Uncategorized

City girl Hat

Some girls like handbags,some like jewellery.Me?I like Hats.I may pass a beautiful dress,without a second glance..but a nice hat,always catches my eye.I had  been looking for a nice hat with a visor.So,when I came across this ( http://warmweatherknitting.blogspot.com/2006/01/city-girl-cap-pattern.html)City girl Hat pattern by Celeste,it was ‘just-what-I-needed’.

I was working on the Sunshine set,when I found this pattern and it was like an added motivation to complete that set ,quickly. The day I finished it,I just had to start on this Hat.The stitch used to make the cables,is Around the post double crochet-I had never used that stitch  ever but,google and youtube came to my rescue.Once I got the hang of it,I had fun hooking!!

The best part was when DH came home from work,and I modelled it for him,he said,”Wow,you made it..looks very smart!” Job well done..:)

.

Weight loss journal

Weightloss update1

So,I am on mission weight loss yet again.The Pipette is going to be TWO next month,about time I stopped using,”But,I just had a baby”line.
I have tried way too many diets to know that dieting is not the way to go.Fad dieting is not for me,period.Nor is portion control…really…Calorie counting doesn’t work too..I will explain why,before you give up on me as a lost cause. Fad dieting doesn’t work,simply because,I don’t have the patience to keep up..day4 is the worst..almost every diet is broken by day 4.I tried the GM diet,the Atkins,South beach diet(that one lasted a week)..I just cannot cook two separate meals for the Bubba and myself.
Portion control and calorie counting,just never works-because,my portions are already small.And I tried calorie counting,and I can never make the required number of calories..NEVER !Not even when I was breast-feeding.
The one time I lost weight without trying was,when I had gestational diabetes.I figured it was the medicines that did the trick..yes,that’s how much I believe in myself.This time,I have decided to come what may,I am going to lose this weight.Its about time,the flab vacated my body and some muscles appeared.
Since moving to Melbourne,I have been going for regular walks,moderate paced walks,at least 5 days in a week.I didn’t think of it as exercise..I was just happy to be able to go to places,myself.The library,the park,the grocery store-I walk everywhere,even when I can take the bus,I walk.Even when I am tired,I walk.As a rule,I only take the bus, to go to the city or any other suburb.And just like that I went down two pant sizes..without even realising.Then,my sister joined a gym and she shared her prescribed diet with me.And I realised that I am eating way too less..some wise person had told me once,that you don’t lose weight,if you eat too little..I decided to give it a try.
I still cannot eat as much as it says in the diet,but I took the basic principle behind it-small meals every 2 hours, Vs 2 -3 meals.Until last week,this is what my diet chart looked like:

9.00AM – 1 cup tea
Occasionally,I would eat something like-3-4 crackers OR 2 slices bread with cheese OR an egg.This would happen once or twice a week.

1.00pm(sometimes 2:00pm)-lunch- leftovers from previous night-mostly rice+dal/curry OR roti+eggOR frozen roti +curry.

5:00 pm-1 cup tea or coffee with 3-4 biscuits or 1/2 cup of namkeen(haldiram’s zindabad)

9.00pm(sometimes 10.00 pm)- dinner -rice /roti with dal+sabji OR some non-veg OR Pasta OR Stuffed Paratha.

Bedtime snack- 1 cup milk…Once in 10-15 days.

Uff!Now that I have written it down,it looks even worse.
Starting Monday,I started eating small meals every 2-3 hours,eating dinner by 7.30 pm latest by 8.00 pm and bedtime snack of milk and nuts every day. For the first time in 5 years,the Bubba and I haven’t had dinner together for a week now.
That along with my regular walking and increased water intake-this is all I am doing,for now.I am not going to join a gym,I have decided..I have already wasted so much money,both my dad’s and Bubba’s on gym memberships.So,walks it will be.I plan to get a skipping rope and jump rope to do some cardio.

Weight lost since Last friday- 1.4 kgs!
Pretty cool na?
So,I am going to update my weight loss journal,every Friday.
This time also,before starting my weight loss mission,I sent up a prayer..This time I wished for a stronger resolve and persistence,instead of a leaner me.I figured,if I am persistent,the leaner me,will have to make an appearance!hai,na?

