The evil me!

Just few minutes ago the guy, who sits next to me at work, gave me a chocolate. Now before you start going "Ahaa.." let me hold you right there. I will not go into the details of the guy as I don't think I should and neither he's worth my time :P

So I asked him whats the occasion and he said he got a few at a party. I was about to say "Thank you and I really love chocolates.." when he added "I remember you telling me that you have a small child". And I go "O-OH" in my mind and all my plans to rip open the chocolate and gobble it up were "fissss...." and I was kind of sulking sitting there as I just couldn't open it and eat it in front of him because he has implicitly told me its for Anirudh.

But he didn't know what an evil chocolate lover Mommy I am and the moment he left his seat and was nowhere around, I quickly opened the chocolate and ate the whole chocolate.... Heeeheeeheee.... (evil laughter) Yes I ate the whole darned chocolate before he could come back and see me gobbling it up.

*echo the evil laughter here...*

A vase made by bees!!

The actual vase is even more astonishing than the title that you just read. Although there is human intervention involved but still I find it so amusing. Look at it...


Now isn't that so amazing!!!?? Read more about it here.

God Bless You!

"God Bless You" wishes were sent across to Betu by Aryan (Swati) almost 2 weeks ago and somehow I forgot about it. Now that I've remembered it I will do it..NOW! :D

Thank you Aryan & Swati for sending these wonderful wishes across to us!

I send across these wishes to all the lovely children and people that I have made friends with on (or will it be in?) this blog world. But since I usually like to follow rules when I am doing tags, I will have to choose people to pass on this tag to. So Here I go.. Mira of Miracles of Mira, Sameer from Rahul & Ruchi's Blog, Rishab from Thats My Richie & especially to Collection of stars after what she went through in the last few weeks.

P.S. I changed the original picture (but have tried to keep the look similar to the original) as I found it a little faded and not very bright or chirpy. The original one is linked below. So if anyone of you wants to use the original one, please go ahead!

Aww..such cute backpacks!!

I definitely want to buy one of these backpacks for Betu if these kinds are available here in India.
If I make a guess, I think he will either go for a frog or a penguin. I will test my guess by asking him his choice when I see him in the evening. :D

Washed and dried and ready to use!

Yeah I am talking about the object in the picture - a 2GB Kingston pen drive.

It was soaked for 30 min in "saare daag hata de!" Surf Excel Matic and then further washed, spin dried, rinsed and spin dried again for 40 mins.

It was found at the bottom of tub of the washing machine and picked out with a "Gasp!" after all the clothes were taken out and hung to dry.

Hubby immediately checked to see if it still had some life left in it was happy to see that it was breathing and was alive!

I simply shrugged and told Hubby that I was just trying to clean up the dirt...err...virus off it!

Sent on my BlackBerry® from Hutch

Food and Human Anatomy!

