It's really the wonderful time of the year!!

Hellloooo... Ok.. Let's not focus on the fact that I wasn't on the blogging world for quite some (OKKKK... a longgg) time.. :)

Things have been crazily busy for us.. From Halloween to Diwali to Thanksgiving to Christmas.. Not that we arranged party of any sort.. It's just that the time flies during the second half of the year with long weekends, planning resolutions for the next year, feeling guilty about not doing few things over the past 11 months etc., Anyways, this year Sel and I decided to buy a christmas tree for our own sweet home.. We thought it will be fun to be a part of this nation's most celebrated festival.. It really is fun to do something new..

With well lit lights all around our place, I really feel happy..  We really love our tree.. Vow!!!

It took us sometime to find and arrange the tree with all the ornaments, ribbons, snowflakey stuff and the Tree Top.. Thanks to Sel's creativity.. It turned out to be an amazing piece of art.. What say!!

I took off from work yesterday just to use one of my vacation days.. Things were pretty depressing for me at work (as in troubleshooting equipments), but I'm sure it'll be better.. Soon.. Pretty soon.. Hopefully soon.. !! *fingers crossed*

When I went out in the evening, the weather was, disgustingly, cold.. Windy & cold - I call them "Evil twins"!

And today, is another day-off for me.. SEL!! Do you really have to go to work today!! We didn't see anyone on the road in the morning!! Just wreaths, lights, closed doors!!! 5 more hours to go for the wonderful evening of the year..

Now, I am all set for Christmas.. Gifts have already gone under the tree.. :)

Merry Christmas to you and to your family!! *singing jingle bells song*

Half-time vacation report.

Our vacation is almost over!!! Oh.. yeah, Sel and I took off this entire week becoz of his overflowing vacation days and I had few personal days which had to be used before end of this year. So, we decided to take off this week without any plans.. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?? Sel and I decided to take off few days without any plan for outing or any activities.. *smiles*


But yet, YET, we had a bunch of activities to be taken care of.. Simple things like cleaning the house, setting up our wonderful photo wall, paintings arrangement, drive down to a nearby famous university, visit few malls just for window shopping, gear up with ideas for my Halloween day costume (YES.. Mars, Kris and I are gonna be Turtles from TMNT.. Can't wait for my first Halloween day celeb *grins*).. 


We are also planning on going for apple and pumpkin picking sometime during this week.. We also did some unintended shopping like PS3 move for Sel..  Till now, he seems to enjoy it.. Let's wait for a week to get the pros and cons from him.. SO, I'm gonna stick myself to computer for the next few days till he gets over his feelings for his new found lovely!!! (He wants me to play but it's just that I'm not yet READY for the new gadget!! *sighs*)


However, NOT doing any major thing for a whole week is a BLISS, I say.. Just imagine this - You get up in the morning without any plans, then decide on your activities as day goes by... hmmm... Sounds exciting, isn't it (but I'm sure it will start to get boring if we continue to do it and so is our vacation just for a week)... 


So, here we are enjoying our vacation.. 
Now you just have to wait for 2 more days for your regular weekend, so don't sigh... 


See ya later... 

To my wonderful dad...

Happy Birthday, Dad..

I can't thank you enough for all that you have done to me..

I am not old enough to bless you, but I am smart enough to request the big God to grant everything you ever wanted and to bless you with wonderful, fun-filled years to boss around.. ^giggles^

I love you so much dad.. Wishing you a very happy, wonderful, healthy, get-what-you-want-kinda birthday... 

Going green.. Yes, we're..

Going green doesn't mean I'm gonna be like Shrek from now, you silly!!! I meant I am going to take necessary steps to reduce the environment pollution caused by me.. I know.. We were surprised to learn the amount of pollution caused just by our decisions to choose.. Decisions that looked just like another simple choice but it had atleast a tiny bit of impact on the environment pollution). 

Sel and I have decided to change few things in our daily routine.. Lemme share our thoughts about 'going green' now:

• We have decided to take our own metal cutlery instead of using plastic cutlery!!
• No more plastic cups for coffee or water.. We have our own ceramic coffee mug at office and a water bottle to get sufficient amount of water.
• No more plastic bags from grocery stores.. YES, we bought our own reusable bag for groceries shopping.
• We try to avoid using our car to go to all nearby places.
• We do not print anything unless it is REALLY need.. Even then it has always been double-sided printing..
• We never let water run when not in use (especially while brushing!!)
• We use cold water for laundry (yes, that's an energy saver)
• We changed most of our electric products to energy-efficient products

Now, we are still planning to make few more changes and our thought-process is working continuously to find different ways to save this wonderful environment.. *pats on shoulder*

I don't know whether we'll benefit from all these changes, but I am very positively sure that our grandkids will.. What say?.. :)

Long time.. No see..

I know... I know... It's been a longggggg time ever since I logged on to my blog page. I have been busy.. If you ask me, doing what? I would start talking and wouldn't be able to complete it in an hour.. 


