11 Things Every Woman Should Write Down.....

There's no better way to celebrate the rich, full life you've lived so far—and the big, bright future ahead—than telling your story!

The ever diligent Shilpa (Yo that's the word I associate with you, Shilpa) has tagged me in her post to complete this very interesting list complied by Oprah  -  11 Things Every Woman Should Write Down Before the Year Ends!

Go on, read my story so far...

1. What Younger You Would Like About Present You

For having a 'life' .. a life beyond the every day rut of living. A life revolving around books, friends, blogging - how these simple things make a huge difference to the quality of life!  Another facet I am truly proud of is the fact that I am somebody many would think twice before picking a squabble with!

2. The Watched/Read It List

Courtesy Goodreads, today I have the complete  list of books I have read through the year and a even bigger list of "to-read" books. Go on, visit my page to see what's on my bookshelf this year! Though I have managed to read only 34 of the 50 books I signed up for, it was a beautiful journey of books this year!

As for movies, I already have a list of movies I am hoping to watch the coming year !

3. The Mistake You Never Want to Make 

A mistake I was very close to making, but then as usual the fate had the last laugh! To bring a child to the world for sake of society and not cause you want to bring a child into the world. I see many couples popping out a child within a year or so of marriage - its almost as if producing a child is the one and only obligation in marriage! No child really deserves it.....

The irony though is that today I am more than ready to welcome a child into our life but we have been having no luck in conceiving one :-/

4. Your Ideal Outfit

Am sitting at home writing this post in my comfy PJs ... indeed my ideal outfit ;). But on a serious note, I would love to have more of western formal attire in my wardrobe - well blame my 'personal shoppers' (read my sis n Sabs) for the lack of it :-P

5. A Deep, Dark—Shhh—Secret

Let it remain that way huh ;)

6. The Most Unexpected Compliment You Ever Got

This must be somewhere in grade eight or so. Nobody until then had ever complimented me for my "looks" - instead in their foolishness had made me an awkward and conscious teenager. So it was a pleasant surprise when my class teacher signed my autograph book complimenting me on my radiant smile . I still remember the exact words she wrote! Haa the difference a simple compliment makes to a teenagers psyche

7. That One Quote

When life hands you a lemon make lemonade (or better still get some tequila!).

8. The Best Surprise You've Ever Had

Must be indeed the peter pan of my life - my husband. He truly lives up to the adage "Like father, Like Husband" ;). What more can a daddy's gal want... especially considering I  married him a couple of months after I lost my daddy!

9. Your True Happiness 

Lies in the small things in life....

 The simple pleasures of reading a good book, watching a good movie, of traveling, of rustling up a good meal together and of good times! By no standards do we lead a fancy life - I dream of traveling around the world, of a better home, of a decent bank balance and a complete family. But as my peter pan says "It's the journey, not the destination, that really matters"!

10. Your Favorite Failure

For having ditched the damn software engineer job. Funnily I was good at it, but always knew at the back of my mind that it's not what I want to do! Today my job doesn't pay me half as much as a programming job would have -  but  I know, I have made a change for good! Though honestly there are times I regret it -  for the extra penny it would have paid along with the foreign assignments!I Am still optimistic that time will erase this teeny-weeny regret a day soon!

11. An Amendment to the Bucket List

Ho the slacker in me would love to slash out a few items in my bucket list - to read and write Malayalam(my mother tongue), to give driving another shot among other things - but lets leave the list as is for now - shall we?

An interesting questionnaire rt. I will tag Cory who originally shared this list with us.... I am sure she will have a v interesting story to share with all of us!

With this, I bid 2013 a warm adios and welcome 2014 which am hoping is a more happier and fruitful year......

The B'day!

This story is a true account of one of the most memorable Birthdays my sister ever celebrated (Its a part of the family folk lore today).....

She was the newest gal in grade three. But with her incessant chatter she made friends in no time - her best friends n she could be seen sitting cooped at the back of the class talking nineteen to a dozen in Hindi much to her teachers annoyance.

Few weeks into the new academic year, it was her birthday and amid much fan fare she came in dressed in a smart green skirt n a bag filled with goodies. Her classmates eyes gleaned with the prospect of goodies awaiting them. Post class assembly in morning, the entire class sang the birthday song for her and then awaited for the customary goodies to be distributed. But the teacher did not see the 'goodie bag' accompanying her - so assuming the gal hadn't bought along any , sent her back to her desk even as she shooed the protesting class into silence.

