lamhe (moments)

Trader Joe's Instant 100% Colombian coffee.

2010-04-05T00:27:00.001-07:00

Tastes good.

Costco has made me a happy person

2010-04-05T00:25:00.000-07:00

Here is why :

Mountain High Low fat plain yogurt in a big tub.

4 baby eggplants in a pack.

2 pack Nanak paneer.

what more do I need to make me happy !!! GO COSTCO !!!!

Spring break is fun.

2010-03-25T00:45:00.000-07:00

Last week I was dreading spring break thinking to myself that we have not enrolled the kids in any classes and I have not planned for that vacation but seems like things are going very nicely even without any extracurricular activities or should I say planned activities. I am realizing each day that they ( my kids) don't need planned activities they are just happy being with me. They have started playing more and more with each other and developing that special bond that siblings have. I knew they had the bond but it is so much fun to actually hear them during their pretend play sessions. I am glad I stay at home and I am not missing those special chats that they have with each other. I get to hear them when I am working in the kitchen and I see myself stopping and smiling. I wish I could record all of it and they could stay like this forever. Ah one can only hope !!

conversations at our table

2010-03-25T00:43:00.000-07:00

It is so much fun to hear the kids talk now since their vocabularies are expanding. Here is a sample :

Setting : Lunch time eating spaghetti, feeding self.

Kid 1 : Enjoying spaghetti and face covered in sauce.

Kid 2: Your face is a disaster !

I could not stop myself from smiling and thinking what more will I hear ??

New yummy treat finds at Costco

2009-12-19T13:24:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow bloggers,

I have been missing from my blog since so many months. I have been plain lazy and there is no excuse for that too. I am going to try and be a regular from now on. So our local costco has been carrying a few things that are really yummy.

1. Cub claws pastry : It is this yummy all natural/no trans fat snack that contains dry apples, dry apricots, dry cranberries, almond extract, vanilla to mention a few of them. Try and tell me how you like them.

2. Melt-o-ways : A flaky/buttery pastry twist filled with raspberry jam and cream cheese. Is your mouth-watering yet.

3. La dolce vita Italian cookie variety pack with two kinds of biscotti( chocolate and cranberry-almond) and wedding kiss cookie and amaretti too.

Sandwich my ishtyle

2009-03-05T20:54:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,
I know I have been MIA for quite a bit and I don't know if anyone even reads my post. But at any rate, I made something today that turned out pretty tasty and so I thought of sharing this recipe with all of my bloggy friends. So here goes......

Stuffed toasted sandwiches

Appliance needed: sandwich toaster

Ingredients: 5 medium to large sized red potatoes
3/4 cups frozen peas
3 sprigs of mint (only leaves)
6-8 stalks cilantro
1/4 of green bell pepper
1/4 of a big sweet onion
1/4 cup finely chopped cabbage
11/2 tbsp. oil
butter ( if needed) for spreading on bread before adding the stuffing
salt to taste
sugar to taste
amchur to taste
red chilli powder about 2 tbsp.
11/2 tbsp. garam masala powder
12 slices whole wheat bread

Method:
Boil or pressure cook the potatoes and the peas.
Cook the bell peppers, onions and cabbage in the oil until tender.
Once the potatoes and peas are cooked mash them and add the cooked veggies to it.
Add all the dry spices. taste and it and stuff them between two slices of buttered whole wheat bread and toast it in the sandwich bread. Eat with ketchup or green cilantro chutney or your favorite dipping sauce. Enjoy.

You can add other veggies like corn or green beans or tofu or paneer and pepper jack cheese if you like.

I will post a photo of my creation tomorrow.

Trader Joe's Potato pancakes-traditional latkes

2009-02-01T13:51:00.000-08:00

I tried out the Traditional latkes the frozen ones and found out that they are not that great tasting as most of the frozen items that TJs has.

AZODICARBONAMIDE- what is that ??

2008-11-27T13:07:00.000-08:00

Seems like a long name of some chemical and here is link to find out more about it ??? And ask yourself if you would like to eat something with this in it. My friend told me about this and I thought everyone should know about this. I have found it in so many whole grain and whole wheat breads that our kids and us eat everyday. I found that some Franz breads do not have it an ingredient but some of them do. You might want to read the label before going out and buying the bread next time. This is not to target one single company that makes bread but to let those companies know that they need to change the recipe.

My heart goes out to all who did not make it today and all those brave souls who are still out there fighting to save the rest

2008-11-27T00:10:00.000-08:00

Today is one of the worst days of my life after 9/11. I cannot believe what I saw today on TV. My friend called me tell me what was going on in Mumbai and I wish I could do something about it. Every time something like this happens it shakes my faith in humanity and all the positive thoughts go out the window. Why does the world need so much pain and hatred ?? All the extremism has got to stop. So many people who thought were going home from work or those night-shifters who were starting work did not even have an inkling of the disaster that was about to happen. It is so easy for me to worry about all from so far away but inside my heart I feel like a coward who can do nothing but watch the news and sulk. I have so much guilt over being so far and not being able to do anything about what is going on out there in India ! My prayers are with all of those who didn't make it and to the rest who will make it and most of all to those who are being brave enough to face the situation. We need to have better armor for the police in India. The people who protect us need to be treated better.

Have you heard of BUGALOO ???

2008-11-19T21:51:00.000-08:00

For all those who love Robeez, must know about this website. I think they have really good prices and I love those pretty designs for girls and believe me the boys' ones are not so boring either. GO and see it for yourself and right now they are having a 15% off special. I found out about it through grocerymama.com and their website is www.bugalookids.com.

Ikea ornaments as puppets

2008-11-18T16:48:00.001-08:00

How about these christmas ornaments that the kids can use to put on their own puppet show ?? I like them ..of course because they are from Ikea!!!!!

HOPE+GRACE+COURAGE=OBAMA

2008-11-05T23:43:00.000-08:00

I thought I had the flu yesterday and I was so crabby but I got an OBAMA pill when I heard he had won. I was hoping and I knew it in my heart that he would. I voted for the first time this year and I must say I felt for the first time that it mattered. It was amazing to see him on stage and his speech was so great. I cannot say enough about our new President-elect. I just have really high hopes for him and I am sure the whole country has so many expectations and if we can be patient enough for him to work for the good of all of us and our kids...and help him as much as we can...it will move our country forward.....and be the AMERICA we look hope we could be...I absolutely have that faith.

Welcome to Sajjanpur

2008-10-13T00:23:00.000-07:00

I am no movie buff but this is a must-see movie for all desis. It is so well made. I loved it. Check it out when you can...

Just thought of sharing what I found

2008-10-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

Here is a pic of the bag that Ikea is selling...I thought it was neat looking and can be reused. the price is too good as well. Picture is from Ikea website.