However, to be crisp on what kept us busy for almost a month and half now - 

•     Tiresome packing at our old apartment till the last minute, 
•     totally messed up budget rental trucks, 
•     hectic roam around on move-out date to find a new truck rental, 
•     fatiguing move to our new wonderful home (Special heartfelt thanks to Ganesh, Baps & CP who helped us in moving things and I am telling you - they totally rocked), 
•     we unpacked and arranged almost everything in two weeks, 
•     we have been buying and disposing few itsy-bitsy things which accompanies with the major confusion of 'location to place those to balance the other items in the room', 
•     we have been going out almost every weekend to nearby places - first reason being us getting accustomed to our locality and second reason is that there are only few more weeks for Summer after which a harsh winter is gonna make me not wanting to go out, 
•     we have been working on to find a right schedule for everything from leaving to office to coming back at appropriate time to cook and eat and relax, 
•     we have been glued to our new leather couch (AHEM!! Did you read the last line!! You better do 'coz I introduced our new couch) which makes us even lazier to just relax and watch programs from our cable connection. 

   We also spend quality time in admiring the beautiful, lovely houses nearby, enjoying the delicious food from new restaurants nearby.. This is all with hectic work (at times) at office and WHAT NOT!!! Hope you get the POINT here!! I just needed a break.. But now that I'm back, I made a promise to myself to work on my blog to make up for all those breaks..


I have to write about our new home, I have to crib about the Budget rental which messed up all our plans during our move-in day, I have to write about my new mario wii game, my plans for going green, etc., etc.,


Well, See you soon then.. :)

Crafty Monday..

It's been like ages since this happened.. I know I have been a very lazy person lately!!! But let's leave that aside for now!!! 

I’m so glad that my new office colleague invited me to her place for crafting..  YES.. I got some new friends, let me call them Mars and Kris… I have never done anything CRAFTY other than beading bracelets and earrings with my then 6 years old niece (I miss you sweety.. *sighs*).. So, when Mars asked me about crafting, I really didn’t know what to say.. Obviously they must have done much more than me.. No doubts!! So, I was hesitant in the beginning..  But, inspired and scared at the same time, got few beads from Walmart.. I was excited, ofcourse… Being in a crafting session with ‘experts’ who are older than my niece thrilled me.. 

While I was in TX, there used to be many Friday evenings (almost all) when Nims and I used to break our head thinking what to do to keep us active.. We would then go to Starbucks to sharpen our minds (read: to find a way to spend the Friday evening).. Eventually after hours of drinking one Mocha Frappucino, we would drive all the way to some restaurant far far away to have some food and end up watching some crazy movie!!! *thinks of all those funny days and sighs*   Nims... We must have tried our hands on this... hmmm... Why didn't we even think of this.... Should we blame Starbucks coffee that blocked our crafty part of brains... :) Oh.. Ok... Now, getting back to Crafty Session...

Went to Mars place and it was beautiful.. Garden, plants in her kitchen, her Gazpacho with basil and parsley (the taste still lingers in my mouth), Kris’s bread and watermelon (darn it!! I forgot the sweet I bought.. *feels guilty*) all set for beading.. Met Mars husband.. A very sweet lovely couple… Then we spoke as we engaged ourselves in crafting… I completed mine first… My house is not very far from Mars place, but with unpredictable crazy traffic I didn’t want to risk.. So left around 8ish… And came home and was all excited about the bracelet I made.. Sel was all ears to listen to my stories about beading… Look at the bracelet I made.. Isn’t it enough for me to brag about till our next crafting session…!!  

To the BEST DAD in the WORLD..

I've always admired my Dad.. For everything... for being very bold in expressing what he thinks, without any fear or partiality to his loved ones.. for being very kind to everyone around him.. for being very frank in expressing his gratitude to people who deserve those.. 

I still remember those days when he used to carry me on his shoulders (when I was really really tiny!!) and sing our favorite dad-daughter song where he told me that "I shouldn't fear, I shouldn't shed tears, I should always have the courage to fight against the bad things"!! He still sings it for me upon request... Dad is daughter's best friend.. Isn't it?

I miss those days when my Dad used to ride his cycle all the way from his office to pick me up from my school.. On the way he would get me something to snack and he would listen to all my stories from that day's school.. 

How can I forget those Sunday evenings when we both used to go out for walking sessions!!

How can I thank you enough for those early Sunday mornings, when you used to wake up well before me to prepare me for my board exams!!

Few people might find it hard to digest his frankness and boldness... But he doesn't care and neither do I... I loved my dad then, I love him now and I will love him forever...  

Dad, you have always been an inspiration to me.. Not a day goes by without me wanting to gather up the courage like you in every activity I do or be as bold as you are or be as active as as you are.. 

On this special day, here is to wish you a very HAPPY FATHER'S DAY.. 

Love you loads....

Hearty Friends...

Friends are feel-good factors I would say.. Be it either laughing with you when even you know that you just cracked a poor joke or crying with you when your wound can be seen only with magnifier lenses.. They make you feel-good and feel-lucky all the time.. ~God bless my friends~

I have been blessed with many such wonderful friends.. Special Thanks to 'G'.. Kumz and Vibhs sent us wonderful gifts last week to celebrate our most special day.. THE card they sent us (among few other gifts including my favorite Soan papdi sweet), just pushed me to the emotional side.. Made me miss those people all over again... ~sighs.. darn the distance between states~

Words (by Linda Lee Elrod) from the card:


I don’t know if I’ve ever
taken the time
to stop and thank you
For being the really great person you are,
but I should.
Because there’s only one you.
You’re the one who seems to know
just how to find a rainbow
behind every cloud.
the one who knows when to offer advice and when to just listen
You can be fun, silly and lighthearted.
Or serious, caring and sympathetic-
whatever the situation calls for.
You’re so attuned to the feelings of others.
Quite simply, you’re a comfort and a joy to be around
And I think it’s time you knew how very much I appreciate you..
How very glad I am to know you!

