The year 2010,has a nice ring to it.Somehow from the start,I have a good feeling about this year.Until last year,I thought,this will be the year for baby number 2..but somehow,I am just not getting the baby vibes.
But,on most other counts,I think this will be a good year.
This year,I set myself some goals and made several resolutions.One of my resolutions was to blog about the resolutions before the end of January..there that one’s already broken.Moving on to the rest-
This year,I vow to-
* LOSE Weight-That is always the top priority,isn’t it?
*Feel Healthy and good about myself-Whole of last year and the year before that,I had a very poor self image.I hated my body..I hated everything about myself.This year is the year to feel good about myself.
*Love Myself-completely for who I am,for who I was.
* To control my temper-Being a Full-time mom for 3 years,can turn even the most sweet-tempered person into a fire-breathing dragon.
* Keep a better house.We have lived in this house,almost a year..but it was still a house..This year I want to turn it into a home..Friends tell me,that they get a good vibe and a welcoming feeling from our home..I want to feel that vibe..
*To save some money- The last year has been very bad for us financially.There is some truth to the old saying,”It is not easy to uproot a plant from one spot and plant it somewhere else.” Quite literally,that’s what we did to ourselves.The expenses were HUGE,our savings meagre..and this year that ought to change.
*Get my driving licence..No excuses,no drama..Just do it!
*To cut down on TV time-I never enjoyed TV..but after moving abroad,the lack of real people around or the loneliness drove me to TV.But,after moving to Australia,the time we (Aadya and I) spent in front of the TV,increased exponentially.Most of the times,it just runs in the background…but even then.
*To blog more frequently and on more diverse topics.
*To craft more..it relaxes me..and puts me in touch with myself.
*Take up a course-the professional kind and also some hobby course.

I started working towards these resolutions,from the first day of the first month.
* We stopped eating out-even before the last year ended and continued that,in the new year.
*I started Yoga and watching my diet-I accepted ,honestly,that in past my efforts have been not a 100%..so this time,I am not giving myself any choice!
*We gave ourselves budgets for everything- X amount for groceries,Y amount for phone bills,Z amount for DH’s expenses,D amount for my expenses,A amount to go into Aadi’s piggy bank and so on…
*We avoid using our cards-even debit cards,as much as possible.
*I have been reorganising the house..putting away things,unpacking,sorting to donate,re-arranging furniture,decorating rooms(on a budget).My goal was to finish re-organising before the end of January,but,I still have 2 cupboards to tackle.
*Licence-haven’t done much..will save up and then take some continuous lessons.
*Put aside time for blogging and crafting,each day.Starting NaBloPoMo..again today.
Checked about the courses,need to arrange the finance.hobby course seems doable for now.
I am pretty happy with the year so far..hopefully the rest of it,will go smoothly too.What’s going on with your resolutions?

The rules are:
Tell your readers 10 things about you that they may or may not know, but are true.
Tag 10 people with the award, and be sure to let them know they’ve been tagged (a quick comment on their blog will do).
Link back to the blogger who tagged you.