Flying first class, playing the waiting game and falling

2008-08-19T15:27:00.000-07:00

Hello, if there is anyone out there who still reads my blog since I am so insincere about posting. Just been lazy and busy both. So I had planned to take a trip to see my good friend on Friday and its a flight from one end of US to the other. Since we could not get a direct flight we booked a flight from my city to a second city and then to my destination and the date which we wanted was not available for the first lag of my travel so my dear husband upgraded my ticket to first class and boy was I excited that he did. Since I was only going to be gone for 48 hours and without the kids I thought it will be nice to have that time for myself even though I was traveling for the most part. I boarded my flight on time and my first ever journey in First class began. Did you know that the stewardesses are dressed in a different set of clothes in First class than those in EC. Also you are allowed to board first since you are in First class ( you knew that of course) . Then I was served a warm breakfast and I was planning to sleep but was too excited ( like a kid) and I did not. Instead I asked a bunch of nonsensical questions to the stewardess and she knew for sure that this lady has not traveled first class ever in her life before. So instead of sleeping I watched two movies and one of them was ok and one was not so good. But they were free and I could not say no to that. To my luck, my flight reached 10 minutes early and I was happy that I did not have to rush from gate to gate since I only had an hour between flights. But that was all about to end. The moment we touched down I got a call from my dear husband saying that our airline carrier had informed him that my next flight was delayed by an hour and a half. So I thought okay maybe I will have to wait longer than expected. Then I reached the gate and got a call from husband again who told me to ask if there were any other flights that were departing earlier. I asked and she said no. But I got a new flight number from my husband and went to that gate to see if I could get on a standby and they said that I was on number 10 on standby, that done I just saw their screen say that that flight was leaving after my previous (delayed) flight so I wondered if my delayed flight would be delayed too and sure enough it was by another half an hour. In between all this I am keeping my friend and my husband both informed about what is going on. The reason for the delay was MOTHER NATURE since she decided to bring in a tornado into the area I was flying into. So I waited till the flight I was on standby for left. I went to my original gate and saw that it was delayed by another hour and a half. So at this point my friend called me again and said you might need to ask if they could fly me into an airport nearby their place but not the one I was supposed to be on. I asked the gate agent and he said it is all up to you but I would suggest you stay put here in case we start boarding sooner than the posted time. But I wanted to get there soon so I went to customer service and asked and they said it would be three hundred dollars extra. That just put me back to my gate instantly...:) by the time I reached my gate I could see that the departure was delayed again by 45 more minutes so I started to think the bad thoughts that I would either have to spend the night there or at a hotel somewhere if the airline would pay for it ( not that it would happen in this recession). One gentleman asked me where I was going and I told him and he said that his wife was flying to India. So then a couple of other people also started sharing about where they were headed and so on an so forth. I must say that we made quite a group there. The flight time was delayed again by an hour and while all this was happening the Captain came out and announced everything ( which was really nice of him), the gate agent was really nice too. But there was this annoying female voice on the PA system that kept announcing every 15 minutes that there will be no food service on board and we were welcome to bring our own food and drinks. So finally we left after half an hour of the latest delayed time which was about 6 hours later and were told by the captain to keep our cell phones on until we actually took-off. I reached my destination about midnight and even though I was exhausted beyond my imagination I went to my friends place and we talked till 3 in the morning. The next day was busy and the day after that I was leaving for home.

So the day I leave was sunday and I left on time for the airport. My friends' husband dropped me off at the airport. I had done online check-in but need to print out the boarding pass. So off I went to print them at the airline kiosk but all four ( can you believe that ??) were not working so I went and asked one of the airline agent and she said since your screen said "Special handling required" you need to be in this line. So there I stood with my carry on bags. While I was there I noticed that there was a different line for people with no checked bags and I asked the agent lady again that am I supposed to be here and she said yes. But I thought that I should not be here and off I went to go join the other line. The line that I left was so long I thought it might delay me further. Now this was a direct flight and I was so lucky to be on that flight because I did not know how it would impact my trip. So when I was trying to sneak out of the previous line by going under the belt I tripped on something and FELL and it was the worst fall in the last 20 years of my life and I mean it. I just remember trying to balance myself and the next thing I knew I was on the floor with black spots in front of my eyes and me crying, tears falling down my eyes. The next thing I hear is people saying Oh Oh and then I hear this voice that asks me "Are you okay?" and I reply NO with a nod unable to see or speak. Then he asks " Can I help you ?" and I say YES. Then he said will you be able to get up and I say NO finally I could speak but still not see. I really could not see it was like a short blackout and I hear my friend's husband at the back saying what happened and I say I don't know. I was finally able to get up and see if I could walk. It was extremely painful. But he took me to where I was going and I got my boarding pass and he left me near the security check area and asked if I need a wheelchair and me being the brave soul said NO I wish I had said YES...the next few steps through security and my gate were grueling. If there is thing called punishing thy self I was guilty of it when I said no to the wheelchair offer. The moment I reached my gate my knee was swollen and I could feel it rubbing on my jean. I pulled out my ziploc bag ( coz I don't carry a toiletry bag all thanks to TSA) and thanked myself for putting Ibuprofen in it. I took all of the Ibuprofen I had ( 4 tablets-200 mg each) and thought to myself what was the hurry ??? how did I fall ??? I don't know but I did and because of that I won't be able to take my daughter to her summer camp and I will miss my tennis lesson. Yesterday I went to the doctor and he said the knee cap took the brunt of the fall and so there is some blood underneath it and will take two weeks to heal. The X-ray shows no fracture (phew!!!!) and I am still getting around the house limping but it feels good to know that there is no serious damage. So all that joy that I felt flying first class was followed by a lot of waiting and then the fall.

I am seriously reconsidering flying First Class ever...since I think its jinxed forever now. So I did learn a few things from this experience....

1. Make friends with your co-passengers since they can help you with the waiting game.
2. Always carry some sort of pain-reliever in case ...
3.Never ask the stewardess in First class...about how much will it cost to watch the movie or if you can use your own headphones since both of them are complimentary in First class.
4. Never try to hurry up because you could end up like me....hee hee..

Oh and thanks to that Angel Guy who helped me get up from my disastrous fall and to my friend's husband and to that sweet natured Gate agent Michael who actually bought some chicken from his own money and gave it to all the passengers that it could reach too. Can you believe that even in this poor economic times where the airlines are trying to cut back on costs by not providing any food for passengers, even though the flights are delayed by 6 hours or more sometimes this gate agent bought food for the passengers out of his own pocket. Even the captain said that he is one of the best gate agents they have. Indeed he is.

