys last night:

first, did anyone see the applebees commercial? poor Lou Bega. his career has really hit rock bottom. he's now singing his only hit , Mambo #5, but replacing the lyrics with applebees lyrics. i don't remember how it went, but it's something like "a little bit of salsa in my life.." it's pretty bad.

second.. did everyone catch that performance with joss stone, john legend, etc that was the tribute to Sly and the Family Stone? did anyone notice who came out with Fantasia? DEVIN LIMA. do you KNOW who that IS? you don't? i'm not shocked. i think my sister and i might actually be the only people on the planet who actually know who he is, and i'm pretty embarassed to admit it. devin lima was one-third of the infamous LFO. (you remember.. "i like girls who wear abercrombie and fitch..") now before you start giving me hell.. i was NOT an LFO fan. no sir. but sunny was! (let me emphasize "was", before sunny kills me with a stick.) she liked LFO enough to the point where one valentine's day, when we had no valentines.. we went to the LFO concert at the electric factory. she was so excited to see LFO, so we pushed and squeezed our way to the front, and got POMMELED by prepubescent little girls.. there was so much pushing and shoving, that sunny actually got completely knocked over and busted up her ankle pretty bad. she was in pain and crying, so security actually had to pull her out of the crowd and take her back behind the stage where there was ice and bandages. so i went with her, and she's crying and upset because we went from being front and center for LFO, to her potentially missing the entire concert. here she is, mid-tears, and all of a sudden she stops and squeals.. "devin lima! DEVIN LIMA!" to which i respond, "who the hell is Devin Lima?:

i turn around, and there's one of the dudes from LFO, who i only somewhat recognized. so i did the only instinctive thing - i grabbed his arm. "devin uhh, hi, i'm henna and this is my sister sunny.. and um, she really likes you guys. and some ho busted up her ankle and now she's upset and will you go say something nice to her?" so he goes up to sunny, chats her up for about 5 minutes and thanks her for her braveness, gives her a kiss on the cheek.. and then tells me i'm a great sister and heads to the stage to do his little LFO gig. YEA!

so anyway, back to the point. i was so excited because LOOKIE HERE, devin lima is on the grammys! that must mean he's getting famous again! and my story is going to be worth telling one day! so, i just googled him.

WRONG. big fat nope. not getting famous. not even a little famous. not even kevin federline's ex-girlfriend famous. no solo album, nothing. he is still only known for his LFO days.. therefore, making me and sunny the only two people on the planet that knew who he was during yesterday's Grammys.

we're cool.

byebye noise boys!

this weekend ROCKED. friday night, a crew comprised of my best beach buddies and our favorite y-chromes made our way to brownies for a much-needed night of dancing and completely losing my voice. this night was pretty special - it was the last show for 4 of my favorite members of kristen and the noise.. so we bid the boys adieu and bon voyage in the best way possible. i knew it was going to be pretty bittersweet, but i freakin' got teary at the end of the night! I TEARED UP. you'd think the beatles broke up. but really.. it was the end of an era. i can't count how many summers at the beach, how many nights at the balloon with my best friends, how many nights out in Wilmington that we all spent together.. it just won't be the same with new Noise boys. krist10 was sweet enough to reciprocate the love to ian and i onstage, which just made me even more sad.. but it's ok. we will persevere, and a whole new generation will enjoy kristen with a whole new noise.. best of luck to you guys, we'll miss you LOTS!

the rest of the weekend flew.. we picked out wedding rings, we went to update our registries, we celebrated my cousin's 2nd birthday, among other things. i think my favorite thing i did all weekend was go to the Acme Salad Bar. i am officially OBSESSED. the one in trolley square rules. granted, the acme in trolley square is never without an adventure - it's probably the most ghetto fab grocery store to ever grace an otherwise nice neighborhood. (the other day, it looked like a diaper exploded on the floor and there was a chick spraying air freshener in everyone's eyes to try to make it better. ick.) anyway, the salad bar there is always super stocked and i make a huge ass salad for like, $1.76!! for a frugal pakistani like myself, that's the bomb diggity. you can't beat it.

