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For those of you that don't know...if you click on the pictures it will blow them up to full size so you can truly see all the detail and what i have tried to capture in the photo for you to see :)

Road Rage

I wish that there was some way to explain with enough detail what it is like to ride on the back of a motorcycle here in India. My friends back home that ride street bikes would die for this kind of riding, i swear it!!!! I want so bad to give a taste to those of you who are truly interested in all that we are doing here what these day to day things are like, and i will do my best....but honestly, words cant describe nearly any of it!!!!!

So riding a bike on the streets of Hyderabad....Take a demolition derby, with about 200 drivers (each with a minimum of one passenger, just for an average head count), put them all on a 2 lane half gravel, potholed and paved road, now pack them all together like rush hour in LA, add all the pedestrians from lower Manhattan, block this off into a 5 mile strip....now add dogs, cows, and a few goats for fun....here is where it gets interesting, make all of them try to maintain a speed of about 50 miles an hour with a fair mix of buses, big trucks, cars, motorcycles and mopeds, with absolutely no traffic laws what so ever......ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET....GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! now if that isn't quite enough for some of you thrill seekers, why don't you go ahead and do this at night and only 2/3 of the vehicles have lights and most of the roads are not lit (and the pedestrians like to play frogger)!

That is quite literally the only possible way to describe this! I will never be able to find anything to thrill me again!!!! The mere act of driving puts your life in Gods hands every single time, not kidding....and it is addictive!!!!! I don't need to sky dive or base jump, this truly is the greatest adrenaline rush that i have ever, and probably will ever experience....AND I AM JUST A PASSENGER!!!!

We had so much fun on the bikes today that i really just had to try to describe it one last time! I wish that all of you could get a chance at this, because then i wouldn't sound completely insane!!!! LOL

Today as we all sat at a little road side restraunt we were talking about this experience and how amazing an opportunity that it really is! I mean seriously...who gets to go to India!!!!!! I am not going to take one more second of this for granted!

I am very fortunate to be able to do these things and see these places, and i am so happy for the amazing experience that Ryan is getting....for all the trials and tribulation, we both know that this was absolutely the best decision we could have ever made, for so many reasons!

Camels are cute!!!!

So today was a very fun day!!!!! Ryan and i went to town, on the bike (and i love riding the bike in the city here, it is death defying and crazy) to buy a treadmill!!!! I am so excited, and it will be a great thing for me to stay occupied, and to FINALLY get rid of the pounds i have put on from quitting smoking!!!! It was a blast shopping, because i love to shop LOL! We ate at the amazing Chinese restaurant that the boys found, and it has to be some of the best food i have ever had...and they serve beef!!!! YAY!!!!

On the way to the mall i saw a camel walking down the street. It was the coolest thing i have ever seen, and we pulled over so i could get a good picture! I cant believe how tall they are. It was so cute, i wanted to pet it, but didn't want to push my luck!

I also experience baby fever today! There were so many adorable children just wandering around, and i just wanted to scoop them all up and take them home! It is so hard to see these children living in such filth and poverty, and i have a feeling that Ryan and i will end up adopting more than one before this adventure is over! We had decided before we took this job that we wanted to adopt a baby from India if Ryan ended up coming over here, but honestly now i think i wouldn't mind adopting a young child, and maybe waiting for a baby later! My heart melts every time i see them, i just want to cuddle every last one of them....I think i am nesting!!!! I want a baby so bad, my clock might be ticking!!!! UGH!!!!

So then we came home and enjoyed an evening of drinking on the porch in the beautiful 80 degree weather!!!! I just cant even describe how amazing the weather is! I love it, it is amazing!!!!! I wish i could send a piece of it to all my friends who are suffering through a rough winter!!!!

For a final note...i finally saw our house pet!!!! He is an adorable little gecko, i caught him a few times, but of course let him go so that he could eat the house bugs!

Tomorrow is spa day, Ryan and i will be going to the spa at the Novotel for massages and a hair cut for Ryan. After that we get to go find me a cell phone!!!! I cant wait, i am starting to go through text withdrawals!

MOSQUITOS!!!!!!

I am all alone, for the first time ever in India, all three of the guys are working and Becca and Justin are still on leave. The house is a bit to quiet for me, and most of my friends are probably sleeping right now, being i am 12 hours ahead of South Dakota, so i cant even IM anyone.

There are so many mosquito's in the house right now that i am itchy just thinking about it! Seriously, it is like Malaria city right in my living room....good thing i decided NOT to listen to my doctor and not take the preventative malaria drugs....oh well, what can you do LOL!!!!!

