You know its recession time when...

...the career openings supplement in your daily newspaper gets reduced to mere 6 pages from an average of 20-24 pages.
~~ Keep Smiling! ~~
Sent on my BlackBerry®.

Parental/Peer pressure on children

I just now read this article where a girl of 9 years becomes the youngest person to become Microsoft Certified Professional. And immediately my thoughts were "WOW!" When I thought of myself at that age I realized we were too busy playing stapu, reading famous fives and watching Telematch to be doing anything so intellectually driven.

Then my next thought went to the "parental pressure" to perform high in academics. Lot has been said about it, more in the negative way, and how its not a good thing, the long term psychological impact etc etc. At the same time I feel without a bit of parental pressure, we kids would not have even picked up a book to study. We would have been playing and whiling away our time. Its the parents who need to push us to study. Without this push I wonder if most of us would have reached where we are today. And its also the parents who figure out if their child has the capability of doing something outstanding and to provide means and support and sometimes even put a bit of pressure for the kids to take on the roads like this little girl did.

But this doesn't mean that I'm pro parental/peer pressure. There has to be a balance. In this era we as parents need to constantly guide our kids into focusing on studies more than what was required earlier because of the amount of distractions such as internet, movies, over use of cellphones etc is there. Arriving at this fine balance of studies and extra curricular activities is the toughest part. I really don't know if I will be able to strike any bit closer to this balance even though I would definitely be trying consciously.

We parents also get pressurized by the peer to further pressurize our kids to perform. "Ohh my child can do this and that etc" and that gets us to think lowly of our kid if he/she cannot do the same. And then we tend to push our kids to be at par with the child of our peer group.

I faced this a lot when we got Anirudh admitted to formal school. Everyone was asking us why are we losing 1 year and why are we getting him admitted in Nursery instead of KG. First of all I didn't have a choice, thanks to the chaos caused by rules changing every year. I agree I was under the pressure and kept thinking of how can I avoid this loss of a year. After many sleepless nights I realized, it doesn't matter. Its just fine. Its only one year. He has a full life ahead of him and if he turns out to be extraordinary brilliant and super intelligent I will see if he needs to be promoted to a higher class. But not now. Let him be in Nursery. And after 10 months I'm happy that I took this decision.

And not so long ago, when we were called to see their half yearly progress reports, I didn't go to see how has he been graded, has he scored well or not. Nopes. I just wanted to talk to his teacher if he has been enjoying school and not being a brat. That's it. With my daily conversations with Anirudh I knew he has been picking a lot of new stuff from school and I was happy with his progress. But when I saw parents of kids in nursery and KG discussing and comparing the grades of their wards, I realized this is what the parental pressure is. And this is what I definitely don't want to be doing. I just smiled to myself and walked away.

I don't know if I'm making any sense here but I hope you see the point I'm trying to make.

It woke up from its coma!!

Yippeee! Am so elated and so happy and so jubilant and so...ok ok I will stop. Still don't know what I'm talking about? Really no?

Its my BlackBerry!! Remember I was trying to make it learn to swim but the poor thing had drowned? I had been surviving on the borrowed BlackBerry till now but that also had to be put to rest thanks to my temper :(

So the Christmas holiday went trying to revive both of them and managed to revive my pearl partially. I say partially because I still needed to buy a fresh battery which I managed to do today and its finally woken up from its long coma after we spent 2.5K over it. The one that bore the brunt of my anger still needs to be repaired which am sure won't take too long. We need to buy the display screen which is going to cost us 3K only!! :(

After being phoneless and blackberryless for more than a week, its really good to have it back.

Ok ok..go ahead and call me addicted and I won't stop you coz I know I'm :)

I burnt my brownies...

While going through my recipes sheets yesterday I found a quick easy recipe for blondies (a kind of a brownie). So when I reached home I saw that I had all the ingredients at home to make them. Me and Betu together worked on it and got the batter ready. I spread it on the tray and kept it for baking. 7-8 minutes later I could see that the living room was getting a bit smoky. It took me about 5 seconds to realise what was happening and I ran to the kitchen but alas..it was a bit too late.

I had actually forgotten to turn down the temperature knob after setting it at highest when I preheated the oven.

But I still managed to save 6-7 of them from the sides and for the rest I scraped off the darkened tops. It wasn't as soft as it should be because instead of baking at lesser temperature for longer duration they were baked for shorter period at high temperature. Here is the pic of the 'saved' ones -

I'm definitely going to be making these again coz if they can taste this good the way I baked them, they would taste heavenly if baked properly. Here goes the recipe for those wanna try-

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/4 cups light brown sugar (powdered)
  
• 2 2/3 cups plain flour
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chocolate chunks
• 1 cup chopped walnuts; optional

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180C.
• Grease a 13×9 inch baking pan or line the pan with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, mix together oil and brown sugar. Then add the eggs one at a time and beat until smooth.
• In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients and then add them to the brown sugar mixture. Mix well.
• Stir in chocolate chunks & walnuts, if using.
• Spread batter into prepared baking pan. Batter will be thick!
• Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Cut into squares as desired.

Personal Notes:

• I used only 2 cups sugar and still found it to be a bit too sweet.
• Since I didn't have brown sugar, I used normal sugar and added 2-3 tbsps of cocoa powder.
• I used raisins instead of walnuts and chocolate chunks since I didn't have any of both.
  

I'm loving it!

Thank you Mampi and HDWK for these lovely gifts that you got for me when you guys came over.

Mampi, you shall be the culprit behind all my weight gain because of gorging on this delicious chocolate walnut cake. I've already eaten 75% of it in the 3 days..all by myself!!

And Howdy, thanks for such a beautiful candle in a glass bowl. Its just beautiful!! And see..it goes so well with my place mats :D

Whats the worst thing you have done in a fit of anger?

I'm so so mad..at no one but myself for acting so insanely...

I threw whatever came in my hands on the ground on Saturday morning during a MAJOR fight with hubby. I had reached my saturation point that day.

It was only much later I realised I had thrown my wallet, table mats and *sob* *sob* my phone too..its broken now...bwaaaaaaaahhhhhhh..I really want to whack myself. I've never done such things before and I have made a resolution "Never again"

So here I'm phoneless and more than that Blackberryless since Saturday :(

Meeting friends

Imagine this - Calling a friend every 1 hour who is traveling to Delhi to find how far is she and where has she reached. And when she arrives, you are hugging each other tight even before the friend takes a step inside the threshold. You are so busy chattering away that it takes you a few minutes to realize you didn't even offer them water after their 7 hour journey.

