Some Bubbly perhaps?

Never thought I'd ever get here... yet its been the toughest post to write... been at a complete loss of words... its been quite a journey... can't forget where I started from.. and have made so many wonderful friends along the way.

After 2 years, finally hit the 100th post!

And here it is with a brand new look.

SGD, am truly honored that you thought of me, thank you so much for the IBC Award , my apologies for accepting it soo late, but I wanted it be here :-)




Happy Friendships day in advance everybody!!

Cheers!! :-)

A lill blog love

I've said it before and I say it again, blogging is an addiction, like that daily cup of coffee. Correct me if I am wrong but I believe blogs are the only place we can be brutally honest with ourselves. One can really see a window to a persons personality shine through their writing. The best part is finding people with the same wavelength, great way to make friends...and the process never stops, just spills over to the networking sites and chats and meets... :-)

A much delayed post... awards are a funny thing...just when you think you are done with the receiving and giving it lands on your lap yet again... errr...not that I'm complaining :P

IHM created a blogscar, Thanks for the wonderful awards lady, Suki just was just returning the love, thanks babe :-) and Monika, thanks babe.

Thanks IHM:
















Thanks Suki

Thanks Monika,

And me, shamelessly copying their styles...

Passing on the I love your blog Award ....Why I love you guys so much...

Suki, she's obviously honest, a little quirky, but for the major part, a sound head on her shoulders for her age. Reading her posts and comments never cease to amaze me. And I love her experiments with no `poo and oils...

IHM, she is special, very special. The first one to comment here, never patronizing always encouraging. Her comments always made me feel good. I thought I was a nut case simply cause of my way of thinking, till I came across her blog. Liberal, fair and she thinks so much. Most of the times after having read her posts have to ponder and then comment. And she has a mean sense of humor too. The only person who made me realize that I was sane and didn't have to be apologetic about it.

Mampi, another special lady. love her poetic style and the dash of humor thrown in. her humane stories touch a chord, and she does it without being judgmental. She makes me wish I knew Punjabi just to understand her poems, the translations just don't have that depth. And how can I forget the beautiful music I've been introduced to on her blog. But of course, Rasan, is the real talent.

Roop, tongue in cheek humor, her in depth posts and her video blogs...yes there is somebody who is crazy like me, maybe more :P And for Unchaahi.

Ritu, I just love her, how can u not? her razor sharp wit, whacky sense of humor and for saying the way it truly is. And of course the Insane Family Entertainment. What I love most is her attitude to take life as it comes head on and not buckle under it. And do it smilingly. Truly inspiring!

Apar, my souls sis :-) brutally honest, her posts always touch a chord...

Anand, finds a humorous take on anything and everything, his lounge & how to reads are evidence enough. one of those rare bloggers, who's each and every post will make you laugh. And now his blog has become the latest hang out zone, the comments are a laugh riot and the icing on the cake is the friends made there. And oh yea, he is also a great sport :-)

Sakshi, nutty with an aptly named blog, an awesome photographer, fiery with a mean sense of humor. When she actually sits down to write, she makes you sit up and take notice.

Monika, her simple carefree posts ..especially about her darling prince

Iya, her simple writing make lovely posts, a delight to read...

Solio, a versatile, compassionate , simple writer...an absolute delight to read her posts, esp the peanut tales

Priyanka and Swati can identify with their blogs as a mother and love to compare notes and catch the milestones

Usha, her writing is poetry in motion...missing her posts... come back soon!!!

Santosh, Raji, CrabbyWife.. totally biased towards these guys, just wish they'd write more.

Pass on both the Friends Awards and Lovely Blogger award to

Workhard, Anshu, Solio, Priyanka, Swati, Aruna, Jagan, Usha, IHM, Suki, Sakshi, Anand, Roop, Mampi, Priyanka, Monika, Iya, Apar, Amrutha, Ritu, Serendipity, Santosh, Raji, and Crabby Wife

Pass on the Versatile Blogger Award to - Ritu, Anand, Solio, IHM, Mampi and Roop

Will be putting up the links soon, if in the mean time, you check this post, please do consider the award.

Cheerios :-)

When Love & Hate Collide...

Is it love or Motherhood??

