Mahalo!

What a wonderful time we had. Kutie was scared of the ocean at first, but after two days he settled into it as if he had know it for ages. He played in the white beaches - running & walking. Since it was a great weather he walked around everywhere and enjoyed not being couped up inside the house.

Honey and Dad, went para-sailing and snorkeling - enjoying every minute of a fun-filled adventure. I completely forgot about work, home and everything in between in the few days of glorious sunshine.

Look at this beautiful sunset and beaches and wouldn't you thank the wonderful God for giving us an opportunity to see His wonderful creations! Mahalo!

Sunset on the beach



























Aerial view of the beach

The S word

10 Words that describe our wonderful Hawaii trip!

Sun
Sand
Summer
Shopping
Sand castle
Shore
Shells
Snorkel
Sea
Scenic

Hawaii - Here we come!

ALOHA!!!
Sun, Sands, Summer

Can't wait for the Thanksgiving holidays to hit the sunny beaches of Hawaii. I am sure it will be greatest fun for all of us. Now I only need to figure out which stores might still have a few summer dresses ...

Merci beaucoup!

Mille fois merci!

To my dear mom, who read my last post and let me know that even if I probably get just a few readers, she loves my work and helps her to be connected to me, even when we are miles apart!

LOVE YOU LOTS, MUM - YOU ARE THE BEST!

Scrapbook of Memories

Each day passes into the night
Dreams are forgotten at daylight.
A lifetime of thoughts goes unwritten,
Flights of fancy never fulfilled.

Scribbling thoughts into paper
Making them stay awhile
Strokes that now color them
Often going by unnoticed!

Why write, if no one reads it?
Why write, if no one ever finds it?
Pieces in black and white,
Can they just be a scrapbook of memories?

Growing Wiser?

Growing wiser or not! Don’t care – as long as I get flowers, chocolates, perfumes for my birthday. HA!


Thank you my dear friends and family for letting me know that I am loved each day!
Thank you!

Vineyards

Pictures from our trip

Breathtaking view of the vineyards

Up close & Personal look at the what makes a great wine!

'Tis the season

Until a few years back, winter weekends were kind of fun times – sleep-in, take it slow, watch movies cuddled up under a million blankets. Back in India and even when I moved to Dallas, winters were a welcome change from the long summer days of heat and sweat.

California winters are lot darker and bit too dreary. It often rains during the winter months making it worse. I generally don’t prefer to drive and during times like this, it puts a full-stop to any enjoyment.

With the time change, it’s official that shorter days and longer nights are here for the next few months. I feel especially sad for my little boy, whose little list of outdoor fun is down to zero. No more walks in parks, or rides on the swings. I checked lots of websites in trying to figure out some activities for the little guy, but most activities are for toddlers 2 years up. One bright spot on the horizon is the library. Twice a week I can take him there to read a few books, attend a story-time session and just meet up kids his age. One of my co-workers suggested going to the mall which seems like a good idea as well.

The one other ray of sunshine are all the festivals that are round the corner – Diwali, Thanksgiving holidays, Christmas, New Years. With a few holiday weekends round the corner, I am exited to be able to get more time to spend with family and friends and have a good time! (of course how this will impact my Lakshya is another story!)

Trrruck, Caar, Buus

Have you taken a road trip with a 15-month old? It’s bound to be eventful, I can bet that much! Today we decided to drive up to the wineries and with not that much planning ahead; we piled the car with toys and some snacks. I was dreading the loud cries that we might be subjected to from Kutie, being in the car - all cooped up in the car-seat.

What a surprise then that Kutie enjoyed the ride. He loved watching the trucks, cars and buses drive by and shouted at every one of them.

“Trruck!” “Big trruck!” “Uncle!”, “Buus”, “Caar” – was what you have heard all the way!

In-between he would do a roll-call by calling each of us out – ‘Amma (moi), Aatha (for achan-dad), Moothu (for muthashan- grandpa), Ammamma (grandma). We all had to answer & confirm that we are present. Wonder if he was a teacher in past life?

Once we got to Napa, he enjoyed the cable car ride and running around the grounds. We had beautiful warm weather and with the color-change on the leaves the place was picturesque.

On our way back, we had to stop at Mac Donald’s to get milk for Kutie – and they charged us $2 for the milk, another $2 for a cup. So note to self: Pack extra milk and variety of snacks – for you never know if your trip would turn out to be longer than expected and you cannot predict toddler behaviors!

The journey overall was enjoyable and we got home 2 wine bottles to enjoy!