I am glad too, My dear friends.. To know you.. To be friends with you.. To share all those mind-boggling moments or silly moments or funny moments!!!


And one more card to remind me of all those Friday evening Starbucks moments!!!

It reminded me of all those Starbucks evenings when Kumz and I used to talk about EVERYTHING!!! Things and times have changed a lot over the past few months... Have changed pretty fast, I guess!!!  But, those moments occupy a very special place in my life and can never be erased..


I don't know what I did to deserve such good friends, but hey! I'm not complaining.. I'm just being so proud and expressing how lucky I am to have such great, sweet, wonderful friends.. I have always been lucky with friends who share and care a lot... And these two are so special and will always stay close to my heart .. 


I heart you both dears!!.. May you both always be happy, loving and caring as you are now...

A place called HOME..

Is it because of our smartness or is it just the time that does the magic.. I really don't know.. But, I'm glad today.. Reason being that we found a place to be called HOME.. Yes.. We started our home search yesterday and this listing was first in our list.. Let me call it "our home" and all others as Listings, Shall I?

The moment we opened the door, I felt so cozy and happy about being there.. Isn't that the feeling when you enter the place you like!!! I liked it and so did Sel.. However we decided to visit other places so no one can say that we settled for the first place because we were too lazy to find another... ~grins~

We went to three different places, but they didn't do the magic as the first one.. We came home baffled.. We didn't want to decide on our home because we wanted to do enough research before we actually settle for it.. But, we also wanted to go for it as it stole our heart in a jiffy!! We browsed through all the agencies websites that had all the listing.. This search went on till late night..

Then we continued the same work in the morning.. Had all the listings with us!! Compared those for pros and cons as we were so stubborn to find some or the other issue in all other places.. But our home passed on the test with flying colors.. Finally, YES FINALLY, we decided to vote for OUR HOME that really touched our hearts and stole it.. We gave in our application today and came out with all smiles.. as if we found a wonderful pearl in an oyster!! as if we found a diamond stone on a piece of rock that hit us!! Ok.. We were just happyyy...

It's going to be a bit (no... a lot) busy for Sel as he is going to be commuting but he is really looking forward to it.. I just hope that he has the same level of enthusiasm even during winter when the cold weather turns their face to bless him (as he likes winter.. I don't usually show my happy face during winters 'coz I hate them!!!)

YAYYYY!!!... We are going to be moving in 2 months (Chilll... I know you must be looking for tomatoes to throw at me after seeing the timeframe!!.. But believe me, it's hard to find such good places in this state).. We both are excited and I'm overexcited as I will have another opportunity to work on the interior decoration plans.. Aahhhh... Can't wait to move-in... New place, new arrangements, new (few) furnitures, new home set-up.. Can't really wait!!! ~sighs~

Too many tasks over the weekend.. ~pats on the shoulder~
Yet, feeling peaceful and happy.. That's the magic of finding something wonderful, isn't it!!!

Too many questions in that tiny thinking section of my brain!!! Should we change the couch? What color? What about hammock - that will fit the patio perfectly fine!!! Should we use a valence or a complete window cloth? What color should the valence be!! Where to fit in the paintings? Ooopppsss... Let me start my planner with all the plans and questions and answers..

See you soon with the updates.. Have a wonderful week..!!

First Wedding Anniversary..

It's our first wedding anniversary today..

How can I forget the wonderful summer evening we first met...

When I first met you, I didn't know that you are the one I am going to choose to spend the rest of my life with.. And the rest is History.

Throughout these years, we have been through different relationship status .. From ‘Strangers’ to ‘Hi.. How you doing kind-of collegemates’ to ‘Friends’ to ‘Love-birds’ to HERE WE ARE... ‘As Husband and Wife’...

Let me take this moment to thank everyone who helped us find each other..

Here is to Thank you, Sel, for being who you are… For making me feel so special in every nano-way you could..

Be as strong, as honest, as lovely, as helping, as wonderful, as caring, as simple, as you were when I met you for the first time – as you are today..

May God bless us with all the happiness, healthy life and fun-filled infinity more years to come..

Warm Weekend...

Last weekend was amazing.. JUST AMAZING!!!! It was wonderful to catch-up with friends here and there about random topics.. It just gave us enough energy to start the week!! ~Thinking about all good times with friends over the weekend & sighs~

Saturday, we had invited Mr & Mrs. JB. We had a very nice lunch (of course I cooked it!!) and spoke a lot about whats up.. what’s happening with you!! kinda stories!!. They are going to move to another continent soon.. Will surely miss the once-in-a-while catch-up sessions which is always accompanied by loads of laughter.. Here’s wishing them all the very best in all they wanted to do..