I remember an aunt once saying, how her relationship with her mother improved when she became a mum.. Didn't make a lot of sense then...Lav tagged me to write 5 things that I love about being a mom. And me being me, cannot stick with just 5...

Becoming a parent is a complete lifestyle change. Its an emotional roller coaster ride. No two days are the same, everyday has its own story.

I have someone to call my own. Just Mine, who also happens to be the best person to cuddle up, a hug from her is the best medicine and play nonsensical games and that she's a chip off the old block...

Rediscovering the little joys... the pitter patter of rain, playing with shadows, chasing butterflies...... looking at the world through her eyes...

She makes me a better person, knowing that I can change for the better.... she balances my life, in a way I never thought was ever possible. Children have a way of taking your attitude and ego and shoving it in your face, and there is nothing you can do about it.

The craziness that comes with living with a toddler. Toys all around, room forever in a mess, shoes never in their place... those visiting might hate it, but heck I love it...

The comfort, the closeness that being with a child brings. Legs on tummy, tiny palms in my face cooing contently... the heartfelt moments..

It is also the official certificate that I have grown up and I have to get out of bed everyday and early!! If it were just me, I'd be in bed the whole day... I'm lazy! There are days when she drags me out of bed...

I am who I am because of her, A mother cause she came into my life. Motherhood is the best thing that ever happened to me.

And how could IHM not add a twist to this tag! To write about the things that I don't like about motherhood.

I miss wearing my heels. Carrying her and heels just don't go together!

I really could do without the allergies...

The tears at a drop of a hat and temper tantrums and the frustration and irritation that comes with it...

Messy hair, refusal to comb her hair

I just don't recognize my body anymore and the hormones, the lesser said about them the better! My closet is full of clothes in every size. Have never exercised in my life and now I will just have too! hmph..

Honestly I really love being a mother, the only thing that I really hate is the fear, the helplessness that comes with being a mother, always wonder what kind of a world have I brought her into? .... too much to handle.

Pass this tag on to Saakshi, Nehal, SGD, Monika and Apar ( do the love bit now). Will come back and update the links, till then if you happen to drop by, please consider yourself tagged! And anybody else who would like to take it ...fell free to do so..

A comes home!!

Ever since I became friends with Aparna, have been wanting to meet her & A. We made plans, there were even talks about a blogger meet to be held in March (If I remember correctly).. and then last weekend Apar finally made it home, with 2 of her friends driving her down just to meet me & Imp. I was floored. And A, such a cutie pie, shy at first & then jumping about the whole place. She is just as I imagined, full of life, joking away & that beautiful smile...don't loose it! You're not my soul sister for nothing! Love u babes.

And Imp, too shy. This girl was at her crankiest when I picked her up from her last day at summer camp. Tired, sleepy & hungry is not a good combo! Tried to get her to eat, just to get some free time with apar, but no such luck. She just kept crying and asking when is my friend coming home. And then of course does what she is best at, shy and coy, knowing we were talking about her, enjoying all the attention. And a miracle. She falls asleep herself, while hiding her face behind the cushion. Of course she went crazy when she woke up and saw that she had a kitchen set, she loves to play with the chakla and belan. Even though we do not cook roti's at home, have to make dough for her so that she can make her roti's and parathas.

Too bad we couldn't take pics of our kids but then hey...we got our pics! :-) Come home again gurl and this time for a longer duration.

Blogging totally rocks, will always cherish the friends I have made here and hope I make many more new friends.

Nature!! I love you!

I've been cribbing about the unbearable heat over the last few months, on chat, on twitter, you name it! Even the rains in the night didn't satisfy me just increased the humidity during the day. But today evening, I was blown away. Terrific rain with an added bonus - hails. I remember the first time we had a hail storm in Mysore. Cuz's and I were picking the ice from the grass and eating it. Today was a great day to get drenched, have hot coffee with some yummy pakodas.

Few plants in the garden were literally blown away, making them bare and lopsided. Yet, the rain was simply beautiful. Never thought I'd miss the rain and getting drenched soo bad.Of course where there is rain there is also the electricity playing hide and seek. And with dad missing the IPL, it was time for World Space! Sheesh...We have literally forgotten the wonderful radio thanks to the television!

Blissful evening! Leaving you with one of my all time fav songs by Bruce Springsteen, Dancing in the Dark. If you look closely the girl in the video is our very own Courtney Cox aka Monika from F.R.I.E.N.D.S

The First Born Tag!