The IKEA Home delivery saga

2008-07-09T22:59:00.000-07:00

You know I have been such a big fan of Ikea that it used to literally make my day when I would go shopping there. First of all we did not have an Ikea in our town and now that it is there I was super excited about it since I did not have to drive down 200 miles to reach an Ikea store anymore. I had just posted about Ikea earlier and was so proud doing it. Really, I was in this haze over Ikea. Well they disappointed me greatly I must say. I still love the stuff they carry but let me tell you never never order Home Delivery from these guys. So here is my rant story, which is not made up but real. We wanted to buy a new sofa set for our family room and we decided to get it from Ikea. So off we went shopping there and the first time we went we actually ended up buying furniture for our kids ( I am sure it has not happened to any of you :)) anyways after spending a quarter of our sofa budget on the kids stuff we went again and finally found the VRETA sofa in a dark brown color but to our bad luck that was not in stock so my husband dear said we will order it online and get it delivered at our place. So I said why not order in store. That was left at that and when he tried to place an order online for delivery at home they were charging some outrageous amount of money for shipping so we went back to the store again and asked them if it was back in stock. It wasn't. So he placed an order at the store and they said since they did not have it in stock they would only charge 55 bucks for home delivery from their Southern California store. The estimated delivery date was June 13th and the order was placed on June 9th. So we kept waiting almost till the end of June and no sofa. So I called them and they said that it would arrive sometime around July 3rd or 4th since they were trying to get more trucks into their system ( whatever that means), then .........waiting and waiting till the 4th I called them again and the customer service rep said it won't be before the 6th of July now so we had to wait. I called again since the sofa did not show up on the 6th either. So I called again and after transfering my calls they hooked me up with this customer service rep who told me that they should have told me that it could take 3 to 4 weeks for the delivery ( a minor detail which they obviously missed telling us) and they cannot do anything about it. So she said that I would be getting a call from the delivery company that they contract to for furniture deliveries on the 7th and also gave me a special order number that I would need if they did not call. So on the afternoon of 7th somebody called our home and told me that they will deliver between the 2 pm to 6 pm window and they would call ( the drivers) would call 30 minutes ahead to confirm again. Then again, the same night someone else from the delivery company calls to see if the 8 am to 12 pm window will be okay and I told them that I had already been set up for the 2-6 pm window by someone and she had no idea what I was talking about and said they its not showing anything that like that on their "board". I waited for the 8 to 12 window phone call and that never arrived then I receive a call from the driver saying that they were running late and asked me if I was free all day ??? Can you believe that ??? So they said they would be at our place around 3 pm now. So the waiting game continued further...then no delivery until 3:30 pm so I called their delivery company and asked about my order. I was put on hold for sometime and the lady from the company told me that the drivers were stuck in traffic and would be there by 5 pm. So they called finally around 5 pm saying that they were close and they would be at our place soon. So finally we did get our sofa. But I will never order furniture from Ikea using their home delivery service. It was grossly disappointing on Ikea's part. Thanks for reading such a long post about my day yesterday but I think Ikea really does need to work on their delivery services...please anyone reading this who is even remotely connected to Ikea should bring this to their attention.

Orange is beautiful.

2008-06-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

This is a necklace and earring set that I had put on ebay to sell it although I thought of keeping it for myself but secretly hoped it wouldn't sell and it did not so here it is.....

A bag, a message

2008-06-08T00:22:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy : Walmart

I like this bag and the message it conveys and hence the post. We can all be a part of this movement one bag at a time, its a start.

I love IKEA

2008-06-07T23:28:00.000-07:00

I cannot get over how much I love Ikea and how much kids do too. Today we went furniture shopping at a local furniture store and the prices were so outrageous (high) that we didn't even stay for 10 minutes, I mean even the so-called clearance price was 2000 bucks for a sofa. I am a frugal shopper but we thought since we will keep the furniture for a long time it would be nice to get a quality piece. So even though we did not plan to go to Ikea we ended up there. We ended up buying two nightstands and placed an order online for home delivery for a queen bed, a sofa and a swivel/reclining/rocking chair and it did not cost us a paycheck. I mean I understand that buying locally can be a bit pricey but the store we went to was really not at all our budget. Maybe we made a bad choice. So our furniture is supposed to arrive within the next two weeks or so and I am excited already. We will get rid of our old futon which suffered a lot of abuse from our kids and their friends and I am going to miss it terribly. It made me feel sad for the futon but oh well there is a time for everything to go. Hopefully the colors we picked for our sofa will go with our drapes and the whole room in general since we still have white walls in that room. Besides that we went to eat out tonight and it was fun since we went with a couple of our friends and best of all with my brother who is visiting us from out of town.
Right now I am sitting with my left leg raised on a hopping ball (that my daughter plays with) since my dear brother just dropped his laptop on my left toe and it hurts. Other than that it was really a great day because we have been trying to accomplish this furniture shopping task for quite sometime now. I still would have loved to have more time at Ikea to buy all the accessories to decorate my guest bedroom and other rooms in our house but that is another day of shopping. Something to look forward to I guess.

My recipe is on a food blog I am so excited.

2008-06-05T22:43:00.000-07:00

Today I received an email from Pooja saying that she has posted my recipe on her blog for the food blog event that she is hosting (VoW -JFI-BELL PEPPERS). I was excited and had to post about it. To be new as a blogger and to receive such a welcome in the food blogging world is very exciting to me. I actually got this recipe from watching FOOD NETWORK as I normally do everyday. It was my favorite show EVERYDAY ITALIAN. Its my daughter's favorite too. I absolutely adore Giada. She makes recipes seem so effortless and she makes me want to make them. I was watching Friends and Family feast episode and there it was , she was making Rigatoni with Bolognese sauce. I liked it because it had bell peppers, mascarpone cheese and they both happen to be my favorite ingredients. Anything that ends with cheese had to be good .. right !!! So thank you Pooja for the opportunity. Although I did not follow the recipe to the dot and made a few changes to it, it still came out tasting very yummy. Now I want to try Giada's Hazelnut crunch cake with mascarpone and chocolate ( again two of my favorite ingredients) since it has a very semi-homemade touch.

My ebay endeavor

2008-06-05T22:37:00.000-07:00

So here it is my first attempt at selling anything on ebay. Hope this works out I would really feel good about myself. This is not to get any new buyers for the stuff but as a new seller online on ebay I am very nervous. Also I have put some money into these beads when I bought them in hopes to sell them on ebay. I felt very useless for the past few months although running behind the kids and getting the housework done is one of my many uses :) ha ha ha. Anyways I put a couple of items on sale on ebay and I will be adding more if this works. I selected everything personally on my last trip to India since I loved the stuff myself and thought of selling it. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Recipe post

2008-05-16T00:10:00.000-07:00

I am supposed to be fast asleep now but I am not since I am on a roll tonight or today whatever you call it since its 10 after midnight here. I am definitely not sane LOL. Anywho recently I made this dish well its a leftover dish that I made. So its really simple and I am sorry I don't have a photo to show you but next time maybe I will. I call it Idli gujjustyle. So I had about 8-10 leftover idlis in my fridge and I thought that let me just do something with them so I cubed them up and put a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and added some mustard seeds and curry leaves and hing to it and then added the idlis and some salt and sugar ( just about half a tsp of sugar-and that is why the name) and sauteed it and let some idli stick to the bottom of my pan and voila you have leftover gujjustyle idli. My kids ( both of them) gobbled it up and I had the crumbs, the caked on crumbs and they tasted yummy. So if you like this you can try it too and see what you think of it. I can post the exact recipe if anyone would be interested. But tonight I really need to sleep. Good night and sweet yummy dreams to all.