and.. good job steelers! if i wasn't getting married, i'd want to have Ben Roethlisberger's baby.

bye!

i'm on the "seafood" diet

i was being really good about working out and eating better in 2005. really good for me, at least! so, by the time new years came around, i didn't feel the need to make that resolution for health like i usually try to do.. i figured my bases were already covered. well.. the new year came and went and somehow i went in the polar opposite direction - i stopped working out completely and re-visited my love for mcdonalds, nachos, and really big tubs of chocolate ice cream in place of my meals. whoops.

normally, this would be fine and dandy.. but with a wedding coming up in 2.5 months (gasp!), i figured i should probably hop back on the fitness bandwagon. :) generally, i don't believe in altering what i eat much.. i just can't do that, it's not my style. i try to make up for it by exercising here and there. HOWEVER.. i just have to share the love on this amazing website that lovely lauren andrews sent me! http://hungry-girl.com. ladies, you'll love this one. and guys, honestly, it's extremely educational for you too.. don't feel like less of a man just because the site is in swirly fonts! just cross your legs and go with it. anyway, it tells you what the smart things are to eat when you go out to restaurants, better substitues for certain foods, etc.. but it's written for normal people and not in stupid diet jargon. i like it a lot, it's really very informative! (i just found out the slice of cheesecake i ate after lunch today had 57 grams of fat. my bad.) now realistically, never in a million years am i going to choose the fruit and walnut salad over the big mac.. but i get a point for at least thinking about it, right? :)

i'm noticing a disturbing trend..

i think the sure fire way to a seal a record deal is to be the not-as-cute sister of a successful celebrity, and then beg your way into a supporting role on 7th heaven. ashlee simpson, queen of suckage.. started as an "actress" (i use the quotes loosely) on 7th heaven, made a "name for herself" and then released her first "album." i just saw another commercial for 7th heaven.. now the fuglier Duff sister is on 7th heaven? is that just where the reject celebrity sisters have to start? next on 7th heaven - jamie lynn spears.

in other random thoughts - preston and steve had a great show a few mornings ago about something that i've often thought about. anytime you go anywhere lately (out to dinner, out to the club, out to mcdonald's).. more and more, you're finding that every bathroom has one of those damn bathroom attendants. what's the DEAL. i don't know what exactly goes on in the men's bathrooms, but the women's bathroom is insane. these ladies set up a mini-CVS. tampons? gum? hair ties? of course. perfume? naturally. snickers? lipstick? blinking easter bunny? why not. i need one of those in the bathroom.. don't you?

and 9 times out of 10, the ladies' room attendant is short and mexican. i'm not hating. i love mexican ladies. but man, what a coinkydink.

i couldn't agree more about preston and steve's comments about the paper towel issue. if the bathroom attendant at TGIFridays gives you a paper towel, are you really expected to put a dollar in her tip jar ('teep chaar') for that? if they cut down the tree, pressed the paper into thin strips, and immaculately cut off a perfectly sized square.. ok, maybe i'll tip for that. what's next? is she going to come into the stall with me and rip off my toilet paper for me? "thanks maria, but i crumble, not fold."

and finally, fariba had me take the "How Desi Are You?" quiz. apparently i'm 58% desi. i guess this means i'm 42% cracker? or as sunny and i call it, we're a bit Twinkie. (tan on the outside, white on the inside.) just a bit though. i love my paki flava!

freedom at last.

when i got my lasik on friday, they told me i had to wear the doofy goggles to bed for a week.. which i was ok with. they also told me i couldn't get water in my eyes for 2 weeks, which i figured i could manage. however, when they told me i couldn't wear eye makeup for 2 weeks.. my stomach lurched a bit. i really don't wear a lot of makeup in general as it is, but it's been years since i went to work or out on the town at night without throwing on a swipe of eyeliner. for me, it's eyeliner and lip gloss. it's like laverne and shirley.. you just can't do one without the other!