What transpired was - the B'day gal n her friends were smart cookies - they had decided to divide the 60 odd chocolates in the bag among themselves! A few minutes into the class, they could be seen munching on these silently! But the cat was belled soon - when a classmate who wasn't given a share of the chocolates couldn't digest this injustice and started wailing out.....

The teacher had to come into the scene and soon the entire story emerged. The B'day gal and her two friends were made to open up their bags n the chocolates were confiscated! After a stern talk-down the B'day gal scowled n distributed the chocs among her preening classmates ;)

Nee its not her B'day today - this is rather the response to the prompt "Birthday" posted as a part of The Writer's Post Thursday Blog Hop.

Here is wishing my little imp of a sweetheart all the best as she is on verge to start a new chapter in her life!

Book Review: And The Mountains Echoed

Pic Courtesy Google!

The latest book from the writer of "Kite Runner" and "Thousand Splendid Suns". Now let me acknowledge that I have not read either of this books - for no reason this writer intimated me(!!). This weekend, the weather was just right to curl up with a book and the book that I happened to pick up on whim was "And The Mountains Echoed". Errr I happened to finish the book from start to finish in literally one sitting :-D - So hooked was I to the book.

The central theme around which the book revolves is the story of a little gal "Pari". There are many
other stories running paralelly - Its the story of - of a bro-sis whose relationship was nipped even before it started - the heartburn that it ensues thru the life, of a lady who is in a perpetual state of unhappiness, of a chauffeur who doubles up as the care-taker and even becomes the gay-lover of his master, of Talibans, of War Criminals, Of refugees, of social workers working in war prone countries and may other interesting character sketches!  But each story ties up v neatly to the main story...... A delight to read!

Indeed Khaled Hosseini is a master story teller! N no prizes for guessing how I landed up with the book ;)

Book Review: Oleander Girl by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

I have been wanting to get my hands on the latest book by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni - "Oleander Girl" from the time I heard of its release. This has been on my to-be-picked-soon list since then. But I forget that I hv a lovely Santa Claus in my sister n guess what landed in my house early this week :-). Haa the bliss of having somebody who will make ur every wish come true(Now only if everything in life was so simple).

Maybe one advantage of reading a book pretty soon after its published is that you are not bogged down by expectations and so enjoy it to the fullest.

Linking this to May Photo A Day challenge for the prompt "Want"!

Here is my review of the book....

Korobi orphaned at bitth, is the apple of eyes of her old grandparents. She lives a idealistic life in a sprawling ancient house in heart of kolkota. Jus outa her teens, a well to do young dashing businessman falls head over heels in love with her and it seems as if her life is set to bloom....

But tragedy strikes in the form of her grandfathers death n soon hidden secrets tumble out making Korobi question her parents identity! From there the plot diverges into Korobis struggle to find her fathers real identity....

The storyline keeps you hooked - its a book I finished over the weekend! The description is so vivid - it brings to life the old palatial bungalows of Kolkota complete with the temple, the smells of a bengali kitchen, the old patriarchy - hindu grandfather, the lives of struggling Indians n the grad students in the US.......

A good easy read!

The star(s) of the day...

Pic Courtesy Sabs!

My sis celebrated her first marriage anniversary yesterday n here am still wondering when did my litt sis grow up so much ;). Here is wishing both of many many many happy year n  happier memories.......

Linking this to May Photo a Day challenge for the prompt - "Star".

This is really Good!

My first  smart Phone courtesy my lit sis :-D. N am in love with it.... yeaaaaa! I was one of those relics who  lived in stone era firmly believing that phone is to be used only for making calls- sending SMS!

But today am a convert - the luxury of internet on the go ensures I don hv a  dull moment any longer - be it a boring  meeting at work(:-P) or long waits at the doc\banks! The best thing I love abt it is the ease of clicking a pic n uploading it on FB, Mail, blog... No more hassles of carrying the cable, downloading it to comp n then uploading it!!

 But err this can be a bane in disguise huh ... the impulse to reach out n check mail\FB Update each time the mobile beeps even if its late in the night :-/.

Linking this to Day 3 prompt of "This is really good" as a part of May photo a day challenge

Valentine day.....

.... Should be symbolic of the true loves of our life! Now who says that its only ur "Special somebody" who can be the "Love of your life". It could be anybody from your niece to your pet dog to your best friend rt.....

So imagine the high that hubbs is in on this special day for he is been gifted with what can only be called as one of his many "true loves in life" -  by his SIL on the valentines day eve!