Memories that will last a lifetime

2008-05-15T23:49:00.000-07:00

I went to India for 4 and a half months and came back thinking I will write so much about the things I did and what I thought of what I observed there but that certainly has not happened. But one thing is for sure that I brought back with me so many wonderful memories and so did my kids. These are a few things that I miss, the everyday sunshine, the hustle and bustle of the streets, the packed markets, the sounds of the rickshaws and the most important being with my ma and pa. I am really sure that my kids specially my son misses them a lot. He had the hardest time of all because it was his first time and he took to India like fish to water. I never felt even once that he was not happy there. he never fell sick there, he had a roaring good time. He would just wake up early in the morning and be with my mom and I could sleep in ( Oh how I miss that) thanks ma !!!!!! I owe you big time for this and so much more. My dad was his best friend. You know I have started believing in this thing called past life attachments because they were so close to each other and I used to wonder how it could be. He used to be crazy about my dad running behind NANA ( that is what we call our maternal grandfather) and the reverse was true too. The best compliment I have received in my entire life was from my dad when he said " You add a few more years to my life when you let me be with your kids" I never knew I could make him so happy and I thought to myself that maybe this is a way I am making up for all the disappointments that I gave him when I was a child and believe me I did when I say so. I was quite a rebel in certain aspects. Here are a few things my son definitely misses other than being with NANI-NANA. He misses seeing the street dogs and cows for sure no matter how much a nuisance they are to us adults but it was like one of the wonders of the world to my little guy. So today I want to thank all those cows and dogs ( and pigs for that matter) who made my son's day better. He misses going in the rickshaws with my mummy. He misses hanging out with the birds on the terrace. He misses playing in the dirt on our terrace. He misses getting baths from Nani. He misses all the hugs and kisses from everyone he met. He misses the pigeons that used to sit on our neighbor's front balcony ( Our neighbor auntie used to get so annoyed with them and she used to say take them with you to America :)). He misses going to the end of the street fruitwala and grabbing a few oranges. I felt like he was reborn in India and found his new self there. In my next post I will write about my little girl and what she did in India. I miss all of it so much too.

A few days lasted too long for me

2008-05-04T19:43:00.001-07:00

Well so here I am back in the so-called few days..ha ha ha. I could not come back for a number of reasons but without being boring any further I must say that our comeback has not been a good one. I was so happy that I missed the dreaded winter with all that it brings with itself.....the rain, the clouds, the gloomy dark days, but I guess I celebrated too soon. The point I am trying to make is I was glad I was in India this whole winter and came back in March but two days after we came back my dear daughter comes down with a viral infection or as they call it here the stomach flu apparently she caught it on the plane or one of the airports. Then my son gets it and me and the hubby are left to fight it on our own too. It is a terrible thing to get. Then they both get a viral cold and come out of it and now I am so sick I can't tell you. Today I am feeling very tired, sore throat is taking its toll and so is my earache. I know, I know I am whining but I think I have a right to do that considering how I feel now. I am trying to keep the kids away from me so they don't get what I have and as I am typing this I hear my little boy at the stairs crying for mama.....I am feeling terrible. All that is left of me is a tired person but I wanted to type this just to get things out of my head. Yes, I am throwing myself a pityparty. So here is what I did for the past two days...nothing....nothing at all. I was thinking of doing laundry and going to Ikea and going to a park with the kids ....the weather has not been helping at all. They call it the El Nino effect. I don't know about that I just think that it just needs to go away. Maybe we need to be more earth-friendly and lessen the global warming. The viruses seem to be getting very potent each year. So many kids coming down with them and getting high fevers...I am feeeling very blah....

I am back and I have so much to say about so many things. but in a few days...

2008-04-11T11:51:00.000-07:00

On a blogging break till April

2007-10-31T22:15:00.000-07:00

Hi fellow bloggers,
Just taking a long break till April. Will miss reading your posts as well.

Lets take a few moments to just pay our respects to lives lost when they didn't have to be

2007-09-10T23:42:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about writing about this for a long time and I am doing it now. Tomorrow is the day when all our beliefs were shaken in human kind. Atleast mine were. I was getting ready to go to school for my early morning class and my friend T called me to let me know that I should not go to school because I took the bus from downtown to my school and there could be a tense situation. I could not understand why but she told me turn on the tv and I can never ever forget the day what I saw on it. I was looking at a scene that was beyond belief and I was just going into this zone where I thought this cannot be happening , yes it was when the second plane hit the tower I was just getting to the point where I was thinking this is happening. Then the days that followed brought more and more fear and hopelessness. I really could not understand if the world that we lived in was so unpredictable. All those statements that people make about how anything can happen anytime came to be so very true. So I feel like we all need to take a few moments which is not much to ask, to remember those that lost their lives and those who survived but lost a part of their soul on this day. All of us need to think together to make this world a better place even though its by doing a really small deed of trusting someone and believing that good exists and it will beat the bad every single time. It shook my trust in people and filled me with a lot of anger and helplessness but slowly I am starting to believe again and so will all those who suffered. To all those who were left behind there might be a long long time before they start believing again in the goodness of human nature, until then we just have to do our best to make our world a better place.

2007-08-28T20:37:00.002-07:00

I am writing after a long time again. Things have just been way too busy here. All of us got sick and then I got sick again. But anyways today is not the day to talk about the unhappy stuff. Today is a special day ----RAKSHABANDHAN--- the day I tie a rakhi on my brother's arm. I miss him today inspite of talking to him everyday. He is the best brother there can be. He is younger to me but still has so much to give not in terms of material stuff but about life and what he brings to my life and my family's life. He is going for a career in pediatrics and I wish him all the success and I know he will be the best. I think he is kind, considerate, caring, loving, giving, humble, adorable and so much more. These are only a few words that describe him. I am so thankful to Almighty for bringing him into my life and I wish him all the very best for everything.
He will be a great doctor because I think he has so much to offer to people and specially kids. He is so good with two of my kids. He was there for me and them when I needed him the most and I will never forget how he took care of all of us. I love him so much and wish him the best. We miss him and hope he can come see us soon.

Its been a while since I posted something meaningful here

2007-08-03T23:36:00.000-07:00

I have been really really lazy at blogging for the past few weeks or should say a month or two. So first I apologize to all the fellow bloggers who have been visiting my blog to find not much to read. I have no good excuse for that except that summer is keeping me out of the house and I am just too lazy. Well this blog might as well be a sounding board for my daily dilemmas and issues. What I am thinking about these days is a little too much and that is why I cannot put just one thought ahead and write about it.

Well why am I worried its my blog and I am allowed to write whatever I please and I am going to do so. Excuse me if you are expecting to read something that inspires you or pleases your thoughts. Anyways back to my rambling...lately my dd (dear daughter) has been on a strike for breakfast she does not eat any breakfast whatsoever. I absolutely am against it but unfortunately cannot do anything about it. I have tried making her the breakfast she likes. You name it and I have tried it be it omelet, bread and jam, pancakes, cereal, mungbeans and what not but she does not have it. She starts saying her tummy hurts and I am losing it completely. I have tried forcing her to eat and I mean literally. I have tried timeouts but nothing works. So I talked to her ped and she says forcing her will only lead to food issues and some kids just like to graze throughout the day. So any of you moms who are having such an issue believe me you are not alone atleast there is one more mom with the same problem.
Another thing is that she is constantly getting on my nerves and I feel like my head will explode anytime. I really hate getting up in the morning just because I know its going to be a struggle. I do want to be one of those moms who has it altogether no matter what and I want to be one of those moms who can keep their cool no matter what. But this is all impossible, I am just to darn impatient to be like that. I wish I could have that patience. Here's another thing every night I go to bed with all the guilt that I gave her timeouts and I yelled at her and I am not kidding I do really YELL at her and I don't like it. Every day I also go to bed thinking that I want to be a better person for her but it seems its not happening.
I also want to learn a creative art because I believe it will help me divert my mind from these frustrations. Maybe I will sign up for a class soon. I have thought of taking a painting class or maybe a cake decorating class.
Oh that reminds of one more thing I do need to make up my mind on whether or not I should let her sleep in our room at night when she comes out crying from her room. there are days when I hope she slept thru the night in her room. Well most days. She is turning into this little person that I don't know anything about and it scares me. Does it ever happen to you that she likes her friends' mother more than you. It has happened to me and although I try not to get hurt by that I do get hurt. It aches my heart. I know I know I am throwing a pity party for myself but its my blog and I can do that here.
On the other hand my ds ( dear son) is getting bigger and I am debating whether or not I will be able to go to India on my own with the two of them in tow. He will also get his tiny feet working soon and I am not sure if I will be able to handle the 24 hours of flying with the both of them. It will be an experience that I will surely share with you guys if I do end up going on my own. OOh it almost gives me the goosebumps. I will write about my trip from India to here with my daughter. It was quite an adventure. If I go on about this I won't be able to sleep all night so I have to stop here and say goodnight to the computer. My arm hurts anyways so I better go.