so.. here i am in day 6 post-op, and i've decided to do something a little different. i decided not only to forego the eyeliner for 2 weeks, but all makeup, at all hours of the day. no concealer for going out, nothing. and can i tell you.. it's been the most FREEING damn thing i've ever done! girls, i really think that we start to think that our individual "look" is dependent upon a certain makeup job we do in the morning.. but this no-makeup thing has been a real eye opener (no pun intended). i realized 2 things: 1) no one else cares at all whether you have on makeup or not, and 2) i really don't look THAT different without it!

i'm declaring tomorrow National "Let Your Skin Breathe" day.. it'll do wonders for you.. it did for me. :)

out of all of the 50 states, who would have guessed our little delaware would be the best place to work! (or in my case, work out of my home from for two days a week.) :) thanks salman!

and i could not ask for more..

weekend of all weekends!

friday afternoon, i got lasik surgery on my eyeballs. BEST THING EVER. it's truly a miracle of modern science. for those who don't know, my eyes are (were!) absolutely horrible. -7.0 prescription contact lenses in each eye. to put this in perspective, -9.0 is legally blind. muy muy mal! palak and i were having a conversation about people who complain about their -2.0 and -3.0 eyesight. granted, bad eyesight is bad eyesight.. we are all brethren in piss-poor vision. HOWEVER.. it is one thing to not be able to see the clock clearly, and quite another to not be able to see your hand 1 inch in front of your face. so needless to say, the lasik thing was a big deal for me.. and i was pretty anxious and pretty nervous, but really excited at the prospect.

well who'da thunk it.. 3 days later, i can see just about perfectly! it takes about a week or two to completely normalize, but i just can't believe it. i can see. i wake up and i can SEE. it is terrifyingly wonderful and i'd spend the money all over again if i could. :)

the only downside is for the next week, i have to wear those doofy goggles to bed. (exactly like the ones above. i kid you not.) it's worth the tradeoff!

now in other HUGE news..

IAN AND I BOUGHT A HOUSE THIS WEEKEND!!!!

(i know. SHUT UP. i KNOW. squeal with me now, won't you?)

in all things that are way too grown up for me.. we finally ended our bidding wars and came to terms with the sellers on an absolutely GORGEOUS house in newark. it's really true that everything happens for a reason. we were bidding on several other houses - there were turndowns of offers, disagreements, stubborn attitudes on both sides.. but thank god that happened. if it didn't, we never would have broadened our horizons, and we would have never found the place that is just perfect for us. it's only 3 years old, in an adorable wisteria-lane-esque neighborhood that holds halloween parades and easter egg hunts and has a park.. i am so excited. see mini picture show, then we continue :):

the last picture is post-acceptance of our bid.. a little celebration via wrestling, if you will. hey, a few months of hard work paying off! i was 2 seconds away of telling you our new address, but jeff smartly advised me that this isn't a message board for only my dear friends, and it is the INTERNET where psycho people could actually look up my address so uh.. thank you jeff, for saving me from that moment of lunacy. (although the entire tri-state area probably knows my new address because i screamed my address for the next 2 hours a la Dory in finding nemo.. "P Sherman 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney! i remembered!")

and.. the best part of the entire deal.. i'm keeping my job! i sat down and had a long, hard talk with my boss.. and somehow convinced him to let me work from home 2 days a week. :) so i'll still be in the philadelphia metro area all of the time, but living closer to my college friends and close to my parents.. so i really couldn't be happier. thank you SO much to everyone who has supported us through this crazy ordeal. we settle in march, move in sometime in april.. so expect the housewarming party invitation by summertime or so :)

and finally.. my burning curiosity of the week: what the hell is in Orbit gum that makes it so vastly superior to all other gum? i made the amateur mistake of putting a quarter into the gumball machine the other day for a pink Dubble Bubble ball. MMMM, i forgot how good those were! .. for FIVE SECONDS. i honestly chewed the thing twice and it started to taste like stale rubber. remind me to never do that again.