My new friend,The Passionate Goof or the Goofy Mumma,as most of us,know her ,passed on this lovely tag to me…a few days back.And one of my resolutions for this year is to not let the tags spill onto next month!
Anyway,ten things about me-
1.I love reading and when I pick up a book,I cannot stop till I have finished it.Even if its boring me to death,I have to finish it.When I was in college,I had 2 books running,simultaneously..a small light read for travelling and something else,for bedtime.And I have to read something,before sleeping,even if its only for 5 minutes.
2.I am a people watcher and can spend hours doing it.At the mall,at the airport,at the doctor’s office.I try to imagine,their lives,their conversations,their likes(from the books they are reading/what they are wearing).
3.I always smile when I see catch someone’s eye,when I am walking.And if I see someone I know,I am almost always the first one to say hello.And I do it,even if the said someone has ignored me in the past and continues to ignore me again..I just come away feeling sad.
4.I get attached to people,things,houses,places,very easily and always have a hard time saying good bye.And if you and I ever fall out over something,its most likely that I will call you before you call me.
5.My hands can never be still.I canNOT just sit down and do nothing.I am always reading a book,while watching a movie or I am crafting(knit/crochet/paint/needlework..whatever).
6.My mind is at a thousand places at the same time.I may be talking to you,listening and absorbing your conversation about the sales at the mall,and thinking of my next craft project at the same time.So,please dont be offended or surprised if I ask you,if you know where I can find hot glue gun!
7.I don’t normally form an opinion about anyone very easily.I always give them a benefit of doubt..much to the chargarin of DH.I canNOT be rude to someone,even if they are rude to me on my face.I brood over it fora long time,later.
8.I used to cry very easily..but in the last 3-4 years,its reduced drastically.I think I am all cried out.
9.I am not very happy about the BODY I am in..and I am going to change it -slowly and steadily.There!I put it in writing.
10.The first thing I do each morning is,wash my face with water and apply moisturiser.Till I dont do that,I keep feeling uncomfortable and restless.And this is even before I brush my teeth.I have very dry hands and keep a bottle of Nivea,for very dry skin,handy and keep applying it every few hours.
I think by now,everyone must have finished this tag,but I will still tag,some of you,whom I haven’t read..
I tag-
Shobana
Shruti
Swaram
2B’s mom
Aneela
Meira
Emaan’s mom
Suki
Priyanka
Sonia
Have a nice day 🙂

Me,ME Me!!!
Or I think Sunita blessed me with some thrifting dust.
I was browsing Gumtree,when I found this-

Its a beautiful handcrafted table.I L-O-V-E the blue tiles,and according to its old owners,its more than 10 years old.Its as good as new.
When I first emailed the owners,they were waiting to hear from someone else.I asked them to call me,if they didn’t hear from the other people.I told DH,about my exciting find..and he was like,why do you need another coffee table..”Becauseeeeee its beautiful!!”I said.The lady finally called me..and said,the table was mine,if I wanted.Hell ya…of course I wanted it!
This is what I am using it for-

What do you think??
And I got it for -FREE!!! Could I be any happier?

Edited to Add-Yes,Yes it was free.The owners were moving to a smaller place,but didnt want to sell it,since it was a gift,so listed it as a freebie on gumtree.com.au.And I got lucky.I gave them a Tajmahal Magnet 🙂

