Communication

Sorry ppl! I have just not managed to blog or blog hop in the past few days. :((( Just been awfully busy with many many things. Im glad Im able 2 post something today atleast & hope 2 catch up with all ur blogs soon! :)

Im communicating the same 2 u all cos read this on & u wld know the importance of communication in our day 2 day lives! And pls note that this is a true story! Names & places changed for obvious reasons.

Sundar & Liza were a newly married couple, living in Trichy. Unfortunately a day prior to Liza's birthday Sundar had visit Chennai for official reasons for 3 days. He was sad that he cldn't be with her on her bday. He called her in the morning & wished her. And wanting to surprise her a bit, told his assistant Srikanth to get her a bouquet of flowers of her birthday from Sundar.

The "smart" assistant promptly gets flowers for Liza & gives them to her wishing her a happy bday but obviously "forgets" to tell her that the flowers r from Sundar! Now Liza is damn impressed with Srikanth for not only remembering her bday but also getting her the flowers. And she thinks to herself that Sundar cldnt even get her flowers for her bday! Another common friend Anand, calls Liza to wish for her bday & Liza tells him about the beautiful flowers she recd from Srikanth.

Sundar speaks to her again during the course of the day & wonders y Liza doesnt thank or even acknowledge the flowers! But fails to ask her the same.

The next day Anand happened to speak with Sundar & Anand casually mentions to Sundar that Srikanth has wished Liza for her bday with flowers! And sundar feels like the biggest fool for not having told her that the flowers were actually from him!

So beware & communicate properly....atleast to the near & dear ones! :)

Special days

I was just wondering how everybody celebrates special days. Special days like Birthdays, anniversaries, promotions etc.

For sure these 'celebrations' used to be more fun & more exciting while still in skool/college I feel. Cos more friends, more time, less commitments, & lesser responsibilities too! And when you r younger u do look fwd to growing up! But I guess after a certain point u don't want to get older anymore!!! Isn't it? ;p

So how does one bring back the joys of celebration & the enthusiasm back into their life?!

Pls do lemme know how u make those certain days special & how u celebrate with ur family. :)

Diwali wishes

Happy Diwali

With festivity in the air
Show that you care
Light up lamps
Light up lives
And lighten your mind
So that you unwind

Celebrate with crackers, sweets and new clothes
Here comes good Diwali wishes in loads

Happy Diwali wishes to all my blogging pals & their families!

Justice...finally!

At last the guilty has been convicted! I am indeed referring to the Priyadarshini Mattoo case.

Even though after a much delayed process, the truth has been triumphant & the guilty convicted. I just hope that this would be a lesson for others (i.e persons with such a mind as Santhosh Singh) & that they wldnt indulge in such acts.

Whenever I do read about such incidents I always wonder why such acts are committed firstly?

Does it give them any pleasure? Pleasure @ the cost of someone else's pain?
Do they wanna prove their machoism? Is this really machoism I truly wonder?!
Or is it some sort of revenge that they r fulfilling? Revenge fulfilled by raping & killing the girl & the family's happiness?
Or is it just a simple reason that they cannot control their lust quenches? What sort of humans are they if they cannot curb/curtail their lust?

Whatever be the reasons.....they shd just remember the consequences of committing such acts & also remember the bad karma they are causing to themselves. And above all, remember that God is watching us!

I sincerely pray & hope that no more such incidents happen in future & that the world is a much safer place for all beings.

Heights of Blogging

Warning - This is a fairly lengthy post & might not be of interest to all cos this is abt my kids! But I'm blogging about the same so that I can recall all the naughty things that my kids did/said in the years to come. Also they might laff abt it when they read abt themselves in the years to come! Thanks to I2w for this idea!:)Here S - refers to my 3 1/2 yr old son & D refers to my 10 1/2 mth old daughter. Read on if u r still interested.

Height of reward-
S - The innumerable hugs, kisses & appreciations I get from him.
D - The love bites I get all over my face when I return from office

Height of challenge-
S - Spiderman…wants to do everything that spiderman can!
D - Wants to do all things that her brother can do!

Height of dieting-
S - Food – no thanks…I’m allergic to it
D - Gimme all the tasty food u eat….not the boring tasteless cereals

Height of desperation-
S - Y cant I come to office with u?
D - U r going out & enjoying……Take me 2 pls.(Ps – Out is anything outside the door!)

Height of competition-
S - Mom to give all attn only to me & not any one else….not even to dad or sis.
D - My bro… grrrrr…………

Height of anger-
S - He is one helluva short tempered guy! Temper can rise within a fraction of a second! But good thing is it goes away quickly too!
D - When mom returns from office & doesn’t gimme enuff attn. esp when she’s busy. Also when mom’s going to office (or out) leaving me @ home.