So without any further ado let me introduce this "special something" that has hubbs positively glowing ..... A pair of "pluggers" :-D (Jus a fancy term for funky sandals - the kind that you would wear on beach)

All of u allowed to roll ur eyes at this juncture for how can  a pair of sandals can give a man in his 30s a high(beats me too!)! But  plz remember its ma hubbs we talking of who is truly in love with his shoes-sandals n the fact that there is a ongoing curfew at our house on buying more shoes-sandals. The curfew is simply cause he already has 30+ pairs of shoes-sandals(!!!!).

Here is a pic frohttp://capturedalive.wordpress.com/m his blog, to commentate this day.......

PS: This post originated post a conversation on FB with Mridula

Chef in action

That's my fav chef in his elements  ;).

The apron is courtesy my sis n the wok was on his wish-list for so long that yours truly finally gifted it to him on his bday. The glee on his face was akin to a child gifted with his favorite toy :-).  Now tell me how many men do you know who has kitchen appliances on his wish list!

PS: Errrrr for the uninitiated the chef pictured here is ma hubs ;-) N the next item on wish list is barbeque, blender, kitchen processor... yea the list jus goes on n on **Roll-My-eyes**
Now will somebody explain him the dynamics of a clutter free kitchen!

Linking this to ABC Wednesday(C is for Chef)

Miss. Sensitivity.....

.. is what my sis is! Read on n tell me if u agree...


Her office has this AWESOME library which we rectenly discovered. So a list is handed over to her v religiously n am duly awarded with booty.

Now, it so transpired tht of the 4 books hv read this year(!!), my fav happens to be Ancient promises - A book I picked up as against from her lib ~~ N madam is upset abt it! Upset cause the book she picked from lib on my reco dint make it to my list of fav reads.....

Err somebody tell me how two sisters can turn out to be so different... **Hand on Forhead**

Books, Books N More Books!

Less than 72 hrs in 2013 n look at my book haul for the year .... each of them a personal fav, been on my reading list for ages n the best part - getting my hands on this booty was a unexpected surprise :-D

The first n last in the stack is what I hv been itching to get my hands on the most! 

The last 4 in the stack is courtesy my darling sis from her office library. The next one is a gift from Sabs ~~ who is on a mission to get me acquainted with India writer(Am I loving it or what ~~ I guess the reading list can speak for itself). 

The first one "Ancient Promises" ~~ this books has been eluding me for soo long now. On 1st Jan after meeting a friend - happened to hop onto a second hand book store on a whim n guess what I returned back with :-D. Now this I say is the perfect start to 2013.

The litt pleasures......

Isnt she a doll!

Sometime early last year I wrote this post on my cousin who was expecting her baby soon. What I dint mention then was that she was the first(and to date - the only) cousin\sibling of my age circle(as against your elder cousins) to become a mother.

So yesterday when I first had a glimpse of her daughter, almost a year after she was born - my heart literally went out to the little imp! Tht naughty glint in her eyes will have you gush with warmth n love. What I wanted  to really give her was a big-tight hug! But the danger of having her scream murder, ensured that all all of us followed her mandate of "Keep distance - Min 10 ft" v meekly! Love u sweetheart, muah! Cant wait to see you again.......

This along with the fact that my maid who was AWOL for more than 10 days has finally shown up today and the promise of some retail therapy with ma sis post lunch today, promises to make this a happppie weekend!

Weekend Tales!

The weekend started on a not-so-high note what with staying cooped at home thru sat thnx to the Bangalore bandh and with no bright prospects  in TV or books (Bang the head!).





It was only at the fag end of the day, tht hubbs decided to shake off some lazines n done his cooking cap :). And see what came out of his cooking expeditions ....

His first attempt at dishing up a choc Mousse spiked with 'Amarula'! Tasted yumm.... Nee I don claim to be a unbiased wife :-P

The topping on the cake(or should I say mousse) is the prospect of laying hands on J.K.Rowlings Latest 'Casual Vacany' sometime this week and the promise of some tasty lunch courtesy sisters In-Laws! Haa the bliss of a hearty lunch on a Sunday afternoon esp when u don hv to life a finger to dish it :-P

Linking this to color deckors weekend wrap up - this site truly adds colors into life!

My little sis!

Over this weekend, me n sis were home-alone. This took me back a few years ago - When both of us would spend a good time of the day together - the blessing-curse of having working parents.

These 2 days was time enuf to remind me how easy it is to love this litt sis of mine! She will bend backwards jus to keep u happy(A Blessing-curse again!). Always makes me wonder how did both of us turn out so different - considering we both were bought up in near-similar conditions!!

