The next phase !!

Hey guys. How are you all doing? Is anyone even visiting this page? Someone listening? I know I've been so mean to my blogspace and its almost four whole months since I posted something. In fact, I came inbetween and tried to write a few words, but just couldnt get anything complete. No, its not work this time that took all my time from blogging. Something else. Something nice actually. Something that really changed everything in my life altogether. Something to look forward to. Something that makes me move to the next phase of my life. So did u guys guess already? Yes? No? Read on !!

So we found out sometime in Feb.. We were happy and excited to see what we found... but I was not able to believe it for quiet some days until I really saw it happening. And that was when we went to my first trimester nuchal screening and saw that there is a tiny little being within me :) After all seeing is believing right? And that was the moment everything came sinking into me. What we were seeing was for real. What the doctor was telling me was indeed true. Oh yah!!! Im going to be a mommy!! How cool is that? It was such a joy to see my lil one floating up and down, moving its tiny arms and limbs. And the best part was to see and hear the baby's heartbeat. That was such a precious and priceless moment. You should have seen my hubby's reaction. He couldn't believe what he was seeing either. He was totally speechless. Words aren't enough to say how immensely happy we both were. And ever since, its been one roller coaster ride. Joy and excitement about the baby's arrival, fear and anxiety about becoming a parent soon along with all the mood swings the pregnancy hormones are causing, the food cravings, the nightmares and yah, the baby's rock and roll inside me :) Its definitely fun planning and preparing for the baby's arrival. And I've almost crossed three fourth of my pregnancy. So I just have to hang on for few more months before I could hold our lil bundle of joy. 


And it gives me immense pleasure in sharing this big news with all you guys.  
Couldn't just wait for the baby's arrival and to experience the mommyhood and all the madness that brings !! :)


Picture Courtesy: Internet

Food, Family and more !!

Sundays were and are pretty special to me. The one day I tend to spend my time mostly at home with my family. Everyone seem to be busy in their own world the rest of the week. But Sunday is our day, family day!! My sis and I usually woke up late on Sunday mornings. By the time we brush our teeth, mom would have prepared hot coffee for my sis and Masala tea for me. Mom's tea and the Hindu's Sunday Magazine. The perfect combination to start my Sunday with. And then there would be Mahabarath playing in DD and Arattai Arangam in Sun TV and a list of other TV programs following. My sis and I would be glued to the TV. By this time dad would have finished his morning walk(a couple of hours before, though) and read the Hindu from the frontpage to the sports column word by word. And mom would be ready with breakfast. Mostly it will be steaming hot Ven pongal, Vada and Sambar or poori masal. These two were the favorite Sunday breakfasts at my home. And the aroma of food would fill the house. And dad would rush to have a quick shower. And he would come back and try to make us have a shower too before we all had our breakfast. But his super lazy daughters wouldnt budge. He will finally give up shouting at us too. And then it was breakfast time. I love Sunday breakfasts. The only day when the whole family has breakfast (and the rest of the meals mostly) together. We'll all have some stories to share and it usually ends up in some fun filled conversations.

Last weekend I suddenly missed being home. Especially the Sundays. Mom's tea, the Sunday magazine, the TV shows, family breakfast, and definitely the conversations!!  But I thought I could still make it work, try to relive those moments again. So I rushed to the kitchen and prepared Ven pongal and Sambar for breakfast. (Which will otherwise be pancake, toast or some sandwich) And sat down with hubby dear, my now family, and enjoyed the Sunday breakfast that I missed while telling him the whole story behind the breakfast that he was having. And then he in turn shared his memories about his Sundays with family and friends. And that was a perfect breakfast with some lovely conversations. 

So I finally had my Sunday memories back and I'm sure to create some more!!
After all, life is what you create. 

Do you guys miss such things?

What was the best family time of your childhood?