I'm sure each of you would have imagined two very good friends meeting after a long time. But obviously. But what if I tell you I was meeting her for the first time? Yes..thats right. We WERE meeting for the first time in person. Our main interactions were through the blogs and a little bit from the chats. I'm not talking about anyone else but Mampi! And we were joined soon in this ecstatic bonding session by How do we know.

I just cannot describe how much fun we had. The word 'fun' also doesn't describe what we all felt. And neither will I try to explain it. Nothing will come close to it.

And it was not just us. Anirudh and Howdy's son also had such a wonderful time! For a moment we felt that probably they were having as much fun as we were :D

Not to forget Mampi's hubby who was so sweet because he patiently sat with us yacking females despite being the only male in the house. I guess the 2 young boys can hardly be called company for him.

I had always read that it takes no time to make friends for life. And I could actually feel so this time.
 

Who says different religions can't stay side by side?

They definitely do in our house -

We celebrate Id with the Khans who are our next door neighbors. I take gifts for their grandchildren and Anirudh gets Idi from them.

We celebrate Lohri with out Sikh friends and they celebrate Sankranti with us.

We put up a Christmas tree for Christmas celebrations and my christian friends celebrate Diwali with us.

We all can stay together and be happy but only if we all want to! The decision is ours and don't we all know which is the better way? :)

As long as it lasts...

I'm talking about my job here. With the current market conditions, this is on top of the minds of everyone. Last time when we had the slowdown in 2000 (?), it affected primarily the IT sector. But this time the wave has covered the entire economy and all the sectors. Lay-offs have started in huge numbers everywhere and we at my current organisation were sitting with bated breath if our company shall follow suit soon.

And yes it did even if in small numbers so far. 12 people have been asked to resign and that includes 2 Project Managers. Some more developers have been asked to move to their support center. This means change from the role of developer to the role of Customer Service Executive. Some agree and accept the demotion while some don't and are leaving.

After a group interaction with the senior management, the main criteria for these exits was not performance. The criteria was being on bench i.e. no work since a long time and cost to the company.

But now my worry starts because if my guess is right, they will focus on newcomers in the next batch of exits. And I will definitely come in that batch coz its not been even one year since I joined this organisation. I was quite nervous initially. But over the past few days I've kind of prepared for this mentally. There is so much I can do to save my job since the criteria has not been performance so far. And if the company doesn't get any new projects, I'm definitely doomed!!

I've no clue what I will do if god forbid this happens. But I definitely know that I'm not having any sleepless nights thinking and worrying over the issue anymore.

So its a wait and watch game for me and any day you might hear from me that I'm a free bird! :D

Two awards

Meira and Monika sent 2 different awards my way in the past fortnight.

Meira gave me the "Thanks for Writing" award which one gives to their favorite commentators (or is it commentors?).

Monika gave me the "Proximity" award which one gives to, as the award name says, the people they feel the nearness and a bond.

Every time I receive one, I feel a certain sense of high. A sense of feeling good about yourself. But at the same time it makes me take a step back and take a look at myself and wonder what did I do to deserve such an award. And frankly I get no answer. So after many of such 'self-analysis' sessions which resulted in no answer, I've to actually make a lot of effort to just accept them graciously without thinking too much.

So thank you Meira and Monika. Thanks a lot for thinking about me and thinking of me as a deserving candidate for these awards.

I pass on these awards to
Swati
Chandni
XH
Mampi
How do we know

You know its the recession time when...

..the cabs at the company get scratched off.
..the food available at the office canteen is either maggi or some biscuits.
..the tubelight fittings are reduced by 25%.
..the stationary gets more strictly rationed

But what takes the cake is when..

...there is no tissue paper in the toilets!!!!

Current Status

Current unread entries status in the reader -

• Blogs: 584
• Technical Blogs: 56
• Food Blogs: 172

VERY GOOD progress..isn't it? :D

Observations about some people in my company

I'm sure each one of us has come across something about a colleague which amuses you or maybe even disgusts you. I also have a few colleagues about whom I've observed a few weird quirks.

There is one colleague who matches lipstick colors with her dresses. You may so whats wrong with it. Yup. There is nothing wrong with it unless you wear orange lipstick to match your orange outfit. Unless you wear purple lipstick when you wear purple dress. Unless you wear bright pink lipstick when you wear a bright pink dress. So you get the drift? :D

Is it just me who finds these combination a little off? Is it just me who's old fashioned and doesn't know the latest trends? I think a nice red lipstick goes well with a nice red dress but orange lipstick?

Then there is this another colleague who wears a leopard print chiffon scarf every single day. It's immaterial if it matches with her dress or not. To me it does seem a little weird. I'm sure that in this case I can't called old fashioned for sure! I like leopard prints but then they have to go with your whole attire. And even if it is the style factor, how can one wear the same darn scarf every single day is beyond me. I've been seeing her wearing it since the past 7 months!! Probably its just her lucky charm *wink*.

And there is this newly married girl (got married in Jan'08). I don't even know her name. I just know her because every time I go to the loo, 80% of the times she is there applying either a lip gloss or a lipstick. Be it 9 in the morning or 12 in the afternoon or 5 in the evening. And I wonder..does one really need to do so much? I agree I'm not a makeup person at all. Rarely are the days when I even put on a lipstick. I'm one of those carefree, nonchalant about my appearance kind of a person. I know I'm one extreme of not doing applying any makeup but retouching your makeup 6-7 times a day is a bit too much. Isn't it?

How long can you hold on?

I have been having slight stomach ache and upset stomach since 3 days. And because of that I was eating very light. Primarily zeera rice with curd. I've had 5 such meals over the 3 days and today when I came back from work I just couldn't resist taking a bit of gazak. One bite of kaju burfi. One spoon of bikaneri bhujia. I just couldn't hold on any longer!! I had to eat something besides rice and curd!!

So tell me is it just me or you guys also give in? Or can you guys hold on longer on your food desires especially in such stomach upset situations?

~~ Keep Smiling! ~~

Sent on my BlackBerry®.

Current Status

Current unread entries status in the reader -

• Blogs: 762
• Technical Blogs: Marked all as read
• Food Blogs: 184

Good progress..isn't it? :D

What do you do when...

...you open your Reader and see 1000+ unread entries under the head "blogs", 1000+ under "Technology", 248 under "Food Blogs", so on and so forth?

I'm not talking about random hypothetical numbers. I'm talking about REAL figures that I saw when I logged on to my Google Reader after almost 1 month. Yeah..life has been that crazy. The regulars at this blog will know from the frequency (or shall we call it infrequency?) of the posts here lately. The month is about to end and I've written ONLY 2 posts so far! Can you beat that??