It was weird to unpack and try to find my own little piece of this house, it is still sinking in that this is not just a visit, this is my home now.....I miss my friends, family, and my dogs....I really miss cuddling with DeoGie, she better not forget me!!!!

Well for better or for worse I am unpacked and basically settled in!!!! Tomorrow we are going to town to get a treadmill and then i will have something to do....At least it gives me a goal, something to focus on, cause looking at Ryan's schedule, it appears he wont be home much this month! I am not even sure what day today is!!!! LOL

I am looking foreword to going on a bike ride tomorrow...Should be a fun day!!!!

Diet Coke and Jelly Belly's

Well we arrived on time and with little to no problems, which always amazes me :) I am WIRED!!!! I slept through the two long legs of the flight thanks to Ambien, and so now i cant sleep and we have four hours until our next flight that will get us "home" (Hyderabad)!!!! I am sitting here writing this drinking a Diet Coke and 2lb bag of Jelly Bell's i bought from duty free....haha, might regret that tomorrow when my jeans don't fit LOL :)

I feel really bad for Ryan because when we get home in a few hours he has to go to work and fly 4 sectors, i don't know how he does it, i am not going to be any good for anything for the first week!!!! Although i must admit, i am a little bummed that he has to work cause i am jonesin for a bike ride through the city, but i will just have to wait!!!!

For all of my American friends, just thought i would let you know that it was 80 when we landed at midnight, tomorrow its Capri's, tank top, and flip flops for this girl :) You guys know that i am going to have to rub that in for at least a little while!!! After all i cant believe i am missing the Saving Able concert, The rest of the Rush games (GO SHEEN!!!!!), and spending quality time with all the people i love so much!

It hasn't sunk in yet, i think i am still on vacation mode, but eventually it is going to hit me that i am not heading home any time soon, and eventually when i say home, it will actually mean India.....but not yet!!!!

I love and miss you all!!!! I need to try to sleep or something....Sugar rush!!!! I wonder if this hotel has a gym??? Hmmmmmm.....

Here we go!!!!!!

So here it is...I leave in a little over 24 hours!!!!! This will be my last entry in the USA. I am still an emotional wreck, but i am also excited. I don't know exactly what I am feeling right now, but i know that it is good and that being with Ryan is what needs to be. You can definitely feel the stress building around here and Ryan and i are a little bit edgier than usual, but this is a huge deal!!!! We have over 2 years left in the contract, so this is no small holiday!!!! My home will be Hyderabad India until his contract is over....That seems so strange to say! My home is wherever Ryan is, so i am going with an open mind and an open heart!!!!

HERE WE GO!!!!!!

NOT OK!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am not OK today at all!!!!! Last night was our last night out with our friends and of course i completely lost it, got belligerent and cried basically the whole night! I know to some that four months may not seem like a long time, but it is an eternity for me!!!!!! I have never spent more than a few weeks away from "my world" and this is beginning to sink in...Today Ryan and i packed the bags, because he will leave a day ahead of me, and has to take some of my stuff....I feel like i am constantly choking back tears!!!! I am fairly good at being left, had a lot of experience with that one, but me doing the leaving, well that is a whole new deal for me!!!!!

Yes i am truly thankful that i don't have to say goodbye to Ryan this time, now i get to say goodbye to my family, my dogs, my friends.....(taking a deep breath, trying not to cry again)

My sister Kris, she is the hardest for me to leave....i have been with her for 27 years....saying goodbye, even if it is only for 4 month intervals is really hard for me....I know she is hurting over it and i am her best friend and she is mine.....and i am leaving her possibly when she needs me most!!!!!! I know that it is time, and i need to choose this because i love Ryan more than life itself and all this distance is not helpful, but OUCH, seriously OUCH!!!!!!!!

So many fears are all sinking in right now....My old dog, Blade, doesn't have much time left and i feel horrible about missing her last days....My mom is not well, and this is time i cant get back....My dad is having surgery and basically working him into the ground, and what little time we spend together is precious to me...my nephew Isaiah is growing so fast and i hate missing that, and i hate leaving him....My sisters in California and New Jersey and their beautiful children, and wonderful husbands....i hardly get any time with them at all....

I know, I know....this is sounding negative and i am trying to remain positive, and i know that in the end i am going to be so very happy i did this and Ryan and i will be so much closer and stronger and that is completely worth it, because Ryan IS my family.......I'm just hurting right now and have to get this out of my head before i break down.......

I knew this was going to hurt, but had no idea how bad.....