Then, watched Harry Potter – Chamber of Secrets!! Though we had asked for Harry Potter - Sorcerer’s stone, Netflix didn't really care to send us what we wanted!! But that doesn’t stop us, right!! So we watched the movie anyways.. It was wonderful.. Do they still say that these types of movies are for kids!!! I doubt.. It’s so enthralling and mesmerizing that even elders would want to be a part of Harry Potter’s gang… Isn’t it true??

After coming out of Harry Potter’s world, we decided to go to a mall.. AND, I got so many things!!! ~grins~ Sel didn’t even bother to say NO…. How sweet!!… Aahhhh…. Love you Sel.. Thank you for all the it’s-time-to-renew-the-closet gifts.. ~hugs~

Then, On Sunday we went to Sel’s friends home.. Mr & Mrs. DP.. They had a smart kid who loves cars & Ice-age movie stuff.. He was one of the best entertainers we had!!!.. We really enjoyed his company and Sel enjoyed his good-old-talks..

After a nice stomach-warming lunch (Thanks to Mr & Mrs. DP for the special lunch), Sel & I came home. Decided to catch-up with Ganesh & SR.. SR & I had so much fun talking about everything from how I drowned in 3 ft water to how happy she is to move to her hubby’s place to our extraordinary intake of sugar.. AND MORE and more.. just over a cup of coffee and some nice hot potato bajjis.. She is going to move too.. I am, for sure, going to miss all our giggly talks!!! ~sighs again~

I HATE GOOD-BYES..!!! ~feels irritated about having to say good-bye to dear friends~

Then Ganesh & SR left.. Sel and I were ready, like never before, to watch our favorite TV series LOST’s finale show!!! In my opinion, the series ended well!!! Not that they answered all the mysteries we all had, but it was good!!!

To people who are non-LOSTians, it's a TV series that revolves around few selected passengers, from a flight, who crash into a Mysterious Island.. Island - Where no one comes to rescue them because it’s nowhere in the map & has the ability to disappear with the touch of very few buttons or a wheel spin!!.. Island - where they see a strange killer (in a form of black smoke).. Where they fight for survival.. and WHERE everything is a mystery.. Few try hard to get out of the island to get back to their routine life.. Few try hard to stay in the Island because they realize that it has strange powers!! Irrespective of their thoughts, they are trapped in the island and eventually find out that the flight crash is not an accident and it was all planned!!!

Then amidst all this, they had few episodes with time-travel, yin-yang type of good guy-bad guy story, electromagnetism, tragedy, romance, comedy, jealousy, ego issues, soul travel, spiritual!!! You name it.. they had it in there!!

We will miss you LOST series!!! This is for you - A picture from our Hawaii trip...

Now, if you ask me, Do you enjoy watching such series!! I would say ABSOLUTELY, TRULY YES!!!

If you ask me, Is it really worth it!!! - I'm just gonna ignore your question..

I guess it doesn't hurt to have a few time-travel, parallel universe & physics sessions as part of your entertainment kit!!! No?? What say!!!

Dude's Wedding..

From Anna Garlin Spencer:
"The friendship between a man and a woman which does not lead to marriage or desire for marriage may be a lifelong experience of the greatest value to themselves and to all their circle of acquaintance and of activity; but for this type of friendship both a rare man and a rare woman are needed".

Isn’t it a beautiful statement!!

It's very true because friendship needs commitment. No false promises in there!!! Today I remembered that commitment and comfort from a crazy friend of mine. Is it because it's his wedding!! Maybe... ~smiles~
Let me introduce you to ~Drum rolls please~ “Dude”.
He is getting married to a beautiful bride, Nands. I haven't had a chance to talk to the bride, but we have shared a couple of emails and from all I know, she is a great person. At times, they share different opinions and it's cool to watch them express their thoughts. All I got to tell is that she completes him. And God bless the beautiful couple..

Now, rolling back the time machine to how it all started!!

That was the time I joined Weber. Dude was in other department. I was looking to buy cars at that time. So, I was asking people about cars they have & questions to be posed while buying cars. That’s it. This dude spoke not just for 5 - 10 minutes. For almost 30 minutes!!! 30 minutes of just his experience!! His everyday fight with the broken car he is driving!! How mean and cunning his seller was!!! What was his feeling when his car almost broke down on a highway!!! How bad he wanted to hurt the seller!! I mean. COMMON!!!! Give me a Break!!! (Felt like throwing something on him just to shush him. REALLY!!)
Decided never to go to his cubicle again or to talk to him!!! And Yet... Here we are.. After almost 3 years... As Friends.. As Dear Friends..

Kumz, my other friend, was very close to Dude. So our friendship developed and it blossomed into a wonderful thing when the team grew bigger. It was just fun, fun and more fun. We were uncontrollable! All of us (except Dude) had one common thing - to pull Dude's leg and believe me, we never felt bad about that!!!

And this is how we are. Against each other.. Most of the times!!!
This friendship is not just about all our merry-go-round events. I have seen him go through a very tough phase, during which we all promised to stay together and support each other, like no one could ever imagine!!!! That was the time when we all actually became close. And that was the time when each one of us realized how important the other person is in our life!!! But, I got to tell you that after all that happened; I really admire this dude - For his courage and confidence were just above the bar!!! ~God bless you~

He is NOT-A-VERY-BEST-ENTERTAINER but still keeps the ambience very lively. I admire his frankness (to be true he is too frank for others to accept him).Yeah. He speaks a lot about burping and his stomach malfunctions than anything else.!!! But who cares!!!

