Happy New Year!

I did not want to make any resolutions this year. They don't last for me. I make lists and forget about them. Remember I made the list of things to do in the 10 days holiday. I haven't done even half of them! But I did do some other things, so why bother making more lists to not stick to. Instead I only have a few wishes!

Here's to a healthy and happy year! Have fun guys, see you next year!

Weird alert

Before I get into that - Merry Christmas! Hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend :)

And now for the actual post. So, I saw a random tag going around the Blogosphere and decided to pick it up! The tag is to list weirdest things about your other half (I like to think I'm the better of the two halves, hence the use of "other". I tried to think of ways to put this in less boastful sounding statement, but then again why hide the real me from you. Our (you-blog world and me) relationship is based on trust and the truth is - sometimes I show-off).

Thankfully, M won't be doing this tag, cos I bet he will have more weird things on me, than I have on him (Like - she is strangely delusional about how awesome she is).

I think the original tag was just listing facts, and somewhere along the way "weirdest" got added to it. I am fine with it either way! ;)

Anyway, enough chit-chat. Here we go -
1. M can break into the most random songs that he is the lyricist as well as the composer of. Like yesterday, I was mad at him and after some back and forth on the peace treaty, he went into the kitchen to heat up frozen Rotis for us and promptly broke into a - "She really hates me right noooooow....but she really loves meeeee...so what should I dooooo". I sat outside listening to it, trying not to laugh. This is not the first time, in the span of 3 years I have heard counless such compositions, that make no sense and range from cute to super annoying.To me that's really weird...Who does that?

2. M doesn't know how to tie his shoelaces. Or to be more specific, how to tie his shoe laces for one of the shoes. I swear, every time we are walking to some place just one of his shoe's laces will come undone every 5 minutes.

3. M is super scared of canines. Even little puppies.

4. He looks different in every photograph. Not kidding. If I go back to see his pictures for the 3.5 years we have been together, I cannot find one picture that looks the same as the other. My friends and parents had a hard time picturing what he looks like before they met him cos his pictures are so drastically different.

5. Crazy fan of SRK. Like worse than even teenage girls are for Twilight. He was excited for Don 2 for more than a year I think. I am afraid to watch the movie with him, in case he squeals in excitement when SRK first appears.

And now I will go and hide somewhere until M can forget that I "exposed" him so openly to the blog world. In my defense, I was feeling lazy and couldn't think of anything else to write about! I am sure everyone has already done this tag, but if you have not, feel free to pick it up! I would love to read it...

PS: Yesterday, we took a trip to ikea and I snapped pictures of some cool ideas! Will share them with you very soon!

I want to remember every moment

Dear Husband,

I want to remember every moment of my life with you. I probably won't. I will probably only remember the special few, but I don't want to forget yesterday evening's everydayness, that I keep wanting to go back to.

You did not want me to drive to work, cos I was not feeling well. You thought I wouldn't be able to drive back. I wasn't so sure myself. I went anyway, and when I reached work I knew I wasn't feeling up to driving back in the evening. I asked you to take a train, 20 miles outside the city to come meet me and drive us both home. You said yes, without a moment's hesitation. And we had the best time. We went to your favorite Indian Restaurant. I like the food there, but the service always manages to drive me nuts. As it did yesterday, when the waiter told us we were ordering too much food for two people - Mirchi Bhajji, Uttapam, Daal Tadka, Goat Biryani, and Lassi. Okay, I agree, it was too much food, it always is. But I don't like to be told that. But you did not even care, and we got into our usual discussion about who is right - me or you! The restaurant was playing old hindi songs on the TV and we watched them together, sitting on the same side of the table. Me singing along the songs and you saying things that I did not know how to respond to, so I just sat there amused.

We had useless discussions about work, what kind of people are good dancers, gossiped about our family, and friends. It was hilarious. I had the best time. The drive that seems to go on forever everyday, got over too soon with you. And I am afraid, our life will pass me by too quickly in your company, and I won't even notice. Well, I guess that's the whole point. But at least I know I will have a good time. Life will keep throwing curveballs, and we will keep going through ups and downs. And, I am glad I will have you by my side, through everything. And I know you will always be there to drive me home.

