It's 15th already

Really? Did I manage it? 30 days of posting? Has the bla-bathon err I mean blog -athon really come to a close? :O

I usually finish what I start boring movies , dull books, mind numbing chores et al. I knew I would finish the blog -athon but sure enough I did run out of ideas in the middle. Thankfully some pictures and some 'inspiration' saved the day .

I wish I could have finished reading The Delivery Room and post a review if the same. I wish I could put some thoughts about a couple of documentaries I watched . I reallllllly wanted to try putting some recipes since that again is not something I had ever done. Some more movie reviews (my style) would have been good . But then let these after thoughts remain. Better luck next time ( I hear you people saying whaaaa she's gonna do it againnnnnn????) don't worry not soon :) But yes would love to repeat this. Maybe same time next year :) ;)

I seriously am lucky to have some readers - N, Jack, Amy, Renu, roomie dear and some others in stealth mode ;) honestly I may try to sound proud and say anyways it does nt matter I write for my own joy. It does make any writer happy to get a reader :)

As thus blog -athon has been done and dusted I am harboring some thoughts about running a marathon next year? Tooooo ambitious hai na? Especially for someone sitting on a bean bag with a room heater and shawl. Lemme see maybeeeee a blog -athon about my marathon preparation next time ;)

There is something about Friday

Its like poori kayanat comes to celebrate this awesome day! 

Today the temperatures were hitting all time lows. It was raining like crazy. URGHHHH!!!! But then still it was Friday. Things tend to go ok on a Friday.

Somehow Chiyaa decided to take an elongated nap. Something like 2 hours. Maybe because of the cold climate, she felt all warm and snuggled up in her blanket. That gave me time to catch up with 2 dear friends. Wow! It was so fantastic!!! Words cannot describe how good I felt. One is my proper alter ego, with whom I can share almost everything. She understands me totally and being of the same wavelength as me, its like seeing a mirror. But she also gives her words of honesty and caution which is amazing. I can't be more grateful to God for having given such an amazing friend. The other is my pillar of strength who has seen me through some real tough times. My contact with her is few and far between given her numerous responsibilities at home and work. But when we do catch up, its like a breath of fresh air. It was thoroughly enriching talking to both of them.

In spite of time having rolled on, there was no sign of the Munchkin waking up. I thought might as well utilise this time to get my wish fulfilled. Yep of making daal baati which I mentioned in my last post. I was planning to follow this recipe. Now if you see the recipe is a pretty elaborate one like performing a science experiment. But anyways I decided to follow it. Started in the morning itself and had hopes that would somehow be able to manage it for dinner. Thankfully I was. Here's the result. Must have done something prettttttttttty wrong for it looks nothing like the image in the recipe ;) Though it was edible. Ashu you are not to be blamed :) 

Midway K came for tea cos he never had a proper lunch. Chiyaa slept a bit more and I read some pages of a book.Hmmm.... there is something about Fridays, even the rain soaked ones.

An idea can change your 28th post

As the days keep rolling by to reach the 30th day mark, I was seriously going dry in the grey matter area. 

But then there are some real cool idea people likeN who have made my job a little bit easier. Here's the Alphabet tag :) Seriously what an idea Madamjee.

Cherrie's blogs have already reached the all time high of having 51 posts this year itself. Seriously half century in a year. All thanks to this Blog-athon!

Days are getting way shorter and it is somehow the most irritating aspect of winters for me. Apart from getting dressed up like astronauts, heating drinking water, melting coconut oil and a million plus one additional tasks.

Every day we think of hitting the bed early. Early to bed and early to rise right? But then either our madamjee is up playing or just not sleepy and when she sleeps off, our sleep is gone :(

For quite some time I have been toying with the idea of making daal baati. A Rajasthani delicacy. I would love to make it. Hopefully someday soon.

Good in a way that I do not have work to attend to. I keep getting asked this question, that it might be way easier to have no hustle bustle of work, but then, taking full time care of a baby is a physically asking task. 

Helium filled balloons look so cute don't they? Here's my lil one playing with one - well sorta.