He is THE best yapper and the worst rapper I have ever seen in my life. But still who cares!!! He is just a wonderful person. He is a friend in need!!!! Even now, he calls me almost every now and then to make sure that everything is ok by my side and that I have all the updates from his side.

Unforgettable are:
* Those days when he used to take us out for a walk or to starbucks just for a 15 minutes break!! ~what a break it was from work~
* our Saturday breakfast in Panera!! ~Nostalgic~ * our little meaningless fights and screams!!! ~YOUUUUU!!! Idiot~
* his cooking turns and the world famous, Bisibelabath!! ~Bless~
* those evenings when he called us, while on the way to home, to prepare a special masala tea for him!!! ~You lazy bug~
* those moments when he talked bad about a person famously known as "B"!! ~Can he even use that word?? I guess not!!!!~
* those special days when he talked about his workout sessions during his 10th grade and all about his biceps and triceps and 6-pack!! ~did you even listen to what you were saying!!!~
* those mornings when he used to throw his advice (even though we made it clear to him, almost zillion times, that no one is listening!!!) about the office and work!!!
* His emails with a sign AWK meaning Alex Wachowski as a result of his bizarre attachment to Matrix movie series ~Gawd… dude!!~
* The expressions when he talked about how he lost almost 3000 bucks to an auto driver and his family (ofcourse, they threatened him!!!) in Chennai ~Can anyone be this dumb!!! Maybe!! Chuckles~
Or, How can I ever forget his flying visit to our place with his parents and all the fun we had or a special 4 lbs sweet box all the way from TX!!!

Even a quick thought of all these moments brings a smile. Those Wonderful, beautiful, crazy, don’t-really-care-about-what-others-think, emotional moments are countless. Dude!! I have saved them carefully so it can be cherished forever and ever!!

I'm not saying he is my sweet buddy all the time. There are days when I feel like throwing him from top of the Eiffel Tower - But let’s just leave it at that!!!! I'm sure you got the point!!! ~thinks of all such moments and smiles~

But putting all those aside, I am glad that I share a special gift of friendship with this wonderful (and crazy) dude!! I miss being there on this special day, Dude!!

On this day, I wish my wonderful friend, Dude and Nands a very happy, fun-filled, lovely and wonderful, married life. May God be with you during all those "differing opinion" moments to save you!! *smiles*
~ Bless you both.. Hugs ~

Tuesday night special!!!

Eating good food is a great sign of healthy living (of course it's not true if you eat french fries and cheese sticks!!! I'm talking about healthy food, OK??)..

And this comes from me as I had a wonderful lunch today.. Felt so happy the moment I opened the lunch box.. Filled my gullet with my lunch for the next 10 minutes and then there it was.. An empty lunch box!!! ~God bless me~

OK.. This is what happened.. I went home early yesterday as I started early from office.. I decided to cook something special for Sel.. ~hugs~

For the past 8 months, I have been dotty about "cooking".. Not that I disliked cooking before, but I never knew I liked it so much either.. If I decide to shop for groceries, then lets just put it this way, God save my wallet!!!

Dinner used to be ready by the time Sel comes home from office and we always had very early dinners... I know he has been missing that for the past 1 week.. So, decided to prepare some nice ragi idly and tomato chutney for him.. As soon as I reached home, started working on the batter.. As it was my own recipe, didn't have any difficulty in putting things together.. I got to say that I did an awesome job of Peas Ragi idly!!! Also, the chutney was at it's best.. It was a bit spicy but tolerable!!! And, the best part was that the food was ready by the time Sel came home.. ~feeling happy about that~

We had a nice and healthy dinner... ~thinking how fun it is to cook~

Today, came home at the usual time today.. Sel was watching Avatar movie in Blu-ray ~doesn't really understand why he is so crazy about such movies~

He also prepared a nice strong coffee for me.. ~Ahh.. My love~

Thought of cooking something for snacks.. But didn't have anything except the leftover idlies from yesterday.. Made upma out of that.. ~I know.. I'm on a roll.. ha ha~ I'm also glad that Sel liked it...

Then boiled eggs for egg kurma.. Egg kurma was originally planned for dinner tonight and also for lunch tomorrow.. But Sel interrupted the plan to prepare a nice, hot fish curry... NOW, I'm not complaining about that at all.. It just overrode all my dishes!!!! ~grins~ As we ate it so fast, I wasn't able to take pictures... ~scratches her head with a thought that Sel should cook very often from now on... ha ha ha~

See, I removed all yolks from eggs... Because they are high in cholesterol!!!! Yeah... NOW, That's what I meant by Good Food in the beginning...
~walks in to kitchen to pack the kurma for next day's lunch~

Flashback..

Sundays are just awesome..