Love,
Just same ol' me

Thoughts to live by!

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I am sorry people, I cannot think of anything to write here. My thoughts are pre-occupied by a mouse. A pest *says with great disgust* that has plagued my thoughts. Yesterday morning, I was making coffee in the kitchen when it ran OVER my feet. YUCK. DISGUSTING. I went to get mouse traps the same evening while coming back from work. It has not been caught yet.

I am going to be wearing boots around the home till it gets caught.

PS: Sorry to have ruined your day with the disgusting image. I am so disgusted, I want to run away!

Genre I don't normally enjoy

In recent times (which can range from anywhere between last week to last year), I have started to enjoy a new genre - violence. Did I just make it up, or is that really a category? Who knows..

This year, I read trilogies of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and "The Hunger Games".

Until now I have been into mysteries, but more of the quieter tone like - Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot by Agatha Christie or subtle ones from Jeffery Archer. Occasionally, I also enjoy me some Dan Brown. I love reading legal dramas by Jodi Picoult (My Sister's Keeper etc.), or emotional dramas like - The Help, or even some light-reads like Chetan Bhagat or Mitch Albom. But I have never been into Science Fiction (which is what some people consider Hunger Games), or a disturbing fiction like - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. And I was surprised to note that I really enjoyed these books. So much to the point that I could not wait to read the second and third books of both series. Lets talk about them a little bit, shall we?

Embarrassingly, I was more into "The Hunger Games" trilogy than I care to admit, cos it's targeted audience is teenagers, which I clearly am not. In my defense, I was a little annoyed with the love triangle at times. But the plot blew my mind away. Read it if you haven't. I promise you will not be able to stop at the first book. The premise is (and I am not giving anything away, it's all on the back of the book) - In the post-apocalyptic future, North America is a nation called Panem consisting of 13 districts, and ruled by The Capitol. Some decades before the story begins, the districts have an uprising and they rebel against the Capitol. The Capitol wins, completely destroying one of the districts in the process. The outcome of the uprising is - Hunger Games, where a girl and a boy between the ages of 12 & 18 from each of the remaining 12 districts are sent into an arena, where they must fight each other to death, until there is only one left - the winner of the Hunger Games. When I heard about this book, I was shocked to hear, there could be books like these out there and people could actually be reading them. But in the end, everyone around me was reading it (including my manager and my book club) and I buckled under the pressure. I read it and it was a very interesting and engrossing read.

Now - "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" trilogy, was a completely different type of book, thankfully targeted towards adults. It's well written, and even though I did not relate to any of the characters, I was absorbed by the story completely. The main character (you know - the girl...with the tattoo...of a dragon), was disturbing, intriguing and amazing at the same time. I think the Swedish names in the book, was a detail that I really loved. Random but interesting to me. Not to say that I did not enjoy the plot. I did. It is at times disgusting and terrifying, but very exciting! It is very intricate and detailed, and though I enjoyed reading it, I don't think I should attempt to describe it. In short, it's a story of a girl who also happens to have a dragon tattoo (ha ha).

And the point is (yes, I was trying to make one when I started writing this post, even thought it seems like I lost it somewhere along the way) - Although I don't usually enjoy reading about or watching violence (and both these books have a fair amount), I am glad I was able to explore it through these books. Change is not easy for me, and I am glad I was able to expand my horizon just a little bit more.

I am not usually into movies made from books (even though I always watch them, to compare), but I am really looking forward to watching the movies for both these books! The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (starring Daniel Craig (James Bond) and Rooney Mara (from the The Social Network)) comes out today, and The Hunger Games sometime early next year! Can't wait!
Sidenote - The only book-based movie that I thought was as good as the book - "The Help".

Has anyone read either of these trilogies? Did you like them? 

