Author Archives: rkpaulus

About rkpaulus

Writer. Mom. Wife. Basketball coach. Lover or all things chocolate. Winner of bubble gum jar! Grace is my oxygen.

Expect the Unexpected!

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The night before my parents anniversary, I picked up my sister from the airport and hubby dropped us off at the Downtown Cafe around 8:30PM. With my laptop and placement cards. We needed to go over the slide shows, party agenda and figure out who was sitting where. The slide show was the easiest part. Then came the seating arrangement. Which wasn’t too difficult either since we were only hosting about sixty guests. Finally we rounded off the program, going over a rough map of timing to make sure we didn’t spend too much time on speeches and left plenty of minutes for dancing. 

 

My sister pretty much let me plan this one, which was fun since I never really planned a party like this before. Even my own wedding had so many voices in the decision-making process, I didn’t feel like I had a final say in much. Except maybe the Cheeseballs bit. Trying to remember who won them. It was all a gag really. While hubby and I walked around Target, zapping items for our wedding registry, we were having so much fun, we decided to include a few random items just to make our friends laugh. One of those items was… Cheeseballs. And then we decided that the first person to either purchase them for us or say something to us about it, like, “Why the heck would you register for ‘Cheeseballs?’” we’d award them the winning prize of [drum roll please…] Cheeseballs. And we did. I think Liz won them! 🙂  Continue reading →

Can I Have This Dance?

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I love to dance. Even if most days I have two left feet, when I hear music, my feet can’t help but move. As does the rest of my body. Whether the parts all motion in sync or a little off step, I can’t help but get up and sway when the tunes reach my ears and seep down into my toes. 

Plus I’m Punjabi. And if you’re Punjabi, you have to dance. It’s kind of like a prerequisite for claiming your Punjabi status. 

Officer: “So you’re Punjabi?” 

Me: “Yes.”

Officer: “Then you dance? Is that correct? Because I love Indian music and dancing!”

Me: “Yes. Of course.”

Officer: “In that case, I believe you. I’ll let the ticket slide… This time.”

This really happened to me when I got pulled over for speeding. The police officer agreed to retract my fine when I promised he could join my friends and me in the city for some Basement Bhangra! Okay, I jest. But wouldn’t that have been cool!?! 😉 Continue reading →

Celebrating Love. 45 Years of it!

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Photo Credit: Alex Chung!

Five years ago, I made a mistake. I had a chance to throw my parents a 40th Anniversary party, and I didn’t. I chickened out. I was scared of life’s “what if’s.” But I hate the fact that I let my fears dictate my decision. 

Six months ago, like Jonah in the belly of a whale surrounded by a choir of gospel singers [great Veggie Tales movie by the way,] I received a second chance. 

October 11, 2012 would mark my parents’ 45th anniversary, and if I started right now [then, June-ish] I could throw them the party I’d been dreaming of my whole life. 

You see, I have two really amazing parents. I’m not talking the kind you just blow kisses at and thank on stage when you’re receiving an Oscar. In my life, they are my heroes. My super-heroes really. And there aren’t enough trees in Yosemite to make the paper I’d need to list the reasons why I think so.  Continue reading →

Thanks for Nothing

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Fiction Friday This Thanksgiving! Enjoy & Happy Thanksgivings ALL!!

***

Sometimes the person you owe the most thanks to is the person who refused you what you asked for. Because deep down, you know what you asked for could have killed you. Metaphorically speaking. The moment that nearly wiped me out and left me broken-hearted happened a year ago this weekend. And that’s why I remember it so well.
As I begin my jog on this fall morning, I imagine the trees are whispering about the near tragedy as they push the blood-red leaves off to their demise. “Remember that night? There she is. The girl who almost said yes. But said no. Just in the nick of time.” Red branches talks about me like I can’t hear her.
Then the yellow painted tree chimes in. “Are you sure that’s her? Definitely looks like her. But there’s something different about her.”
Crimson Woody ponders the question before answering. “You’re right. Same girl. Different eyes. They used to see us. Now they see past us. Like she’s looking for something beyond her reach.”
Sunshine Branches sways her branches in agreement. “Like she’s not sure about yesterday. And even more unsure about tomorrow.”
“Seen that look a million times.” Red leans over to Yellow to lower her voice. “That’s what a woman looks like right before she jumps.”

Yellow gasps.