Got up a bit early (by early, I mean - compared to my all previous Sundays!!).. Sel and I were planning to go to Tennis court today.. But right now, he is talking to his colleagues about some office issue while here I'm just enjoying the sunny day with a cup of coffee and listening to Daniel Bedingfield's Gotta get thru this .. *thinking how lucky are few people to REALLY enjoy their Sundays.. Awww.. Poor Sel!! *

Had a wonderful week last week.. Enjoyed my office work (OK.. it's just not the first week's smitten feeling, but I really enjoyed learning new things).. Can't wait to start my Monday with all new assignments..
*looking through the window glancing at the shining sun*

We spent our Saturday with our wonderful friends Mr & Mrs. S, their two kids and Mr.S's mom.. They came all the way from Maryland to see us and to go to a temple in NY (OK.. that's not entirely true!!! Sel and Mr. S love the special Indian foods at the temple's canteen, that's the main reason!!)

I was asked NOT to prepare anything as they didn't want to eat anything before their big feast.. But yet, I prepared some Veggie cutlets.. Sel loved it as the entire food had only 1 tsp oil (and we all know how health freak he is!!).. Prepared some heart-shaped cutlets to for Sweetie (Mr & Mrs. S's daughter).. We all had a bite and to please your eyes, here you go!!!

And more..

Then we all prayed real good in the Temple and went to canteen (Remember!! that's the main purpose!!).. When I saw the food I just remembered our Friday dinner (in an Indian restaurant where I overstuffed myself with a new curry dish and felt uncomfortable for a long time after that *i was just like a python after a heavy meal and felt so irritated about the feeling. grrrrrr*) and promised myself to STOP when I really want to stop... I even packed 1/4th of my food as I stopped eating the moment I felt full.. *pats on my shoulder for the beautiful self-control thing*

Though the distance to our home from the temple is just 30 miles, it took us almost 2 hours to come home because of the traffic.. We all spoke about everything from our recent West coast trip to their well planned and about to take-off Disney trip to the crime rate in LA to the visitors who were taking pics of we really didn't know in streets of NY and to the Hanuman Chalisa..

Isn't it a wonderful thing to talk to kids about their favorite Dora or Sponge bob and to elders about their Devotional interests just to see the shooting spike in their interest rate!! Sel and I really loved it as Mr & Mrs. S are our favorite couple.. *hugs*

Now, we just have to wait for our next Baltimore trip.. *Sighs*

Have a smooth Sunday and a wonderful week ahead!!!
*goes to kitchen to eat left-over cutlets... hmmm ... What a bliss!!!*

First day at work..

Much awaited day for Sel and I... That is because of me as I'm going to be working after a long time... YES!! Today was my first day at work..

I can tell you that I was quite excited and tensed about the first day.. It will be there for everyone, right!!! Soooo, I got up early and was getting ready.. But still wanted to scream to express my excitement.. But that isn't possible as Sel was sleeping after a long WORK night.. So updated my facebook silently with the same super excitement.. Then, prepared breakfast and packed lunch ..

After a nice breakfast of 1/3 cup of oatmeal, started to office.. I got a chance to drive our new Audi too.. FINALLY!!!! ** with Sel on the side when we go out, it's very difficult to get a chance to drive Audi, you know!!!! Yeah.. He just adores it **

Reached office well before the time they had asked me to come.. That's the joining day's special edition - enthusiasm.. Tried my level best to rub on on my enthusiasm to almost everyone there **grins**
I have NEVER seen so many scientists or lab people in one place.. Ahhhh.. By the way, I'm Senior Materials Scientist ** feels shy **

Had fun filling out papers... Didn't complete those though... Decided to take those home and put in a request to Sel for his assistance as he is really good in all such things ** hugs **
Then read about what I'm going to be working on for sometime... Then started from office..

It took almost 40 - 50 minutes to reach home.. but I enjoyed the ride.. Felt just like what Tony Stark said in Iron Man 2 movie, It's good to be back!!!

To THE BEST MOM in the universe..

To the person, whom I love dearly..

I pray God everyday for many things in the life... Of which 3 prayers remain constant.. First one is for Sel & I, second one is for my mom & dad and third one is to bless all the family members, friends and enemies around (strange to pray for enemies, is it!!! but I got different plans for them.. so it's up to God to protect them from my evil plans.. --Villainy laughter--)

I was just drifted away today morning with all my childhood thoughts and those very special days with my MOM!!!

Though my mom was working (And believe me, those crazy people gave her a very hard time because of her strict and straightforward nature against a bribe community!!! ohh... by the way, they are in my enemies list too...), I never missed her as a stay-at-home mom as she was there for me all the time..

Those childhood days when I used to ask her how special I am.. With all the patience in the world (because I used to ask her this question at least once a day as I really liked the Feel Special emotion), she used to tell me different stories on how she diligently prayed God to have a beautiful daughter (yep!!! that's me.. **smiles**) and how God gave her different choices of baby and how she chose a baby that just fits my description and how happy she was when I came to this world.. Love you mom for your witty imagination and lovely stories..

Those days when I used to see her wait for the bus to go to her office while I walk to my school.. Those flying kisses and hugs... How much I will be wanting to see her everyday during those days... Love you mom for the way you taught me that expressing love to your loved ones is a "feel-good" feeling..