….was all about catching up.I hadn’t seen my family in nearly two years.So,you can imagine how it must have been.I reached just in time for my sister(cousin) ,Sofi’s wedding.There was hardly anytime to arrange the clothes to be worn in the wedding..The last time I had worn a saree was in my own wedding and sadly,I don’t fit into those blouses anymore.The few days that I had before the wedding were spent in shopping,endless trips to the tailor and wedding festivities.
The wedding was beautiful and Sofi looked lovely.So did my sister. and everyone else too.I ended up wearing a saree from my wedding collection..so all the shopping trips were for nothing.
After the wedding festivities were finished,we went back to Bombay,where I spent the next few days,falling sick,travelling between my dad’s and ILs’,being a lady of leisure.
Being together was important,so Aaji(my grand ma) and Sahil(Sofi&Sahil are so close to me that its weird referring to them as cousins),came over from Nasik for the duration of my stay.Then the party began.Man,it was bliss to eat meals cooked by Aaji after so many years.Even tea-time or breakfast time was like an extended party.And all we would be eating was probably chai-biscuit or vada-pav.
Aadi took a particular liking to Sahil,so much so that the poor guy couldn’t even go to the toilet,without upsetting her.The sweetest part was,when she went to her Dadi’s house and told her Dadu-Dadi,”I have two Mamas-Mamma and Sahil Mama.”He was literally her second mom.I realised when,one day,we were at the dining table and she kept asking for something and I didn’t understand..And Sahil got up gave it to her.They watched TV together..calling out cartoon characters by their names.They sang and danced.They took the dog for a walk ..if Sahil left without her,she would cry her heart out,till he didn’t get back.And then,she would tell him,that she was “Gussa” with him and ask me to “shout him”.
She knew where Nanu’s stash of candy was kept..she would go to his room..quietly pull him hand and take him to the freezer and ask very very sweetly for some “candy please”.All my threats of “I will not talk to you”didn’t work on either her or on my dad.
We went back to Nasik,half way into the holiday and took Aadya to see Aaji’s house in Devlali.It belongs to my uncle now and is mostly locked.Aaji goes there,when she is feeling very nostalgic.The excitement in her eyes,when I told her,this is where Mamma used to play when she was a little girl..Priceless.It was so surreal for me to be there with her,in that place.I know..it was probably the last time,we went there.I only wish DH was there too.I don’t know how much she will remember..but I remember every single day,that I spent in that house.Every summer and winter vacation..the one year that I stayed with Aaji,after mom passed away..the happy memories and the sad ones too.That house was such an important part of my childhood..the fights we had..the teams we formed..sometimes it was my sis and I against Sofi-Sahil ..sometimes it was Sahil-my sis again Sofi n me…and then the forced handshakes..fighting for the same fruit…though I was the eldest..I resented being the last one to get her share.But all these memories are what make me what I am.I am yet to see a morning more glorious than one in Devlali.Even now,I can smell the tea boiling,the faint sweet smell of wet mud,from Aaji’s garden.Actually,its more my Ajoba’s (grandpa) garden.He is the one who toiled hard to make the garden what it is today.I remember,when I was little,every morning and evening,he would carry countless buckets of water,from the back of the house,to the garden in the front and water the plants.Every single day,never tiring,never missing.And he was 70,then.Aaji took over the garden,when he fell sick.
He planted a small kadipatta (curry leaves) plant,to begin with..sometime in 1975-76..and by the time I was 2,it had grown and spread so much.When I was 5 or may be 6..old enough to cross the road..every year,he would give the tree a trim and the trim would yield so much kadipatta,that even after distributing it to everyone in our lane and across the road,he could sell it to the local vegetable seller.
Anyway,I am getting carried away.In this garden is a white rose,of the creeper variety(?) ..and the special thing about this particular plant is that no matter what,even if the rest of the plants are dying..because of neglect(remember the house is locked most of the time),this little creeper,keeps growing and flowering.Aaji told me this was one of the first few plants that Ajoba planted.
Back in Bombay,I spent one lovely morning,meeting Parul,Aneela and Kiran.Parul was sweet enough to open her home for us.And what a home it is..beautiful is too small a word for it..and very tastefully done up too.Meeting Adi and Arhaan was such a treat.But I missed seeing Krish and Ro and Ayaan & Tarana.The thing with meeting blog-pals is that you don’t have to think of ways to start a conversation.Its almost like meeting an old friend after a long time.Kiran left shortly after tea.by then,Aadi had made herself completely at home..much to my embarassment..she decided that wearing a skirt wasn’t cool and decided to walk around without one. We stayed back for lunch.We were having so much fun,that if I wasn’t meeting the MIL later,I would have happily spent the day there.
Meeting Aneela,made me realise,how much I miss her.It was just so nice to see her again..and Arhaan is just delicious.Speaking of delicious..the Adi-Aadi duo decided that Arhaan’s boiled apple was the most delicious thing on this earth and insisted on eating that.Aneela is one cool mom..she happily handed it over to the notorious duo,who,by the way had warmed up to each other,after the initial “its-mine”/”I-want-his/her toy/book” tashan.The funniest was when we were leaving,Aadi decided to kick up a fuss and started stomping her feet to show her anger…and Adi joined in happily,stomping his feet..thinking its some new game!The best thing about this meet up was that Parul and I heaved a collective sigh,that our kids are normal 2 year olds..who think that every d#%^% thing belongs to them. That all 2 yos think that sharing is not cool.
I remember my OB-Gyn told me once,that when you think handling a small baby is stressful,remember,the baby will turn 2 someday and then say-Mine for everything..and then,the sleepness nights would seem tame enough.
Anyway more on India trip later…