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED?

Yes. Nopes..

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?

Yup!

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?

Disbelief! This cannot happen to me! Took the lab technician to turn the monitor and show me the scan...

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU?

Yes, till I saw and heard her, when I first found out. That option went flying out the window and I heard myself say no to an abortion in a daze.

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU?
Yea right, like I'm gonna say that here! :P

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
when I was shown the monitor, in the middle of an internal exam to rule out a cyst...."sweet 12 weeks...its a sweet pregnancy" to my shocked surprise..so shocked that I totally forgot about that horrendous thing inside me!

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?

Husband was there. But it was my boss and a colleague who used to mercilessly tease me (well it was just once :P) when I suddenly fell sick!

8. DUE DATE?

Around Diwali!

9. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?

Not for the first 3 months. 4th month was terrible. Carrot juice and Baigan were off my list.

10. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?

Pani Puri! Had to have it every week. Pizzas, Burgers, Death By chocolate, And Sweets... I'm not a sweet eating person, I hate mitahi, but those 6 months!! God! Everyday I would have halwa.

11. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?
My Mother In Law! And all the crazy superstitions...and tips to have a gora boy!

12. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX?
A girl.

13. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?

Nope.Was secretly hoping that all who were predicting it would be a boy, would turn out to be wrong :)

14. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?

12 kgs.

15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?

No.

16. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?

did'nt have one and didn't miss it.

17. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?

Nope. Fright yes. 8 months and 2 hours after lunch I dont feel her kicks...panic...call the doc...my luck its a sunday. Advised to go into emergency in the hospital and get a Doppler done. I was so glad when I heard the heartbeat! Best sound in the world!

18. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?

The same place where I was born...Mysore

19. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?

Four-Five hours.

20. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL/BIRTH CENTER?

Dad and Mom at 4 am.

21. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?

The gynae and the team labor team..

22. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?

Natural.

23. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?

No. Begged the doc to give me med, got scolded in return... no pain no gain..

24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?
2.73 kgs.

25. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ?

Just few minutes before 12 pm. I was so tired and I vaguely remember her first cries.

26. WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION WHEN THE DOCTOR ANNOUNCED THE SEX OF THE BABY?
Doc did'nt announce. Only after the doc showed the baby to my family outside did I get to see her...there were 4 nurses, 2 men and 2 women who got her to me...i was so happy i was just passed out for a few min..only to wake up to her crying :)

27. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST REACTION ON SEEING THE BABY?
In awe! Overwhelmed, glad it was over..and laughing all the time. Couldn't wipe the smile away from my face...

28. DID YOU CRY?

Nah...Laughed and Smiled a lot.

29. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?
My pet and most recently Nautanki!

30. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY

close to 2.5 years...although the ticker is quite accurate :D

I will never forget that day... what drama, excitement, fun and loads and loads of happiness! My bro still claims that was the funniest experiences of his life. Don't believe me? Go and read about it here if you havent already read it.

The one thing that kept me company and kept me from freaking out at the stupid superstitions was "What to expect when you are expecting" and Dr. Jagdish's "Health, Herbs and Harmony". And once she was born I was gifted what to expectthe first year...these were my bibles.

I realise now that it was also the day, when subconsciously I had realized that it would be just me & imp and that I wasn't upset, rather relieved and felt free and happy like never before.

IHM thank you for tagging me. I just loved this. And realsied I have prescious posts in the drafts, waiting to be completed, just wanna edit and post them so that I dont forget later...

I tag, Apar, Mystic Margarita, Swati, Kiran and `nm. Will be logging in later to inform all, if in the mean time you check this post, please consider yourself tagged! Any anybody else who wants to do this tag, please help yourself, just come back and let me know.

Time Please....

To sit. To relax. To Sleep. To enjoy my cuppa coffee. To channel surf. To leisurely enjoy blogs, instead of a marathon read. To read my emails. to reply them. To chat with friends. To write. To think. To indulge imp. To plan and execute activities on weekends for Imp.