Idlis are what I have been planning to make since the past 2 weeks. Never able to manage the time to soak the dals :(

Jostling for space constantly - that's the kitchen scene. There is fresh clashes between Chiyaa and the parent's dishes now a days. Constant competition between the little vessels and big ones, the small quantity dishes and the normal, the water sippers and the water bottles. Gosh! Its such a mess.

King Khan's latest movie came and went, and my heart never got the time to go aflutter :( 

Looking forward to Life of Pi though. It is releasing 2 weeks later here - no idea why!? Not even sure if we would be able to watch it in the theatre.

Moong daal sprouts with banana and milk is what I have been having for breakfast. It's a bit boring but its supposed to be good to counter hair loss. Take note Nance :P 

Nando's chicken is the only chicken K is still in love with. He has fallen out  of love with all. :( Too bad, its only been recently I was getting the hang of cooking chicken.

Oh by the way, K started a vegetarian. Turned egg-etarian. Then proper chicken-etarian. His love for chicken increased by leaps and bounds, till recently hes on the decline now :(

PS3 is something he never gets the time with. Poor thing, no matter how conducive the time, the lil one sniffs out hes going to kill some bad people and tries to join forces with him ;) K does'nt appreciate it :P

Quite strangely Chiyaa does not put much stuff in her mouth. She peels onions and garlic, makes a rattle of slippers, bangs vessels like crazy, but does not put things in her mouth. Diapers - yes that she tries to!!

Recently did a lot of online shopping. I think I am finally getting the hang of it :) 

Scrubbed the whole house with my bare hands. Felt good and all sanitised :D 

Try to shape up is what K told me yesterday :( Weightloss is fine, but you have to get into shape now :( Huh! I told this to roomie dear this morn and she said which shape? 'V' ? Friends like these who needs enemies 
x-(

Until summer K has given up his fitness regime. Hmpf. 

Virtually every place is resplendent with Christmas lights. Sales, shops open later than usual hours and crowds braving the winter - there is something in the air during Christmas time.

Washing machine is the most used appliance in our home these days, thanks to lots of baby bibs, muslin clothes and the like.

x-( is a smiley I am getting a hang of now a days :) I somehow love writing up the smileys, as in rather than using the ones that come up in messengers, I like writing them. 

Yahoo messenger has the best smileys I feel. I simply love the rotfl one =)) 

Z? I have reached zzzzzzzz??

Whatta day

Well, 12.12.12 came to and end. Fancy date.

And I got calls from lot of people telling me this :) Also asking what's special? Arre birthday hai jee mera.  :) I love my birthday (I love all birthdays, love the birthdays of everybody I love) But again in Kareena Kapoor in Jab We Met style Main apni favourite hoon ;) 

Day started off with checking messages. Thanks to the advent of smart phones and everyone having installed Whatsapp or Viber or any one of the zillion things that makes instant communication possible (imagine my mom and mom in law are also hooked onto them) I got quite a few messages this time. Unlike the totally dry year of 2010. Facebook had lots of messages and unlike the super duper busy very important people who give global responses like 'thank you very much my sweet friends for your wishes you guys made my day' (many a times I would not have wished the person but would end up getting included in the message ;) and I seriously wonder who started this idea? Anddddd if you do not have the courtesy to thank people why put up your birthday in the first place? I think its so that people can wish you) Anyways there I gooooooo rambling like a person gone cuckoo :S

So after thanking my fb friends got on with Skype call with mil. She distributed sweets and cake on our behalf to nearby slum dwellers. The day then went in a whirl wind . I somehow ended up having quite a bit of cooking to do. Semolina kheer for chiyaa, rice and brinjal fry for lunch and then I realised the pineapple was getting over ripe so had to use it up in some chutney. I managed making all that in the nick of time .

Roomie dear, my friend B and Ashu made the day extra special by calling up. Evening was the usual call with mom and finally Sam had the spare time to call up- busy busy manager :) but the best was yet to come. I was getting ready to whip up some good dinner given K's highly erratic schedule when came his lovely message 'all set? We can start by 6:30' yayyyyyyyyyyy. Got ready and headed to an Italian place.