Those wonderful and sunny Saturdays, when she used to take me to Main Guard Gate (that's a shopping place in Trichy, India) and get me everything I asked for.. Her gift to me on those days used to be "Vegetable Briyani" and masala milk (with all the pistachios, almonds, cashews and raisins) from Vasantha Bhavan restaurant - that is only if I do many good deeds Sunday through Friday... (when it comes to food, you should know how I behave.. So I was a very good girl back then..:)).. How I used to wait for those Saturdays as those were our mom-daughter day-out time till my 10th grade... We used to talk about anything and everything.. Love you mom for the frankness and friendliness..

A Saturday when I was practicing for dance at a new place (as my dance teacher chose her home instead of an abandoned school to teach the dance moves).. And how difficult it was for my mom to find this place as it was in the interiors of the town (remember.. those were the days when we didn't have those fancy mobile phones)... Even then, she didn't express her tiredness (of roaming almost an hour and half to find this place) even a bit when she saw her wonderful daughter dancing perfectly for the song... Love you mom for your patience..

All those Tuesdays when I had my Karate class where all the student had to cut their nails (so they don't use their nails to attack the opponent).. and if you bite those (which is gross by the way) then you'll be punished.. (our karate master was an expert in finding whether a nail was bit by teeth or cut by using a nail cutter).. She used to remind me every Monday night to cut the nails.. Love you mom for your dedication to your kid's school activities...

Those scary weekdays when we moved to Chennai in 1996.. Didn't like anything there as it was a new place.. New school, new classmates, new home, new neighbors, new neighborhoods!!! Gawd...Everyone abhors too many NEW things in life, isn't it.. I was no exception... My mom helped me overcome the hatred feeling and start enjoying my life even in a new place.. How she used to meet my teachers and get excuses on my behalf.. Love you mom for all your support..

Some Saturday in 1996, when our Doctor told that I had jaundice and that I should be eating only low calorie foods... She gave up all her tasty food menu so I wouldn't miss them so much (yeah!!! I took foods without oil and foods that were easy to digest like yogurt and greens, no coffee/tea, no sugar, no coconut, no dhall, etc.,!!! Don't worry.. the Doctor is on my enemies list too.. ** grins**).. Love you mom for never hesitating to give up anything for your kid's sake...

How she used to wait outside for me during my board exams and be the first one to know how I performed on all those exams... Love you mom for waiting there during those difficult exam times...

On Aug 22, 1999 - when my folks and brother left me at the hostel to pursue my undergrad.. My dad and brother were just fine while my mom started pouring out tears like a baby who's toy was taken away... Love you mom for all the emotions which you never cared to hide..

On my graduation day in 2003, when I missed her so much as she was miles and miles away in USA... and how much she must have missed being there to see her daughter graduate... Love you mom for your special wishes even when you were miles away...

One crazy Thursday in July 2003, when I was crying for some silly thing with the way things turned out with my graduate studies and the way she consoled me saying that things happen for good and that patience & perseverance is very important in one's life and that those characters will be rewarded.. Love you mom for all the wonderful advice that helped me to pull myself together..

How much she supported me to pursue my graduate studies... Love you mom..

That special day in January of 2006, when I told her about my special love and the way she lost her night's sleep (While I was next to her sleeping without any problem..) worrying whether my dad would agree to this special love of mine!!! And when he did agree, the way she expressed her emotions... Love you mom...

That wonderful day in December of 2008, when Sel came to my home to visit my parents.. Obviously I was nervous but she gave that comfort feeling which even made Sel feel at-ease and at home... Did I tell you that my parents asked him so many questions but those are all just to make sure that everything is good for their daughter... and I still remember the way my mom expressed her thoughts about Sel that he is very kind and polite and that she is very glad about her new son "with her usual smile"!!!... Love you mom for being there for me at all times..

All the days when she offers a special prayer to all gods while only a few minutes ago I would have told her about something I am desperately wanting to have...

These are just a few to list... I remember each and every day of my childhood as there is no such day when I didn't feel so special...

To all those days in the past years and to all those wonderful days and years yet to come, To my wonderful MOM, WISH YOU A VERY HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY...
All those footprints on the sands of our time will be cherished forever and ever....
Love you loads and tons... *hugs and kisses*

Dad .. Now you just have to wait for the next Father's day to read about how much your daughter loves you and those special father-daughter moments.. I'm sure you remember each and every second of those.. **hugs** .
**love you too dad - for everything**

Comfortably...

I have been trying to get up early this entire week to prepare myself to follow the proper sleep cycle of 8 hours or more (I'm going to start working from coming Monday and if I don't get used to sleep early, rise early phrase & practice, it's going to be difficult, isn't it!!!) :) But things doesn't seem to work the way it should.. I don't understand the terms & conditions of the agreement that my body has with my iphone alarm, but I can't even hear the tone of my alarm clock!! I mean, whatthaaaaa!!!!!!

I was trying to analyze the reason behind this and so here it goes:
-- I understand that the tiredness comes from our last week's west coast trip and that my sleep cycle got disturbed due to the time difference between these places.. But I am not sure whether to blame the trip entirely for the failure!!!
-- Probably it's because of the style I have adapted over the past 8 months.. It's obvious that I have become lazy over the past few months.. It has been a slow and steady process though!!! After all I was relaxing and enjoying my stay-at-home time..

It's not that I'm worried about the new lazy character that is growing steadily in me.. But if I think of my life before moving to NJ, Jesus, I will be blessed!!! While I was working in TX, I used to get up at 5 am and start to office at around 6am.. (that is if my carpool partner had already blessed the world by getting up early).. If you ask me now, what!! 6 am!! huh!!!