The Lion Roars

It was great fun Halloween (except for the after-shocks that we got in the afternoon at work). Kutie was happy to wear his little costume and carry around the 'large pumpkin' basket and go to the neighbors. Of course, when we got there he would rather be picked up and ‘be safe’ in our arms. But as a first real Halloween for him, it was great fun for us to watch this little lion run around wagging his tail and blowing kisses to everyone.

Trick 'r Treat

(graphic courtesy of coolholidaygraphics.com)

Shivers from the dark

The day started just as usual, the skies were a bit gloomy, perhaps in anticipation? Since our office was throwing a Spooktacular Halloween event, I decided to work from home so that I could take Kutie for the event. By afternoon, the skies cleared and we made our way to office. Kutie dressed up as a lion (I had to fool Kutie to make him think that it was a hooded jacket), looked so cute and happy. At first he was a bit scared to see so many people, but within minutes he settled down. Bunch of colleagues had brought their kids and with all the shows put up, it was a fun time!

We got home and then after a quick walk to the park and back, we settled into the nightly activities of setting up for dinner. As mom was feeding the baby, I decided to catch some TV shows that I have missed over the past weeks (thanks ReplayTV). Dad was in the other room reading news on the internet, and honey just came home and joined me in the living room.

Right then, the earth shook! Yes literally!!!

With a look of utter disbelief I turned to my husband – his face held the same expression. A second later, he said – “It’s an earthquake!” I jumped out of the sofa and ran to the family room and screamed “Get the baby out of the highchair”. A second later, dad was asking should we get out of the house. Standing with Kutie in my arms, I was urging everyone to get underneath the doorway (that was the only thing that I could remember from my survival studies). The moment passed – all was calm.

Neighbors started pouring out confirming our fears, that it was indeed a severe quake though most of us were well. We went back in and tried calling our friends. Of course, lines were jammed for a while.

The news came on 10-15 minutes later about a 5.6 magnitude shake whose epicenter was about 8 -9 miles from our house. A chill ran down our spine!

Throughout our late night dinner, the discussion centered on what we did and did not do. I did not want Kutie running far from me and kept him close, within my arms reach until bedtime.

Having a real life scare right before Halloween is kind of weird and surreal. It was my first quake experience and boy was it a scare! Of course I am happy that everyone was ok and there were no major mishaps, but hope to God I don’t go through one again this lifetime!

Thank You! Lord!

Happy Navratri

This Sunday marks the beginning of the 9 day festival of Navratri (9-nights) - celebrating through 9 nights and 10 days - Goddess Durga. Its a celebration of good triumphing over evil.

We celebrate with nine nights of Garba (traditional Gujarathi dance) and prayers. Its a great time of vibrant colors and songs.

Since Kutie got one of the traditional outfits from our cousin's mom, I wanted to try it on. We went to the temple on Sunday - of course honey was complaining that the shirt looks more like a dress! But believe me he looked so cute and handsome! I just loved it.

Back in Action

All moved in, the unwanted pile of boxes have moved into the garage and we sort of know where everything went. So what do I do next, go back on to school for my project management classes. I am hoping to get everything done by May of next year, so I take the weekend classes which sucks badly as now time with family is reduced to one Sunday!

I am in middle of the lunch break at this class, no distractions as everyone is out of the classroom (and having done with lunch myself) I can peacefully sit and write. But the blank white sheet stares at me as not one cohesive thought comes to mind to write about.

So many events have taken place – Kutie got his first haircut – a complete shave! Two reasons – First he never seemed to have hair and one suggestion was a complete shave to let new hair grow in its place – a fresh start so to speak. Its also part of the tradition to give babies a full shave in the first years of life. We were unsure of how to do this as we are not familiar with any salons doing a full shave for babies, so we decided to take a stab at it ourselves. I held Kutie in my arms and my honey sat with the razors. We heard a few cries of protest but overall Kutie was a trooper and now he looks so different from his usual self now that we see his complete round, bare head!

Kutie is growing up to be a wonderful talkative mischievous one year old. It is so wonderful to see the inquisitive curious brain at work. I thank Lord Guruvayoorappan again each time he smiles, laughs and runs into my arms!

Round Three: Lets the games begin

Its been ages since I posted about my lakshya or g and no prizes to the correct guess – I have been avoiding it. No & I did get my desired weight and my son is almost 15 months, and I am miles away from my goal. So many things pushed me off – house hunting, school, work … Fine they are excuses but they are real.