Happy birthday to my dear friend T

2007-08-02T00:29:00.000-07:00

Its after midnight and I am so excited for today as it is my friend T's birthday and I want to be the first one to wish her. So here it goes........Happy Birthday dear. I want to get her some nice flowers and buy her some lunch so she can relax and have a good day. Many happy returns of the day my dear friend. She has been such a big help. I want to thank God for letting her be in my life. I am still happy that I met her and I always want to be her friend. She has been there for me on the worst days and has supported me so much. I love her and I hope she has a wonderful day and a wonderful year.

Here's to you T........................H....A...P...P...Y B..I....R....T....H............D....A.....Y !!!!!!!!!

Why does she ask why all the time ??????????

2007-06-28T22:59:00.000-07:00

So its been a long time since I posted anything well to me its been a long time. Today I had to write about this. My daughter who is a sweetheart has turned into a why-bug. Really I mean it and I thought it is a phase and will go away soon but nope the why-bug has bit her and she keeps asking me why for everything and it gets to you after a certain amount of WHYs. if she wants something that she is not supposed to have she will ask why and when I answer her with the reasoning then she asks me why ?? when I say don't keep asking why she asks me why. I am really getting tired and trying to find an answer for this. Do any of you know the remedy for a why-bug bite >>?? if you have the answer to this one I'd really appreciate the solution. I know, I know that all the parenting magazines and books I read tell me that you should never stop your kids from asking questions but tell me does it not get to you ??? I am still trying to find the best way to treat this....maybe tomorrow she will wake up with a smile and say no why's today mom :) oh that will be music to my ears.

I am disappointed in myself today :(

2007-06-22T23:41:00.000-07:00

Well I was waiting for this day for so long and it came and it went and I missed the most important thing. I had purchased a concert ticket for my husband as a father's day treat and the concert was tonight. I have become so forgetful these days that I forgot to remind him today. I am feeling terribly angry at myself for being so careless. I hate wasting money and that is what I did tonight. I wish I could do better next time. I am so angry with myself that I cannot do anything about it. I am trying to find a way to make this night better but its not and I am not liking it. I hope I feel better tomorrow.

Fathers and daughters

2007-06-17T06:54:00.000-07:00

Today I was thinking about my dad as I think about him everyday and thought that I have to meet him right away. But unfortunately I cannot do that with the geographical distance but in my spirits I will always be close to him and he will be always close to me. He is the most generous and kind hearted person I have ever met. He has taught me so many things well most of the things I know. He is the best for me and my siblings and I am sure we all share that feeling. He has taught me a few of the following things about life :

1. Kindness and goodwill never go unrecognized and you have to be kind to people.
2. You have to give back to society whenever you can in whatever way you can.
3. You have to be more tolerant towards people who differ from you.
4. Take care of your family and do the best you can to provide them the best.
5. Take care of your parents.
6. Be ready to help out whenever there is need.
7. Share the knowledge that you have.
8. Keep a diary with good quotes about life and learning.
9. Write things down you learn them better that way.
10. Persistence is the key to success.
11. Aim high. Because you can miss the target if you aim high but aiming low is not an option.
12. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it.
13. You can become a doctor even with no money for school if you study hard.
14. Where there is a will there will be a way.
15. Love your family.
16. Don't sweat the small stuff.
17. Be open to other opinions and compromise when needed.
18. Welcome your guests with open arms and make them feel at home.
19. Make good friends and do your best to keep them.

These are just a few things that he has taught me. He is the best son for his parents and will always be the best father for all of us. He still worries about me after all these years. He still loves me more and more. He is my hero. He never made us feel that we did not have things. He is the one who taught me to love and appreciate good music. I still remember those days as a child when he used to turn our little tape recorder on and put cassettes that he had recorded of his favorite collection of songs and we would listen to it lying on the floor on weekends and afternoons. We still do that when we meet. That is something I want to teach my kids too. He has taught me to be adventurous. He has the most open hearted laughter that I have ever heard. He takes care of us and never asks for anything in return. I love you Pappa. I miss you and wish you were here with me and not so far away.

A Dad of a different kind :
My husband. When I got married I did not know about his qualities as a dad. Actually to tell you the truth I did not know much about him as a person too. It all happened too fast. But anyways what I do know is that he is the best dad for my kids. To see him with my kids is an absolute pleasure. He is a loving father to both of them. I would not be the mother that I am without him. There are days when I thank God for him being the patient guy that he is. When our daughter was born he had decided to change the way the world will work 20 years from then. He said that by that time guys will be getting married to girls and will be staying at the girls' parents' house instead of the other way around ... I was smiling and thinking how much he loves his daughter. Now we have a son and he loves him as much. He is there to play with them and teach them how to be a good person and still be strong enough to fight for what is right. He is teaching them to be strong-willed and respectful. He is teaching them patience and he makes time for them. To my daughter he is a can-do anything guy and knows everything about everything.
I love to see them both interact and I love to listen in their conversations about things and life. She is still not old enough to understand most of it but he still talks to her. I am glad that he was there when she smiled and cried and had her tantrums and loved her the best he could. I am glad he is a part of our lives . Happy father's day S.

Someone I met ... who I wish I had met earlier....

2007-06-13T18:33:00.001-07:00

Two weeks ago on a Wednesday morning my friend T called me asking if I would like to go to a Mommy to Mommy group at her church that meets every Wednesday. Usually I am not very comfortable in these groups because I feel like I am being judged all the time although that was my misconception the moment I entered this room full of moms. My friend who also happens to be my really really awesome neighbor, is so kind and generous. there were about 8 moms with their kids some babies and some toddlers. The toddlers were playing in the playroom next to our room and the babies were either on the floor in their bouncers or swing or in mom's lap doing what they do best (nursing of course :)) then I saw this lady who had a writing pad and a pen in her hand and she was sitting on the floor so the first impression was wow this lady who offers advice to all these moms is so humble. She welcomed me and T with a smile and all the moms took turns discussing mommy issues and baby issues and she was offering advice on all these various topics. Then I asked her a few questions and guess what I was so happy I attended this group meeting because the absentminded person that I am I found out that I was using my infant carseat for my son who had outgrown it. So it was like a wake up call to get a new one which by the way I will be getting tomorrow. The person who was giving us all the valuable advice was the founder of this website Kay Green. You can read about her here and you will know what a good and noble person she is. Very few people are like her these days. I am so glad I met her. Hats off to her and thanks T for taking me to this wonderful informative class with you.