This started with a few days short of new years. First Imp fell sick real bad, then me and then mum. And as they started recovering, we fired all our help, simply cause it seemed as though it was only us who needed them and they didn't need the jobs. The days are a blur, and nights too tired for anything but sleep. And this was the only time I wished we were living in an apartment! Just when I thought things couldn't get any better, my blog world friends gave me enough reason to think otherwise. Deeps, Usha and Apar, thank you all so much that you thought of me while giving out the awards. I never thought that I would receive awards for penning my thoughts and then the first one arrived. Thought that was it, no more and then there were more. Leaving me humbled, I cant describe. Please forgive me ladies for accepting these awards soooo late. So without much ado here they are..

The Resonance Award from Deeps and Usha, an award crafted with love, sprinkled with loads of peace and added with lots of prayers.


4 more from Usha [cant believe she gave me so many :-)],

The Versatile Blogger

Lovely Blogger Award

Kreativ Blogger

I love your Blog

And the last one from Apar, The Emerald Award, designed by Em of Em's hideaway. She said it was made ‘to award to people, in blog land, that I think have been exceptional friends to myself or others.’

I cannot thank all of you enough, I'm deeply overwhelmed, honored and terribly pleased. And I pass these awards with great flourish to


Amrutha
Usha Pisharody
Kiran
Apar
IHM
Roop
Manpreet
Santosh
Raji
Monika
Suki
Priyanka
Amrutha
Serendipity
Mystic Margarita
Thought Room

Feel like a Star! :-)

I'd be flying right now if i could :)

Thank you Apar and Amrutha, for this beautiful Proximade award.

This award is given to a blog that invests and believes in PROXIMITY – nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award

Thank you Indian Home Maker for this lovely Butterfly.. for a cool blog, never did I think that I'd be called cool after becoming a mum :)

Thank you Mapreet for the Certified Honest Blogger Award


The Trophy Cup by Amrutha, Thank you girl!


IHM again for giving me the award that makes me go smug. Its a great feeling to know that in spite of the dirty politics there still are people who irrespective of their boundaries have one common goal.
May their tribe increase!

Pass on all the awards with great pleasure to, most have already received these awards, but that by no means is a deterrent.

Apar
IHM
Roop
Manpreet
Santosh
Raji
Monika
Suki
Priyanka
Amrutha
Serendipity
Mystic Margarita
Thought Room
Army guy

Blogging is an addiction. Like that daily cup of coffee, I have to check my mail, check blog updates.. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would win awards for blogging! Appreciation for writing straight from my heart; for baring my soul and making new friends along the way. I'm touched, honored & speechless that Manpreet, Apar, Amrutha and Indian Home Maker thought of me..

Will be putting up the links soon, if in the mean time, you check this post, please do consider the award.

Merry Christmas Everybody!

Time for MeMe and Thanks again...

They say a picture speaks a thousand words...does it really and that too with rules?

Tagged by Apar, here are the rules

a) Answer the questions below, do a Google Image search with your answer, take a picture from the first page of results, and do it with minimal words of explanation.

b) Tag 5 other people to do the same once you’ve finished answering every question.

1. The age you will be on your next birthday

I thought it was bad manners to ask a woman her age!

2. A place you woulds like to travel to…

the world actually but starting with Venice...

3. Your favorite place

Mysore from atop Chamundi Hills

and one pic does not do it justice :) just love the symmetry of lights seen from above...


4. Your favourite food

5. Your favourite pet

In their natural environment..

6. Your favourite colour combination

7. Your favourite piece of clothing

the most comfy thing ever made!! can live in them, only if my mum can understand that :P

8. Your favourite TV show


9. First name of your significant other


10. The town in which you live



11. Your first job


12. Your dream job

this a straight lift from Apar's answer, simply because it fits :)

13. A bad habit you have

reminded me of a long forgotten post.. :)

14. Your worst fear


15. What would you like to do before you die?



p.s: it looks really easy, but it is not. Its really painful, I'd much rather write but, that would just take the fun away.

The rule says to tag 5 people, me adhere to all the rules? Nah....Santosh, Raji, Manpreet, Mystic Margarita, Priyanka, ThoughtRoom, IndianHomeMaker, Suki, Roop, Koopmandook you are all tagged :) and of course anybody else who wants to take this up, please do.. just let me know so I can come and see your answers..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Apar also gifted me the most wonderful gold card ever.