Anyhow coming back to the counts in the Reader, those big scary numbers which hit me on the face when I opened it today, I got so nervous that I just closed the darn Reader down. After all I'm just a human. Even Google stops counting after 1000 and starts showing mere 1000+ :D

I had one easy option of marking them all as read. But I didn't want to. Coz I wanna read them all!!! Maybe I can set a target for myself to finish reading them before the arrival of new year. I guess I can definitely try and manage that!

Anyhow the purpose of this post was to let everyone know that I'm still alive and that I will definitely read every one's posts and comment as much as I can! Happy blogging till then everyone!!

You know its time to...

...really really trim that tummy when within a week 2 people put their hand on your tummy and ask "Kuchh hai kya?" and you try to just laugh it off by saying "Haan..hai na! Tummy hai!"

Road sense...

...rather the lack of it. Feeling for others..rather the lack of it.

Everyday I see people who are either walking or driving with zero road sense. Everyone is trying to outdo the other in driving like crazy or the pedestrians walking or crossing the roads as if they are the only ones using the road. But over the time I've also kind of gotten immune to this. But what I will never get immune to when people do not give way to an Ambulance or Firetruck and sometimes even a Police car when their siren is on.

For police car they give way out of fear but for Ambulance and Firetruck I have seen it almost next to never. Today also I witnessed this scene while driving to work in the morning when a Firetruck had the siren on and was trying to weave through the traffic. No one was giving way to the truck. Everyone was literally ignoring it except a few sane ones. And forget about giving way, they were trying to use it to their advantage when any sane person was giving way to the truck by butting in front of the firetruck.

Seeing such nonchalance to things of such importance shows again and again how the people are so selfish and self centered. All they think about is for themselves. Did the thought of the people stuck or hurt in the fire where the firetruck was headed towards ever strike them? No. If it had they would have given the way. And they call themselves as literate people. The illiterate people will have more sense than these people for sure.

And above all after behaving like this people complain that help never arrives on time.

I prayed to God that may these people be stuck in a situation when they need the help of ambulance or firetruck and may it never reach on time. And then they will realise what they had done for others has happened with them too.

And I also pray that the people realise and learn sooner than later and start to value the lives of others too.

What happens when...

...you try and make your handset learn to swim? It drowns and dies!

I didn't need this bit of knowledge (its obvious..isn't it?) neither was I keen on trying to see if it can actually swim. But it did drown and die! My BlackBerry...which I had got last November.

I was talking on the it while in the kitchen and it slipped from my hands and landed in the big bowl of water. Since then it hasn't sputtered back into life yet. I'm still trying to go and get it checked at the service center. As I still have hope that it will survive and it is just in coma!

Its been 2 days since I've been without my BlackBerry. I realized what these drug addicts must feel like in the rehabilitation centers on the first day :P 2nd day I didn't even think about it. Infact life has been kind of peaceful and relaxed since then :)

Happy yet sad...

Today hubby, Betu and in-laws left for Bulandshaher to attend a function of a close relative. They will stay over there tonight and shall come back tomorrow morning. I had to stay back as I have to be at work by 8:30 AM tomorrow.

As I was getting Betu ready he suddenly burst into tears. For few minutes he just wouldn't say anything and kept crying. And then he told me. "Mujhe aapki yaad aayegi." and started to cry again. I hugged him tight and let him cry. I felt such a mix of emotions hearing those words. I felt happy at the realization and enforcement of our bond. At how he is sad to be going away from me for not even 24 hours. But I felt my heart wrench at seeing the pain in his eyes. The pain of not having his mumma around. I had tears welling up but I gathered myself and told him that papa shall be there and so will Dadu-Dadi. I also told him that whenever he feels he is missing me he can just cuddle up with them and he can also speak with me on the phone. And its then that I asked him to now think and tell me if he wants to go or if he wants to stay back with me.

He mulled for a while and then asked me "hum jaldi wapas aayenge?" and I nodded in affirmation. Its then that he agreed to go.

And now when they are gone and am thinking about him my eyes are welling up again. I am also not at all used to be away from Betu. Its probably the third time when he will not be with me at night. When we both won't be sleeping snuggled into each other, with his one leg over me and an arm on my chest and I won't be feeling his warm breath on my face. Sigh!


~~ Keep Smiling! ~~

Sent on my BlackBerry®.

Karvachauth

Today is Karvachauth and I'm fasting. This fast is kept by the married women for the well being of their husbands and the unmarried girls who have been engaged also keep it if they desire.

So on the eve of Karvachauth, we put mehendi. Every year I've managed to go to a nearby place and get it done from the professionals. This year I couldn't manage to do that so I did it at home itself. Rita Bhabhi got me a mehendi cone when she had gone to get her mehendi done.

Betu also gets small motifs done whenever I go for my mehendi. He calls them tattoo :D

Here is the pic of him making a sun motif on my right hand.

Can you see the motif on the back of his left hand?

The sun motif that Betu drew but after I did some modifications to it.

The motif that I made on my left hand.

Hard as a rock yet tender as a jelly

I was going someplace in an autorickshaw. The man was all rough and rugged looking old man. After a drive of 10 mins he shouted "oye" in a really loud way and halted at the roadside. Before I could say anything I saw a young boy with a school bag coming towards us. Without any further exchange of words the auto wala started again.

When I was almost near my destination, he again stopped at the roadside and the boy got down and started to walk away. He shouted "oye" but the boy didn't hear him. He shouted in a louder voice "Abe oye!" and the boy turned back. Once the boy cam near the autowala gave him a Rs. 5 coin and the boy walked away smiling.

I asked him when we started back if the boy was his son. He replied back smiling "Mera bhanja hai. Uska school hai yahan". (He is my sister's son. His school is here.)

Did you see how with the exchange of basically 2 words and that too one sided so much conversation happened between them? And however hard sounding his voice or words maybe, he sure was a tender hearted guy.



~~ Keep Smiling! ~~

Sent on my BlackBerry®.

What do you do when...

...you get an SMS from your bank saying "Cheque book sent on so and so date via so and so courier and the AWB no is ###. You will receive in 7 working days." whereas you had already received the cheque book 2 days ago?

I just rolled my eyes.

And do you call the bank super efficient on receiving the cheque book next day of ordering it or do you call them slow for sending the SMS so late? :D

You know you have been reading too many comics when...

..when you wanted to write "asterisk" and you write "asterix" instead!

And it takes you a while to understand what is wrong when you see those wrong spelling red underline under the word. :D

Are you there?