THE LESSON : Don't make assumptions about Mommy groups they can be quite helpful when you find the right one.

Gratitude journal entry : Thanks to all the moms in that group who made me feel comfortable and welcome and thanks T and Kay for helping me out.

Nice bag at the Red Hot shop at Target

2007-06-10T23:37:00.000-07:00

While surfing the internet tonight I found this really cool looking bag and thought of posting a photo that I borrowed from their website. So very summery and useful too. I wish they would sell it at their stores too.

What I wish I had known

2007-06-09T12:12:00.000-07:00

I know I have not posted on my blog for a week now. I was having so much fun reading other blogs and sk*rt then there was this huge wave of laziness that came over me and I drowned in it. I am sure you all have it too. I have been reading Nora Ephron's "I feel bad about my neck" and that book gave me this idea of writing about "WHAT I WISH I HAD KNOWN AS A CHILD" let's see I would like to write about that and I would like you guys to give me your input if you wish too on that topic. To me it would be .....

I wish I had known that you could learn how to ride a bicycle without falling. (we did not have the luxury of having training wheels on our bikes)
There is a long story behind that too. I learnt it by falling down and that too miserably. But I did not let my little sister fall and to this day I am proud of myself for doing that. I think I really and truly was a big sister that time. I spend a lot of my time correcting myself and thinking what I did wrong and how I could make things better the next time. That is my habit (good and bad both).
So the story goes like this. When I wanted to learn how to ride a bicycle I went to my friends (two boys) and they said they would help me with it and boy did they help me. They took me a to an open ground next to our house where we used to play every day. They told me that they would push me down the slope and I should start paddling as soon as they push me down and I will learn. I was so naive to believe that but I did and probably they did too (or not). So we rented a small bicycle from the shop because I did not have my own and neither did they. The rent was a buck for an hour. So they took me to the slope and I was all excited thinking that I will be flying soon well riding it smooooooooooooothly. They let me go and I scrambled to find the pedals and by the time I found them I went crashing down the slope and was covered in dust. Both my knees were scraped badly and I started wailing. Then I went home and told everyone about it and they tended to my wounds and told me to keep my bicycle riding lessons on hold till my wounds healed. They did heal and after that I told my friends to not let me go until I told them and they listened. I did learn but the hard way. So when it was my sister's turn to learn I decided I am not going to let that happen. She learnt it the easy way and I am glad I could do that.

I tried it and got excellent results

2007-05-26T15:49:00.000-07:00

Today I tried the Mexi-Desi chaat posted on Saffron Hut's blog and I must say my husband who is not a chaat fan loved it. My little one also gobbled it all up and said its really good and that is the best thing that happened in the day. It is such a recipe that does not need much preparation and cooking so I like it. I also tried the Instant Rava dhokla from Bawarchi's and I must sayI have fallen in love with the spongy and soft goodies. I made sweet chutney with Apple Butter (Smucker's brand) by adding mirchi powder, dhania-jeera powder, aamchur and salt and it tastes so good. I made my own version of green chutney to go with it. I still need to post some pictures of these.

No time to blog what I am doing here anyways if that is true

2007-05-21T23:45:00.000-07:00

I have become quite a blogoholic... I am so tired that I am dizzy I don't have to stay up and write this but I am so today my dd came down with a stomach bug (viral they say) well she came down with it last night and the whole night was like playing the game of hide and seek with my sleep. Poor thing she was in so much pain and discomfort and I was feeling very helpless and to add to the fun and excitement of the late night show my ds kept waking up and crying just so he could join the party and not feel so left out. I am in a zombie state right now so excuse me if I misspell or if I am grammatically incorrect. I wanted to take a few snaps of the theplas that I made today and they turned out quite well I must say but never got a chance to do that maybe some other time.
Someone gave me an idea of having my own food blog and I am thinking about it seriously, my husband has been after me to do that for the longest time. So hopefully I will be able to do that. Can anyone tell me what a meme is ? I keep reading about it on different blogs and what is being Tagged ?? Questions , questions and more questions. well my brain is saying good night and so I have to go.

Gratitude is such a lost feeling in a busy world of ours

2007-05-20T23:49:00.000-07:00

Today I was thinking of how much gratitude I have for things in my life. I should be thinking about it everyday but I don't. Why ? Because i am so busy with the day to day routine that it is just becoming difficult to spare a few minutes and say thank you God for making my day so easy and so on. So today I thought that better late than never and I have to thank God for giving me such a wonderful life. Thank you for giving me a roof over my head and food on my table and more to feed my kids and everyone I love. Thank you for the car I drive and the money for the gas to put in my car(although the gas prices are skyrocketing thanks to you know who------the good old government) thanks for giving me the company of good friends and the blessings of my parents ....I am so lucky to be here. I have to make the best of what I have and be thankful for little mercies.

Mother's day.....what I am thinking of...today

2007-05-12T22:54:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to wish a very happy mother's day to all moms. I wanted to wish My DEAR MOTHER (mummy that is what I call her) a very happy mother's day. I wish I was there with her and after what she has done for me and my siblings I wish every day was a mother's day where we could do something special for her. Being a mother to my kids has not only taught me to appreciate my mother but to thank her every moment for being my mother and bringing me into this world and giving me a life full of happiness and security and so much more. Words can only describe a very very small part of how I feel about you mom. I miss you and love you sooooooooo much. I still feel like that kid who wants to stay close to mom all the time. Wish I could be there. I am glad your other daughter is there with you on mother's day.

Today I am feeling tired and frustrated

2007-05-09T15:40:00.000-07:00

Today morning the same thing happened as it happens everyday, my dd woke up in a bad mood and as we call her the grouchy ladybug. I am getting so tired of this routine with her, yes it has become a habit of hers and I don't know how to break it. First of all she won't brush her teeth and then she does not eat breakfast (even if I feed her breakfast) . She will take more than an hour to finish it on her own after I repeatedly tell her to eat the next bite. I don't know how i will be able to make it thru all these years and it seems like such a herculean task. To tell you the truth I hate waking up in the morning just because of that. It is almost noon and she still does not ask for food. The emotions going thru my head are anger, guilt, frustration, sorrow....can you have all those at the same time ??????? Meanwhile my ds is a happy kid who wants to be held at times but that is still manageable I really am not looking forward to this whole charade again tomorrow morning. I am feeling so tired I have a headache. I am about to shut the door to my room and never come out of it. I don't think timeouts are working for her and us. She just goes to her time out corner and sings a song and talks to herself....so much for letting her think about what she did wrong .....maybe I should ask Supernanny about it....that what do you do when your child sings in their timeout. All the muscles in my body are so tense that it is very painful. I need to get some sleep.

What's cookin........ummm ummm good

2007-05-07T23:45:00.000-07:00

PANEER, GREEN BELL PEPPERS
& RED BELL PEPPERS

PANEER WITH BELL PEPPERS
(SUBJI)

KHARI

Well the foodie in me just woke up and I had to post pictures as well. I made Paneer with bell peppers (subji) and I loved it and so did my daughter. She absolutely loves paneer. The one thing I missed in the subji was the onions well because I did not have any. I love Paneer too. I also made this snack from puff pastry sheets called khari and it is a very good accompaniment to chai ..... Ahhh that just reminded me of my good old days as a girl who was living in a hostel and we used to have khari and chai everyday for our breakfast. There are so many varieties of khari available in India and now here in Indian grocery shops. I used to love this one small place in India that used to sell jeera khari and that was out of this world yummy. We (me and my friends who also were my hostelmates) were regulars and the shop owner knew us very well. He used to save a couple of packages for just us as they used to get sold out the same day. I miss my friends and my home and my school. I am feeling very nostalgic today.