The food was awesome! But best was just being there with K inspite of the chaos of feeding Chiyaa, keeping her entertained and eating your own food. She got sleepy and cranky in the middle of it and I was willing her to somehow stay awake till the end of dinner. Food done we walked back through the deserted cold streets made so vibrant by the Christmas lights. There seriously is something in this time of the year. It's weirdly amazing how K and I barely have time thanks to the munchkin and still the little chit chats which last milli seconds are so priceless .

Chiyaa took a lil nap. It's 23:07 and she's active as a bird. And now I am willing her to sleep! Such are the ironies of life :)

Throwing thoughts about throwing a party

Life always comes to bite me in the back - big time. Like what ever I make fun of others, comes back to haunt me like the images of lizards ( I know weird, but images of lizards can give me the worst of creeps). As in there was a time in school I used to keep singing about Jaane jigar jaane man sattar kilo ka wazan (in the tune of that famous song from the movie Aashiqui) I have no idea why on earth I used to find it funny and sing it. And sattar kilo I did hit and was I sad. :(

When my sis and cousins were into the iPhone frenzy, I used to possess an old radio for a phone. I was like, ok whatever, let my lil one come over, the baby is gonna use your phones like toy cars. Guess what. My baby turns 2 months old and K gifts me a - you guessed it - Iphone! You will not believe it, but when we had gone to India, she would just go for my phone and try to ravage it. Huh! 

That makes me very jittery of the Karma  bug. It is quite a relentless one. That is why I try to be fair and just (fail miserably mannnnnny times ) Anyways I can save my two pints on karma for some later day. Look how much I can talk without hitting the point. Well, whenever I used to see birthday pics of kids, I  used to think aww.. poor dears, they are not even aware of what's happening. And they are being thrown into the centre of all this. All the decoration, many a times uncomfortable clothes, crowd. Urggghh! Being an adult I would'nt appreciate that. Imagine kids as young as 12 months old made to undergo all of it.

But, but, but - the buggie is back to bite me. Here I am more than 2 months away but already planning the lil ones big party *hides face shame faced*. Yes like a proper cheesy mom (I wanted to be the uber cool one like they show in movies. Come to think of it, why do they show dads as being uber cool?! ) I want a biiiiiiiig party for my daughter. I want a hall booked, people called over, an elaborate menu and yes a glittery (and maybe uncomfotable :(  ) dress for Chiyaa. K took the stand of having a small get together at home cos being the pessimistic Cancerian he anticipates many people would not turn up, venue might not be so good and etc etc. 

As of now, the jury is still out. Still, do you see how life comes full circle for me? *shivers in dread*

Kal kya hua

Well Sunday re-cap time again :) K had to get to work and that too real early. I think by 0800 he was up at his desk some implementation stuff *ARGH*. But well we got to look at the positives,so here goes :) 

• K was 'nt there by the time I woke up, but I was able to finish my morning chores in stealth mode before the lil one was up. *Hurrayyyyyyyyy*
• Made papad kadhi after a long time, and it turned out fine
• Was able to complete Barfi *phew* 
• I was being tempted to order some food for dinner, but somehow the site from which I wished to do the same was kaput. After some time my craving was gone :) Was I glad or what at having saved some calories!

Finallllllllly.................

.............. phinised vatching Baarfee. Phew! 

I thought I would never able to get done with it. Boy it took 1.5 weeks gosh! This kiddo never lets me get done with a movie in one sitting. I somehow watched  1 hour 12 minutes of the movie in one sitting. After that it was just unbelievable. I get on with the movie and the kid screams for attention. I even put it up one time when she was too engrossed in her games to even notice her dad! But then I put on the VLC player and shes beside me all huffing and panting. Now I am strictly against babies watching tv - STRICTLY AGAINST. So I would grudgingly turn it off. 