Share your stories. I'm listening :)

Image Courtesy: Internet

Back after a short break!! :)

Hey guys, How have you all been?? I can hear some of you saying "Oh, so you are still alive!! ??". Yes, Yes!! I, very much, am. Been stuck with too much work last month. Pardon me for disappearing without any notice. Too much work pa!!! I was working on weekdays and weekends through. I was up and working even on some sundays till 11.30 PM. Seriously.. I cant believe I did that... But yeah, things are normal now and I am back too :) 

Gosh, I missed this space so much!!! I even sat down and tried to write a post, only to get distracted by the thoughts of the pending task and Action items at work. Glad that phase is over and last weekend was good. I dint have to work and it felt so good!!! Got to watch some movies, did some real cooking, called some friends back in India and spoke to them for hours together and skyped with my parents and in-laws and watched the missed episodes of Grey's Anatomy S7. So that really felt like a real weekend!!! Climate is becoming good too. Winter is almost over here and the sun has started to shine some more!! Kids started playing outdoors, Moms started taking their babies for a walk in the parks, long over coats and scarfs are seen no more, while skirts and caprice take control. Yay!! Spring is here (okay, almost)!!! 

These are some updates from me. So what is happening in the blogland?? What did u guys do last weekend?? Update me!! :)

And yeah, Happy Women's day folks :) 

Calm after the storm!!

After the storm!!

We had a snow storm the day before yesterday. It started to snow lightly around 4 PM and became heavier as the day closed to the night. There were weather alerts everywhere and people were advised to be back home as soon as possible. B, my husband, called me around 4.30 PM to let me know that is he is leaving office. I was more than happy to know that the man will be home within 40 mins and thought we both could spend this beautiful white evening together. I wanted us to have a nice hot cup of tea and sit by the balcony windows and snow-gaze the whole evening. So I waited and waited and waited for the him to be back. It became 6 PM. And I waited for some more time. It was 7.30. I could wait no more and dialed his number. It went straight to the voice mail box. Probably his battery was dead. He had left his charger safely home. So I had to wait till he came back. The evening was already turning dark and was leaving way for night to settle in. And the snowfall became intense and the parking lot had already accumulated 3 inches of snow. The clock ticked 9. And B is still not back and that dint seem good to me. I couldn't reach him and it was around 5 hours since I last heard from him. I started to panic and called Archana to know if she is back home at least. She was on the roads for the past 6 hours and not even half-way through. Looked like the whole Northern Virginia working crowd started to head back home from their workplaces at the same time, which caused a huge traffic block in every highway possible. She told me the traffic was terrible. There were cars skidding in the snow glazed roads, accidents every 2 miles, some ran out of fuels and pulled over to the shoulder lanes, and she herself almost bumped twice into the car in front of her. Its seriously crazy to drive in snow. So it seemed like B was also held up in traffic. I cursed the mobile battery so much for dying out when we needed to converse badly. And I was prepared for B to get his share for leaving the charger at home. And then I made dinner and was catching up on some tv shows. It was 11.00 PM and I heard something that sounded like a thunder. I saw a bright blue-green light for a second and boooooommmmm. There was a power cut. So then I realized that we are actually facing the storm. And I looked out of my window and the snow was still pouring down heavily. Archana was still driving and B was definitely going to take more time to get back home. So I decided to hit bed. I heard someone banging my front door. And I checked my mobile and it was 12.47 AM. And opened the door to see poor B all tired and hungry. The man had been driving for more than 8 hours, for a drive which usually takes max 40 mins. We could have actually had a drive to New York and returned back by this time, on a normal day. Whatever it is, I was happy that he returned home safely.

The Snowman we made!!

The snow storm actually left us 'power'less for the next whole day. No power, no internet, and of course no work. All the mobile batteries died off. And tell you what that was definitely a day with no disturbances or distractions whatsoever in any form. And that was good. We went down to enjoy the power outage. Had a good time throwing snow at each other, running around and falling down. Archana and I made this snowman. He is cute, ain't he?

I see these lovely white snow flakes pouring down the sky as I write this post. I just cannot keep my eyes off the window. Such a pretty scene it is. It feels so magical and it always reminds me of fairy tales when I see a snowfall. It is never too boring to see a snow fall right outside your window, even if it is after a huge snow storm which kept you waiting for your loved one to be back!!!