Found this cool website - www.usernamecheck.com where you can check where all the username is taken or available. I checked mine and but obviously it was registered at a very few sites. :)

It can be a cool tool but can be dangerous as well. Why dangerous? Because there can be people who can try to 'fake' your profile on those sites by signing up with your user name. Although I know they must be completely vella to be doing that :)

Amusing, funny or stupid?

Just read this article on The Guardian where it says Indian Railways has employed a man to pretend to be a monkey to scare of other monkeys. And its been working so far. I would certainly be amused if I was to come across such a sight. But then when I read the article I started thinking on what these poor people have to do to make ends meet. He does it to earn money. To provide for food and living for himself and family. Somehow I felt it can be quite humiliating for a person. Or probably not. Like they say it all depends on the outlook. He definitely sounds quite proud of himself. So as they say it all depends on the outlook.


I've extracted the article here. There is one video also available if you go to the article page.

Indian railway employs 'monkey-man' to protect passengers

42-year-old man walks around on all fours to prevent animals snatching food from travellers

James Sturcke, guardian.co.uk, Wednesday October 01 2008 15:56 BST

Walking round on all fours, with a tail sticking out of his red shorts and a brown face mask, Acchan Miyan scares the monkeys at Lucknow station, northern India.

Railway bosses insist their "monkey-man" is an effective way to protect their passengers from the mischievous animals, which are prone to snatch food from travellers and tear seat covers from trains.

The 42-year-old says he has been driven to the unusual profession by poverty, but is convinced that his efforts are helping passengers.

But it is hard to tell who is the more bemused, the passengers, or the remaining monkeys sitting around on roof rafters, munching on bunches of bananas, watching the show below.

Life and Death.

Last week my iPod connector cable came that was ordered online and shipped to us. When it came and I opened it this is what I saw - a small spider (see closely near the X). First I tried to brush it away but when it won't go away I looked closer and realized its "in" the sticker thingy!

Title: Preserved for "Life" or a ghastly "Death"?

And what timing I must say! This is what is Cuckoo's current topic for the photo contest. :)

20 question tag.

Aargee tagged me on this 20 question tag about 2 weeks ago. She said its interesting. Hmm..now that's interesting :D

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. What have you realized recently?

That I've become quite lazy. Haven't been doing any exercises and need to wake up early.

2. Have you given your first kiss away?

But of course!!I might be on my millionth right now *wink*

3. If you were to be stranded on a deserted island, who are the 11 blog buddies you would take?

How Do we know (I just like her), Chandni (She is such a fun person), Mampi (My soul sister), Roop (We share love for photography), Suki (For some masti), PG (For all the gyaan she has to share and yummy food she cooks), Swati (we just can't be without each other), --XH--(for cracking on some puzzles together), Dad ~ baker & Chef (We would need lots of good food and he makes such wonderfully appetizing dishes!), Monika, Ansh (We have been with each other when we both were preggers and thus our friendship goes a long way), Manasi (Haven't spent much time with her but my guess is I will have lots of fun with her around). I guess these people would be good. Why?I can't think of more :P

4. Where is the place you want to go the most?

Leh-Laddakh

5. If you have one dream to come true, what would it be?

I would need lot of time to think over it. Do not have any specific dream that I really wish for. :)

6. Do you believe in seeing the rainbow after the rain?

Do we need to believe in it? Isn't it science?

7. What are you afraid of losing the most now?

Love of my friends, family and but of course you bloggers!! :)

8. If you win $1 million, what would you do?

Buy a house. Donate to a cancer trust. And then if any money left, go on a world tour.

9.If you meet someone that you love, would you confess to him/her?

I can't afford to now that I'm married and have a child :P

10. List out 3 good points about the person who tagged you

1. Down to earth person

2. Good natured.

3. Helpful

11.What are the requirements that you wish from your other half?

This one post or for that matter even 10 posts won't be enough space to write that out :P

12.What type of people do you hate the most?

Late lateefs and bahane baaz!

13. What is the one thing you can’t live without?

Food!

14. If you have faults, would you rather the people around you point out to you or would you rather they keep quiet?

Keep quiet when with lots of people. Tell me when alone with me :D

15. people have started stealing questions too? Great!!

Huh?

16. Are you a shopaholic or not?

I LOVE shopping! (This is the only womanly trait I have as per my husband. Dunno if this is a compliment or not.)

17.Find a word to describe the person who tagged you

Friendly

18.If you have a chance, which part of your character you would like to change?

Temper

19. What’s the last shocking thing you’ve seen or heard?

Office se fursat mile to koi shocking news pata chalegi :(

20. Would you rather have love but no money or money but no love?

Why can't I have both?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now time to tag others - Manasi, Ami and Swati.

My kind of day

Life Begins tagged me on "My Kind of Day" where I could imagine and share with others what kind of day I would love to have. I know I am pretty late in doing this tag and decided to do it before she loses any hopes of me ever doing the tag :D

So coming back to the tag does it mean what kind of day I would make if I was to be in Weather God's shoes? Wow! Wouldn't it be so nice? Swaying my wand , sprinkling some magic dust and lo and behold I create a brand new day for the people on earth!

Hmm..now let me think about it. I like rain and I like nice cloudy sky with cool winds blowing. And I like the evening sun. So how about creating a day with all these 3 elements put together. WOW! WOW! Just imagining it makes me go WOW!

So let there be little rain in the morning for 2-3 hours. So when we look out of the house the whole world seems crisp and fresh and the plants in their greenest greens and dew drops at the edge of the leaves and on the flower petals.

After the rains lets have a nice cloudy sky with cool breeze blowing. So that when you walk you can feel the cool wind in your hair and you can see the plants and trees swaying with happiness.

And by evening lets have the sun start shining playing hide and seek between the clouds. The kids would be playing in the parks or cycling around.

But but but. The most important thing is I would like to have this kind of a day on a holiday and NOT on a working day at all. Coz if this kind of day happens on a working day I wouldn't be able to enjoy it even one bit! :)

So how do you guys like my kind of day?

Now to tag others. Are you guys game to do it? Suma, Asha and BombayGirl. If yes, lets hear from you.

I'm feeling so proud of myself!

If you are thinking "Look..she is blowing her own trumpet now!", yes I AM! :)

Before you start shaking your heads and reach for the close button wait! First listen to me! I know after you are done reading, you will pat my back too! That's something I can guarantee 100%. Ab stamp paper par likh kar doon kya? :)

So the thing is I've been teaching my maid, who does our utensils, to read and write in English as well as do basic numbers work. Its been about 2 months now. Probably a little more than that. I manage to teach her about 3 times a week on an average. And now I can proudly say that she can easily read and pronounce correctly the 3 letter words! Yippee!!!

