I don’t know if its writer’s block or brain-fog.. My mind is full of disconnected thoughts..There are hundreds of blog ideas, craft ideas, random thoughts about life,people and everything in general and yet, when I sit down stretch out on my bed, to write something, I can’t come up with anything. I keep staring at the screen, look at my phone, check my messages, stare at the screen again, check my messages again,exactly 5 seconds later and then finally give up the idea of writing.
For the last few days, I feel like something is missing, like I am forgetting something and I can’t pin-point what it is.I walk out of work, thinking and crossing out lists in my head, trying to figure out what I have forgotten.

 I keep replaying conversations back and forth, trying to figure out, what’s making me restless. I think of the words that have bothered me, the tones and hidden meanings and I can’t make sense of everything.I can’t..

So, I have come to the conclusion that what people say is not a reflection of me, its a reflection of them. That try as much as I can, I can’t turn some negatives into positives. That people’s actions and reactions may or may not be because of me. And even if they are, there is not much I can do about it.That I have to learn to be immune to negativity ..So, I have decided to just ….
[Image courtesy : Google images]

And on that note.. I’ve decided to do the Gratitude challenge, where I will post something that I am thankful for EVERY single day..Ok, ok… I will TRY to post every single day 🙂

Keep smiling!
xoxo
Trish

I wasn’t planning to write anything today, but this had to be written, before I got busy and forgot about it.
I almost didn’t apply for my new job because I knew the role was ON-call basis. I was scared about how I would manage the logistics of finding care for both the girls, on the last minute, how I would cope with the spontaneity of it..But, I applied. My friend and her boss all but pushed me to and I did, because I felt so loved and spoiled and to be honest, a little obliged.
The interview was a breeze and I got selected and then started the trainings..I still had a little say in when I wanted to organize training sessions and could pre-plan the girls’ daycare and after school-care arrangements. Now, training is all but finished and regular call-outs have started. In the last 3-4 weeks, I have worked 5-6 days each week and most of the times, it has been a last minute call- the previous night or first thing in the morning. Then, I have rung daycare and asked if I could drop Ms.An , told Ms.A as soon as I got the call that Aunty D will pick her up. D is a friend who runs her own daycare from home and her daughter is one of MsA’s oldest friends and so she loves going there. And every single time, when I get a call, my stomach does a flip-out..thinking how everything will work out.. and even if it does, how will the girls react, will I get there in time.
But, surprisingly, they have been alright. Ms.An is liking ‘school’ as she calls her daycare and has been OK going there even on her ‘day off’. Ms.A automatically grabs a second snack when I tell her that Aunty D is going to pick her up. And when I know that they are well taken care of and are in a safe place, I am relaxed at work. I am quite enjoying the new role and all the things that come with it. A couple of months back, when MsAn was struggling at daycare and I was unhappy, I had made my peace with the fact that a full-time job is not my cup of tea. But the last month has showed me that I can do it and it might work for our family. Sure I am tired and have a whole heap of work to catch up with on the weekend, but we will survive.
I have put in my notice for my weekend job and once that ends, things will ease up a little..but like I said, we’ll survive..we’ll cope and when we can’t, we’ll find ways to cope 🙂
Today Ms.An and I had our first day off in a month and it was the best day ever. We went out for a coffee-date with Batman, stocked up on groceries and then came home , did house work, sang songs, talked..yes! she has real conversations now(that reminds me I NEED to write her birthday post) Like I said, it was the best day EVER.
Back to the grind tomorrow.. but this had to be written, for me to read when I am having a hard day!
Hope you’ve been well..
xx
Trish

I have just re-discovered my love for toe-rings and so I have to torture you with these images..:) Feel free to skip this post, if you like 😀

I was gifted some beautiful pairs the last time I went to India.As the weather is getting warmer,its the perfect time to sport these silver beauties!

Hellooo lovely people,
Anybody still here?? You know, reading/stalking/reading?? I had vowed to keep posting regularly and then the new job happened. Yes, I have a second job now, but this one is on-call, filling in for regulars, so the last few weeks have been super-busy.Today is my first official day off in a long time, because I am sick and in bed, perfect time to write this post, I say!