And I don't know why but I am getting this notion that I'll be back to the same routine... Getting up early to go to work.. Drive quite some miles.. Work, work, work.. Try to come back home early but end up staying late in the office... Aahhhhh.... After all, that's why people who work look at the calendar constantly to push their weekdays to relax on weekends!!!!

However, I will, for now, consider this opportunity as a harbinger of my bright future!!!!! :)

Again, I am not complaining about having this wonderful opportunity to work again.. Because that's what I wanted to do all this time.. Time-off is good.. but I hate prolonged time-offs.. and I'm all set to work again...
--- smiles ---

May God bless me with answers to all the questions that I will ever encounter at work.. :)

Enjoy & have a fun-filled weekend...

A Week long Wild west coast trip..

I know I haven't been blogging like I should be... But I have a wonderful excuse this time.. We were on a trip to West Coast last week and Oh Man!!!! It was just awesome... :) An awesome and tiring week long break for both of us.. This blog is to summarize our west coast trip events to cherish the wonderful, beautiful and romantic moments.. :)

Day - 1:
We went to LAX... Drove to SFO from there..




Day - 2:
Saw Golden Gate bridge from all angles (I mean, Seriously!!!).. Then to Bonita Lighthouse.. Enjoyed the hot summer.. Then to NAPA valley... Almost fainted there with the mild wine scent.. But enjoyed the landscaping.. Then to University of California @ Berkeley.. Then to 1 Infinite Loop to Apple Company to put down Sel's craziness.. -- GRIN --.. Few poses here and there... Then to Google (I know.. Sel went crazy with all the major corporates!!!).. Visited Stanford University on the way (WHY? To take pictures... SEL!!!! Wanna kick you now for making all these stops!!!)




Day - 3:
Drove to LAX via Pacific Coast Highway... Enjoyed the seaside view.. Pictures here and there!!! :)




Day - 4:
We went to a temple in Calabasas.. Then we drove to see the Hollywood sign.. YES!! The famous Hollywood sign.. Went to Griffith Park from there. As a New Yorkie we missed central park.. So we decided to make it up for that!! :) Then instead of going around the corner to Universal Studios, we drove almost half an hour to Anaheim.. Don't ask me why.. But, Sel created his imaginary Universal Studios in Anaheim!!! -- SIGH -- Enjoyed the tour inside the studios... It was a very realistic and mind blowing tour.. Spent the evening in Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive.. Enjoyed the rich, bright, big houses there.. Ogled their rich bungalows... hmmmm!!!.



Day - 5:
A long drive to death valley national park (http://www.nps.gov/deva/)..It was really a land of extremes... Drove past the sand dust area when the sand particles hit the car like hail stones.. Saw sand dunes.. History of this park amazed us.. Enjoyed the wonderful view of "Artist's palette" where the natural rock looks just like a palette with different colors.. Aahhhh... Got a chance to appreciate God's creation once again.. Then to Badwater basin which had a whole lot of salt and was hit by those while in the basin.. In the evening, started off to Las Vegas...


Day - 6:
Checked in the hotel.. Dozed offff... :)

Day - 7:
Went for a long walk in Las Vegas Blvd.. REALLY!!! A very long walk for almost half a day... Saw all imitations of Eiffel Tower, Brooklyn bridge, Liberty Statue, Eiffel Tower. and a beautiful fountain work in Bellagio, big buildings that belonged to Caesar's palace.. My oh my!!! Such a rich and bright city!!!! Went to the Stratosphere tower.. View wasn't great as the building was on a corner.. But it was worth it in a way that they gave us a slot machine card - for FREE!!! :)




Day - 8:
Saw Hoover Dam on the way to Grand Canyon.. Canyon is supposed to be HOT, Isn't it!!! Surprisingly snow visited them a day before.. So, it was cold.. This is to cold weather - "I HATE YOU".. Enjoyed the canyon view though it was very cloudy in most of the parts..Snaps here and there!!! :)



Day - 9:
Spent the entire day in gambling.. Won some... @ night, went to Eiffel Tower to enjoy the Bellagio fountain work.. Tried different roulette machines till 2 am... Had fun and that's the whole point, right!!!



Day -10:
Got up late... Drove all the way to LAX... (yeah!! we had our flights to NJ from LAX @ 11.59 pm).. Didn't go directly to airport but to Santa Monica Beach and Venice Beach (Sel wanted to go to these beaches as he had this idea that the famous Hollywood people take a dive there... Yeah!! I know what you think!!! But yet, Love you loads Sel.. Bless you for making me stop in all those not-at-all-worthy places like this dirty beach).. Tiredness from the entire week's driving (we drove 2500 miles in a week) just put us to sleep the minute we occupied the seats in flight..

Had wonderful dreams about the places we visited and the fun we had during the trip.. I am sure I must have left the smile on my face even while I was sleeping.. :)

For the past 10 days, we enjoyed each and every nanosecond.. Had loads of fun.. Took lots of pictures.. Sel and I enjoyed the trip to the core..

"Thank You" Sel for planning such a wonderful trip and for all the wonderful, marvelous time in Wild West Coast!!