She can also read numbers in hundreds! Yippee!!

I think she has done a great job in learning and grasping things. Especially looking at my teaching methods. It was a first time for me too when it comes to teaching. I had to do a refresher in the phonetics myself when teaching her. And but of course we had Anirudh who would always give his 2 cents whenever she would pronounce a letter wrong or write it wrong :)

So how did I start about teaching her? She herself came forward one evening and asked me "Didi, aap mujhe English likhna aur padhna sikhayoge? Mera bhi seekhne ka mann hai." I said "Haan bilkul. Par mann laga kar karna padega. Yeh nahi ki 6 din mein bore ho kar chhod diya." She nodded her head with so much conviction, that I agreed. I agreed despite the fact that I reach home only around 6:45 - 7 pm.

A little bit about her. Her name is Arti. She is actually the daughter of my maid. She is the eldest amongst her sisters. They are 4 sisters. She studied only for a year. Her parents took her out of school when their financial condition was bad. My maid's husband was jobless. He is a very decent guy. Doesn't smoke or drink and neither is of the types who beat their wife and children. He tried to get jobs here and there but to no avail. Finally he got a job as a rickshaw puller. But he would sometimes not even make 200-250 in a month coz he would drive the rickshaw on rent and would have to give major chunk of the earnings as rent. So she asked us if we can give him the work of cleaning our car. We agreed and gave both our cars to him. That way at least his fixed income would be 300 per month besides the money he would make from the odd jobs. Slowly he got more such car cleaning jobs and now just by cleaning cars he makes more than 2000 a month. So as a family they manage to make about 5000 per month. And over the time instead of my maid, her girl, this girl 'Arti' that I'm talking about, took over the job at my place. Its been almost a year since she has been coming to our house. I've always been fond of her and she knows it. Probably that is why she could get herself to request me for teaching her. She probably knew I won't say no.

Before starting to teach her I asked her why she wants to learn reading and writing. She replied, "Meri chhoti bahno ko bhi aata hai. Mujhe bhi seekhna hai." She went on to tell me that her sisters go to school but she cannot as she has to help out her mother in earning. I felt a bit sad but then this is reality. I decided that I will even sponsor stationery for her. So slowly and slowly we started from alphabet, to numbers to pronunciations and now to 3 letter words. And how she has progressed in these 2.5 - 3 months, I'm really happy about it.

It actually gives me dual happiness. One, she is on the path of being a literate. Second, I feel a little satisfied that I've been able to help in making someone literate. I do not feel wasted doing just our own things. I know we still have a long way to go but being able to read and write 3 letter words as well as the numbers is a milestone in itself.

Now I've to think of something to award her for her efforts. Probably I will ask her only what she wants :)

You know its time to...

...to loose those extra kilos when your child starts using your bums as punching bags to practice boxing.

And you don't feel any pain even when those punches can knock out anyone if they land on any other part of the body!

~~ Keep Smiling! ~~

Sent on my BlackBerry®.

Let's do a math puzzle!

If you are driving a car and it takes you 2 hours to travel the distance of 6 kms, what was your speed in mm\min?

Although I don't care a damn what the answer is coz my patience was definitely at the point of bursting yesterday. Why? Because the puzzle above is not a hypothetical one but what I experienced while driving back from work to home. Yes! It took me goddamn 2 hours to cover the measly 6 kms to home from work!

And while I was trying to calm myself down stuck in the jams, I was coming up with some innovative ideas. Wanna hear them? No? Please...just listen to at least one? Ok? Ok :)

I think they should have the option of providing pedals in the cars when you are moving at not more than an inch a minute. It will benefit us in 2 ways. One, it will help us save some fuel. And second, we will manage some excercise which we do not do as such in our super busy routines. Kyun? Kaisa laga mera idea? Achha hai na? :)

~~ Keep Smiling! ~~
Sent on my BlackBerry®.

Its been raining awards!

Literally! After receiving the "Briallante" award from in 2 lots from 5 different people I was flying high when another 3 dropped in my bag (or blog?) from 3 more bloggers - PG, Monika & Monika,Ansh. Thank you all of you!

But I must say this to all..."Itna bhi mat chadhayo ki main neeche hi nahi aa payoon!" :D

And while I had not gathered myself up from beaneath the heap of this "Briallante" award that another one came from 2B's Mommy - The "Blogging Friends Forever" award! To quote her "~nm: A wonderful blogging friend who is always encouraging and supportive. I love visiting her blog too, specially for that element of surprise - you never know what her next post is going to be about. Just love her creativity and her sweet posts inspired from everyday life."


Thanks 2BsMommy - You are such a wonderful person yourself that I'm so glad I came to know you, whatever little may it be.

Frankly all these awards have left me pondering about self and my posts. Are they really looked forward by others? Do they really interest and impact others so much that I've been constantly receiving these awards? Not that I don't like being appreciated but I've always been the kind who feels only deserving should get such awards and appreciations! Never thought that a sundry blogger like me would get it too! And that too from so many people!

And now its my turn to pass on this award to 3 other bloggers. It was really difficult to choose just 3. Here are them:

1. Swati

2. How do we know

3. Lost on the street

Be my friends. Forever!

Edited to add:
Got this award from K3 Rocks once again!Thanks girl!

Breaking news?

Just saw it on Aaj Tak news channel under "Breaking News" - "Aatankwadi ko le kar 10 janpath mein huyee baithak" (आतंकवादीयों को ले कर 10 जनपथ में हुयी बैठक)

At first I shook my head thinking what level have the news channels have stooped down to. But then I smiled and thought that this sure is breaking news. Why? Because our politicians actually made effort and sat down to discuss something of importance :D

Again

It was not even a month ago when I wrote about the impact the bomb blasts that rocked Bangalore and Ahmadabad had on my son, and here they again happened in New Delhi, the national capital of the country.

We were on our way to Lajpat Nagar market which is quite crowded on weekends when my in-laws frantically called us to ask us about our whereabouts, informed us about the blasts happening all over Delhi that they had seen on TV and told us to not go anywhere when we told them we were going to the market.

We took a U-turn from the next junction to go back home. Hubby was mighty tensed but somehow I felt totally indifferent towards it. I really don't know why. Probably these incidents happening so frequently has made me so? But is this OK? Should any of us get indifferent towards it? I frankly don't have the answer.

Soon Anirudh realised that we were on our way back home and angrily asked "Yeh aap kahan ja rahe ho?". I just told him that there is big traffic jam and some problem in the market so we can't go because obviously I didn't want him to know about bomb blasts. He doesn't know what are bomb blasts and I don't even want him to know about it yet. I have no words to describe how mighty upset he was and I just didn't know what to tell him to calm him down.