Thank you lady! It means a lot, through this blog I have made so many wonderful friends, Santosh, Manpreet, IndianHomeMaker, Priyanka, Roop, MysticMargarita, Suki and ThoughtRoom.

It truly has made the world flat for me and what a great way to make firends. And I hope to make some more.. :)

Of Tags and Awards...

Tagged by India Home Maker

The rules for the tag are:

RULE #1 People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any question that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

RULE #2 Tag 6 people to do this quiz and those who are tagged cannot refuse. These people must state who they were tagged by and cannot tag the person whom they were tagged by continue this game by sending it to other people.

1. If your lover betrayed you, what will your reaction be?
Been there and done that. Shattered at first, then walked out. Life goes on, and he is not worth any more tears. My daughter and I deserve better

2. If you can have a dream come true, what would it be.
A Peaceful world, all living in harmony. No wars of any kind - between countries, between religions... All I want to worry about is the mundane day to day stuff...

3. If you could, whose butt would you like to kick?
I'm no atheist, but it would have to be God for bringing such kind of people on earth, who seek to destroy and destruct.

4. What would you do with a billion dollars?
Invest and have some fun

5. Will you fall in love with your best friend?
Falling in love is something that cannot be controlled. If it happens, I wouldn't like to loose the friendship at any cost, whichever way the relationship goes.

6. Which is more blessed: loving someone or being loved by someone?
Any day its Being loved...

7. How long do you intend to wait for someone you love?
It would depend on the situation actually. I wouldn't go for a long distance relationship, I have loved so I will not be foolish in love again, I'd look at the practical side....

8. If the person you secretly like is attached, what will you do?
Nothing. Kick my self in the butt for liking a person who is already committed.

9. If you could root for one social cause, what would it be?
I'm split between Child Labor, Girl Child, and Education. 10. Do you lie? At times, little white lies.

11. Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?
hmmm...lemme see... financially well settled, good job,kiddo in a good school and indulging in things i love - travel, blogging,reading and dancing

12. What’s your fear?
ever since I've become a mom, its the fear of the unknown happening to my kiddo... violence and the future of my country...

13. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
IHM....Warm, Caring,Giving and young at heart

14. Would you rather be single and rich or married and poor?
Single and rich with my kiddo :)

15. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously who will you pick?
the one who is more honest, responsible, loyal, courageous, kind, upright, sensitive ...

16. Would you give all in a relationship?
I have. And I prob will again, but not at the cost of being taken for granted or my self respect.

17. Would you forgive and forget someone no matter how horrible a thing he has done?
Would probably forgive with time, but never forget.

18. Do you prefer being single or in a relationship?
whichever makes me happy

19. Your all time favorite song. Only ONE. And why?
Choosing 1 is plain torture and I cant think of one song....

20. The rule says to TAG 6 people, but this is open for who ever wants to take up this tag, just come back and let me know...:)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mystic Margarita, thank you for awarding me the Honest Blogger Award. Its truly an honur. Thank you.


Blogging is truly a communication and technological revolution. Where else would you find people pouring their hearts out, writing about stuff that you wouldn't have spoken to anybody about, connecting with strangers all over the world. When I started this blog I did not know what I wanted to write about. And I was too involved with my work to go beyond the namkaran of my blog. and then I poured my heart out, simply because I couldn't bottle up my emotions and feelings any longer. I had to get it out of my system. This blog became my therapy and it has helped me a lot. Looking at my old posts I can see the change in me and my attitude.

I write without pretense, and all the blogs I know are the same. They may not write about their life, but they are honest and straightforward nonetheless. And most have already recieved this award, so all my friends who read me who have not recieved this award, consider yourself awarded.

OMG!! Me?

Thank you Mampi and Indian Home Maker for the Brilliant Weblog Award...


Stunned,honored,overwhelmed and touched that you thought I deserved it. You guys made my day, week and month.

Brilliant Weblog is a prize given to sites and blogs that are smart and brilliant both in their content and their design. The purpose of the prize is to promote as many blogs as possible in the blogsphere.

Here are the rules for this award:

1. When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back
2. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in their content or design.
3. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Brilliant Weblog’
4. Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional).
5. And then we pass it on!