I recently got a mail from a friend which interested me quite a bit. Its like, it has been there right there...all the time..but you go "Arre haan!" when you read it. So read on the very interesting correlations between foods and human anatomy!

~~~~~~~~~

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye...and YES science now shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys. Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body .

Egg plant, Avocado and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? .... It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well too overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries Grapefruits, Oranges, and Other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.

Just one color??

How can someone do it?? Just saw this article on New York Magazine which talks about 5 New Yorkers who dress only in ONE color. When I say one I mean EXCLUSIVELY in ONE color!

I was quite surprised and taken aback to see such people really exist. I mean how can one just dress up in just one color??


I definitely love colors! And there's no way I can ever stick to just one color all my life! NO WAY!!

Just gave me an idea! If you were to choose one color to dress up all your life in, what color will you choose? And please don't give multiple color choices just ONE. ONE and ONLY ONE!!

I think I will choose..............ummm...............................hmmmm................ .........*screwing my nose*............................*Scratching my head*....................................*wincing my eyes*..............ummm.....................I guess blue. :D

Chocolate Scrabble

Who wants to eat...err...play scrabble?
I will readily eat my words back!! :P

Meera Didi se Poocho

The National Commission for Women brought out a booklet 'Meera Didi Se Poocho' on February 13 2008, Wednesday, to create awareness about women's rights in India. The booklet also contains details of legal options and the steps to be taken by women under distress.

Download it here : http://ncw.nic.in/Meera%20Didi%20Se%20Poccho.pdf
If you wish to offer suggestions to NCW, mail them to : ncw@nic.in

Few of my precious things!

I was tagged by JLT to write about few of my precious things(material). So here are the 3 precious things that come to my mind instantly:

One is this pendant that belonged to my Ma. This pendant was given to her by her Ma i.e. My Naniji whom we all called as Mummiji when my Ma was about 13 or so. So if I try to calculate its age its just a little less than 50 years old. Its made from silver with black meena work and intricate etchings. It has the Indonesian folk dancer made on it.

Second is the coin that my Maiyyo (Paternal Great Grandmother) gave me when I helped her tie her Saree. I've had this coin for more than 20 years now. I guess you will need to read my post on her to read the whole background of the coin unless you have already read it before.

Last but not the least is this 'chowki' (low table) which belonged to us when we were kids and now is being used by Anirudh. If my guess is correct these were custom made using the design given by Appa (my father whom I fondly refer as Appa) in 70s. So this chowki is in its mid 30s :) The edges have started to wither and the ply has cracked at quite a few places but its still very much usable.

I've so many more things that I can write about but even after writing dozens of posts I will still be left with at least a dozen more to write! :D

As I was writing this post I realised that most of the precious things are on an average date back to 30 years or so. And I felt 'Wow!' about them.

Now to tag other bloggers...I tag Manasi, Karma Calling & a new acquaintance Shakti

Sent on my BlackBerry® from Hutch

Ways to embarrass yourself

I really think I should write a book on it. Its been just a few days since the fashion faux-pas embarrassing incident, as some of my avid readers called it, and I did it again! But this time it was nothing to do with clothes. Although that can't be taken as a plus. This time I can attribute it to aging self?..Fading memory?..can I? Ok, hear the incident and then tell me...

I walk into the office and see bunches of red balloons tied all over the ceiling. And I wondered "Huh? Whats the occasion?"..first in my mind and then to a colleague sitting nearby. He, with a very straight face says "I don't know...I think its baisakhi or something.." And I reply so confidently, "No, that was on Monday!" He again pretends to think and says "Maybe its a late celebration for Republic day...must be something special today I guess.."

And its then that it struck me...and I actually slapped my forehead hard.. and said aloud "Oh..its valentines day today.." and he laughed!

Can you believe it? How conveniently I proceeded to embarrass myself? And how he was pulling one on me..or rather helping me pull one on myself and I was acting like the biggest dud on earth?? Sheeshh...mera kya hoga???

How absent minded can one get?

I think I have beaten the record today! Yes! This is how I have come dressed to work today! With dark gray socks and white sandals!! I just can't believe it!

I had intended to wear my shoes but don't know how and when I ended up wearing these sandals instead! I can't even take these darned socks off because its way too cold to walk around in bare feet. And I don't even have a pair of skin colored stockings in my car to change into. Bwaaahhh! *Sob* *Sob*

P.S. When I thought I will just stick to my desk today with minimal essential going around, I have max number of meetings today...bwaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh...

Sent on my BlackBerry® from Hutch

A song so beautiful...

I want to hug the person who wrote this song. Each word, each sentence and each para is a story for each one of us. When this song started to play in the movie, I just couldn't hold back my tears. I was remembering my Ma as well as thinking about my son when it played.

I'm talking about the song 'Maa' written by Prasoon Joshi from the movie Taare Zameen Par which was sung by Shankar Mahadevan. I really want to know what was the inspiration behind this song for the writer. It is just so perfect!!