Sunday newspapers were again filled with gory pictures. TOI, on the front page, had this picture of a small boy about 5-6 year old (not injured thankfully), sitting on a stretcher along with his injured father, who had major injuries on his leg, being taken to the the hospital by the paramedics. Anirudh saw that and asked me "Kya hua inko?" and I simply replied "Unko chot lag gayee isliye hospital le ja rahein hain". He prodded me further "Unko chot kaise lag gayee?" Again I didn't know what to answer and I distracted him with something.

Lot of posts have already been written on these blasts and I've nothing new to add. But every time Betu asks me such questions that I fumble and feel so helpless.

I can only pray "Inko sadbuddhi do bhagwan!"

Clouds

This post is to submit my photograph for the monthly photography contest on Point & Shoot. Have This month's theme is "Clouds". And the picture I would like to submit is -

Title: There are rays of hope even beneath the 'clouds' of gray!

Public etiquettes

What do you do when you see someone throwing trash out of their car windows on the roads?

There are times when I do nothing and there are times when I tell them upfront.

Yesterday while I was waiting at a traffic signal, the lady in the car next to me threw the wrapper for biscuits on the road. I waited for her to look in my direction and when she did I pointed at the trash she had thrown and then shook my head showing my disagreement with her action. She looked at me and then I could see a sense of embarrassment on her face. I felt my part was done in making her aware that she did something wrong. And then I looked away. Didn't want to lose on the impact you see :)

But while I drove on I was wondering if she would remember this and not do such things again or would she pass it off as just any incident. I wonder...

"Brilliante" once again!

While I was still reeling in euphoria on receiving the 'Brilliante" award from 3 people, pop came in 2 more people bestowing me the same award - again! God, What good did I do in my previous birth to receive such honors?

And I just observed this thing - that all of you who gave me this 'Brilliante' award, all of you mentioned my cooking and the recipes. So is that a sign that I'm a well known for the foodies that I'm or do I take it as that there are other food lovers like me too! :D

roopscoop said "~nm: madly admire her for her creativity and the freshness she brings to everything that she writes. someone who i’d like to live next door to so I can go over and eat everything she cooks *evil laugh*."

>> Trust me roop, I don't cook so often and rarely such niceties that I display on my blog to hog for raves from you all :D I know I can cook a decent meal. And you are more than welcome to eat at my place as long as you only mouth good things about them :D

And pujathakur added "~nm: For her simple and creative posts and of course, the yummy recipes"

Thanks once again everyone! For not only those who gave me this award but to those as well who thought that I was truly worthy of this award. You people just rock! After all who doesn't like to hear good things about self from others :D

And before I go on the 10th cloud again feeling good about self, let me complete this 'Brilliante' award tradition and pass it on to 7 more bloggers.

"The Brilliant Weblog Award- a prize given to sites and blogs that are smart and brilliant both in their content and their design. The purpose of the prize is topromote as many blogs as possible in the blogosphere. Here are the rules to follow:

1. When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, togetherwith the name of who has given it to you, and link back to them.
2. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in content or design. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing them that they have been awarded with the ‘Brilliant Weblog’ award.
3. Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional) to.

And the award goes to:

1. For a wonderful Hindi blog : Mathura Kalauny - I just love the blog. His sense of humour, his poems. Just everything about his writings.
   
   
2. For socially helpful efforts: The entire team of Unchaahi - For such consistent efforts on the eradication and awareness about female foeticide.
   
   
3. For humour: Tys on Ice - I just love not only his sense of humour but how he entwines that humour in words with such perfection!
   
   
4. For food: Meeta - For such wonderful food pictures more than the recipes. Its impossible to not drool once you are at her blog.
   
   
5. For cakes: Swati's Sugarcraft & Anamika of Sugarcraft - They both amaze me with the cakes they make. Trust me I will never be able to cut a cake made by them. I would love to preserve them - INTACT!
   
   
6. For creative stuff: Opal Scraps - She makes such wonderful designs.
   

The list can go on and on but for a change I shall stick to the rules, which I usually love to break *wink*.

I would love to have such shoes thrown at me :)

And I doubt who wouldn't? :D

swedish illustrator/ designer olle hemmendorff was commissioned, together with 7 other creatives (patrik söderstam, hanna wieslander, marguerite seger, jonas wiehager and fredrik skogkvistby) by nike to interpret a nike sportswear icon. hemmendorff created a burger sculpture of nike's 'air max 90'.

'in the tradition of material innovation of AM 90, I constructed a running shoe using the most powerful, must durable and most delicious material known to man: hamburger.' OH

Read about it here.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

I finished reading the book "A Thousand Splendid Sun" by Khaled Hosseini this weekend.

I had heard such rave reviews about the book but somehow I never expected such intensity which I felt when reading the book. It was so engrossing, so captivating that putting it down for sleeping at night was so difficult.

And once I finished the book, hubby asked me how was it. And I didn't know whether to call it awesome or to say that I felt so sad inside after reading it.

And I thought how can someone be so inhuman towards the women. I know this is not something new that I was reading or hearing about but the way the author had described scenes and situations, I could feel my blood boiling at those moments. As if I was there and seeing all this happen in front of my eyes.

This was the first book I read by the author. And am definitely going to read his other one, "The Kite Runner", as well.

This is 'Brilliante'

What can be more 'Brilliante' than being awarded the "Brilliante Weblog Award" by 3 people! First by Inexplicably, then by Mama-Mia and again by Neera!
They all have said such good things about my blog and about me too that I'm totally overwhelmed!

Inexplicably gave me the award saying "Firstly for being 'there' always. Also for the simple honesty of her sweet blog."

Mama-Mia said "whose creativity keeps giving me serious complex ALL the time! She even made my blog header!"

And Neera went on to shower a basket full of compliments on me "She writes on such a variety of topics and the simplicity in her posts is refreshing. A darling of a son she is raising as well, not to mention the culinary experiments she conducts with appetizing results and pictures."

Thanks so much girls! You are the bestest!!

I'm still trying to absorb all the good things they have said about me and then I shall pass on this award to 7 other bloggers as the rule book says!

Food art

I'm sure by now everyone knows how much I 'love' food. Almost my every 10th post is on food :)

Remember a post where I had posted some pictures of artistic lunch boxes? No? Then go here and have a dekho.

And today I found some more of such artistic lunch boxes picture! I find them so cute and lovely that it would be so hard to actually eat them :D

Take a look at some of the pictures here and tell me will you be able to eat these cute lunches?




So artistic and so cute. Aren't they? Wanna see more? Go here.

