Joyous!

My latest joy is to listen to "Maruvaarthai pesadhey" playing in our car while on a long drive:) Something magical in Sid Sriram's voice captivates me. The other peppy catchy song is Sarattu Vandiyile..We go on long drives often and music is what keeps us going. My kids also sing along for certain songs. My son's favourite is "Marry me Azhagiye". My husband and I exchange smiles everytime my son starts singing this song. We also watch a lot of movies. Of late, the horror comedy genre has too much to offer. The recent one was Ezra, a malayalam movie (with subtitles) was a good watch. Watching Prithviraj somehow made me think of "Kaatrin Mozhi" song which led to watching the song videos from that movie with my kids. And then my daughter got curious asking "Amma, why is he sorry?". We ended up watching the whole movie and it was so good to watch it again after so many years. On the weekends, while we get our chores done, 8k radio keeps us company. Life is so busy and mondays and fridays pass by very quickly. Music definitely lightens our lives and movies make us forget the current responsibilities and take us to a different world for a brief period of time! Just thought of taking some time to write down how grateful I m to have music in my life. I sure have no formal training; just a casual listener. I also can't seem to memorize the words even after repetitive hearing;)

Wondering is there a collection of smileys that I can use?

What do you do?

Hello everyone(is anyone even here?)..Being a mom of twins took over my life. I hardly found any time to write. Last September, my kids started school and I m trying to get control of my life. So about the title..I was asked the question by a person I met at swim centre and I was not able to give an answer.  I take sense of pride of being a mom and taking care of them but she was like - what else do you do. What do you enjoy doing? I go on," I keep the house running (cook, dishes, laundry etc etc). I do fitness. I listen to music while getting some of these things done." So that brought me to the question: what did I enjoy doing the most? I really don't seem to have an answer. Growing up, I used to read for pleasure (fiction). But now I can't sit down to finish any book. I read online articles and Facebook /whatsapp stuff. I bake for the kids occasionally ;my specialties being blackforest cake, french macarons, cookies and cupcakes . I do art projects with them; that's a recent endeavor I took upon-canvas, acrylic paint, water colors, tempera paint. Swimming was on my to do list for along time and I have tremendous fear of water. I finally joined a class two months back and learnt some basics. And now I keep practicing about twice a week; there is along way to go though. The first step is to face your fear and I think I have done that successfully. The key is to relax in the water but I m nervous. Okay, let's wind up the swimming. What else do I do? Like every other mom, I chauffeur my kids to all their classes after they are back from school. In the mornings, I m busy packing their lunch and getting them ready for school. They take the bus to school for which I m very grateful. Occasionally they miss the bus and I have to drop them. Then I have my coffee and catch up with messages and call up family if I have to. Get some chores done( this bucket is always full). Have a light breakfast.  Then either swim or DR exercise(I will get deeper into it at a later post). Shower and get any groceries done( there is unfortunately no one stop shop; Indian store, bulk store, regular store) or any outside work done like returning books to library, any returns or exchanges.Then it's time for lunch and then get some cooking done for dinner. By this time, the kids come home and then it gets busy with their snack, running them around classes, dinner and reading with kids and put them to sleep. Amidst all this, trying to find some time to study and get back to work. So this is what my life is currently like. I seem to be a jack of all trades but master of none:( Hope you are all doing good. I will try to keep up writing. Thanks to the lady that made me to think about writing:)

I m Thy saviour ;)

You may ask "to whom"...

I will come to that in a while...Every day when the pressure cooker goes "whooooosh" ..............two little ones come rushing to me..If I m sitting, they come n hug me tightly. If I m standing they ask to be lifted up...If I m already holding them, they bury their heads into my shoulders...so you now see how I m a "saviour" :) I m talking about my 8 month olds...They have been hearing this sound every day ever since they were born..but somehow it scares them so much..They are terrified..and if there is no one near them..they just start crying. Poor little ones. I just comfort them as much as I can. I close the doors in case they are sleeping and if awake; I rush to their side to hold them. Waiting for them to grow out of this fear. Meanwhile let me continue to enjoy being their saviour.Hee hee. :)

This is what I call "an Ironical situation"...

Here I was in a new place in my best figure and my wardrobe updated for so many months and there was not a single party invitation..All I did was going places in my best outfit and take pictures..no social get together... nothing.. Now I am back in a worst shape ever and a wardrobe that has nothing that fits me.. there is no time to update it..no time to shop.. and whoa.. I get a birthday party invite..So I dress up in an available usual traditional attire and attend it.. I felt so out of place..
Why does this have to be this way!

That reminds me to get in shape and also update my wardrobe...How are you all doing..I m good.. and back after so long..I m in a new place..kind of hilly but not exactly.. all greens..a different life..busy the whole day..K.. u all tc.. will get back with another post..