And now,Can I ask YOU for some help?I am going to update the weight lost,here every Friday.If for some reason,you do not see a weight-loss post here,don’t think about asking me.In fact,just go ahead and ask me..will you?

Uncategorized

Sunshine Baby set

DSC02367

This beautiful Baby set is named Sunshine,because,it just fills your heart with so much sunshiny joy.

The pattern is from Leisure Arts Layettes Pattern Book.My best friend’s colleague is expecting and she wanted to gift her something hand-made.Thats when yours truly stepped in and the result is this beautiful bright baby set.They don’t know what they are having,yet,soI chose Baby Panda varigated yarn,which is white daintily speckled with all pastel colors-pink,blue,green,yellow,peach..I paired it with yellow.

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The finished look is enhanced by the ribbed cuff.I was so in love with this set,I had a hard time,packing it to ship off.

The pictures arent very clear,sorry..This can be custom made in any color.

Watch this space for hats in the next few days.

Melbourne · mischief · random talks

Of Chinese tortures and stripping in parks

I survived Chinese torture , stripped in the park,in the same evening and lived to tell the tale. Those of you,who think,this is going to be an A-rated “strip-tease”kinda post,sorry to disappoint you.Nor is it some kind of action thriller.This is just a mom’s not-so-dull evening,out.

It being Summer,I decided to go get myself waxed.So,I set about with Aadya,in her stroller.The girls at the salon love her and she normally behaves herself,chattering with them,giving them coy smiles and even before she realises,we are done.That particular day,we decided to meet a friend and her 18 month old in the city park.So,not to digress,at the salon…the girls,Lily and Lena,took me inside..Aadya’s stroller was parked at its normal position.Lily or Lena(I forget who is who)asked me to hop on the bed.I did.Little did I know what awaited me. They attacked me simultaneously..one tackling my legs,the other my hands.And before starting,one of them,gave Aadya a sesame snap candy,”For the Chinese New Year”,she said.

So,the waxing began..and the Diva decided she was bored.Just when the first strip was pulled off,she demanded,Oppenit oppenit!!She wanted me to open her candy packet.She kept at it..Lily and Lena,oblivious to the oppenits,kept yanking..Aadya tried to stand in her stroller,still buckled up,put her grubby fingers on my free hand and pulled with almost the same strength as the girls.”OPPENITT!!!”she demanded..this time I knew,I had to do it.I opened it awkwardly,with my one hand,and teeth. “Thanksh” she said as I handed her precious candy to her.I breathed easily..if the brat was quiet,I could tolerate the waxing.It was her whining that turned it into a Chinese torture!
One sec,later,I heard,”Droppit,droppit””oh No!!She had dropped her candy! Then,she continued her Droppit song.I tried talking to her,sweetly threatening her in Hindi,reasoning quietly in English..nope,she continued,droppit droppit.I mumbled,”Lena,can you please pick up her candy”..I guess Lena was the one farthest from the bed..coz neither girl,answered.Aadya continued,asking for Dudu,chockie,Kaju,bickie,book,phoune..I think,she must have figured,if i ask for ten things,at least I will get one.Hands done,one of them,was stepping outside.The other started on my eyebrows.This time,Lena heard me..and gave her the bottle from the bag.
She gulped her Dudu quietly and put the bottle down.Lena had left the bag,too close to the stroller.I was happy,to get my eyebrows done in peace..only to find Aadya,opening my purse and throwing all the cards and money on the floor..saving only the coins.Ordeal over,I quickly put on my shirt,paid and left.We got on the train,reached the park.It was then,that I realised that I had forgotten to remove the singlet I was wearing,when getting waxed.It was sticking to the skin.That was so uncomfortable.We were playing ball,while waiting for our friends.The park was mostly empty.I decided to get rid of the singlet.It was the time to use,Rachael’s bra trick(from Friends,duh!)
I slipped one strap off,with great difficulty..I was wearing a full sleeves shirt..Then,slipped the second strap off..and then,realised belatedly,it was a singlet,and wasn’t going to open up.So,I just looked left and right and pulled..then finally,pulled it all the way down to my feet and off!I am hoping,no one saw me..or they would think of me as a crazy fool.I told Sanj about it,and he just looked at me poker-faced and said..”So,now you have stripped in a park..bas yahi dekhna reh gaya tha”(this is the last thing I needed to see)..
Yeah sure..whatever..
The rest of the evening was just dull,we just ran and played in the park..met Sanj,came back home 🙂

Mall · Pipetty-ness · Weekend..