The Wrong Turn

Last week, thursday to be precise, I was getting ready for my Yoga class and was waiting for Archana (my friend & neighbor) to call me. We usually go together. She was a little late from work that day and it was already 7.25 PM by the time we started. Our class commences at 7.30 and it usually takes us 12 to 15 mins to reach the fitness club. I got a little worried that we were late for the class and started to drive in that mindset. And this made me miss the right turn that I had to take to the club. So I continued to drive and took the next right assuming this will join the road to the club. And Archana was already panicking as we entered that road and that got me to panic too. Let me tell you why. The road that we were driving on was in the middle of a huge graveyard. Turn anywhere and all we could see were graves and headstones. And the place was so dark and dull. Their were no streetlights and we couldn't spot a single living being on that road. Some graves had blinking LED lights on them and that was super creepy. So we took another turn from that road hoping to get off that place as quickly as possible, but in vain. We came back to the same road and that was more scary. And Archana started to blabber more in fear. She even said, 'Should we turn back and see if someone's there in the backseat?'. Guess what, I actually checked my rear view mirror, (by this time we joined back to the main road) and the lights from cars behind created an illusion as if someone just vanished off the back seat. Baahhhhh. That was one helluva ride and we were so relieved when we got rid of the spooky graves. And then we finally made it to the yoga class by 7.45. Missed our warm ups by then. But still, it was totally worth it. Archana and I badly needed this session to calm ourselves down!! :)

That was a freaky Friday.. uhhmmm.. I mean Thursday !! :)

So...Have you guys taken any wrong turns?? Scary drives?? Got lost in the middle of nowhere?? Share your story.

Image Courtesy: pressplayphotography

Happily ever after !!

Last month when I was in Tampa, I had been to the Curtis Hixon park in Downtown on a Saturday evening with some friends. It was a nice park alongside the Hillsborough river with comfortable lounge chairs, picnic tables, neat pavements and well manicured greens. And the jumping fountain adds to the beauty of the park. A good place for a nice get together. Hold on. Now this post is not about the park. While we were in the park, we saw something else happen. 

A bunch of bridesmaids beautifully dressed in maroon gowns and their men in neat suits were happily walking in the park's pavement with a champagne glass in everyone's hand. And then came the pretty bride in her special white wedding dress with her fiance in his crisp black suit. We waved at the couple and they waved happily back at us. Ahhh. They both were so perfect and the whole wedding party seemed very cool and casual, it suddenly created a festive mood there. They were heading towards the amphitheater near the park (where the actual wedding took place). And in less than 15 minutes they were heading back to where they came from. There was a nice black limo waiting for the newly wedded couple. And the couple rushed into the limo while the rest of the party waved and cheered them and then they were gone happily. This wedding that just happened before us was one of a kind for me and everything was over in less than thirty minutes. And there were only the wedding couple, the bridesmaids and their men. That is it. A total of 14 people and a photographer. Aint that cool ?? !! :) 

Saves so much time and confusion preparing the list of guests, invitation, venue, food, this, that, foo, fah!!!

Have you witnessed any such cool or 'out-of-the-ordinary' weddings ?? 
Would love to hear about it!!!

Image Courtesy: ParkImages, WeddingCouple

ufffohhhh!!!!

Have you ever wondered how time flies these days?? It seemed like the week just started and look the weekend is here so quick. Why is that?? We are so packed the whole week that we don't realize the days moving by. There are also those days where we wish we just skip the new few days and fast forward to move on. This happens when we encounter things which we don't want to handle. There are some other days when we are just stuck with something without a solution. We are already stuck with the situation and now we cant escape without a solution but we wont know how to respond to things. This they call 'STRESS'. I have encountered this 'n' number of times in my life. For instance, when it is just few hours to enter the exam hall and I have one whole unit to study, a very strict deadline at work and stuff like this. Sometime when I am stressed out I mess up things in a relationship (be it with parents or friends or spouse). Not that I'm stressed out now. It was just a random thought that came up with and I wanted to discuss it with you guys. Different people handle stress differently. In there own ways. 

Stress doesn't get better by itself. We'll have to find a way to get out of it. I generally take a time out when it is related to work. And playing 'bejeweled' always relaxes me and calms me down. And then I come back fresh to solve my issues. Sometimes some music i love to hear anytime will do the trick. Sometimes I just dont think of the time line in front of me and take my time to think of a solution and it works like a charm. When I come out of it, I try not to get myself stuck at the situation again, by planning things better and ahead of time. Not that I'm perfect at it the next time, but it does really help. 

So I wanted to know how do you guys handle stress, if at all you are stressed out. 

So talk to me. What works best for you ??