And amidst this hubbub, my secondborn turned 4! Its been almost a month since Ms.An turned 4- I have her birthday post in the drafts, hopefully, I’ll finish it soon. There’s so much I have to say about her,so many little things that make her uniquely ‘her’ and so many little things that make me smile and thank the lord for making her mine.

As for other things, the weight-loss is going well.. I say well, because even though its slow, its steady. Others can see changes and more importantly, I can see changes. I will share a comparison pic soon.
The house is getting set, slowly, one corner at a time. I’ve managed to tackle the big beast, otherwise known as the kitchen Pantry! I love walking into the pantry now and finding what I want, without having to look through a hundred plastic bags or 50 assorted boxes. A friend is revamping her backyard for her new puppy and was getting rid of these and now they have a new home in my backyard 🙂

And while I am sharing pics, now is a good chance to share some of Ms.An’s birthday too 🙂

It’s taken me a whole day to write this post.. but, hey! its progress..I am going to hit publish before I get distracted now 🙂

Cheers

Trish

We spent a quiet day at home today.. the girls and I. A quiet day in our house calls for staying in our pajamas, eating when we get hungry,even if it means eating at three different times and lots of arts, crafts and games. Oh and some reading too.
We worked on a My Little Pony puzzle together and between all the no-reason giggles, Ms.An commented,” This is the BEST day, ever” and MsA looked at her, tousled her hair fondly and said,”Yes, it is “.
Puzzle completed, and we decided to settle down for some reading. MsA in her room, me in mine and MsAn next to me on my bed. A little while later, MsAn was nowhere to be seen. Feeling too lazy, I yelled out, ” Nanya, are you with Didi?” and she yelled back..” No, I am with myshelf and my toys and we are having so much fun”
She makes me smile with her chatter and her witty responses..I can’t believe she is almost four!
Last night at bed-time, I was trying to finish a chapter for my new unit. MsAn was next to me, watching a video on her iPad . SP told her ,” That’s enough, its time for bed ” and she threw her hands up in the air and said, ” I knoww , daddy!! Justtt look at mumma…she is still using her laptop! Mumma, its time for bed, you have to switch it off..Band Karo( parroting hubby’s words-‘switch it off’ in Hindi)

I love quiet, lazy days like today, just what we need every now and again. The last week has been very busy. I got a taste of what life would be when I start working 5 days a week, which will be soon, fingers crossed. I will share more once, I have more details.

For now, I am going to enjoy the last few days of the school holidays. I love having MsA at home. She’s been a sport and hasn’t complained about having to wake up every day and going to work with me. And after finishing work, I over-indulge her , to overcome my guilt- lunch of her choice, window shopping, sometimes real shopping, a thing or two, movies at home, late nights, and the works. But, isn’t that  the joy of school holidays?

More later,
Love,
Trish

I am slowly doing up the house.When I say slowly, I mean really S-L-O-W-L-Y 😃 

Anyway, I saw this set at the InLaws home and I had to have it, so I nagged them to get one for me and they did , when they came over after we moved into the new house. 

I racked my brain, about how to display it, since we don’t have a showcase or sideboard yet. I didn’t want it on the floor, because they wouldn’t survive MsAn’s love and affection. And then, I found this 

  
A cup of ginger tea, some red paint and ta da…we have a new home for my beloved set .. I can’t stop looking at it 😊

  
I love the streaked effect- I have to confess, when I first started , the streaks upset the OCD crafter in me, but after the paint dried, I thought it added character to it, so I resisted the urge to do another coat to even it out . 

Now, I am looking for something to display this little set, any ideas? 😊

  
Love,

Trish!

Being sick has its advantages. I woke up wheezing , early yesterday morning. SP woke up with me, got my nebuliser sorted, etc. Unfortunately, it was too late for me to call for a backup at work and considering I work for only a couple of hours on a Tuesday morning, I decided to go in to work. But, SP decided to work from home, dropped me at work, the girls at school n daycare , then came back to pick me up, after I finished work and took me to the doctors. Love him for just days like these, when he understands what I need without me having to say it out loud.

As we were leaving the pharmacy, I asked quietly, ‘what about lunch? ‘   And so, I got my much awaited lunch date!We’ve been trying to have a kid free date for the longest time… But it had to happen like this! When I was feeling crappy, had the worst headache in history and the shakes from the nebuliser.. Lol! But! I got my lunch date. It was nice to just talk, not rush through a meal like it was a marathon, not go to the toilet in the middle of a meal !!! The girls have to go check out the toilets in a restaurant .. No matter where we go ! LOL! And they always have to go in the middle of eating…puts me off eating, then.