The Eternal Optimist

Inspired by this post I decided to make a list of my own. Digression - Did I tell you I have a 10 day holiday coming up between Christmas and New Year's? End of Digression. Yes. Are you jealous? Don't be. I will tell you in a minute why you shouldn't be jealous. M does not get those days off, so we can't really go anywhere. I was trying to plan a trip with a friend, who does get those days off, but we never ended up planning anything. So, basically I have a 10 day holiday with nowhere to go. I refuse to add "and with nothing to do", to the statement. What does that leave me with - things to do. Yes. Things, that I have been putting off for months, must get done. Here we go -

1. Sew the button on M's jacket, fix the zipper on it too.
2. Find and install a "devghar"
3. Buy a new mattress
4. Finally donate the stack of books set aside to be donated a few months ago
5. Finish painting letter 'S' and hang it somewhere
6. Figure out a way to DIY frames for inspirational cards I've been collecting, and find a place to hang them
7. Vaccum the entire house (yes, it's been a couple of weeks since I did that :( )
8. Craiglist some extra furniture lying around the house
9. Sleep a lot
10. Go to the library and borrow some books and finish reading them
11. Hang a clock in every room
12. Watch episodes of "The Dewarists"

This may seem less, but trust me, after I sleep in late and nap in the afternoons, read in the mornings between the sleep schedule, watch episodes of "The Office" on Netflix, cook meals, blog and hang out with my got-the-10-day-break friends, there will be little time left to finish everything. But someone wisely said - Aim high. And so I will. (Also why this post is called - the eternal optimist)

Wish me luck!

Mushy-feely

Have you seen the movie "Up"? Who hasn't, right?

Two clips of the movie that make me feel all mushy, and "awwww" -

Movie's DVD on my wish list for Christmas, New Year's and/or Anniversary (It's Jan 1st). I am working on posts for the wedding, and the trip to Hawaii (the 'moon)...All of it is coming soon ;) (see how I rhymed that?)

Till then, see these videos to know what M & I look like in my head (M does have the exact same nose, and obviously I am hundred times better looking than the real life me). Sometimes it's fun to think in cartoons! Try it!

No words

I will let these pictures do the talking. To sum it up - busy and bad days at work.

Sh*t has hit the fan - 

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And then I'm all -

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And then all -

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And how it's like these days -

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What might make me feel better - 

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But what I think I will have to settle for -

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Honestly though, I was (am?) pretty depressed. Which is ridiculous, if you think about it, cos it's just work. But also, it's WORK. And, then whatever-you-do-do-your-best-ness kicking in, along with the guilt of screwing something up, is a recipe for disaster. Either way, it's going to be Friday soon!

Anyone have any thoughts on how to deal with such things?

Happy Holidays!

I love the holiday cheer, the lights and the beautiful Christmas decorations going up around the city during Christmas! This year I decided to join the spirit and decorate a Christmas Tree. I bought a small fake tree from Target (for 10 bucks), and decorated it. In retrospect I should have gone for the slightly larger tree with lights, but it was slightly more expensive! Since I didn't know how committed I felt towards celebrating Christmas, I decided to start small.

I wanted a smashing tree topper, that I searched for everywhere, but couldn't find one I liked. So I made my own....

Take a look

All I did was cut out some thick foam from an old watch box, in the shape of a star. I found some "Happy Birthdays" lying around, and I cut out the "Happy's" from it, and pasted it on the foam star and voila!

It makes me really "happy" (ha ha)!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Obsessed

M & I are obsessed-in-the-listen-to-it-constantly-on-repeat way with this song since the weekend. Folks in India - do you guys watch the show? Is it as good as it sounds? I am going to start watching the episodes on youtube soon as I find some time. 

Minds without fear

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

- Rabindranath Tagore

Home Sweet Home

I have decided to open up my home to you guys! Don't ask why. Did you question why you own that fabulous dress, or why you saw a beautiful sunset, or why you've been traveling to exotic places (if you are btw, would love to know about it!) or why you won that lottery? Good things just happen. For no reason.

Here's a secret - there is no way in hell that my entire home is ready to be photographed and posted on the WORLD WIDE WEB at any given point in the time space continuum. There are only special co-ordinates of space and time when some room in my home may be close to decent. The chink in the armor (of mess). Such moments are rare and priceless and they rock my world.

The point of it all being - today it's just the kitchen. Here it is. Voila.