My Sunshine

So,we took Aadya for a haircut,over the weekend.This was her first time,in a regular Salon.The previous haircuts,were done in kiddie salons,where she got to sit in a Toy police car or a Toy BMW ,watch videos,while getting her hair cut.But,this time,it was just a regular Salon..nothing fancy shmancy.
The only thing kiddie was the Wiggles apron.So,she sat on the chair,the apron was donned.And then,she looked around.Smiled at the hair dresser.She asked her,would you like to see a magazine?”Yes”.replied the Diva!So,a magazine was brought and Mumma was made to turn the pages.
At one point the hair-dresser asked me,if i wanted it cut that short and Aadya,replied..Yeah. umm OK..talk about making your own decisions.
Then,the hair dresser started snipping.Aadi turned her head towards the hair dresser and said,Slowly..Slowly.Aadi sitting.I think she wanted to tell her,that she was telling her to go slow,so as to not hurt her!
The hair dresser did a double take and I am sure was in shock,because she forgot to trim the hair in the front.That hair had to be trimmed by yours truly..and if I may say so myself,I think I did a pretty good job.
After aadya,I sat down for my cut. Sanj took her for a walk.They came back and the first thing she asked me was Mumma done?Go now?Oh well,as if an impatient S wasn’t enough.
***********************

Our saturdays are busy and tiring,with the house hunting.So,we decided to sleep in on Sunday.But,for some reason,I couldn’t sleep till late.So,I woke up and the other bed-mates were still fast asleep.I lazed around,surfed the net and then got up to fix myself a cup of coffee.Which is when my baby woke up.Every morning,when she wakes up,I greet her with a “Good morning,did you sleep well?”..So,this Sunday,she stretched,cuddled with S,waited for me to come back to bed..When I didn’t,she came running to the kitchen and said,”Mumma,Moorninn,sleep well”… Ohhh there is just something so delicious about just woken babies..just so sweet,so warm…I just picked her up and cuddled,cuddled..And of course,the day was great,after that perfect greeting and perfect start!

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Monday was another hot day.So,we went to the nearest Mall,with two of my girlfriends.One of them has a daughter,about 15 months old. After lunch,the non-mommy friend ,D,decided to give us moms a breather,to finish our drinks in peace,while she took the babies for a walk.A photography promotion was on and they were giving free balloons to kids.The babies also got balloons…Aadya’s favorite thing in the whole wide world. As we mommies joined the rest of our group,Aadya came running to me,to show me her Ballum!And I asked her,did you say Thank you.She was excited..and talking about her Ballum and didn’t answer me.But the lady at the counter,said..”Yes she did .You have a very polite little girl!!”And I can’t tell you how happy that made me..But really,its all Aadya.If I go one step with her,she goes four.At times like this,I forget all about the tantrums,feel guilty,even…and just thank God,for blessing me with this divine child.

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monthly update · Pipetty-ness