Can you have aversion to people ????

2007-05-06T22:23:00.000-07:00

Today was a rather relaxing day for me. I had to go to a friends' place for lunch and I was so full from eating the yummy food she made that I did not even have room for dinner. I just had chai ( my absolute must have ) in the evening. Here I was with a group of other friends and the thought came across that can you have aversion to people ???? I think I am having it and so I ask that question. It makes me feel horrible that I am that way today which brings me to another question that can you like someone and then just have a dislike for the same person. I feel really bad but i would think of it as a mood swing. I just don't like certain people at certain times. Does that make me a bad person ? ?? Maybe not. I don't know if many people go through the same emotions. I do. I am quite a confused person if I have to define myself. I can be very sure of certain things but most of the times I am confused and I always am in a dilemma. I tend to think toooooooooooo much. That probably irritates people but that is who I am.

I have recently been thinking about writing a few recipes which I know are a hit for us. I have also been thinking about whether or not to take a few photos of things when I cook. I think I am a food addict as well. India is a land of delicious food. Every state has their own cuisine and every cuisine is made in a different way in each and every household but it all boils down to one thing and that is we as Indians love our food and the state that I come from people just absolutely loooooooooooooooooooove food. I have a lot of that inheritance in me. I love cooking and eating and cooking and feeding. I just love it. I cannot believe how much I am in love with food. I just came across this blog and I have fallen in love with it. She has done such an awesome job of writing and photographing. I suggest that she should write her own cookbooks and maybe she is working on them right now. She inspired me to write about my recipes. I don't know if that would be a whole another blog or not. I am grateful for her blog.

I love India and I love Indian food.

2007-05-06T00:37:00.000-07:00

Today was a reminder for some reason of how much I am in love with India and the food and the people there. I miss it so much. I get cravings to go there. Apart from being my homeland it is my heart and soul and all. I miss it. I just love the varieties of food that is there in that little country. I love to cook for my family and my friends and even for people I barely know. I think food is a thing that makes people happy. Why not make a stranger happy by giving them something delicious to eat and expect nothing in return. I just absolutely love it when my friends come over and eat the food that I made and go with their tummies and their hearts full of joy and food ofcourse. I think that is the one thing that would connect us all. I have to start writing some of the recipes down that I have tried and have loved and have been loved by others as well. I just am such a people person that it would definitely be hard for me without people around me.

I love noodles and company

2007-05-02T22:24:00.000-07:00

Tonight we tried out this new eatery called NOODLES & COMPANY and I enjoyed the food there. I ordered the Indonesian peanut saute, green salad and tofu (THE TRIO as they call it). It was awesome. If you want some Meditarranean, some American-Italian, some Thai and some Japanese/Chinese in one place then this is the place to go. It has a casual dining atmosphere which I personally prefer more than a formal setting since I have kids. We went with another friend and her family. This company is Colorado based and just opened in our area. I am a fan. The portion size is quite good. The Thai curry soup that we ordered was huge but it was a bit too sweet instead of spicy as they mentioned in their menu. But apart from that the food was really good. Now if only they could make Indian-Chinese combination of noodles!!!!!!!!!!!!!AAAHHHHHHH the taste I so miss it.
By the way I also the love how they call themselves GLOBALLY INSPIRED and indeed they are. I also loved the decor and all the photos from around the globe that were on the walls. Loved the lamps as well. It is quite contemporary.

Sleepless in Seattle (close enough) in Oregon ..zzzzzzzzzzzzzz??????????????

2007-05-01T23:20:00.000-07:00

We have been trying to get our almost 3 and a half year old to sleep thru the night in her toddler bed without waking for a pee break, water break or shrieking her brakes ( the crying that goes on in the middle of the night does sound like that) for the last 6 months and it has not been working so far. We have tried keeping a light on in her room, even telling her that she will get a reward for doing that, even got to the point of scaring her but we haven't since we are still partly sane. We have talked to her pediatrician and she recommended the sticker system. But all has failed. With a new baby it is so hard to stick to the rules that you have made and that is what I think that these little nighttime visitors prey on. They know that my folks are so tired that at this point they will just give in to me. Whatever happened to that girl that we had trained to sleep through the night without one sound ????????? whatever happened to my angel who never complained about being scared ??? I dread every night that she will come and I dream that tonight she will sleep through the night. When I was ready to have my baby I thought it will be tough to wake up for the midnight feedings, but boy did I forget my older child. She is the one who wakes us up more than the baby. There are days when I think where did I go wrong ?? Tonight I go to bed with one thought and just one thought that maybe just maybe she won't show up...................

Did I mention that I love chocolate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-04-30T12:44:00.000-07:00

Just the thought of chocolate makes me smile. I absolutely am a self-appointed chocoholic. I love love love chocolate and I know that many other women do too. But I have not met another chocoholic who is as much of a crazy chocolate fan than my husband and I think we as a team are guilty of turning my daughter into one. According to me the best part about eating chocolate is that it is absolutely delicious and out of this world and for me it is a stress reliever. I have to have atleast one in some or the other form or I will be miserable as if I am missing something vital from my day :) I am sure a lot of you will share this emotion too. I have made my friend into a chocolate lover and believe she is a difficult person to convert. She never liked chocolate but now she does and I think partly it is because of me ( atleast I think so). My sister when she was here she ate so much chocolate with us. Have you tried the LINDT DARK CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES. They are out of this world. I love dark chocolate more than milk but I would take any when dark is not available. I love MOONSTRUCK CHOCOLATES because they are made here in Oregon although I don't get a chance to go buy them so frequently but I love them. I also love these soy based fudge bars although I am not a big fan of soy. I tried the Harry and David Moose munch recently and I didn't quite like it but that is just me. I love orange bars that are made of just fruit and no sugar added. I love the combination of chocolate and orange. Here at our house we are big fan of desserts of all sorts. I am not a pie person at all.

I am thinking of photographing my baby's head but only from the back( I think I need to rephrase this somehow)

2007-04-26T21:44:00.000-07:00

I have been pondering about this since the last few days. I am not a photographer or anything but I think it is kind of cool that one should photograph the posterior view of the head of a baby since that keeps on changing so much because they get the head that is the newborn head where they either have a lot hair or no hair or very little hair. Then they start growing some hair or losing the hair and the view changes again and then they sleep a certain way and they start getting a bald spot there or they get a small band that goes around the back and that is bald or they have a flat head but a lot of hair and so on and so forth. I wonder if you would like to take pictures of those cute little heads. I want to do that and hopefully I will over this weekend. So do send me a picture of your cutie's head and maybe we can have that as a part of their baby books. I am so into this idea today and will take a picture tomorrow itself. This might sound cheesy to some of you but to me it is being a mom who wants to capture so many memories in so little time and this idea is just one of them....

