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. 

Today's accomplishment

I know not fair putting a pic of a baby in the name of a post but she reminded me of tele tubbies!

Ab aaj ki baat

Let me take a break from my Yaadoin ki baraat and come back to the present for a while. 

Today was brilliant! Because today we had a photo shoot !! Yeppie. When Chiyaa was barely 4 odd weeks old, we had on a sudden spur and by virtue of amazing marketing skills of the salesperson had purchased coupon for a photo shoot for the three of us. I had somehow asked the lady to extend the validity of the same till the time she might be able to sit. The voucher lay in one of the many 'unclaimed' stuff zone, when one day I decided to take some action on  it. So I went ahead and booked an appointment. Today was the day.

We made some cursory plans as to what we were going to wear - one was an all denims look with parents and kiddo decked in jeans. The other was full on Indian with K donning a kurta pyjama, Chiyaa in ghagra (God did she look splendid!) and me in salwar kamez. The third look was 'just casuals' :) The photographer was a very charming fellow who was all encouraging of our choice and color of clothes and fabrics (I don't know whether he was just being patronizing to make us comfortable :D, but who minds compliments even they are not meant :P ) The session was good fun with we being encouraged to play around with the little one. We were made to tickle her and play lots with her which was super fun. One hour, the kid behaved like an angel and was all smiles. After which she started getting tired and sleepy and fussy. The photographer was again all praises for her cooperation.(I am so proud of the lil one! I know all moms are proud of their babies aint they  :) )

Chiyaa slept off blissfully in the pram which gave us the chance to grab a nice cuppa coffee and some sandwiches. It was real nice just sitting in the coffee shop with K - silence and coffee... mmm.. .nice :) We also had plans to buy a tv! Yea yea the techno freak hubby wants a Biiiiiiiig one for a 'better gaming experience'. We booked the tv and it was time for mommy shopping. I got K's share of my bday gift ;) a coat :) Then the 4 o clock showers started and we scooted home. Back home I prepared a meal which thankfully was to K's liking. And as we zeroed in on the movie Aiyya to watch for time pass - I remembered arreeee aaj kaa possssst!!!! Hence this utterly hurried in post.

Ignore any typosssss pleaseeeeeeee