Pretty much..

For some reason I have not been having an active life. There isn't much happening in my life and I have become lazy.

Yet let me share whatever bit I have been doing. I spotted a shop where they teach to knit, crochet and stitch during one of walks. I joined and it's been a nice thing I did. They don't charge for teaching but you have to buy the supplies from there. Most of all, I got to meet new people. Of course all are females; and it was so astonishing to note that everybody was working, had their careers yet all were working on at least one project - knit, cross stitch or crochet. A few sample careers are a high school teacher, a forensic expert, a multi faceted person who paints, act and decorates, a mechanical engineering student who also teaches maths part time so on. People knit their own sweaters, make baby blankets for new babies, crochet bedspreads and table cloths and other projects for decoration, cross stitched purses or knitted dolls etc. We just chit chat and share stories of our lives. There are many who have migrated to the US at some point of time. So I get to hear about their countries and cultures too. Ad of course, I have learnt the basics of crochet and knitting. My first project was a crocheted cell phone pouch. There is so much to learn though.

The other new thing I tried - home made cake for my husband's birthday - Black forest egg less cake. I tried other dishes too like Kozhkattai for Vinayaka chathurthi, arachivitta sambhar and beans usili. Will update those recipes in my other blog.

What I'm excited about - Trip to India next month for a close relative's wedding. Am all excited to meet everyone back home, indulge in a wide variety of foods, dress up for the wedding events so on. We also started out to shop for India trip but mostly ended up window shopping. Anything and everything is labelled "Made in China" or "Thailand, Pakistan, India". Did not find anything worth the price. As everyone does, will buy chocolates before we leave.

These days my husband gets lost into the series "LOST". I don't follow it so closely but do watch it quite often and get the gist of what I missed from hubby. Earlier I was watching Desperate Housewives and am waiting for the next season to start this weekend. Airtel Super Singer 3 and Neeya Naana keeps me entertained too. Some afternoons, if this site works http://livetvchannelsfree.net , I watch movies telecast in sun tv or just see sun music. We had a great time at the ARR concert and it's the first time I get to see so many Indians flocked in one place.

And if we decide to eat out, it always turns out to be a Thai restaurant ordering Potstickers, Pad Kee Maw with soft tofu and Thai Iced Tea.

That's pretty much what I have been doing.

Have been..

1. Listening to Hello FM(Chennai/Pondy) n Oli(Singapore) radio stations through Wunder Radio app in Iphone. Was delighted to hear Suchi's voice. They also played some instrumentals I could recognise..the classic Chinna chiru kiliyea, Theeradha vilayatu pillai, Mahaganapathim. And lovely songs from the 90's such as from Roja, Bombay, Indian. Apart from Radio, I also listen to fmworldmusic . With its varied channels, I always find some favourite song being played.

2. Reading Joy in the morning by PG Wodehouse and Emma by Jane Austen rented from the local library. Wonderful system here.. no joining fees or rent for books. Everything is free! Only if u miss a book or bring it late, you ought to pay a fine.
The library also has DVDs, audio books etc.

3. Watching old movies such as Agni Natchathiram, Poovellam Ketupar, Thiruda thiruda.

4. Using Logitach Vid than Skype of late for video calling. It doesnt seem to have texting option however.

5. Having Begetarian(thats how the person at the counter says it) Chalupa from Taco Bell and Dominos Crispy Thin crust veg pizza often.

6. Seeing the FIFA craziness catching up on Facebook.

7. Disappointed that Google voice doesn't support sending sms'es anymore.

That's all for now about me.. So what have you been doing?

Mangal Sutra /Thaali

All of us tamilians know the significance of thaali. I just want to share two episodes that happened with my thaali.

First was when we went to Darjeeling trip and visited a friend of my dad's while returning. The lady of the house fed us well with rice, dal, panneer and vegetables.
After food and talk, she wanted to see my mangal sutra. She was fascinated to see it. According to her custom, after marriage she has to wear a particular bangle which her mother in law brings. The mangal sutra is optional. She always wanted to make a thaali like the South Indians. She asked for all the details and even made a drawing of my thaali. I was so excited to see someone who was so fascinated by the South Indian thaali (not the food plate which is also thali..lol).

The next incident happened recently near the swimming pool here. The girl walked to me and said "Your necklace is so beautiful." She was amazed and was looking into it. She was asking if it was gold and she could recognise one pink colour stone as ruby. Then I told her that those are the images of deities. She did not understand much but was keen on knowing which was the man and which the woman. Then she touched it and admired it. Then she said its lovely and told me to put it in and keep it safe.

It surprises me to find people who are so fascinated by our so common thaali. I was also happy to give them a mini-lecture about it.