Image Courtesy : Internet

Weekend round up !! :)

Hi folks,

Hope you all had a great time this Christmas. I surely did. We had been to North Carolina, visiting some friends and had a really great time. I thought there was something missing this Christmas. But no, I was wrong. It was there on time. You guessed it right. I'm talking about SNOW. Last year it was snowing heavily right before Christmas and this year there were no signs of snow until last week. But it was snowing exactly on Christmas eve. Its always lovely to wake up one fine morning and see that the whole place is turned white. Such a pretty and priceless sight it is. I generally don't like to hang out much when there is snow outside. But love to sit at home, warm and cozy, and watch the snowfall.

Snow, friends, movies and lotsa good food :) It was a perfect weekend. I really wanted this break badly, December was such a crazy month for me at work!!! Now I'm all geared up for the project launch  we are having tonight. Fingers crossed !!! Wish me luck guys :)

Hello There !!!

Folks,

Am back again... Yeah, I know that I do this often... Suddenly go missing and one fine day come back with an "I am back" post. But yeah I love coming back. Been busy with a lot of things again which kept me off from blogging. New job, new city, new room mates (Yeah, I had to leave my hubby and relocate for this job. But will move back soon :) ) I missed this space so much. And I missed following up on my fellow bloggers' posts. Im trying to read up all the missed ones. So yah. Back to me and my updates. Im now in the 'lightening capital of North America'. Yup. Tampa, Florida it is. The climate here reminds me so much of India. Perfect weather. Hot and humid most part of the year. I miss my husband so badly though. But that is also compensated by something else - Living on my own. Yeah. I wanted to do this for a long time. I wanted to live alone for sometime. Just to see how it feels to be independent.  Its good. Im liking it. I cook my food. Do all grocery shopping by myself. Take care of all my bills. Have girls' night out whenever we (My roomies+I) feel like. Life is fun. Life is good. Hope life moves smoothly like this forever. Touchwood !!!

So what are you guys upto these days? Hoz it going? 

Update me !!!

Aal izz Well :)

Well well well... I know I've forgotten my space for quite sometime now. Been busy with a lot of stuff and hence totally ignored my blogspace. Though I did not blog much these days, I did enjoy reading my fellow bloggers' posts. But now am back and it feels really good :) I hope everyone is doing as good as I am (or even better :)).

Its been nine whole months since I moved to the US and I cant believe how quickly and smoothly these nine months went off. Time really flies. It has always been like this since college. Those four years in college, then those couple of years at work, and these nine months of marriage. Everything seems like a dream. But I think this was not the case when I was a kid. Things were real slow and I liked it that way. May be not then, but now I really do. And it always puts a smile on my face to think of all the petty things I did as a kid. 

How I used to hate to go to my Hindi classes. After every exam, I used to say to myself, "Thats it. I'm done with this and not taking up the next level". But due to my mom's insistence I took up three levels and after that she was tired of convincing me. I never hated my dance and music classes though. In fact I'll be waiting for school to close for the day so that I can run to my dance and music classes. And the drawing competitions that we used to go, not for winning any major prize, but just to have fun. All the kids from the neighborhood will be ready with their painting kits and we'll all walk to the venue, find our halls, collect our drawing sheets, develop our own ideas based on the given theme, try to draw them as we envisioned, but it would have ended up totally different and then laugh our souls out after seeing each others outcome and wait for the results to be announced that evening hoping one of us would at least get a consolation prize. 

Ahh and I loved those occasional trips to T Nagar when I was a kid. We were staying in Adyar and we used to go to T Nagar, Anna Nagar or Mylapore for the birthday shopping, Diwali shopping, pongal shopping and jus-like-that shopping. My dad had a scooter back then which cannot accommodate the four of us. So we used to take the bus. Sometimes we had to wait for hours to get into a bus because my sister and I wouldn't get into a bus that is crowded. We sometimes will let go four or five buses and wait for the less crowded bus. Once my dad was tired of waiting and ended up taking an Auto-Rickshaw. This happened a few times and then on my sister and I would pray that every bus that passed by should be fully packed so that we can enjoy the luxury of travelling in an Auto-Rickshaw. And only on occasions like this we used to eat out and  the other days we never ever bugged our parents to take us to restaurants. We were not exposed much and hence were happy with what we had. Parents always decided the goods and the bads for us and hence we had healthy/safe/worry-less  living. Gone were those days. Given a chance I would definitely go back to my childhood days. 
I'm sure you will to, Won't you??

As we grow up, we tend to see new things, experiment new ideas, set up new goals, change them every now and then, and eventually become too busy to realize the value and presence of time. Hai ki nahi??**

So how is it going for you? Busy as usual?? Aal izz well ??!! :P

**Hai ki nahi?? - Yes or no??

Meeting V...