Anyway, the lunch date ended way too soon, because the headache got worse and SP got a work call..but those few stolen moments will keep us going until the next one 😊 

I leave you with a selfie with my best beloved, taken a few days back, coincidentally I had a headache that day too( winters, sinus- enough said!)

  
More later, 

Love

T

 I love looking at my girls, when they are being nice to each other. I love it how they look out for each other, when we are out. I love it how their eyes seek each other out, no matter how crowded the place might be.
We were invited for a party at a play-center,last weekend and the girls played so nicely with each other. They spent a lot of time in the big kids play area. SP took MsAn to the little kids play area for a while and MsA sat down with a frown on her face, waiting for her to finish playing there, so they could play together. They both found it hard to understand why we were the only ones sticking to the rule of ” No kids over 5 years”, when there were other older kids playing rough in that area. SP and I told them why and sent them off to the big kids play area again.
But as the party started to wind down and the center was getting quieter, Ms.An went in the soft play area again and she needed help, climbing up on the giant teddy bear and getting into the spinning chair and MsA put her hand up and said, ” Sit back, Mumma..I can help her,” and she did and that’s when I took this picture of them. All afternoon, I kept trying to take a good photo of them together, but had no luck. This one is blurry, it captures all that made me happy that afternoon- them, playing together.
On our way back, they were so tired, but we could hear them talking and reminiscing over the events of the afternoon. And MsA said to MsAn,”You are my best friend” and MsAn replied,” And you are my best friend”..totally melted my heart.

It also reminded me of the time just after MsAn was born. I think she must have been a week old. We left a sleeping MsAn at home with my aunt and just ducked into the shops to pick up some baby essentials, coz Ms.An had decided to come earlier than planned and obviously, the weekend that we were supposed to go shopping, I spent giving birth to her 😀  Anyway, I digress..So, we ran into an acquaintance of SP’s at the shops and they were talking to MsA, asking her about her kinder(Gosh!! I can’t believe it..its almost time for MsAn to start kinder!) and if she had any friends there, etc. And MsA, all of 4 years old, had replied very clearly, ” No, I don’t have any friends there yet, but it doesn’t matter, because I have a sister now and she is my best friend.” Oh my God, I still remember the tears prickling at my eyes and a lump forming in my throat..4 years later and I still have the same reaction, when I think of that day and when I watch them with each other. And of course, there are moments, when the bickering doesn’t stop and all I want to do is just tear my hair off and scream like a mad banshee..actually, I do scream, but it doesn’t seem to bother them.  Anyway.. this post is about happy moments and I will leave it at that 🙂

More later,
Love,
Trish

I am talking about the blog 😊 yes, I know I have fallen behind. I am sick again- just having a relapse of the chest n throat infection .. Only worse than last time. Back on antibiotics and OMG! I am so exhausted. 

Add mouth sores to that and everything tastes like sandpaper or soap water! This post has been sitting in the drafts for the last 2 days, I figured I should post it tonight. 

More later,

Love,

T

I think I have found a solution to dinner-time dramas! We are moving to Mexico 😃😃 No, I am just joking !! But going by the happy dinner time tonight, we might as well. 

It was Taco Tuesday and there was absolute silence at the table . I didn’t even have to force them to take seconds. 

Here’s our leftovers:

  
And MsA has already called the shots on them! 

I leave you with my Guacamole recipe, one that I picked up from this awesome Mexican place near Plano, TX. The waitress made the Guac at our table and since then, I have made mine like that. 

Ingredients: 

1ripe Avocado

1/2 small tomato(chopped)

1/2 Spanish onion( fine chopped)

1/2 lime 

1-2Green chilli – fine chopped 

Coriander 1-2 tsp fine chopped 

Salt to taste

Method: Scoope the flesh out of the avocado, in a bowl. Add all the ingredients and mash well with two forks or in a mortar and pestle. Enjoy! 

Sometimes I throw in some fresh corn too, just to mix things up 😊 

 

This is from the other night, when we had Nachos And Movie Night. 

I know I have fallen behind with daily posts, but I will make up 😃

More later! 

Love, 

Trish!