Height of choice –
S - Yes anytime for coke, chips, chocolate & any other junk other than a proper meal
D - Anything new (toys, food etc) takes precedence to the older ones

Height of dadagiri –
S - A born Dada
D - Fast learning from her brother

Height of cruelty -
S – Loves to kill insects esp ants
D – Ignores her caretakers the moment she sees her parents

Height of frustration -
S - Used to bang his head on the floor as a toddler whenever frustrated
D - Tries to babble by speaking few words in baby language & with an expression as if – don’t u get me?

Height of creativity –
S - I was pleasantly surprised recently when I returned home to see a nicely arranged “golu” (arrangement of dolls done during the festive navarathri season) with his toys & books on the floor.

Height of copying –
S - (imaginary conversation with his friend over the phone) Speaking just like his dad…addressing his friend “machan” (meaning buddy) exactly the way his dad does!

Height of excitement –
S - When he gets a “surprise” (meaning a new toy etc) from parents for something that was “well done” by him.
D - Removing all the vessels from the kitchen cabinet.

Height of favouritism –
S - Rajinikant…he is just toooooo crazy abt him & his song “Devuda”. Also likes Shahrukh…all his Indian clothes (ie the kurta pyjama/sherwanis are called shahrukh khan dress!) And yes Amitabh impresses him too!
D – Just loves music…any song (bhajans, filmi, rhymes etc) can do the trick! :-)

Height of Bhakti –
S - We went for an Indian cultural programme where @ the entrance there was a lamp lit. He thot of it as the aarathi & put his hands over it & kept it over his eyes!

Height of imagination –
S -He loves to make up his own “real” stories! His friend Sanjay hadn’t been to school for over a week and this was our conversation –
Me – Did Sanjay come to school today?
He – No. His is down with cold
Me - Oh! How do you know?
He – His mom told me
Me – Where did u meet her?
He – At the hospital
Me – How did you go to the hospital?
He – With Teacher Celest!
And ofcourse none of the above was true! But he answered them all so spontaneously as if it had really happened that I wasn’t even sure for a minute!

Height of preaching –
S - Bosses around his little sister like the way we teach / preach him

Height of generosity –
S - Showers me with non-stop instantaneous genuine compliments – like – u r looking good in this dress, ur jewellery is it new – that looks damn good on u etc!

Height of embarrassment -
S - Asked me in front of few ppl – How did my baby sister come out of ur tummy?
D -I c any new person who comes home & start to cry as if they r torturing me

Height of chauvanism -
S - Y aren't u wearing a pottu (bindi) today? He also likes me wearing sarees cos he claims that I look very good in sarees. *And unfortunately Im not too fond of wearing sarees but seem to be wearing them (for festivals/functions etc only) cos of the special request from my son!)*

Height of possessiveness –
S - When my dad visited me a yr ago, he hugged me & said “My daughter”. He didn’t like it one bit & said no she’s MY daughter. Similarly if hubby says I’m his wife, he gets angry & says no she’s MY wife!

Height of logic –
S - He had learnt a new story in school and was telling me the story – “The thorn had poked the lion in his leg & the monkey removed the thorn for him.” As he had just got a part of the story, I was trying to get more out of him & asked him – “What did the lion do after the thorn had poked him?”
Prompt came the reply – “Ouch!”
I further asked – “How did the thorn poke the lion?”
He (spontaneously) – “Cos the lion was not wearing his shoes!!”

Height of irony –
D - When she cries for anything serious it always begins with a “ma” or “amma”. However when I ask her to call me amma, she wld refuse but instead blow kisses. I think she thinks amma means to kiss!

Height of appreciation –
D - When she does anything we tell her to do…like correctly point @ the fan, or do govinda, or saying bye bye, she has to appreciate herself immediately by clapping her hands with a BIG smile & appreciate herself.

Weirdo!

Been tagged, yet again. This time it is I2W. Gotta list down the weird things abt myself!

Now firstly, am I weird?!!! Well read on & u can decide!! ;)

1. I think I’m quite a freak when it comes to discipline but only on certain issues. For eg. I push myself v,hard & try to work out @ the gym despite the time constraints. (the results r not fruitful is another story tho!) Similarly I used to religiously attend my CA classes & hate bunking. Pls don’t think I’m studious cos I used to love 2 bunk my ICWA classes & BCom classes! So my self imposed discipline is only for things that I like / want & I try to stretch all means to achieve the same.

2. I just hate cream in milk / curd. I kinda feel like throwing up when those things get onto my tongue! However I just love the sweetened whipped cream that laces the cakes n puddings!!