'MAA'

Main Kabhi Batlata Nahin
Par Andhere Se Darta Hoon Main Maa
Yun To Main,Dikhlata Nahin
Teri Parwaah Karta Hoon Main Maa
Tujhe Sab Hain Pata, Hain Na Maa
Tujhe Sab Hain Pata,,Meri Maa

Bheed Mein Yun Na Chodo Mujhe
Ghar Laut Ke Bhi Aa Naa Paoon Maa
Bhej Na Itna Door Mujkko Tu
Yaad Bhi Tujhko Aa Naa Paoon Maa
Kya Itna Bura Hoon Main Maa
Kya Itna Bura Meri Maa

Jab Bhi Kabhi Papa Mujhe
Jo Zor Se Jhoola Jhulate Hain Maa
Meri Nazar Dhoondhe Tujhe
Sochu Yahi Tu Aa Ke Thaamegi Maa

Unse Main Yeh Kehta Nahin
Par Main Seham Jaata Hoon Maa
Chehre Pe Aana Deta Nahin
Dil Hi Dil Mein Ghabraata Hoon Maa
Tujhe Sab Hai Pata Hai Naa Maa
Tujhe Sab Hai Pata Meri Maa

Main Kabhi Batlata Nahin
Par Andhere Se Darta Hoon Main Maa
Yun To Main,Dikhlata Nahin
Teri Parwaah Karta Hoon Main Maa
Tujhe Sab Hain Pata, Hain Na Maa
Tujhe Sab Hain Pata,,Meri Maa

And its not just that I got emotional only when I heard it first. It makes me so every time hear it.
And one day Anirudh got so concerned when he saw tears rolling down my cheeks that he came to me and asked "Aap ro rahe ho?" (You are crying?) And when I said 'Yes", he goes on "Aapko chinta ho rahi hai Papa ki?" (You are worried about Papa?) since hubby wasn't home that time. When I said "No", he asked further "Aapko yaad aa rahi hai Papa ki?" (You are missing Papa?) And when again I replied 'No' he hugged me tight for few seconds and then tried to wipe my tears :)

I just hugged him tighter and showered lots of kisses on him.

My high fives??

Neera tagged me on this tag of 5 where I need to do the following:

Rules For The Tag

Post 5 links to 5 of your previously written posts. The posts have to relate to the 5key words given : family, friend, yourself, your love, anything you like. Tag 5 other friends to do this meme. Try to tag at least 2 new acquaintances (if not, your current blog buddies will do) so that you get to know them each a little bit better.

I pondered over this tag for about 15 minutes and how should I go about picking one post for each keyword but was so confused at that I said to myself "What the heck, I will link more than 1 posts for each where I can't decide on a specific 1". So here goes my high fives! :D

Family:
I have written a few posts on my Ma, about my Great Grandparents & Grandparents and about our adorable son Anirudh for whom there is a separately dedicated blog!

Friend:
A friend of 15 years from 12th standard came visiting us in October 2007 with her kids. I wrote about her visit here.

Yourself:
I've had many a introspective moments where I wrote about me, my feelings at that point and also about my confusions.

Your love:
I feel a bit funny linking my posts on chocolates as my love when everyone whose post I've read on this tag have talked about either their hubby or their kids :D But I can't help it if my first love is chocolate.. :P

Likings:
Here goes my posts on my favourite things!

Now comes the toughest part. Of linking. I wonder if anyone is left out in doing this tag..hmmm....let me search...

Known bloggers: Twin Mom, My Sunshine & Fuzzy

2 new bloggers: Baby & Mom Blog & Childhood Memoirs

Musical instrument - Lauh Tarang

Saw this amazing musical instrument playing at Swati's brother's wedding. It sounded so beautiful. I was just spellbound by its chimes and how beautifully the artist was playing it. It was simply awesome!

He had various sizes of iron discs with different thickness in this instrument (as you can probably see in the pictures if you screw your eyes a bit :P).

Lot of people knew about it but I didn't until that day. And I just fell in love with it!

Sent on my BlackBerry® from Hutch

Tea Boat or a Tea Bag?

tpod - Add a little fun to tea!

first you take the tea bag out of the box. than unfold it...it becomes a little boat. than put it into the cup with hot water and let it swim around until the tea is ready.

Gurgaon Toll Plaza Jams

The Gurgaon toll plaza is in the news spotlight these days but sadly not for the good reasons.

A 32 lane toll plaza that was supposed to help ease out the commute from Delhi to Gurgaon has in fact become a big hurdle these days where one can be stuck in a jam for about 1.5 hours or so.

Ever since it was inaugurated, there has been a huge rush of people to start using it and the systems are unable to handle the rush at all.

Bhuwan has done an elaborate post on it already. Despite being in construction for so long, they probably didn't do much planning regarding these toll booths. And to some extent the commuters are also to blame. Yesterday when my in-laws were coming down from Jaipur, where luckily there wait was for ONLY 45 minutes there, they noticed there are people giving 500 rupee notes just because they would get loose change even when they had loose change with them. Can you just imagine?? *rolling my eyes*

So giving out balance for such high value notes was again something which was increasing the amount of time each booth was taking to process one vehicle. How can people act so stupid and just so immature?? Its just beyond me.

And today while driving down to work, listening to Red FM's approach on this whole Gurgaon jam made me laugh. A real big hearty laugh. They are distributing Ludo games to people going on the Gurgaon expressway for entertaining themselves in case they get stuck in the jam too. Funny isn't it? :D

Why do meteorological forecast always go wrong?

Since the past 3-4 days every newspaper, every TV Channel and every FM station is talking about how Friday, Feb 1, 2008, is going to see a temperature of 0 degrees or maybe even lower than that here in Delhi.

Primary schools had been closed since the past 3 days because of the cold wave and with sudden dip in temperatures. But somehow I do not feel its as cold as its being talked about so.

And today, when they expected the 0 degree temperature, its actually warmer than the past 3-4 days. Talk about Murphy's law for the Meteorological Department :D

Now if the temperature dip actually happens late evening or night, then its a different story. I'm sure Met department will certainly rejoice in giving a correct foorecast for a change :D