22 month old Little Lady

Aadya turned 22 months old on 30th of January.We were trying to stay cool, in the heat wave and this post was the last thing on my mind.
ms.Aadya has had a busy month..She has just turned into a little lady.Her Vocabulary has increased ten-folds and she can easily string sentences now.Sometimes the order is jumbled up but,she can very easily convey what she is trying to say.One of her earlier sentences,is “Mumma grapes give”I was so thrilled when she said that.
Her favorite pass-time is going over her day,at the end of the day.We are in bed,and she starts telling,what all she did,where she went,what she ate.Its so much fun.On our way,back from any outing,she tells long stories about our trip out.Its good entertainment for others in the bus or train.Oh and whoever is sitting next to us,or in our vicinity she waves at them.Once a school teacher was sitting opposite us,correcting his papers and didn’t notice her,waving.She got very upset and complained to me about him!! Me?I just wanted to hide somewhere!
This little peanut has the memory of an elephant and chooses to surprise us,when we are least expecting it! The other day I was singing a song for her and out of the blue,she completed it.She knows,which of our friends stay where..As soon as we pull into the parking lot,she starts calling them by their names!I swear we keep telling her to address them,as uncle/auntie..and when we call them,by their names,she never forgets to correct us,saying uncle/auntie!
The current HOT WORD is TIGHT if she doesn’t want to wear anything,its tight.If she feels hot,she says tight.Sanj took her to the supermarket,one day and she didn’t want him to buckle her up and she made it a point to tell every passer-by that she was feeling tight!!One lady actually stopped and told him,that may be the belt was too tight for the baby!!He refuses to take her out alone!!
The current favorite color is PINK! and at least one piece of clothing has to been Peek(Aadya-speak for Pink) If there is no Peek,the outfit is rejected.Going out has become a nightmare,because nothing pleases the little DIVA!Nothing,I lay out.She doesn’t even look at the clothes,I lay out on the bed,heads for the cupboard instead.how old is she?16?
Aadya likes choices..she likes to pick,what she wants to eat.So,we have a deal.She gets to pick what she wants for breakfast and snack and I get to pick what she eats for lunch and dinner.Its been working fine till now..I hope I didn’t just jinx it.
[Anti-jinx]And now,why did I say she is turning into a little lady?She now says Please and Thank you,without a prompt from us.She doesn’t accept anything from others,without checking with either of us.She says Sorry,if she so much as even bumps someone.If someone else bumps her,she tells them,”Slowly,slowly”(Aadya-speak for gently)She shifts,to share her seat,shares her snacks,toys ,without being told..[Anti-jinx] OK I am going to stop talking about my little lady now.
Aadya is showing her sensitive side too.She cries and gets disturbed,when she sees other babies cry.She wants everyone to be her friend and gets upset,if we are angry with her.And she knows if someone is angry,she should say sorry.We were visiting friends and Sanj’s friend T was trying to play with her,but she refused to play with him.He got up to go to the restroom and she started missing him.So,we joked with her,saying that T is upset and has gone away.As soon as he came back..she ran to him,saying Sorry,holding her ears..It was such a heart-melting sight.Made our hearts swell!

That’s most of what Ms.Aadya has been up to,last month.I will write more as I remember.

Pipetty-Pipette,Almost Two…
Papa&Mumma love you.

Uncategorized

Braving the Heat-wave

I have turned into a lazy blogger..no,seriously..I used to have uninterrupted hour or so,at the end of each day,dedicated only for blogging.I used to look forward to that time.Aadya would be in bed,Sanj on his calls,and me,I was mouse-happy.This move changed everything..Sanj doesn’t have his calls anymore(which is good) ,Aadya doesn’t go to bed easily(which is bad) and I just don’t get any down time(which is very very bad).So,every time,I am alone-I blog mentally..but,never get around to writing anything..Sad as it is..I miss my downtime..I miss blogging.And sometimes when everything is right and I get some time,I try and catch up with all the other blogs..but as i said,I am turning into a lazy blogger..from being a regular commentator ..i have turned into a mere lurker.So,please bear with me..while i go through this phase..I WILL BE BACK!! heeeheehawhaw..OK that was just me being silly.

Anyway,this time my excuse is the heat-wave.Most of Australia has been facing a major heat-wave, last couple weeks.this last week was the worst..temperatures have been reaching a high 45-47 deg.The days are hot and humid..unbearable heat and the nights are even more unbearable.I haven’t cooked in 2 days.My kitchen is west facing and receives the evening sunlight.On a normal day,its hard to be in the kitchen for those few hours,when the sun shines the strongest,before setting.But last two days were terrible terrible.I cooked rice at mid-day and it was still warm at dinner time.