“Not like that kind of jump.” Yellow exhales a sigh of relief, so Red continues. “The jump into today. Because tomorrow is too far away and unclear. And yesterday too painful to revisit. So she’s fighting herself to grasp onto today with all she has. It’s the best kind of jump. But…”

Yellow: “Something told me there would be a but…”
Continue reading →

31 Thanksgiving Shout-outs!

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In the spirit of Thanksgiving… I am so very thankful for: [in no particular order]
1. Chocolate. Dark. Surrounding almonds. Blueberries. Strawberries dipped in it. Pretty much any which way. 
2. Spice. Black Pepper. Paprika. Chili powder. Covering a medium to well-done steak if you’re asking!
3. Banana, strawberry, blueberry, peanut butter, protein smoothies. Okay. Enough about food. 
4. Princess#1, Hannah ♡ for how she can sense when I’m sad. And her hugs squeeze something sweet right into me. 
5. #2 Nitha ♡ for her smiles that remind me not to take life too seriously.
 
6. #3 Lydia ♡ for learning how to make coffee. Just for me. To love me.
7. And #4 Sarah ♡ for her snuggles every morning that remind me what’s important at the start of my day.
8. Hubs. My Sunshine. My lover. My best friend. For not giving up on me.  Continue reading →

A Thank You Said and a Thank You Heard…

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Copyright: http://www.stockfreeimages.com/

[REPOST FROM LAST YEAR WHEN I FIRST LAUNCHED InSearchofWaterfalls!]
“When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?” someone asked me a year ago.
“Junior year in high school. Miss Trosko’s class.” 
Miss Trosko was my English teacher, and she inspired me to dream the writer’s dream. She also gave me the courage to study English Literature in college. 
Well, I wanted to thank her for giving me that A/F grade on my first paper. The “A” was for content but the “F” for grammar. Like many things in my life, I peaked early. I won the class Spelling Bee in fourth grade, but it was down hill from there. I still kan’t spel so grate. Continue reading →

My Thanksgiving Crafty Girl

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So while all my girls love the holidays, Princess #2, Nitha who we like to call “Nee-Nee,” goes into each calendar celebration with the enthusiasm of a Wedding Planner. One who loves her job, of course. 

Nitha has always been artistic, and if you give her a bunch of anythings, she sees the potential, and turns them into something. Some kind of art. 

As my first middle child, she and I relate on many levels. We’re both easy-going. Take quick showers. Love the colors red and purple. And move on quickly from conflict or life’s troubles. For a middle child, I feel like she has a pretty good sense of who she is, her tastes, and her interests. 

And although I’m not the most artsy person, it’s fun to watch Nitha create, and even more fun to receive a gift she’s spend many minutes putting together. Because each piece she works on, she gives away. And she really thinks about the recipient of her gifts: their personality, favorites, and interests. Art is Nitha’s love language, but she molds her creations to reflect her future owners of her art work. I think that’s pretty cool. 

The above gallery is a little reflection of her collection. She worked on this for a few days as a gift for her teacher. Because she’s thankful for a lot this Thanksgiving, and most definitely for her teacher. Enjoy! 

**And you? Do you get into decorating the house for the Holidays? Do you have a favorite Thanksgiving dish you’re looking forward to? What are you thankful for this November?

Reinventing Deana

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Welcome back to Fiction Friday Folks! Here’s a character I met one night while dreaming. Wanna meet her? Join us for some coffee? Don’t be shy… she’s nice. Really she is.

“Reinventing Deana”

I get paid to fire people. It’s an ugly job, but someone’s gotta do it. My name is Deana. Some call me Dee for short. D stands for doomsday, death, deadly, and door. As in slam the door shut on your career. That’s my deal. Continue reading →

Wreck it Raj

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Sitting in the theater last night as I watched the credits roll, something gnawed at me. I liked the ending of Wreck-it Ralph, but I hated the last line. It’s the writer in me. I thought the actual final words were weak.The decision to spend the evening at the movies came after a week of persistent bugging from the kiddos. Didn’t hurt that Hannah had a Fandango gift card to offset the cost.
So when Hubs texted that he was almost home, I pressed send and the handy-dandy iPhone5 received the digital code for a paperless ticket to the land of make-belief.I love the concept of Wreck it Ralph. The idea that the characters inside video games are real and have feelings and actually live secret lives of drama and consequence once the lights go out in the arcade, although we know people mostly play video games at home now, using consoles and computers and they even get accessories from sites as HotRate online to be able to enjoy the games even more. I love how the movie spanned generations of games and technology and cameo’d my favorite hopping blast from the past… Q-Bert!!

Siri … ously in Love with my iPhone5

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Christmas came early in the Paulus household. For me that is.

Found a package on my steps on Friday with hubby’s name on it. Didn’t bother looking it over. Figured it was some auto part or something guy-related and just chucked it on top of the shelf. Placed it nicely, if you must know. And forgot about it.

Then hubs comes home from work hours later and tosses it to me while I’m sitting on the couch.

“It’s yours.”“But…” and I’m terrified.
Continue reading →