Its been a while since I caught up with my friends from college. So we decided to meet this weekend for lunch and then a movie. As usual it was so much fun and loads of catch-up stories to hear from everyone. It was definitely a good break for all of us from our hectic work life. And we were happy that we finally made this happen. So much for a get-together, I can hear you say. Definitely. Nobody has time to even run their own life, so its definitely a big deal to fix a common time and venue. Some of us had to even travel from other states. But it was all worth it. So after lunch we headed to Satyam Cinemas.(For my non-chennai, non-Indian readers, Satyam Cinemas is the best cinema theatre in Chennai, the city I grew up back in India).

So after spending almost a day together, we all kissed good bye to each other and parted in our own ways and I walked down the street to the nearby bus stop.

As I was walking I saw someone waving at me with a nice bright smile. And I quickly recognized the face and waved back immediately. That was V, my old school friend. Its been ages since I met her. We've been in touch through Facebook and chat. But that's it. Dint meet her even once after we finished high school. So it was nice to see her in after all these years.  She was still the same V whom I remembered from school. No big change. She was as beautiful and glowing as ever. Nobody can tell that she was married. I learnt from FB that she was back into modelling again and saw her pictures from couple of her shows. She looked like a pro. 'Hey look that's my old school friend', I used to proudly tell my husband. 

Coming back to V. Both of us were equally surprised and had a quick chat about our whereabouts and she offered to drop me back home. So we went back to her car in a parking lot nearby where her dad and sister were waiting for her. V's little sis has grown up to be a very charming young girl and it was good to see her too. V was staying in her parents' place as her husband was on a business trip, I came to know. 

And we continued our chat after getting into the car. 'V, I recently saw your fashion show pictures on FB and you looked super hot and stunning. Good that you are back modelling', I told her. Her father gave me a very suspicious look and turned to V and asked her angrily, 'Whats going on V. What is it that I am hearing?'. V's sister already had her hands on her forehead after hearing what I said and V was having this 'God save me' look. Then V's sister whispered to me that their dad still dint that she was into modelling again. And then I remembered that V initially quit modelling coz her dad dint like her doing it. But now after her marriage, with her husband's consent she started modelling again. I was totally sorry for what I just uttered and V gave me this 'I'll handle him' look. Then she told him something in her mother tongue and he calmed down. There was total silence in the car for ten more minutes and there came my house and I was more than happy to jump out of the car. V came out with me and I apologized for what I did. But V thanked me, coz she anyways wanted to tell this to her dad. I was relieved now. Then I asked her what she told to convince him. 

Before she began to reply, I heard someone opening the door.

My house door???

No.

That was my bedroom door here in the US. My husband was getting ready for work and had just flung it open to rush to the bathroom.

No post in July... Ooops.. Here it is !! :)

Yah yah... I've become all too lazy and certainly no inspiration to blog these days. But then I was just looking at my page and suddenly realized that there were no posts for the month of July. Omigosh !!! How can I let that happen. For July is my most favorite month of the year. I can hear you asking me why. It goes like this. I joined highschool (my dear VV) in the month of July.  One of the best schools I've ever attended. Perfect location for a school (in the midst of a calm and dense forest), lovely teachers, great friends and perfect school timing (7.50 AM to 2.10 PM). I've always enjoyed that 15 min bicycle ride to and from school, with a little chit chat with friends. So thats that. And then I entered college in July and there was no looking back. I have had the most wonderful time of my life there. And it so happened that I joined work, my first job, in July. Met some really lovely people there. Fell in love with technology for the first time of my life. No kidding here !!! Then, I met my guy in July :) Hoz that !! And of course I am July born. So does that tell you why I love this month so much ???!!! :)

So is there a favorite month for you ?? And why ??

It was a lovely Weekend!!!

It was the most awaited weekend I should say. A very dear friend and her husband visited and spent this weekend with us. We have been planning to meet for a long time, but either of us would be busy and hence end up postponing the trip. But finally, it was destined to meet each other this week. So they decided to work from home on friday and landed here on thursday night. So my weekend actually started then. 