3. While I can be damn tolerant with many things with my kids, I don’t think I can be as tolerant with other kids! Like for instance b4 I’d my kids, we’d just bought a new couch & a friends’ son came over & was jumping on the same & I was trying to sweetly pick that kid away from the couch! But now my son jumps on the same couch day in & out & I hardly seem to say a thing! Double standard I think & I know its not quite right but then being a mother u tend to accept ur children for whatever they do I guess!

4. There are times when I just love to dress up for occasions / social gatherings / parties. (Actually most of the time I do!) But if I’m just not in a mood or don’t feel like it I don’t care to take the extra pains to do so. (However must admit that its v.v.rare).

5. I hate to waste things even if they are not mine. Like if the water taps are not closed tightly & water is leaking I get damn cheesed off (not just @ home!) Similarly I don’t like to see electricity being wasted if one’s not using the same. However when it comes to food, if something that’s not so tasty (or when I’m too full) is served onto my plate I admit (sadly) that I do waste it cos I surely can’t stuff myself with it.

6. I don’t like to talk ill of others, esp people who are close to me / whom I like. I also don’t like people saying things for the hec of it. However, my ears are open for (harmless) gossip of other people! ;p

Now this next tag is courtesy Patty!

3 Smells I love:
1. Most Perfumes 2. Smell of rain 3. Smell of petrol

3 Smells I hate:
1. Fish 2. sweat 3. foul smell

3 Jobs that I have had in my life:
1. TV show hostess 2. Market researcher 3. Chartered Accountant

3 Movies that I could watch over and over:
Sadly I don’t have any to state. Cos its either I didn’t enjoy the movie or if I did enjoy I don’t want to get bored watching the same! However I do like to watch some good movies after a real long time.

3 Fond memories:
1. When I knew I was pregnant
2. The birth of both my children
3. When I passed my CA

3 Jobs I would love to have:
Anything that pays well & doesn’t make me slog much!!! ;p

3 Things I like to do:
1. Sleep w/o any disturbance 2. Eat w/o worrying on addln calories 3. Shopping with no constraint on time (or money!)

3 Of my favorite foods:
Anything that’s yummmmmmmm

3 Places I would like to be right now:
1. Australia (Sydney) 2. Switzerland 3. Niagara falls

3 Things that make me cry:
1. Anger 2. Disappointment 3. When dear ones depart (temporarily or permanently)

Now comes the fun part.....the ones I need to tag! :DDD

Anyone can feel free to do the tag. But I wld in particular like I2W (for the other tag), KK, s0ul, Patty, Mommyof2, Pavithra, Priya, Keshi, Sush, Gils n Prithz.

PSssttt...Syam please note that u r exempt (only) this time!!!

Silence is golden

Hiya ppl! Im back from my lovely rejuvinating experience! I experienced tremendous peace, joy & happiness for the past few days. I had been for the advance course of Art of Living

It was residential course for 3 1/2 days. Out of which the last 2 1/2 days we had to be in silence. We had to have satvik food during these days. (i.e veg food without any onion or garlic & not too spicy or oily)

The routine was something like this.
6.30 - 8 - yoga & kriya
8 - 8.45 - Breakfast
8.45 - 9.30 - Seva / time with nature
9.30 - 12.30 - Different meditation sessions of abt an hr each(followed by dance & other creative things)
12.30- 1 - written questions answered
1- 1.30 - Lunch
1.30 - 2.30 - Seva / time with nature
2.30 - 3.15 - Knowledge sessions (Video)
3.15 - 6 - Meditation sessions of abt an hr each(followed by dance & other creative things)
6 - 6.30 - Dinner
6.30 - 7 - Seva / time with nature
7 - 8.15 - Satsangs
8.15 - 9 - Knowledge sessions (Video) / written questions answered

The best part of this course was the silence! Enjoyed the time being with just myself & no unnecessary efforts taken to talk to anyone! Didnt know I cld fall more in love with myself. Before we could go into silence, when few people wondered about being silent, the Swamiji who was conducting the course replied that if you cannot spend time with your own self, imagine the plight of others, if your own company is so boring for urself!!! LOL! true!

As for me, I managed to be in complete silence for two days. (not even gestures). Fortunately or unfortunately, as visitors are allowed to join in for the sastangs the last day of the satsang, I cudnt resist talking to my son!!! Tho it wasn't anything much (just a few words), I got excited & kind of forgot that I was in silence!! And well & then again I resumed into silence for the balance 1/2 day!

I also enjoyed the dancing sessions, singing in the satsangs, satvik food & few other things that we learnt @ this course. Also gained some spiritual knowledge. And the other best thing about this course was that since we were totally cut off with the rest of the world, there were no unnecessary things to think of or ponder about. No worries, no stress! :)

All in all it was a very memorable & happy experience. If you do get a chance to do the course, please dont miss it!