I pass this on with great pleasure to some of my fav bloggers in random order

1. ThoughtRoom: Her posts always make me think, real deep. Crystal clear in her thoughts and an awesome painter

2. Santosh: My first blog friend. Love his witty posts, jokes that most people don't get and great thoughtful posts.

3. Suki: hard to believe that she is so young. Such maturity at a young age

4. Clueless: for Light hearted reading

5. La vida Loca: Love her template and her honest writing

6. Raji: My crazy nutty friend who is like a younger sis. Clear concise writing, whether it is about her life or work.

7. Amrutha: for bringing a different point of view

Too bad I couldn't add MysticMargarita, Roop, Neeta and Mad momma, as they have already received the award.

The 30Q Tag

Helped myself to this tag from IndianHomeMaker

Last Movie You Saw In A Theater:
Sunday on DVD, don't go to the theater. Ever since I got preg, the loud volume just irritates me to no end.

What Book Are You Reading:
None at the moment. Would love to get my hands on :The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Bannerjee and The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie

Favorite Board Game:
Scrabble. Pictionary. Haven't played it for ages, though have played Literati. Thank god for internet!

Favorite Magazine:
Readers Digest.

Favorite Smells:
the smell of wet earth, my kiddo, pickle when its being prepared. coffee brewing and cake baking in the oven

Favorite Sound:
birds chirping outside my window in the mornings, daughters laughter-her squealing in delight, wind chimes, and at times.. silence

Worst Feeling In The World:
Helplessness. The feeling that you’ve been cheated and you can do nothing about it.

What Is The First Thing You Think Of When You Wake?
what’s the time...where is my mobile?

Favorite Fast Food Place:
Pani puri chat at Kormangala(forget the name of the place)
Koshy's Omelette's and club sandwich
Corner House - Death By Chocolate
Indra Bhavan's - Pulliyogre, Bisse Bele Bath, Idli vada sambar and Masala Dosa.

Future Child’s Name:
Will get there when it comes..

Finish This Statement. “If I Had A Lot Of Money I’d…”
Buy a house, a car, travel around the world and still have some left over!

Do You Drive Fast?
Been there and done that!

Do You Sleep With A Stuffed Animal?
Nope!! Have my daughter by my side :))

Storms-Cool Or Scary?
Absolutely Cool! Love Storms.

What Was Your First Car?
My dad’s Ambi. Learnt to drive in an ambi (driving school. my dad was the ever strict and complaining teacher who believed "If you can drive an ambi you can drive any car")

Favorite Drink:
Fresh Lime Soda, Chilled Rooh Afzah without milk.
Vodka, Wine when I get the chance.

Finish This Statement, “If I Had The Time I Would …..”
Catch up on my Sleep!

Do You Eat The Stems On Broccoli?
Yes, though I don’t like it. Its healthy and children follow their parents, so if I want my kiddo to eat right I have to too!

If You Could Dye Your Hair Any Colour, What Would Be Your Choice?
Probably Burgundy! Don't like the extra maintenance that comes with colored hair, and so my hair is naturally black!

Name All The Different Cities/Towns You Have Lived In.
Mysore and Bangalore

Favorite Sports To Watch:
Figure/Ice Skating

One Nice Thing About The Person Who Sent This To You:
IndianHomeMaker: Love the way she writes. And am amazed and thrilled at discovering the same likes and dislikes through the tags :)

What’s Under Your Bed?
my daughters toys which she loves to play catch. She throws and I'm supposed to get them.

Would You Like To Be Born As Yourself Again?
Yes. with some minor changes.

Morning Person Or Night Owl?
Both I think. Love the stillness of the night, it has a separate identity of its own. like ways early mornings, watching the sun rise, its peaceful and calming.

Over Easy or Sunny Side Up?
Neither.

Favorite Place To Relax:
My room.

Favorite Pie:
Chocolate Pie! Or anything with chocolate.

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor:
Chocolate.

You pass this tag to –
Whoever feels like doing it. But do come back an let me know :)

Of All The People You Tagged This To, Who’s Most Likely To Respond First?
haven't tagged any, lets see if anybody does it :P

VerveEarth!

Received this email from the CEO of a new startup a few days back, was tempted to let it go as SPAM but curiosity got the better of me.