5 months of her marriage n it has cemented what I always knew - she is happiest playing the 'Puurfect-traditional' D-I-L(perfect as long as cooking aint a criteria) - She will without a whimper put up with all kinda customs n traditions. I hv this fleeting suspicion that if she was a pro at sari-draping, she would hv gone dressed ala the TV-Serial Bahus everyday to work :-D. Ask me how diff was it to get her to wear jeans n cut tht lifeless hair of hers into a more hep-looking shoulder-length(I tell yea - she has a allergy to the word 'Hep') !. N ho how lightly she carries her degree from one of the top-notch colleges n a high-paying job with abs no airs abt it!(Something I will do good to pick a tip or two from her)


Now I am ready to almost bet my last penny that its not the initil euphoria of marriage thats making her play this role to perfection - its jus what she is. I played the purrfect DIL until the newness of marriage faded off - post that am jus the practical one.


Always makes me wonder if it is other influences in life that have made us this different(it cant be family cause well we are the family) - was it the friends n books n movies. Books - that I devore in dozens. Movies n friends - that she devourers in dozen - As a chid they would be the typical 90s hindi-telugu move - U know the kinds am taking of - where being the purfect DIL was considered to be the epitome of a woman's life!

Does that make me right n her wrong or vice-versa. Not really - but then it will help for oth of us to pick up a lesson or two from other! Time I accept that my kid-sister is grown up huh :-)

PS: If U notice, the operative word here is "Perfect DIL" n not "Perfect Wife" :-P. She can still make tht hubbs of hers to pull his hair off(now u know whom to blame for his receding hair line... lol!)

Dinner is a Delight.....

...... When you know each morsel of food u eat is not jus healthy but equally Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm :-D

That soup u see there is a hearty mutton soup - Some bread to dunk into it. You could of course eat that up with the Bulls-Eye-On-Capsicum or the scrambled eggs (made with the left-over yolk  - the egg white went into the soup).

Definitely Delightful rt :)

Linking this to ABC Wednesday (D is for Delightful Dinner)

Friday the 13th :-D

Does it spook you? Nee not me... at least one superstition that I don horde on to!! The reason thou is got no scientific bend to it.. its jus tht 13th of aug happens to be ma hubbs bday n I cant afford to be spooked if it falls on a friday rt :)

Today - Friday the 13th also happens to be ma BILs B'day... did anybody say "Devil" :-D

Yummy(licious) huh!

Tales of Absistence.....

Must be this abstinence for close to a month now, that the word "Beverages" pops up the images of Beer, Wine in ma mind :).

The reason for the abstinence, is the fast hubbs is on for his up-coming sabrimala visit. Now knowing him, his concurrence to go on a religious sojourn without kicking up a hue and cry, is a surprise in itself :). The bigger surprise is that he has been able to stay away from meat, booze n smoke(strictly in order of his indulgence) without showing any obvious withdrawal symptoms. Way to go ma boy!

Funnily enuf, the person who is showing the worst withdrawal symptoms - for lack of any kinda "entertainment"(use ur imagination) -  is been errr... yours truly :-O. Added to it is the fact that ma sis is busy entertaining her set of in-laws n Sabs is gone on a self-imposed social out-casting mode! Truly boring times I say :-/. The only relief is been my kindle :)


Well until then here is some food-porn(Dint I tell yea I luv the word) to stare at

Clicked on ma B'day - pic courtesy Hubbs!

              
Linking this to Thursday Challenge - "BEVERAGES" (Tea, Coffee, Wine, Beer, Water,...)

Xolo!

I seem to belong to a generation (Man! I officially feel old now) who believes that a phone is well jus a phone which means u use it to make\receive phone calls ~~ msgs, pics are all aded freebies but yea nothing more! I hv seen my frnds who hv the fanciest of phones but well really don use it for anything other than calls-msg-photos ~~ so yea I was quite happy with my stone-age generation phone.


But when I see ma hubbs n few others flaunting their smart-phones(!), I realized I was clueless around it ~~ no prizes for guessing that am no gizmo-geek nor am I known to embarace new technology(or any change for tht manner). Hmmmm :-/

Pic courtesy ~~ Xolo Website

So yea when an "opportunity" presented to set things right, I well hv decided to jump right into the wagon! So presenting to you my soon-to-be-possession! Xylo ~the Blink phone!