Janmashtami

Yesterday i.e. August 24, 2008 was Janmashtami. I had kept a 'vrat' (was fasting).

I ate one pear for breakfast, sabudana khichdi for lunch, sabudana-aloo cutlest for evening snacks and had kuttu poori with curd and aloo halwa for dinner. I know eating such rich food can hardly be called fasting :)

I also made the panjeeri (a sweet dish) that Ma always used to make on this day besides the other delicacies like "Makhaane ki kheer". I am drooling just writing about it. Anyway coming back to the panjeeri, this is one thing that I always make every year on this day just like Ma.

Although this year I goofed up a bit as my sugar syrup guesstimate was a little off and instead of the dish taking proper shape, it ended up as crumbles. For few minutes I was at a loss not knowing what to do and then I thought of trying to make some more sugar syrup and add it to the mixture. And the idea worked :) Call it fluke or whatever but for me its was great coz it worked! Here is one picture of the mithai -

And I made Anirudh wear a new Kurta-pajama set that I had with me instead of dressing him up up in Kanha dress like I usually do. And he still looked cute in it :)

Celebrating Ma's birthday

It was Ma's birthday yesterday. She would have been 61. When I try to imagine her but obviously I see a face that is etched in my mind from 9 years ago. Young, smiling and a happy face. Probably by now she would have had a few gray strands in her long hair. A few wrinkles here and there. And when I try to imagine her like this I smile. :)

So like every year, I went to the Blind school to celebrate Ma's birthday along with my Mama as Appa is not in town. Appa organizes lunch every year this day. Every time I go there I come back even more awed looking at these kids and adults. And every time I go there some incident happens that makes me smile and laugh.

As I stepped in the school courtyard I could hear some beautiful classical music being sung and some one playing tabla wonderfully. I looked around and saw the sign of music room on a door. I was so tempted to peep in but then I thought it won't be a good idea to disturb the class.

Yesterday, as we were waiting outside the dining hall waiting for the lunch bell to ring, one kid was approaching the eating area. Just then one of the kitchen staff rang the bell. And when this bell ringer turned around, this boy was just at the entrance. He giggled and said "Aapne bell bajayee aur main aa bhi gaya! Dekha mera jadoo!" and he walked inside to take his seat while still giggling. :)

Soon all the kids started streaming in and we kept telling each one to wash their hands before taking a seat. For the first time yesterday I saw 2-3 very little boys in the school. They would have been the same age as Anirudh. And I felt a lump in my throat seeing them. They were not even able to reach upto the wash basin. So I helped them wash their hands. I had tears welling up in my eyes when I was washing their soft baby hands thinking why? Why? Why? Here is a pic of one of them -

Then me and Mamaji laid down their plates and bowls. Then we served them matar paneer, kashifal subzi with pooris and rice kheer as dessert. Its amazing to see most of them eating with such deftness without making a mess. Some kids liked kashifal and some didn't. Some ate kheer and some didn't. But all of them relished the matar paneer.

Since the last time I saw major changes in the school. They had built a big dining area so that all the kids can eat in one go instead of two shifts that used to happen earlier. It was much more neater and cleaner and airy. The kitchen was also much bigger and had ample natural light streaming in.

So to summarise, we walked out happy and satisfied after the lunch was over.

What did you have for breakfast?

We had some yummy cheese toasts! I know I'm blowing my own trumpet but they were actually quite yummy! Don't believe me? Ok. Then take a look a look at this picture of the cheese toast.


Want another proof? Ok. Here is the ultimate one which no one can defy :)

Now I hope you believe me 200% when I say they were yummy!

So what did you have for breakfast?

P.S. You can find the recipe here - on my food blog!

Independence day celebrations!

The whole office is looking so lovely and full of colors. Almost everyone is dressed in ethnic wear. The boys are wearing different coloured kurtas and the girls are either in suits, lahengas or sarees. If you walk down the stairs and look at the workstation area it seems like a sea of colors!

I am wearing a deep pink bandhani saree and with regular jewelery that I wear everyday. When lot of colleagues said "One can't recognize you! You are looking so different!" I wonder what they meant. Am I looking too old or am I looking nice and good? I really don't know. So when I told them the same thing they just laughed and went away. Leaving me even more perturbed as to what the hell did they mean!!!???

Anyways, I would by by the phrase "Take it as you like it!" and assume they meant I looked good :P

Coming back to dresses of other people, I wonder how you decide what is wearable in workplaces even when its a special occasion? I saw this guy wearing a shimmering purple colored silk (it very well could be synthetic material) and then I saw this girl wearing heavy jewellery and deep green saree with golden embellishments all over! Somehow that felt a little over the limit to me.

We have been collecting money from people who have not come dressed in ethnic wear and shall have a nice snack party in the evening with the collections.

So what all is everybody else doing to celebrate on the even of Independence day. Share it up!

Treasure

This is my entry for this months topic of 'Treasure' at the monthly contest at Point & Shoot.

July 7, 2008 : In our house

Title: The treasure of flight!

It was around 6:40 PM and me and Betu had just returned home after I had picked him up from his daycare. As I was busy trying to unlock the jammed lock I heard Betu shriek and then he started to jump up and down. I swung my head towards him a little bewildered wondering what triggered all this. When I looked at him, I saw such a big smile on his face, gleam in his eyes and happiness that cannot be told in words. He pointed at a leaf of the 'champa' plant in our house at the entrance and said "Mumma dekho! Butterfly!". And when I focussed I saw this - A lime green butterfly which was almost camouflaged with the leaf. It sat there even when Betu tried to touch it and did not flutter away as butterflies usually do. As if it was waiting for Betu. Once Betu had touched it couple of times that it flew away! And Betu shrieked again..in happiness. It was truly a 'treasure' found by him making him so happy. Now you know why I chose this picture for sending for the contest.

And did I tell you my previous entry to the contest was declared the winner in that months' topic "lonely' :D

P.S. The resolution & quality of the photo is not great since I used my phone to click this.

Tamatar-pyaaz chutney

Ever had this chutney with a nice just-off -the-tawa parantha? Its simply heaven!


Aug 11, 2008: Edited to add - The Recipe:

On special demand here is the recipe :) Its fairly easy and takes about 20-25 mins.

Ingredients

1. 1 cup diced tomato
2. 1/2-3/4 cup diced onions (optional)
3. 2-3 cloves garlic (optional)
4. 2-3 green chillies
   
5. Mustard seeds
6. 2-3 tbsp sugar
7. 1 tbsp garam masala
   

Steps:

1. Put 1 tbsp oil and when hot add mustard seeds till they splutter.
2. Add garlic and saute slightly. (this step is not required you are not using garlic)
   
3. Add onions and saute till translucent. (this step is not required you are not using garlic)
4. Add tomatoes and green chilies.
5. Add salt and half cup water.
6. Cover and let it simmer
7. When it gets a little pasty, add sugar and garam masala.
   