So why am I writing about it again? My hall-of-shame – should be deleted from my blog!!! If I had the guts, I think I would do it. Or maybe the day I hit rock bottom … Since that hasn’t happened and there is a silver lining I am writing about it again!

Our office opened a new gym and with a colleague joining forces with me, it been fairly easy to hit the gym for at least for about 30 mins each day. So new ground rules:

• Hit the office gym 5 days at lunch hour for a full hour
• Hit the stairs
• Avoid the sweets
• Check back more often

Lets hope I am older, wiser and will be able to keep it up. Jinx me not!

Witches, Ghosts, & Scary Stuff!

Halloween is almost here! Candy & Dress-up what more would a kid want?



Today when I pass by the local Target or Home Depot store, I show the little scary monster, witches & skeletons to Kutie and he just looks at it and smiles. He thinks of them as just things that seem to lit up and make noise. (the only thing that he seemed scared about was when the monster made a loud 'arrrrrrrrrrr' sound). I guess fear is a learned behavior to most extent.

Now that we have moved (& settled) into our new house, I am hoping that our neighbors are into Halloween, so that I can do some decorations, get an outfit for Kutie to go trick-or-treating! If nothing, I guess since Kutie can walk now I will be able to take him to my office for a some quick Halloween treats and fun! Now, if only I can decide what Kutie should be - a wizard, a ninja, a lion, a superhero or .... Lets go shopping!

(graphic courtesy of coolholidaygraphics.com)

Pile of boxes

I am sure everyone has been through the pains of moving and settling into a new house, felt the distress of not finding that right cup for your morning tea, or having to browse through a pile of clothes the next morning to get to work! I think the worst part is cleaning out the old apartment and making sure you move the last remaining pile of boxes!

Through all this Kutie is showing signs of discomfort as well! Poor guy, he seems so lost. He was without his favourite toys for two whole days before we were able to open it for him, he is most likely missing his friends from the apartment too.

But one blessing was that he started to walk last week (on Grandparents Day, no less) and since then he got at least a week's head start before we moved into the house with complete hardwood floors. I can't imagine the pain of walking on fours on hardwood floors! Of course, Kutie seems to enjoy walking and making loud noise on the floors. Once his cars were out in the open, he seemed to have more fun in driving it, now that it moves faster and makes even more noise (even without the music turned on).

But the pile of boxes still remains! I am hoping that we get done with most of them by this weekend - otherwise I am sure the pile of boxes will just be transfered into the garage where its likely to sit for another century!

Lord Ganesha

I just find it amazing how many things tie humans together - and for the most part we miss them out completely!At least within my limited capacity of knowledge ( and I know I am not a scholar on anything) I notice so many irrefutable things.

Today is Ganesh Chatruthi and for many Indians marks the beginning of a lot of festivals and celebrations in the coming months. During my childhood days, our neighborhood would put up a pandal and have the celebrations in a grand scale for 5 days. Each night the kids would put up shows (dances, songs, magic tricks) and it would turn into an informal competition - especially our group and another building group. It would be a a matter of great honor to ensure that we get the majority of praise the end of our program. Today as I turn around and look at my childhood self, I want to tell her to stop being so aggressive and have more fun instead. I am sure the next generation is going through the same thing - though the groups have changed - and new affiliations have formed.

Listen to a baby's babble, see them walk, see them trying to get our attention - all of them - blue eyed or brown, blonde or brunette - they all do the same thing!

I hope Lord Ganesha - the remover of obstacles - brings us the knowledge and understanding and brings everyone closer together!

Painting, Cleaning and Moving ...

House-warming is done, & we got some painters to paint the house. But our major work of packing and moving still remains.

Last couple of weeks were spent in ensuring that painters do a decent job and shopping around for new appliances. My parents arrived the day after labor day and its been a great blessing. Kutie adjusted pretty quickly to them and is growing very fond of them. He is pretty good with new people, especially loves kids and the attention from grown-ups.

This weekend is the big move. I am sure it will take us weeks before we find a place for each of our stuff and settle into life in the neighborhood. But the actual moving and cleaning out the old apartment- is so much of work that it almost bores me.

Wish I could just blink my eyes and transport everything to its place in the new house!

Our little dream home ...

A good home must be made, not bought.
Joyce Maynard, "Domestic Affairs"

My home is not a place, it is people.
Lois McMaster Bujold, "Barrayar", 1991 US science fiction author

And my favorite --
Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.
John Howard Payne (1791 - 1852)