New Rules for 2006

fabulous forward, courtesy of brooker!

New Rules for 2006

New Rule: Stop giving me that pop-up ad for Classmates.com! here's a reason you don't talk to people for 25 years. Because you don't particularly like them! Besides, I already know what the captain of the football team is doing these days: mowing my lawn.

New Rule: Don't eat anything that's served to you out a window unless you're a seagull. People are acting all shocked that a human finger was found in a bowl of Wendy's chili. Hey, it cost less than a dollar. What did you expect it to contain? Trout? Luckily, it was only a finger! If it was a whole hand, Congress would have voted to keep it alive.

New Rule: Stop saying that teenage boys who have sex with their hot, blonde teachers are permanently damaged. I have a better description for these kids: lucky bastards.

New Rule: If you need to shave and you still collect baseball cards, you're gay. If you're a kid, the cards are keepsakes of your idols. If you're a grown man, they're pictures of men.

New Rule: Ladies, leave your eyebrows alone. Here's how much men care about your eyebrows: do you have two of them? Okay, we're done.

New Rule: There's no such thing as flavored water. There's a whole aisle of this crap at the supermarket; water, but without that watery taste. Sorry, but flavored water is called a soft drink. You want flavored water? Pour some Southern Comfort over ice and let it melt. That's your flavored water.

New Rule: Stop f***ing with old people. Target is introducing a redesigned pill bottle that's square, with a bigger label. And the top is now the bottom. And by the time grandpa figures out how to open it, his ass will be in the morgue. Congratulations Target, you just solved the Social Security crisis.

New Rule: The more complicated the Starbucks order, the bigger the asshole. If you walk into a Starbucks and order a "decaf grande half-soy, half-low fat, iced vanilla, double-shot, gingerbread cappuccino, extra dry, light ice, with one Sweet-n'-Low and one NutraSweet," ooh, you're a huge asshole.

New Rule: I'm not the cashier! By the time I look up from sliding my card, entering my PIN number, pressing "Enter," verifying the amount, deciding, no, I don't want cash back, and pressing "Enter" again, the kid who is supposed to be ringing me up is standing there eating my Almond Joy. Paper, plastic? I don't have time for that. I've just been called to do a cleanup on Aisle Nine!

New Rule: Just because your tattoo has Chinese characters in it doesn't make you spiritual. It's right above the crack of your ass. And it translates to "beef with broccoli." The last time you did anything spiritual, you were praying to God you weren't pregnant. You're not spiritual. You're just high.

New Rule: Competitive eating isn't a sport. It's one of the seven deadly sins. ESPN recently televised the US Open of Competitive Eating, because watching those athletes at the poker table was just too damned exciting. What's next, competitive farting? Oh wait. They're already doing that. It's called "The Howard Stern Show."

New Rule: I don't need a bigger mega M&M. If I'm extra hungry for M&Ms, I'll go nuts and eat two.

New Rule: If you're going to insist on making movies based on crappy, old television shows, then you have to give everyone in the Cineplex a remote so we can see what's playing on the other screens. Let's remember the reason something was a television show in the first place is the idea wasn't good enough to be a movie.

New Rule: No more gift registries. You know, it used to be just for weddings. Now it's for babies and new homes and graduations from rehab. Picking up the stuff you want and having other people buy it for you isn't gift giving, it's the white people version of looting.

New Rule: This one is long overdue: No more bathroom attendants. After I zip up, some guy is offering me a towel and a mint like I just had sex with George Michael. I can't even tell if he's supposed to be there, or just some freak with a fetish. I don't want to be on your web cam, dude. I just want to wash my hands.

New Rule: When I ask how old your toddler is, I don't need to know in months. "27 Months." "He's two," will do just fine. He's not a cheese. And I didn't care in the first place.

i know i'm a little late..