8. Let it simmer till the water is almost gone. (If you feel the tomato is not properly done and you need to add more water, do that!)
   

You can eat it warm or eat it cold! It tastes good anyways :)

Our life and our attitude

I was forwarded this article by a friend and I was speechless by the time I had moved on to the 4th paragraph of the article. I was in total awe of this young lad, Naga Naresh Karuturi, and so overwhelmed reading what he had gone through. And I felt so petty about myself thinking how much complaining I do for little little things. And here was this 21 year old who is so happy, so content and so thankful to God for planning out everything for him.

I'm sure 99% of us would have been complaining and cribbing and cursing God if any of us would have gone through what this guy did.

What to do you feel when you see this pic?

I stared at it for god knows how long. And my emotions changed from being shocked to being sympathetic to total admiration for this young chap.

Can you see that smile on his face? Can you see that confidence in himself? Can you feel the contentment? For a moment I had felt sympathetic towards Naresh but within moments I realized that I would be demeaning him and his attitude if I sympathize with him. When he never sympathized with himself how can I?

Once you have read the article and seen all the pictures you will also probably feel what I felt at the end of it.

Its all in the attitude! In the outlook you decide to take for anything in life. Someone would have taken such an accident as a curse and done nothing and be living on peoples pity and sympathy. So it depends totally on us how we want to be and how we want others to feel about us. I know it requires lot of will and I'm not sure if I would have had it if I had myself been in his shoes.

And he is not the only one who has risen above such circumstances and created a place for himself in this world. And every time I read about such people I wonder about us lucky people. Yeah. I think we are just plain lucky. But its people like Naresh who actually build their life from scratch. And then I wonder what have I actually done to deserve such a good life that I've? And do we ever feel thankful to God about it? Or do we take it for granted?

My answer definitely would be a yes for the second question. Yes I've never treasured what I've or been thankful for it. Yes I've taken almost everything for granted. And I need to change my attitude towards life. For sure.

Fear Factor - India series

Anyone been watching "khatron Ke Khiladi" - the indian series of Fear Factor where all these babes try and perform various stunts. Some are dangerous and some are yucky!

I try to watch them whenever I can and I think I'm really in awe with what all these girls have been doing. I was especially in awe with Yana Gupta! God! She has guts!! I've always found her so nonchalant and unnerved with any of the stunts!

Edited to add:
I actually hit the submit button when I was trying to "Save as Draft" and didn't realize my mistake until the comments started coming in.

So to continue the post on Khatron ke Khiladi, besides Yana, I admire the efforts that Pooja Bedi makes for each stunt. She will never give up. She tries really hard to compelte it. I remember the stunt she had to do with hundreds snakes on and around her. She was so damn scared becasue of some really bad accident that happened with her while shooting for a movie with snakes. But still she went and did it. And to me it was immaterial that she cried all the time and was shouting at the top of her voice. But she still finished the stunt. It really takes effort and strong will to do soemthing again which has left a bad scar on your mind earlier.

I do not remember the names of other girls but there are a 1-2 moer of the girls which I really admire for their strong will and guts. I think its a good program to watch.

I've never been afraid of doing stunts which are about heights and dare. But I know I can never ever get myself to do soemthing with those creepy crawlies! NEVER EVER! And that is why I am in awe with these girls who are participating in this show and even doing it! Hats off to them!

The 3 Mistakes Of My Life

I bought Chetan Bhagat's "The 3 Mistakes of My Life" over the weekend and finished reading it as well.

This was my first Chetan Bhagat novel. It was a nice read. Can't say very good but decent enough. Again I will say its a good filler. Only at a few points you felt something for the characters in the book. Mostly it was kind of flat.

I guess my tastes in books require something which gives you an adrenaline rush. Something that makes you feel overwhelmed, where you feel what the character is feeling at various points in the book. Do you get what I'm trying to say?

Anyone read it? What do you feel about the book?

Change

Whenever I read the word change, I am reminded of a funny toon strip. It was from the Archie's comics. I will try to put the wordings from the toon here from whatever I can remember. But the meaning will be the same as the original strip.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Moose: I don't like change

Archie: But Moose its essential to grow and learn things.

Moose: But I still don't like it.

Archie: Why?

Moose (takes out some coins from his pocket, pulls out the pocket lining that has a whole and says): Coz it makes holes in my pockets

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
:D I know its not THAT funny but somehow it has lingered on in my memory since I read it.

Anyways, coming to the "change" I started to write about was because of the tag that was passed on by Alapana wherein I had to list the changes that happened in me or the way I do certain things or look at other things ever since the significant other, hubby, came into my life.

Interesting. Very interesting. Because I never thought of it at all. I've cribbed many a times on the thigns I hate about hubby or that make me mad but I never thought about the good things that have happened because of him. So this tag has given me a reason to look back and appreciate dear hubby :)

I've become a little confident of my cooking skills because of the appreciations he showers on me :)

I've become totally laid back when it comes to buying veggies and fruits. He does it all the time so I'm totally free from that duty.

I've learnt to be not so hyper about things.

I've become a happier person generally.

So these are a few of the good things that have happened to me since hubby came into my life.

PG, Life Begins and Swati - Please share what changes your significant other has brought in you.

Literary characters

Before you guys Raj & "Lost on the street" and kick me for taking up this tag so late let me remind you of a phrase "better late than never!" :D And when Monika tagged me too on this one, I got the final push to finally get cracking at it.

So here is my list. and I'm sure it would not be very different from yours. And please excuse me if I add some toon characters too. Rather excuse me if my list comprises mainly of toon characters :D

1. George (Georgina) from Famous Five. I was so much like her as a person. Total tomboyish.
2. Sherlock Holmes
3. Hercule Poirot from Agatha Christie
4. TinTin
5. Dennis from Dennis the Menace
6. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice - I hated him yet I liked him. I found him shrewd and at the same time I found him sexy. So basically I had mixed feelings for this character but I was quite intrigued by it too.
   
7. Swami from Malgudi Days
8. Beetle Bailey & Sarge

These are all I can remember off the hat! And now to pass the tag. I wonder if anyone is left who has not done it since I'm doing this after more than a month of being tagged.

I tag HDWK & Monika& Ansh to take it up if they feel like it!

Happy Teej!

P.S. This is the mehendi design that I drew myself on my left hand.