I would get itsy bitsy opportunities but then I just would not be in the mood to watch - somehow :( At one point I was on the verge of giving up. I anyways knew the ending and other details. (Why was I watching it? Maybe just to form my opinion :P ) I digress. So there I was sometime snatching 3 minutes, other times 5 and not able to get to the end. So much so I watched this song close to 4 times. (Not that I mind, I somehow let the song grow over me and started liking it by 3.5th hearing :D ) 

Finally today afternoon Chiyaa slept off and I was able to sneak in the last bits of the movie. And boy did I feel waves of accomplishment gush over. :) It felt good :) 

Impressions of the movie? Well, it could have been tad better paced. Otherwise my overrunning thought was -sab kuch kitna sundar hai! Ileana is too pretty! Boy she was such a pretty sight to behold in the modern 70s getup as well as sarees! Darjeeling was ravishing. I loved the bit where Barfi takes Jhilmil to her old nanny. The sights are so breath taking, I felt like running through those fields then and there (I am not a person who likes greenery much :) ) The shots with the Howrah Bridge were also superb. Priyanka Chopra was the epitome of innocent beauty. Everything was beautiful. As the saying goes - a thing of beauty is a joy forever :) 

Serious ramblings?

I dunno somehow everyone every where is stressing the fact that the year seemed to have just zapped through. It is understandable for me, cos come on I had a baby - an earth shattering, nerve wracking event which has changed my life like for ever. But then for everyone else it seems so!!?? Even the photographer with whom we did a family shoot said, for him too the year seemed to have just passed. 

What a year it has been and what a wow of a year.But all that in the year end wala post. 

My mom while watching Chiyaa over Skype mentioned today, "I feel as if I never held her". I said "You were so busy doing the chores, getting the baby fed, cleaned, burped and so on, you did't actually get time to just be with the baby." While I have seen my dad and K, just hold and carry Chiyaa around - blissful, unburdened. 

Is'nt that the same attitude of women for everything? Always trying to multi task. Getting more than one thing accomplished at a time. Entertainment and 'me time' taking  a back seat and the ones enjoyed being closely followed by guilt trips. There is this urge in most women to summon that extra bit of energy and get that one more thing also done. Back from a trip, going uncomplaining into the kitchen to get the cups of tea ready to get all refreshed. Setting the groceries right immediately after getting home. Getting back from work and making the all important calls to home before they complain 'Why so late today?' I used to see it in my mom's generation but now I see my friends also striving for the same - I feel amazed!  Women folk rock!

PS. I have no idea what I have posted. :P And why. Just utterly random ramblings. I think to survive this blog-athon I should complete atleast one of the two books I am reading and finish watching Barfi which I have been trying for the past 1.5 weeks and get some good points from the documentaries I watch. Else this space will look increasingly zombie-ish with each passing day *shudders*

What it makes me do

This blog-athon is getting tougher by the day :( But it does make me do a lot of things :-

• Makes me think more, look at things closely and feel things more intensely so that I get some material to put up. Its tough, but then I am not complaining, because the grey cells are having a good workout.
• Makes me read more and read with speed. Now I am a very very slow reader.I wish I could read faster way faster and gobble all the books in the world. 
• Makes me want to give more time to watch some meaningful stuff so that I could put up my expert comments
• Makes me take better pictures and skim through the pictures and remember the stories behind them

Today started nice and sunny though cold. K had to start off for an exam. It felt weird. As in, every day, K goes to work and I am with Chiyaa, but today he had to travel to another city 40 mins away. I don't know why, but it felt as if he went a bit far. Its all in the head I know, but think about it, there is so much in the head! I ventured and got some groceries. I wanted to prepare something fancy for the baby of the house (that's K, the original baby :) ) I was having a mega craving for coffee today, and I did not shy away from it. The cold weather makes the cup of the bitter brew seem tastier. 

K passed the exam which somehow made me feel so relieved :) Having had my share of the special dinner, I am waiting to savor dessert and end the day with a flourish :) 

The dinner andddddddddd the the dessert :) 

10

10 more days for the blog-athon to get over and I am seriously running out of fodder. I was thinking of posting yet another picture today but then the kiddo should not feel like an unpaid model and this blog should not look like a picture blog . Reasoning all this I thought I might as well put up my din charya :P I know very un-interesting read but who cares? ;)

The baby does fill up the day but there are some bits of it which are different everyday and some bits which are just the same yet oh so delightful.

Every day at 0815 there is customary call with Chennai granny over cups of coffee, breakfast and morning diaper change. At around 1100 it's time for some maalish which I enjoy as much as the baby does :) I try to plan at least half an hours walk for some grocery, the library or just like that at least four times a week. It does need motivation and will power to get geared up for the trip and especially to get the Munchie ready but then the rejuvenating feeling if having some fresh air does not have many equals . 1630 marks the time for my after noon cup of coffee/cocoa/tea depending on my mood and a Skype call to mommy dear.