We watched Raavanan on friday and came back with disappointment. It was not the typical Mani Ratnam movie. All his movies, so far, were unique and outstanding. But this one had nothing new. The director told the whole story in the second half, which left a story-less first half. There was no on screen chemistry between the hero(s) and the heroine. And I pitied Priya Mani. I mean, why does the girl always gets roles like this? She likes someone and when she almost come to the 'Happily ever after' part, there comes a twist in the story and she is teared down by raving men and the girl commits suicide. That was sad. There were some pluses to the movie too. The locations were simply beautiful and photography was good. Of Course ARR's music added a little spice to the otherwise bland movie. Overall, the movie was not up to the expectation and definitely not worth the wait. 

The highlight of the weekend was our day at Six Flags America. It is one of the best theme parks here. As expected we had loads of fun in all those thrill rides. The rides were simply nerve rattling. The rides we most enjoyed were the Batwing and the Superman rides. We were happy that we covered almost all the rides. We were so excited and thrilled and were really running around like small kids the whole day. We also did a little rock climbing there and yes, we reached the top, though after a lot of struggle finding our way. It was scary and adventurous. Jumping down the rock was really cool and I enjoyed it. At the end of the day we were all so tired and exhausted. And a fine Thai dinner completed our day!! :)


We were planning to go to DC on Sunday, but none of has had the energy to get up early the next day. So we dropped that plan and decided to relax at home and spend time talking with each other. The weekend just flew away so quickly leaving behind loads of good times to remember.


So how was the weekend for you guys??

Its Soccer time baby !!!

FIFA world championship tournament is nearing and I am super excited. The previous world cup tournament in 2006, I clearly remember, I was in Pollachi. I had just passed out of college and joined work. We were given a fast track training for 20 days in Pollachi Mahalingam Engineering College. I had made new friends and had new room mates and everything seemed so fresh and lovely. FIFA world cup was on that time and we weren't suppose to watch TV after 9.00 PM. So we all signed a letter to our hostel warden and asked her to permit us to watch atleast the finals. And she couldn't say no :) And we all gathered in that TV hall to see the finals between Italy and France. Man, that was one fantastic game I should say. I wasn't a football fanatic, really. But I became one after watching this game. The penalty shootout which declared the winning team was one nail-biting moment of that final game. So this year I have decided to follow the tournament right from the first match. And yesterday my friend sent me this amazing world cup calender and I really wanted to share with you guys. Check this out and keep track of your matches. My most favorite teams are Italy, France and Germany. 

So what are yours and whom are you supporting ?? 

Back from my hibernation !!:)

Ahhh... it feels so good to be back... Been a while since I posted something in this space... Well all of a sudden I became too busy. We had some friends visiting us last few weekends and so all that made me jump to a vacation mood and hence became too lazy to think of something to blog :P. So this is what I did all these days.

The first weekend we went went to the historic Colonial Willamsburg and Virgina beach. Colonial Williamsburg has buildings dating from the 1700s. It is an interpretation of the Colonial American era and has exhibits of both authentic and renovated colonial houses, restaurants, workshops, postal office, grocery stores, tailoring shops and more. 

They were either renovated or recreated to give us the picture of the colonial lifestyle. There were people dressed up like they did those days. So for the major part of the day we roamed around these colonial buildings. Then we headed to Virginia beach later that evening. We took a nice walk in the boardwalk, played silly shooting games in the stalls on what seemed like a city carnival. After a while we rented a bicycle each and rode our souls out :) It had been ages since i took a ride in a bicycle. Took me back to my school days!!! We roamed till we were dead tired and headed straight to a restaurant and there ends our day!! :)

One of our friends extended his weekend visit and stayed back to explore DC a bit and I joined him. As DC is known for its museums and monuments, we had a great time "Awww"ing and "oohhh"ing at the exhibts in the museums. I seriously felt Museums are a great idea to know the past and history better. Even though there are lots of information and facts piled up on the internet, seeing things and knowing them has a definite impact. We become kids all over again and try to imagine how things were back then. And that way, information stays better and longer. Don't you guys agree? 

Hmmm, so what else did I do??. Yeah, I saw this amazing book "Martha Stewart's Cookies" while I was browsing the library book shelves. The cookie picture in the cover page made be grab it immediately and I started drooling as I turned the pages. She had listed recipes for almost 175 cookies of different types. Light and delicate, soft and chewy, crumbly and sandy, chunky and nutty, cakey and tender, crisp and tender, rich and dense. Trust me, her pictures inspired me to bake them and I tried Oatmeal Raisin cookies. And it turned out awesome. It was nice and crisp, just like the ones that we get from the confectioners. And Im telling you, baking is not that difficult actually. You just need the right ingredients in the right measures and voila, you are ready to bake. I strongly recommend this book for any one to start baking cookies or to become an expert in the same. 