Your blog Life Evolves caught our attention. I'm the founder of a recently launched startup for bloggers. We are searching the internet for the world's best blogs by geography, and we found yours for Bangalore. I would like to invite you to our site which plots the content of the internet on an interactive map of the world. VerveEarth is an entirely new way to surf the net. It shows spatial and geographic connections that a blog search engine could never reveal.

The site is www.VerveEarth.com. Once on board, you can easily claim your blog a place in the VerveEarth world. The site is free to use and a way to drive new traffic to your blog. If our vision resonates with you, please give us a mention or add our widget to your blog. Please see our FAQ for any questions, and we welcome your feedback. The VerveEarth team will make a timely reply.

www.VerveEarth.com
Kind Regards,
Clayton
CEO | VerveEarth.com
Email | clayton@verveearth.com,

First of all, thanks to Verve Earth CEO Clayton, even though I do not believe mine is the best blogs by geography.. in Bangalore. This was just an invitation mail, a clever(really?) one to get bloggers to sign up. I dislike the fact that they used the best blog line, somewhere somebody will be offended if all the blogs fall in that category.

Yet I signed up! I like the concept, you can search for blogs from a particular country, state. Sorta like Blog listing on Google Maps. Its still in BETA, lets see how it grows. So my minuscule readers, go ahead and sign up if you would like to and discover or be discovered!

P.s incase you are wondering, my blog used to be called Life Evolves, found it to be too depressing a name to blog about my kiddo and of course my focus has changed, though I got to add more posts about my kiddo :) will soon....

Better late than never!

Tagged by GoodDay Sunshine, so here goes....

Eight things I am passionate about:

1. My Family: They drive me crazy, they keep me grounded, my biggest critics, they have me tearing my hair apart but heck just cant live without them and I tried to ...didn't succeed. :) My daughter is my reason for living..
2. Music: My saviour, my sole friend in time of dire need, be it distress or enjoyment
3. Dancing: My passion!
4. Reading: My fav pas time, I can read anything black and white and color!
5. Blogging: Of late I'm bordering on obsessive compulsive disorder where I'm reading, making drafts and not publishing them. Getting to know what a writers block is all about
6. My Space: VErry possessive about it...I have to be able to do my own thing, i go crazy otherwise
7. Swimming: wish I had the time to do more..gotta teach my kiddo too :)
8. Eating: I love to eat and hate to cook. I'm the reluctant cook, will avoid it given half a chance

Eight things I want to do before I die:

1. Para gliding
2. Snorkeling
3. Send my parents on a Europe trip, all expenses paid
4. A Honda CRV
5. Buy a beach house
6. Adopt a child
7. Learn Martial Arts(gonna join soon)
8. Travel the world

Eight things I say often:

1. Yeah right!
2. oh hell
3. Argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4. I love you!!
5. who's my baby..who's my princess
6. Came across your resume, are you looking for a new job?
7. Will send you the profiles soon!!
8. Oh God!!!!!!!!!Sigh!!!

Eight books I have read recently:

1. One night @ the call center - Chetan Bhagat
2. Many Lives Many Masters - Dr. Brian Weiss
3. The Curious Incident of the dog in the night time - Mark Haddon
4. The No.1 ladies detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith
5. Orbit: John Nace
6. The Husband: Dean Koontz
7. What to expect when you are pregnant
8. What to expect the first year

Eight songs I could listen to over and over:

1. Inxs: AfterGLow
2. Hoobastank:The Reason
3. Temptations: Mygirl
4. Extreme: More Than Words
5. Dido: White Flag
6. U2: With or Without you
7. Sting: Fields of Gold
8. Duran Duran : Come Undone
9. Robbie William: /something Stupid
9. Pink Floyd - Another Brick In The Wall / Coming Back to Life
10. The Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody
11. John Lennon: Imagine
12. Lobo: I'd love you to want me / Me and U and a dog named Boo
*asking me to come up with only eight is pure torture

Eight things that attract me to my friends:

1. I'm their sounding board, they come looking to me for advise and they get it. I don't say what they want to hear, tell them what i feel and the rest is up to them.
2. I'm honest and straight forward,
3. I don't whine and don't crib
4. I'm a good friend, they rely on me and know I am always there
5. Fun: Ready to go out at a moments notice, Of course these days a hard what with my kiddo and me in a diff town
6. Not Judgmental: I don't make judgments about my friends decisions, about their way of life. I would not be their friend if our wavelengths didn't match in the first place.
7. Manners: I'm not rude, blunt yes, there is a difference. What you say the way you say makes a lot of difference
8. Humor/Wit

Eight people I think should do this tag:
1. Indian Home Maker
2. Priyanka
3. Emaan's Mum
4. Roop
5. Raji
6. Megh
7. Santosh
and anybody else who fancies this tag :)

About Me

31. Gemini. Single Mum to the most beautiful angel.

Full time mum part time recruitment consultant. All me time is my blog time, very rare at the moment.