As these bits of routine lend the stability to the day , there are bits of unknown which add flavour . Trying a new recipe ,making something for Chiyaa , ironing K's clothes , catching up with a friend, reading some pages of a book - they are the lovely unpredictable aspects in the day I could not do without.

The long and short of it - I am simply loving the joys of maternity . Touchwood .

Khali dimaag :(

Yes blackout :( again :( totally empty :( what should I put up here today ?

They say na girls love shoes well my lil one loves slippers with a passion :) she sees one and she s gotta have it, hold it touch it and even try to lick it :( Things were just getting out of control so I decided to make a pair jussssssst for her

Sunday ke mukhya samachar

I never gave the high points of Sunday this week so here's my list

• Started the day with some solid retail therapy got a coat for myself :)
• Tried a new recipe ridge gourd cooked with chickpeas
• Cleaned up the stove which was screaming for attention
• K did not go to office though he had plans to :))

This one was easy again :)

Reflections asked me a lot of questions in my last post :P  So give her a better picture, I thought of uploading some pictures :) 

This is a view from our balcony. Its covered in fog, but out in the distance there is a train track too :) 

The other side

A bit more area in perspective. Now you see those fields out there, during nights many predators prowl. As I said jackals and hyenas. One of them bit our lil Kinu and he succumbed :( 

A baby Rani :)

Fancy them?

I simplyyyyyyyyyy loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee dogs.Loveeee them. We used to adopt quite a few street ones. After we moved to our own home, we adopted 2 puppies. Unfortunately one was bitten by a big jackal and another was poisoned. :( It was too heart breaking, and ever since, we stopped taking up any more. 

It so happened, our tenants ended up taking up Rani - a Labrador. She ended up having them :- 

Follow the leader 

Tired of following the leader :) 

Where are my brothers and sister? 

Rani thinks my kids are quite a handful

Does 'nt it look like a seal

Rest time

Where's my food?

Cuddle time :D

The Pregnant King

I had first heard of Devdutt Pattanaik while watching Business Sutra on CNBC India. I googled up his name and bumped a across quite a few of his works. Of them The Pregnant King somehow caught my fancy.

This is a story based on a character from Mahabharata Yuvanashva who accidentally drinks a magic potion meant for his wives and conceives a child. What follows is the debate over what is he? A man? Or a woman? A mother? Or father? If he is a mother does he have a right to the throne? And does his child have a right to the throne? On the intangible level there is the debate over what sounds sweeter ? -mother or father (He also 'fathers' a child)  As he meanders through this conundrum the reader is brought face to face with many instances where the lines are blurred.

• Krishna being Mohini for a day and experiencing marriage and widowhood
• Ila being man and woman by the waxing and waning of moon due to a curse of Shiva
• Uruvashi who has two fathers and no mother
• Shikhandi who is born a woman but made to behave like a man because of his father
• The goddess Bahugami who must be seved by men who feel like women
• Shilavati who is an able and just regent but cannot become king just because she is woman

These all seem so topical now given the raising awareness about homosexuality and transgender. The book opens a whole realm about how these contentions exist in the Hindu mythology as well. Some of the questions thrown are very perplexing where even the line between Shiva and Shakti is blurred. God himself is pulled in this eternal strife.

The book is an interesting read. The layers in Mahabharata never fail to amaze me. In the book too as the knots in the rope of cause and effect are unravelled it makes for very enjoyable experience. The only thing that leaves an unpleasant taste is the language :( it is very basic so much so there are minor grammatical mistakes as well. It is a very very big negative for me :(

Otherwise full marks for handling a very current issue with such dexterity!

Have I hit the wall?

Well well well what do you know? I have reached the mid point of my blogathon! It has been tough, more the thoughts part than the time part while when I started I thought it would be the other way round. But as I stand exactly mid way, I  wonder, have I hit the wall? 

A masterpiece

K is a brilliant cartoonist. He has many flattering caricatures of me. But this one  goes into the hall of fame :) 

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Can I be smug?