We have been going for long drives,every night,after Sanj comes home,just to stay in the cool air-conditioned car!Add to all this misery,a sick baby.Poor child,has yet another ear-infection.She fell sick from Sunday night,with a fever ranging from 100.5-101.5..The fever would come down temporarily with Panadol..only to rise again.She was crying all day..whimpering in her sleep.It broke my heart,into thousand pieces,when she coughed in her sleep and cried,”Slowly,slowly”(She says,slowly slowly when she wants us to be gentle with her-like if i am combing her hair and it hurts).She would sleep only if I held her,even in her half-drugged state,she would whimper-“Doddi,Doddi(godi-pick me up).

After two hot days,I started my search for a cooler..and guess what,all the coolers were sold.I was told,I was 11th in the wait-list,at one store..the next one told me,I had a higher probability of finding the Holy Grail,than a cooler…after around 10 calls,I found one over-priced,cooler.And I grabbed it.Confirmed the order on the phone and asked Sanj leave work early,so that we could go pick it up.

Today,it was slightly bearable,the first half of the day.by afternoon,the temperatures soared again.I have never ever seen such extreme heat.The trains were running late,as the train tracks were giving away,due to the heat.The trams were running late.We were without electricity for an hour or so..we spent most of it in the bath-tub..Luckily,the power came on..and our beloved fan started working again.Aadya started crying,as soon as the cooler and fan,got turned off,by the power cut.She thought,Mimi was being mean!!LOL!Just goes to show how much I torture her.

We went for a drive and then to the beach later.And it was cold there.We loved the cool breeze,but Aadya was shivering.I had a sweater in the car.My old sweater,that my grandma had knit for me,when I was sixteen.I rolled up the sleeves and made Pipette wear that.She looked like a purple Casper ,running around in that over sized sweater.There is a fake shipwrecked Ship on the beach,which has a slide,a knotted-rope,climbing thingy(anyone knows what it is called?)Aadya ran around,falling,giggling…with both of us taking turns chasing her.

She took a fancy to little boy.She boldly went up to the bouncy where he was sitting and chatted up his mother.The lady was impressed,she asked me if Aadya goes to a day-care..coz she is not at all shy..I smiled and proudly told her,No she doesn’t.Yes!it was one of those proud to be SAHM moments.Then my dear little girl decided she had to kiss the little boy..not once,not twice,but three times..uff..My baby was smitten!Sanj had an exasperated look on his face..and as soon as we were out of ear-shot,asked me,”Why does she have to kiss the boy?” “Umm..what can I say,she is your daughter!!”I replied..That comment was not taken well,I will tell you that much.

Now,its cooled down..and Sanj and Aadi are happily in bed,snuggled under the quilt..But,I had to break this lazy blogger jinx..so here I am typing away at 3.00 am.
Tomorrow will be another long day of house-hunting…hopefully,we’ll find something we like..we are so desperate to move!
Anyway,all you lovely people have a lovely weekend.

general · Melbourne · Weekend..

The one where I sat behind the wheel

…And loved it.
We are house-hunting,like crazy.All of Saturday,was spent in house-hunting.We saw 4-5 houses but didn’t find anything that we just loved.We are planning to move to the suburbs,now.After the last week or so was spent agonising over the choice of apartment vs house,city vs suburbs,we finally chose space over hustle-bustle.So,after we had looked at all the houses that we had short-listed and were just driving around to see,if there were any other houses open for inspection.We landed up on an empty street.The Bubba looked here and there furtively,eyebrows furrowed with concentration.I asked him,what was he thinking of doing.He replied,”Something I shouldn’t be doing…”I was still trying to think what that would be,when he stopped the car.Mentally,I braced myself to say to him,if he wanted to make out..after all it was broad daylight,in the middle of the road and Aadya was wide awake!!
But it never came to that.He asked me to get off..alarm bells went off in my mind..”WHY?? I screamed,”Coz I want you to drive,”he said calmly.No way..I started giggling nervously.He almost pushed me out of the car..and I sat behind the wheel,giggling nervously.Aadya caught on my nervousness and was confused to see Mimi behind the wheel,while Bubba sat in the passenger seat.I heard her..like from a distance..my mind and eyes,on the road.I didnt want to screw this up.She was saying..Mimi..Mimi…Papa Papa Shtaredd shtared(scared)-Now i don’t know if she was telling the bubba that mumma is scared or if she was scared for her life,with Mumma behind the wheel.For the first time,since the Aadya’s arrival,I didn’t care to look at her,cute face..I was just staring straight ahead.
I gingerly drove a little over 100 feet,first with the bubba,helping with the steering wheel,then,he just guided me,and i did it all by myself..And I cannot tell you how liberated I felt.It was a feeling like never before!!And then I had to stop..Bubba took over..but my day was made..I spent the rest of the day,on the 9th cloud.
I am just waiting for the day,when I get the licence officially!!

