We went to the Cary Diwali Festival on October 10th. Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights which is celebrated over several days in October/November. It was a lot of fun and there was a really good turnout. I’m not sure what the total was this year, but last year there were over 12,000 people at the festival! We felt as if we had been to India and back in just one day!
Dan at the 2009 Cary Diwali Festival
2009 Cary Diwali Festival
2009 Cary Diwali Festival
We recently made our favorite Malaysian dish — Nasi Lemak. It’s the national dish of Malaysia and it’s delicious! It seems like a strange combination of ingredients, but the flavors and textures really work well together. You start with a scoop of coconut rice and add a sweet chili sauce. Then you add sliced cucumbers, peanuts, a fried egg, and fried mini anchovies. Yum!!
Hey, you can’t knock it till you try it!
We made Nasi Lemak, a traditional Malaysian dish.
The past few weeks we have really gotten into playing Guitar Hero! We’re getting better and better as time goes on, it’s just too bad we’re learning how to play a FAKE guitar. 
Katie playing Guitar Hero!
Dan playing Guitar Hero!
We have had an amazing first year of marriage and feel very blessed to be married! Given the fact that we’ve done so much traveling this year we decided to spend our anniversary at home. We cooked delicious egg rolls with ingredients we bought from the Asian store and enjoyed a piece of our wedding cake for dessert. We also exchanged gifts (paper is the traditional gift for year 1). It was a lot of fun coming up with something creative to give to the other person.
We pulled the cake out of the freezer for our 1 year anniversary!
Katie gets ready to cut the cake for the 1 year anniversary.
Dan surprised Katie with some icing.
We made our own egg rolls for our anniversary.
Katie sent Dan on a scavenger hunt around the house.
The ball had to make it through the maze!
Year 1 = paper (coupons for SavvyDollar Guy)
Dan made a comic book card of Katie for their 1 year anniversary.
Dan framed a picture of our Out West trip for the 1 year anniversary gift of paper!
Our friends Andy and Joana came over this weekend. It was so much fun catch up with them and to make some pizzas with together . . . and let me tell you we made some delicious pizzas! We felt like we were eating in a restaurant!
Our favorite pizza: tomato sauce, “block” mozzarella cheese, caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, fresh basil, and eggplant (from their local farmer’s co-op).
We’ve been trying to get some house projects done while our schedules are both relatively open. We figure now is the best time to do it since we have time (and it’s much cheaper to do it ourselves). So far we’ve gone through the boxes/bins that we’ve had laying around the house, planted lots of plants, and painted a few rooms. We’re on a painting kick right now so we’ll probably do a few more rooms while we’re at it.
We took a trip up to DC to visit some of Dan’s friends – the Kelleys. It was great to get together with them. We had fun catching up on what’s happening, playing with the kids, eating delicious food, and just sitting around and talking. I loved hearing some stories about Dan from the past (and he loved reminiscing)!
We tried to get a picture with everyone before we left. We succeeded, but it took us a few tries.
After 76 nights in hotels, hostels, and whatever other lodging we could find reasonably cheaply, we are finally back home. As fun as it is to travel, there is always something sweet about being home. Of course, we aren’t technically “home” since we are spending the rest of July visiting family in GA and PA.
Finally back in RDU!
Visiting my grandmother in GA
Visiting my family in GA
Playing the family’s favorite game — Euchre. Dan with Katie’s aunt Janice.
Lilly getting ready to chase a rabbit at Katie’s parents’ house.
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Phuket, Thailand
For the last week of our trip we decided to spend a week at the beach in Thailand. It was great to walk along the beach, swim in the pool, and read several book (basically it was great to relax)! Apart from relaxing, we did a little bit of sightseeing the local way. We rented a motor scooter and rode through some of Phuket on our own.
Walking on the beach in Phuket
At Naithonburi Beach Resort — a real deal for $45 USD per night
At a small waterfall in a national park in Phuket
At one of the “Wats” (Buddhist Temples) in Phuket
We gas up our motor scooter using a hose and gravity!
The gasoline pumps from the barrel into the measuring device
At Naithon Beach in Phuket — a nice sunny day
On Naithon Beach in northern Phuket
For our last few days in Bali, we took the 45 minute ride to Ubud — a town known for being a haven for artists and performers. We visited “Monkey Forest” where monkeys come to eat bananas in droves, enjoyed peeking into a few of the hundred or so art studios, rented a small motorcycle to tour around the countryside, and even splurged on tickets to a dance performance at Ubud Palace.
Katie relaxing on the porch of our hotel in Ubud, Bali.
At a temple near our hotel in Ubud.
A woman walking down the street balancing wood on her head.
One of the art houses in Ubud — a city known for artists
Two monkeys enjoy bananas in Monkey Forest
Dan watches as a monkey eats some bananas
A baby monkey holds onto his mother
One monkey lets another monkey take a good look!
At Monkey Forest, monkeys are everywhere!
We stop for an ice cream while exploring outside of Ubud, Bali.
A woman most likely returning from her trip to the market
Rice fields on the side of the road
At the music and dance performance in Ubud