I know, it is not a good thing to be so. I feel embarrassed. But then what else did I have to write about today? :(

So let me brag about a bit. Well.... ahem... I am back to my pre-preg weight. I Knooooooooooo amazinggggggg naaaa??? (I know the male readers (if any) might be thinking yea auratein.)

Well it was a real tough journey. As in, I ate with abandon when  I was expecting - the main culprits being chocolate muffins, carrot cakes, pizzas and parathe. Reflections even did voice a mild warning stating tires don't disappear magically. But then who heeds to good advice? So there I went on a rampage like a kid in a candy store and one fine day stood 20 kilos over weight. Staggering? Yep.

I read uplifting words - 9 months to get there, 9 months to shed it. There was advice against starting on an exercise regime very early. Plus there was the added clause of keeping the energy levels up to take care of the lil one.  With the way things were going, I was sure, I was gonna be stuck with this new me :( But suddenly something hit me - I was like, why give up without a fight? Come on one day I want my daughter to  be proud of me. Thinking this I embarked on my exercise regime .

This had my favorite step ups where I climbed stairs for 20 odd mins. If time permitted I would do it twice a day too. As I would see my sorry self climbing up and down the stairs I used to think if Andy Dufrense could make his way out in Shawshank Redemption what is this mere 20 kg(talk about getting inspired :D ) I used to add up some yoga and walks. I got on heavily into calorie counting using myfitnesspal. As I was on my way my dear friend Sam suggested green tea. God was with me and it seemed to work for me though I have met many nay Sayers.

K was always with me in his supportive best. Bless him. He would take care if Chiyaa as I went for step ups. He also got on to using the calorie counter . He was cautious of my diet all the time keeping a steady eye. He forced me to re-join swimming more as an activity I enjoyed rather than yet another exercise. He encouraged me to shed the maternity wear as I shed pounds. He scolded me like crazy if I felt bad about the way I looked. The journey would not be the same but for him. Of course there was roomie dear whose words pepped me to no end.

Gosssshhh this is sounding more and more like an Oscar speech! So on the same line I would also like to thank Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who helped take the limelight off many hapless moms like me :) good luck to you lady :).  

The final installment

of my vacation reverie.

Well once back in Chennai it was just a new set of packing and re-packing again. This time, the munchkin's stuff was a lion's share of the luggage - there were gifts, clothes, toys, it was an avalanche of pink :)

On the day of our return flight Chennai was hit by Nilam. There were rains and power cuts and all the anxiety that follows untoward climate. K kept making calls to the airlines and giving point to point updates (which in my honest opinion was of no use ;)) There was a lot of enthusiasm about a ship which had come ashore.People flocked the terrace of our building to catch a glimpse. K took this shot from his camera. Kids were very excited to see the life boats approaching. We even saw a few distress flares being let out into the sky. 

Though later it was pretty sad to know that it was the ill fated vessel Pratibha Cauvery. Little did we know then as we stood on the terrace being blown by the wind.

Somehow by the evening things started to mellow down. There is a temple of Lord Ganesha in Besant Nagar which I like a lot. I had plans to go there but somehow could not make it all the while. As things were piping down I asked K if we could make it and he willingly agreed. The temple was empty and there was the diets in all his resplendent glory ! It was as if He was waiting for us. It was very surreal to be on His presence

Once home we did the remaining packing and wistfully looked back at a stupendous trip!

Sunday's highlights yet again

Continuing my series on Sunday's highlights here comes another one :) 

Yesterday was not so much of a fun day and I had to literally pull out these 4 events. But once having done that, I felt yesterday wasn't too bad after all :) 

• Got a real sweet message from a friend with updates of his daughter. She is just 10 days elder to Chiyaa and we keep texting each other of our progress err.. rather our daughter's progress :) 
• Had a scrumptious Sunday breakfast - na na nothing elaborate cooked by yours truly. It is just  a tradition we follow - coffee, maggi noodles and omlette :)  every Sunday :)
• Managed to watch the movie Argo inspite of zillion and one distractions from the naughty 9 month old
• Ordered and Indian takeaway (we both eat to beat the blues :P ) so much so that we were uneasy after having hogged like that.