Melbourne

Two sides of the coin…

..The coin being Melbourne.Since we moved here,life is zooming by at jet-speed.I have gone from friendless and lonely to having busy weeks and weekends,so much so that,we haven’t had time to rest the last 2 weekends.So anyway,my point is I am happy at peace where I am..But this isn’t what I was thinking a few days back.
Last week my neighbour came knocking,complaining about something.I spoke to her,said I understood her point of view etc.But she had more in mind,than just that.She told me to get some help for little Aadya..As the way she cries is not normal.how her crying disturbs her and her family..and she went on and on..I was ok till she said about Aadya needing help..That made me so mad.I had dozed off,when I was putting Aadya down for a nap and her banging(yes thats what it was) woke me up.So,I was still sleepy,when she was talking all this..and then i was so mad..I couldnt say anything.
But it just left me with such a bad after-taste. I broke down when talking to Sanj..and then I fumed and vented with a friend.But,then,when i was done being angry and shedding tears,I realised,how ridiculous she sounded.I mean I can’t think of a 2 year old,who doesnt cry or run around and scream..
They cry,when they are tired,angry,hungry,frustrated,uncomfortable..whatever.They squeal when they are happy,excited,playing.I mean its natural ,right?
I am doing all I can to keep her quiet at nights and if she is awake till late,I keep her in the living room(our bedrooms share a wall)..but if she wakes up crying,in the middle of the night or early morning,what can I do really?
I have decided,she isn’t worth the trouble and I should just ignore her,but what do I do,I can’t stop thinking about it?I even went to the extent of thinking,that we should move out right away,then Sanj explained..why should we?Its not like,we are going and making noise in front of her house,or if we are making all the noise to disturb her or trouble her.If she is living in a rental property,she should compromise a little.
I am sure we’ve all had noisy neighbours sometime or the other.But you have to maintain some basic courtesy.
So,anyway,this happenned sometime on Wednesday and I spent the next two days,feeling crappy.You how it is,that you think..ohh what am i doing in the crappy place?I mean its not nice,walking on egg- shells in your own house.
Anyway,on Friday,I decided to go to the city..the hustle-bustle of the city always cheers me up.It just fills me up with so much excitement and enthusiasm.We walked around in the city for a while.Then we plopped ourselves on a bench outside BigW(a store much like Walmart).An old lady came and sat down next to us.Aadya was her usual friendly self.The old lady said Hello to her,and Aadya offered her ,her snack,”Share?”..The old lady was thrilled to bits.After a while,she took out something red and gold from her bag and offered it to Aadya.I thought it was just a shiny paper,that she wanted to give a little kid.She asked me if she could give it to her,i said yes.Aadya promptly dumped it in my lap.And I saw that it was actually a gift envelope and she had tucked in a 5 -dollar bill in it.I refused,but she insisted,telling me how she had 6 grandkids 4 boys and 2 girls..and how Aadya  reminded her of them.But more than anything else,she had the sense to share at such an young age.She said,the money was just a token of her good wishes,and blessings for Aadya,wishing her success in everything and a good life.I was truly touched..and decided,”Its not such a crappy place,afterall.”
Oh and did I tell you,I was on cloud nine for the rest of the weekend? After all,she is MY daughter!:)