And the same day we made pizzas. Yeah, home made Pizzas. Doesn't that sound good :) It was my friend Terry's idea. And she had looked up so many recipes and finally found that the one listed in vahrehvah.com was the most easiest of all. We had loads of fun that day shopping the ingredients for the pizza and cookies, and preparing it together. And the joy you get out of cooking is immeasurable. I always love it when I cook with someone else. Its so much fun cooking, gossiping and giggling :) So at end of the day we played pool having pizza and cookies. That was a perfect weekend eve :) So these were the major (not so major, I know) updates that I wanted to tell you guys.

So what are you guys upto?? Whats happening out there in the blogosphere??

The House hunt !!!

Ufff... The whole week was quiet hectic for me. Ask me why. We received a mail from our apartment management reminding us that our apartment lease is ending in a couple of months and we had to decide on either extending the lease or vacating the apartment. And that if we choose to vacate we'll have to give them a 60 day notice so that they'll start advertising for the apartment and other stuff. And it looked like our rents are increased if we choose to extend. And we had only four days left before we finally decide on this. So we thought we'll look for options outside. And the house hunting job fell on me. So the first thing I do, after packing B (my hubby) to work, is to log into all the apartment rental sites and start my search. I had to keep in mind the rent, the reviews about the community, the amenities that are available, easy access to all transits, this, that, foo, faa.... And finally listed down some apartments that we thought will be comfortable for us. And I started taking apartment tours on each of them. Some days I had to check out more that three apartments, come back home note down the things like rent, available facilities, hidden charges etc., in an excel sheet and discuss it with B at the end of the day. After all this, we somehow weren't satisfied with the apartments that I checked. And the D-Day came. Today we had to tell the management about our decision. It was definitely tough to move out of an apartment that we enjoyed staying so long. We had everything we needed. It was a wonderful community. We had nothing to complain about so far. Right from library to grocery to shopping malls, everything is at walkable distance. Moreover I had developed an intimate bond with my desi neighbor. And so we finally decided to extend the lease in our same apartment, even though we had to compromise on the hiked rent. So I went down to the leasing office to tell our decision. Before that we wanted to ask if there are any other apartments that is currently vacant for us to move in. And it so happened that, there was one vacant on the same building but a few floor high above. And the best part is, it comes with more space and less rent. Hoz that :) I was like yaayyyyy !!! And yes, we obviously opted to move into that apartment. After all this house hunting we ended up moving into an apartment in the very same building. But I totally have nothing to regret. This whole house search was a new experience for me and definitely worth it. I got to know what exactly property mangers do every other day and understood the whole rent manipulation that is being done when an apartment is vacant. Baaahhhh. Whatever, we finally found a house and we definitely like it :)

Women's dignity really saved by a Burqua Ban?

I hope most of you must have known about the Burqua ban in Belgium. Belgium claims to be the first European country to enforce this ban to wear over face coverings in public places, with exceptions like motorcyclists. The main intention is to target Muslim women who wear this traditional garb. The committee says that they cannot allow someone to claim the right to see others without being seen, and that wearing Burqua doesn't seem compatible with an open, liberal, tolerant society. Similar measures are taken in France also. The French president boasts that wearing Burqua is contradicting to the dignity of Women. And he says the only answer to this is to ban it. But statistics show that there are over 5,00,000 muslim women living in Belgium. But not all of them wear Burquas. Some really choose to wear it in order to express their religious faith. A month ago when France was seriously debating on this issue, there were so many blogs and articles popping up on this concern. I found that so many comments from Muslim women. They really wear the Burqua or the Hijab, only because they choose to wear it. Nobody forces them to do so. At least here in the west, nobody does, they say. I really don't get the point of guarding the dignity of women by banning the Burqua. I don't even see security issues here. When Muslim women go for a security check they very well co-operate and reveal their identity. So where is this getting to? When women don't get to choose what they wear, where is the whole idea of freedom and liberalism? And for heaven's sake, seven days jail for wearing a burqua?? God save this world !!!