The pictures quality isn't the greatest. I know. But. I could not let you guys look at a clear picture and figure out where all the mess is hiding. But I am not done with the kitchen yet, you see. I have yet to point out to you all the awesome, creative sh*t going on in there (that I want to, but cannot take full credit for. Ideas came from everywhere, when I started complaining about the size of the kitchen, because one - lets face it, it leans towards what experts call - cozy spaces and two - It's really SMALL).

Tip #1 - Maximum use of Wall spaces.

Tip #2 - Maximum use of IKEA

Tip #3 - Container Store has awesome stuff for kitchen

To sum it all up. I have this narrow kitchen with just one wall of cabinets. No pantry. To top it off, that cabinet towards the end is blocked by the Refrigerator. Which means, I cannot be keeping everyday stuff in there. I was stumped for some time with the kitchen. But then, I started browsing IKEA. It has been my goto for all the the stuff in my home. I LOVE it. 

That's how I came up with the idea of this wall rack to keep my everyday cooking utensils. Yes, they are larger than usual. What can I say, Small kitchen, Big utensils. That's how life goes! I think the best surprise was I was able to use if for lids. I never know where to put those.

I also used the space right above the stove, to keep oil, salt and pepper, so that I have easy and quick access to those while cooking. This was a friend's idea. Brilliant. (Also a torch, for emergencies).

More use of wall space to keep bounty and cleaning stuff over the sink -

I found these amazing things in the Container store. They basically double up my shelf height. And yes, I do use steel utensils. It wasn't tasting like real Indian food until, I ate it on these. Shoot me.

So there you have it. My kitchen. And part of the story behind it. The other part is, it took me weeks (not kidding) to figure all these solutions out and then some more weeks to actually install them. Basically, the building I live in has WEIRD walls. Some spots the nail will bend, but not go in. And some spots, it will go right in and slide right out. In US, you cannot just have someone come and do it for ya and you pay them something minimal like 10 bucks. No sir. Everything is DIY (Do it Yourself). I suppose you can still get people to do this, but their rates might by sky-high, which I could not afford. These are the times, when I miss India so much. (There are other, more meaningful times too, like when I miss my India for family reasons. But there are these times too. A lot of them. You gotta take what you get).

So, that's how it went down in my kitchen. I will come back with more stories for the rest of the home too. Soon. As soon as I can get to clearing that mess. It's like it has a life of it's own. I clear out one room and it appears in the other. It's like energy, it cannot be destroyed, only transformed. 

See how I was saying married life isn't easy. And you all thought I was talking about M.

PS: All this home stuff - all part of the nesting syndrome ya'll!

Testing

Trying to post from my phone.
And the sunrise from my window.

Breathe and re-boot

Sometimes life tends to be at a standstill. At such times, I try to keep it moving. And sometimes, it moves so fast, there's only enough time to breathe and run with it. What was I up to for so long? Just trying to breathe and run as fast as I could. And then I realized, I may never stop running long enough to write a post, or two. So here I am, running and writing and breathing and attempting to re-boot my blog.

Now that I have the philo-crapo-sophy out of my system, let's talk about what I have been up to? Lets see? Bullet points?

• Started a new job more than a year ago, roughly around the time I took a break from writing. Blinked and realized, more than a year has gone by.
• Got married. 
• Almost closing in the first year of my marriage. (Side note - It's not as easy as people make it seem)
• Took a trip to Hawaii (Highlight of my year, definitely. It really is heaven on earth. Post on that, soon)
• Took my parents to NYC, Washington DC, Niagara Falls. (Me = Proud)
• Took my parents-in-law to San Fran. (Love that city)
• I grew up. No really. I did. How you ask? (Ok nobody really did, but I will tell you anyway) - I manage a household by myself now (with help from M). And no, it's not always smooth sailing. I "decorate" and do "nesting" stuff, like clean, re-arrange furniture, hang wall art etc. I have started to learn to try to manage my money. 

Of course, there are so many details that I am leaving out, so as to not bore any of my fans out there. I know you guys have been holding thy breath everyday! You can relax now, this blog will probably survive. I hope. (Who am I kidding? IS ANYONE STILL HERE?? *holds her breath, and waits for a comment*)

And here's a picture from Hawaii. To make this post interesting.