Now now lemme be v frank ~~ the "opportunity" was well the only reason I jumped into the wagon. You see one reason for my absistence from these fancy phones was the "Price Tag" ~~ My wallet wasn’t(isn’t) jus big enuf to accommodate it and neither did I hv any fascination for them! The "opportunity" being that my sis who happens to work for Intel could pick up the phone at almost 1\4th the market rate :-D and she being her generous self kindly gifts it to me n hubbs(who v conveniently lost his phone around the same time!)

While I of course cant yet review this phone ~~ ma hubbs is pretty happy with his thou he aint a bg fan of its camera n believes that its priced on the higher side.

So Xolo it is for ABC Wednesday (X for Xolo)

The Summer story!

The two weeks we were in hyd last month seemed almost a nightmare what with the increasing mercury levels and no AC to beat the bloody heat!

Rewind to a few year, na makes it a good 2 decades(man! am getting old) ~~ AC was a unimaginable luxury ~~Even the monstrous water cooler we had was a prized possession then! But but summers is where the best memories of my childhood are ~~ The long summer vacation spent at Kerala was jus the topping on the cake!

The house we were living in hyd then ~~ A "Match-Box" size apartment it was but the one luxury we had was bigger-than-the-bedroom open-air balcony n a huge terrace almost to ourselves. By late afternoons thou the balcony would be as good as live-burning-coals! Remember this was summers which meant water shortage which would mean lugging buckets of water to our first floor house(elevators at homes werent really heard of then!) ~~ Despite that  come evening, the entire balcony is doused with buckets of water . The pleasure of sitting down in the balcony post this "water treatment" and catching up over evening tea as the cold evening air caress our faces ~~ Luxury! I hv quite a few memories of last minute cramming up for my exam siting right on that balcony.....

As night creeps in, there would be more-often-than-not a tussle for the prized-position under the water cooler. So one fine evening it was decided to ditch the cooler and mats were laid down back-back on the balcony with a few pillows popped in! Now imagine, A groups of cousin lying down next to each other, looking up to a sky full of stars n telling stories of far far away places...............

Indeed Old is gold!

Linking this to ABC Wednesday (O is for "Old is Gold")

While I do not have any pics of hyd to share what I could instead show you is a old pic of hubbs from his childhood days(the child on extreme left).. doesnt he look like a sweetheart here or is it a biased wife speaking :)

Happy Vishu!

N heres a glimpse of our 'Vishu Kani'!If you want to know more about 'Vishu Kani' ~~ Jump over to this link ~~ it does describe in detail abt Vishu and what a 'Vishnu Kani' is typically adorned with!

Two interesting observations abt 'Vishu Kani'

>> 'Vishu' is also the 'Harvest Festival' of Kerala ~~ so obviously the 'Vishu Kani' will be brimming with the 'produces' from the fields. So in keeping with the tradition(Thou I live in a concrete Jungle far far away from the fields), the urli even today is filled upto the brim with all kinds of veggies n fruits(K I know oranges n grapes arent really found in kerala!) but jus that instead of picking them from the field one pays thru the nose (Anybody wanna guess how much that half dried up jack fruit costs in B'lore market!)

The Yellow flowers that you will see v. generously scattered around(look around the small mirror to the Right hand side of the pic) is locally called 'Konna'. Now I dono whats the significance of this flower in 'Vishu Kani' ~~ but many hardcore mallus will tell u that 'vishu Kani' is incomplete without a bunch of 'Konna'. I did try googling up to find the reason but dint find any except that its the 'State Flower of Kerala'(!) This again surprises me as I have hardly seen it growing in bunches anywhere in kerala and (beat this) if it werent for the hue-n-cry made on Vishu day, I wouldnt even know that this flower exists! Somebody help me iwth this story plz?

Linking this to abc Wednesday N is for New Year(n Vishu is New Year in Malayalam calendar)

MileStone Alert!

Well am almost a month late in ringing in the 'good news'(:-P) The hubbs finished his project 365 ~~ Indeed a 'Milstone' am glad he achieved! Heres a pic he clicked. N the reason for this particular pick is cause this is what is on top of my mind now-a-days... A lotta childhood memories!


Now back to our milestone, whats with hubbs that he will make me rue abt everything I prod him into! Take this photography hobby for instance ~~ he got into this post some 'not-so-gentle' pushes from yours truly but soon took to it like a 'fish-to-water'. But haaa ~~ jus as ma smirk was getting obvious, he goes a step ahead n devotes all his free-time into 'shoot-process-upload' routine day-in n day-out! N if he is left with any xtra time its devoted to 'Upskilling' these 'Shooting' skills so much so that one day I caught him sneaking in his camera manual into the loo~~ sob sob sob!

Linking this to ABC Wednesday (M is for Milestones)