..for a new year's post, but ian has refused to release the video of that weekend until he's finished his "edits"... and the y-chromes, being slow boys, haven't sent out any pics. so until then, the suspense shall continue.. and i will leave you with this sole quote:

"it smells like sh*t, but it tastes like CANDY." - thank you aaron derby.

i know that it's a total copout when i post a 2-liner and just give you a link, but this link is damn good (and addicting to boot!)

what celebrity do YOU look like? - haha sorry omair, apparently you look like a chick. but my baby cousin looks like scarlett johannson! HOT!

also, please feel free to comment with or IM me with who you look like.. i am very curious to know who else gets funny results!

sorry, that's all i am really good for right now.. i'm a busy girl these days. and pooped beyond words, because this weekend kicked my butt, in the best way possible, of course! happy 27th birthday EEYAAN! :)

hooray for dick clark!

2005 is over..?! HUH? where did it go?

this year was certainly eventful, to put it mildly. 2005 was really just wonderful.. i got engaged to my best friend in the world, i got a new job that i love, i spent more time with friends and family than i could have ever wished for, and TO finally got what he deserved (but i'm still loyal, go birds!).

christmas this year was a hoot too.. my family used to do the whole tree/stockings/presents thing for fun when Sun and i were growing up.. but even in our fun celebrations, it never got to the extent that the pryors do it. they are cuh-raaazy! we had a blast, and i came home with a ton of great goodies.. so thank you to the Pryors (and to my parents too) for that. i might have actually not missed going out of the country that much this year. ;)


overall, i have to say, 2006's arrival is bittersweet because 2005 was such a great year.. but there are already great things to look forward to!

first, i guess there's that little event called The Wedding in april. (if you call a 360+ people guestlist little.. oy vay.) ian and i have also starting putting bids on houses, which is instantly making me turn into a bit of a nutjob.. i'm so nervous about this crap! these big life decisions make me a little wacky. keep your fingers crossed for us, it's an important few weeks!

anyway, you might have noticed that in the last few pictures that i've posted, i've been wearing glasses. that's because my LASIK countdown is officially down to 2 weeks! january 13th is the big day. my eyesight is absolutely horrible, so my doctor requested that i stay out of contacts for the full 2 months (TWO MONTHS) before surgery. i got a cute new set of frames since i had to be in them so often, but i am soooo ready to be out of these things. people keep asking me if i'm nervous for the surgery, but i'm not at all, and that's solely attributable to the fact that i have NO IDEA what's going to happen that day. i don't want to know! i want to be the most ignorant, dumb-to-the-science person in the world when i go in there. because if i know what they're actually doing to me.. i won't do it. i'll chicken out. and i'll be blind as a bat forever. so.. no one tell me anything.. ok?

in other random thoughts..

newark high school people: click this link and prepare to laugh your ass off.

also.. my mom is a genius. she gives me the best beauty advice ever. girls, do you want to know the absolute KEY to making your hair soft and shiny? don't spend your hard-earned money on expensive salon quality deep-conditioning treatments and creams. go to Wal-Mart with $3.99 and get the pantene for black people. shush, i am SERIOUS! i think the formal name is "Pantene Relaxed and Natural: For Women of Color." haha. since women of color generally have hair that is more dry, this stuff moisturizes the HELLLLL out of your hair. probably too moisturizing for everyday use for most people, but DAMN did i shake my hair around like a commerical when i was done!

ok, that's all. feel free to tease me now.

happy new year!

"i REALLY love technology.." - a Kip remix

yayayayayayayayay!


video ipod! thanks so much to Mama and Papa P! which brings my grand total of iPods to... THREE. ;) regular iPod, video iPod, iPod nano. freakin' sick. i was immediately thinking of gifting my old ipod to beefcakes or L-Kell, but they ended up getting iPods for christmas too! maybe i'll teach my dad how to use one..

i'll be sure to do a full christmas recap sometime this week.. but i love my million new presents, and i have a whole new love for christmas in the states. ;) more to come!

merry christmas, happy holidays..

first things first..

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, everyone!!

i hope santa gives you all everything you ask for. :) i think santa's been good to me in advance! it's been a crazy, but wonderful few weeks. work is going REALLY well, and ian and i have begun registering for the wedding and house