 Image Courtesy

Here I come...Zoooommmmmm!!!

Driving in the US was so easy when compared to India. No auto-rickshaws, no bicyclists and there are lanes everywhere and people stick to the rules and speed limits. So literally there is no need to panic while driving. Only thing was the 'Keep-right' rule that we had to follow here unlike India, where we keep left. But that wasn't so bad too. I took a couple of drives with my hubby and that was it. I was comfortable driving here. Today I had to take my road test to get my driving license. We planned to start early from home so that we can be in line soon and take the test soon. And we started as planned. And we went to the DMV office on time. I was so confident about the test.  They called me to verify my documents. I had everything pucca except my car's registration document. We had to carry the originals but we just had a photocopy. They said they will not accept the photocopy. We had another friend taking his road test with me. But he too dint have proper documents. Thats it. The whole thing got messed up. Then we called up another friend and he brought his car and documents and then we were ready. We took the road test and woah. It was so easy. I mean it just went really well. Yay!!! I passed the test :) Now I can take our car and go for a drive whenever I feel like. Wow. It feels so good.  Feels as if I have achieved something great!!! :P

I really don't know why I am blogging about it.. Nothing really great. But just wanted to let you guys know that I passed the test :)

Here I come America!!! Zoommmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!  :) :)

The Absent Minded Me !!!

Yeah!!! My post title says it all. Of late Im being really absent minded. Not that I used to remember things really well before. Duh. I forgot how my cups of water I had poured, seconds ago, while cooking rice yesterday. Today morning I was discussing with my hubby about the chores that I had to do and the bills that I had to pay. We ended up with four tasks. Till now I remember only three of them and still thinking of the fourth one. I know that I will remember it sooner or later, but it is really frustrating at that moment.  Sometimes I used to keep some really important document in a 'so-called' safe place. But when I need it on an emergency, I have to struggle for a minimum of 15 to 20 minutes before I actually find it. I easily get distracted when Im on a call with someone, that I sometimes forget things which I actually wanted to convey. Sometimes we tend to let things slide.

Now that I really have the time to do something about it, I did a little study on the internet about what is really causing this absent mindedness.

Dr. George Grossberg, director of geriatric psychiatry of St.Louis University school of Medicine, says that the temporary "tip of the tongue" forgetfulness is the change that usually happens as we age. But Im not even 25!!!

Sometimes people become forgetful because they are on a sensory overload. Really?? Sensory overload. Huh ??? 

Some say distraction and preoccupation is one main cause of being forgetful. Wait. Playing this 'Cafe World' application in FB counts for distraction or pre-occupation??

There were much more causes like poor friend circle and even cultural change. Whatever it is, I am going to get over this negativity by following some simple remedies.

• Make a note of everything, to do in a post-it note. However small or less important it may be, things which has to be done should be done anyways right??
• Do not procrastinate things which you can do right away.
• Exercise your body, says Dr.Grossberg, for it increases the 'feel good' endorphins and improves our mood.
• Exercise your mind. Okay so I guess I should take up some new activity to give my brain some work. How about revisiting the little German lessons that I took ?? Sounds good right :) 

Am sure absent mindedness is pretty common in most of us. Actually nothing to worry. But we can avoid the momentary frustrations if we come over this negativity. If there is a way that you follow to remember things, please do share :)

Have a great day all of You!!!.
Image-courtesy

Sometimes

Sometimes we have to experience things which we would never thought will happen. Sometimes everything that we see looks weird. Sometimes everyone will be around and still we feel lonely. Sometimes things we were longing for will be just next to us but still not reachable. Sometimes opportunities knocks us at the wrong time. Sometimes in life we end up with a situation where we have to decide certain things right there without further delay. Sometimes we are forced to take up certain decisions which we dont like to take, but have to take because of the roles and responsibilities that we hold and because we need some stability in life. Sometimes all those good buddies in life will be totally unavailable when we really need them. Sometimes things we were promised of never happened. Sometimes the world out there will be bustling with activities but we will be standing still. Sometimes we have so many things lined up to be done, but something that ruined our sleep that night will hold us from all those chores. Sometimes we are afraid of taking the next step ahead. Sometimes we feel like slapping that person right across their face for the not-so-sensible sentence that they uttered when we badly needed some words of wisdom.

There have been so many of these "Sometimes" in my life  and all I said to myself was:
"Be Calm. This too shall pass."