Friends describe me as passionate, trustworthy, lovable, they turn to me for advice on work, relationships..

My experiences as a single first time mum, daughter and sister find their rest here. I used to take things at face value, big mistake i realise now..but better late than never..Starting LIFE Afresh, after a 360 degree turn.

Uncle Jag (UJ) will also have prominent mention here. He is a holistic doctor, healer, chiropractor who is practically family. His treatment involves essential oils, yoga and diet. I do not know what I would do without him. We(my family and me) are his ardent followers, simply because we have seen results where English and homeopathy medicines have failed.

This space is dedicated to my daughter, my life my joy my mischievous little fairy. The rest of the things are thrown in for some equal measure.

At the moment this is an annon blog, contemplating to change that. Sill undecided.

Memory Lane Beckons!

Santosh TAGGED me to go down memory lane. Before we go there, a little background. I'm a fourth generation North Indian settled in the south. So most of the post below will be about traveling during summer holidays to grandparents place in UP. So without much further ado here goes.

What is the oldest / first memory you carry of:

Of your Mother: Huddled in a train surrounded by scary looking people. I'm 4 years old. My bro is few months and we are in a connecting train with mum at Lucknow on the way to Lakhimpur. We are surrounded by milkmen with their milk cans hanging outside the train. And they did not believe in ticket travel either for themselves or for the others. I have never been so glad to see my grandpa ever. Man my mum was and is so gutsy.

Of Crying:Have two memories here, both when I was around 5 years. 1.Being chased by my cousin. She just loved to pinch and wouldn't stop till blood or tears started flowing. 2. Its my ear piercing ceremony, I'm howling away and I spy my uncle telling me that he will give me a bar of chocolate if I stop crying.

Of your Father: I was a very short tempered child. This is one and only time I got beaten by my dad for really hurting my bro and mebe thats why I distinctly remember it. Must have been 8 or 9 years old.

Of School: Walking into school discussing fashion with my cuz. What were we talking? We both needed glasses and she is trying to explain to me how glasses will affect her look. 6 years old, First standard.

Of a Fight: 8 or 9 years old, fighting with my bro. And I hit him really hard on his back, so hard that he had my hand print on his back. We really fought a lot.

Of a Lie you told: Topped in Sanskrit (7th Std) and decided to psyche my mum. Told her I flunked. Man she freaked and started to search my school bag for my answer book. Cat was out of the bag soon enough. Hey, I've been a good kid, never lied till I became a teenager:P

Of a Vacation: Have plenty of these. Really have to exercise my brains to get the earliest. Vacation time = Summer hols = Masti n Fun esp during traveling and Joint family = 15-20 kids of different age group. Since all of us would be going the say way at least half the journey, we usually traveled together. Yes the whole jing bang children and mothers. But my earliest would have to be when I'm 4 years, spending Holi at my granny's place.

Of Laughing: All of us cousins sitting in the lawn during one of the functions at home, playing and laughing for no rhyme or reason. Must be about 7 - 8 years old.

Of a Class Mate: Priya. Studious to boot and very particular about scoring 100. Cried like crazy at getting 99/100! Left us all speechless. Wonder where she is now.

Of a Relative: My much older cousin babysitting me and my cuz, playing Badminton at my granny's place. Must be 5-6 years old.

Of a Teacher: My KG teacher. Try as I might can't recollect her name, but the trademark sari of the nun's stand out.

Of your brother/sister: My cuz and I pulling each others hair. Must be about 4-5 years old.

Phew! I'm done. This has been at the back of my head, a relief that it is over.

But honestly, what a wonderful exercise. Had a great time racking my brain and brought back a lot of laughs and memories.

I now TAG all the people reading my blog to the same. Happy exercising!