Miss you sister

2007-04-26T00:09:00.000-07:00

I was reading my favorite blog and suddenly it hit me that no matter how different people are and where they live the human nature is oh so common. I miss my sister not being here with me. With all her good and bad habits she was such a sweety. My sister has the most love for my kids after me. She just adores them so much and so does my brother but she is the one who has spent the most time with them. I miss her today and so many other days. She is pursuing to be a surgeon and I wish her all the luck for that and the rest of her life. She has taught me so much about being kind and patient and she has seen the best and worst of me and tolerated me through and through. I am still looking for a place for my brother and I hope he finds it soon. Gotta go, baby calls.

April showers bring May flowers

2007-04-24T18:53:00.000-07:00

Well today was the day it rained well drizzled all day and I am not kidding when I say that I am tired of it. Here in Oregon it is always like that but somehow I was always hope that the sun should shine some more on our state too. It does in summer but I think spring should also get some more sun. Anyways my son did take two small naps which gave me sometime to do my household chores. It is a never ending task. I was also thinking about my younger brother who is still looking for a place to rent in Detroit I hope he finds it soon as he has to move in first week of May. It is so annoying when people hang up on you when they are the ones who have posted a FOR RENT ad on the internet. I think some people just need some lessons in manners. I am just too protective of both my siblings although I know they are all grown up and will manage on their own.
I was also thinking of trying to make some vegetarian mexican food. On more store that I love is Trader Joe's. I feel so much at home there. They some really nice food and snacks and I love the almondina cookies they have there. My daughter actually had school today and she did not cry on her first day of school just because her friend was there but today her friend could not make it and I was waiting for this day. She managed to stay in school with only little bit of crying. Did it scare you to send your daughter to school the first time ? I still get the jitters. I guess I am just too emotional about the issue. I am sure a lot of other moms are too.

what was I thinking when I decided to enjoy the day today !!!!!!!!!!

2007-04-23T23:34:00.000-07:00

Hahaha, so much for enjoyment well my son who is turning 6 months next weekend did not take even a single nap that lasted more than 10 minutes since 8 this morning and I tried rocking him in the cradle, rocking him in the swing (which by the way I love), even carrying him and swinging him but nothing worked. I guess he had just decided that today was the day he did not want to nap so now he is fast asleep and I hope that continues till tomorrow morning. I did enjoy the sun a little bit with both of them in the afternoon even though it was for a few minutes in my neighbor's front yard. She also happens to be my friend. Another thing that I am thankful about today and probably will be for a long long time is having such wonderful neighbor's in whom I see my friends too. I am so lucky to have such a warm group of people around me. It is said in my language that your first relative is your neighbor and I can actually agree, I was not hoping to have that here but I have it. So I am thankful.

Here is what I did today and thought of today

2007-04-21T23:18:00.000-07:00

I think my lucky stars are shining bright. I just won 200 dollars in a drawing for a survey that I had participated in some time ago, you know I never used to win anything so that is why I thank my stars. Now my dilemma is what do I use it for so I went into this store to get a few clothes for me and could not find any that would fit and one thing that did fit had some damaged areas so I had to leave. Well do you have that issue, I mean I am petite so I always have a hard time finding the right clothes for me... I mean I have scoured a number of stores for that reason and I have the hardest time finding the right fit. Sometimes I do wish I had my own custom made clothes and even jeans for that matter ( well that's pushing it too far probably) . Can you believe I have not been able to find a good pair of jeans in the last 7 years.............arrrrrrgh.
I hate going clothes shopping for myself and somehow you just turn into this concierge for your kids even when you go to shop for yourself..........unbelievable....anyways so the clothes shopping trip was a flopshow. While shopping and doing my regular household and motherly duties I was also thinking about my blog and what I will write about today....well I thought of writing all my interests......they are finding the best deals on stuff....I love frugality....I think it is such a virtue and I came across this blog today. It was quite interesting. I also like this website for finding good deals on stuff, since I am a mom I have to confess my undying love for these shoes for babies and early walkers. I love watching Oprah and love ER although I haven't seen both in a long time now but I definitely wish I could. I also found a nice spa that I would want me and my friends to try out....maybe mother's day treat...hmmm ....sounds relaxing already.
Earth day happens to be tomorrow. I am not too much into the green movement but I will definitely do my part in keeping our planet a nice place to live in....GO MOTHER EARTH !!!!!
I think people ought to have more tolerance and gratitude in their lives... I do try and follow that advice.
what i don't like is when people just act "Holier than thou" with me or anyone else for that matter...and believe me I know a few...my friend gave me some lilacs from her backyard yesterday and they smell so nice.........I am also thinking about how I am going to use that big box of mushrooms I got from Costco, and did I mention how it is my favorite places to shop, also on this list are stores like Target, Burlington coat factory (although ours is not that close), amazon, and that is a whole another blog that can be contributed to shopping....anyways time to catch a few zzzz's .....

I was thinking of .......

2007-04-20T23:53:00.000-07:00

Today I was thinking of my favorites, hmmm I would like to share a few blogs that I came across in the last few weeks, one of them is designmom, coolmompicks and notmartha and niralimagazine.....also I thought of hearing a few of my favorite songs... like Back at one by Brian McKnight, I believe I can fly, You gotta be tough, you gotta be strong, I will remember you, And I miss you.....Some hindi songs I would have loved to hear today....Goonji si hai, KANK title song, tum pukar lo, Tere liye hum hain jiye...aa chal ke tujhe mein le ke chalun...etc. etc. this list will never end since I absolutely love music. Something I did today was have a nice cup of tea with my friend and neighbor.....in the evening... also called my best friend and neighbor at 10:45 pm well I can call her anytime she is a darling.....will share another recipe tomorrow that I tried last weekend.

kuch meetha ho jaye ( Lets start with something sweet)

2007-04-19T22:41:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

thought of starting the blog with something sweet and I came across this recipe for mango icecream which is a treat for most Indians who live out of India. Well even for those who live in India. But this recipe calls for Cool Whip which I am not sure if its available in India, anywho I found the recipe on sify in the icecream section. It calls for 1 can mango pulp ( I used Deep brand-Kesar mango pulp), 1 can sweetened condensed milk ( I used Eagle brand but I guess any other brand should work as well) and 1 container of Cool Whip ( 8 Oz.) and 2 teaspoons rose water ( available at Indian grocery shops) so all you have to do is mix the first three ingredients with an electric mixer for 4 to 5 minutes and then add rose water and pour it in an airtight container and garnish with chopped pistachios. It was a hit among all my friends. So yours will be too.

So enjoy this yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmy treat and share it with with people you love........ just like I did.

मेरी बहना है मेरा inspiration blogging के लीये- My blogging inspiration, my sister...

2007-04-18T23:23:00.000-07:00

इन्टरनेट की दुनीया से जान पहचान तो थी लेकीन ये blogging कीस् बला का नाम है ये खबर न थी
और मेरे इस ब्लोग का नाम एक हज़ारों में इसी लीए है क्योंकी मेरी छोटी बहन एक हज़ारों में है जीसके साथ में जीतना भी वक्त बीताऊँ कम ही लगता है। यहाँ पर में अपनी पसंद की चीजों के बारे में और ख्यालों के बारे में और खानों के बारे में वक़्त के हीसाब से पोस्ट करती रहूंगी....तो ..............हो जाये shree ganesh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For all of you who do not understand what is written above. Let me translate it for you. I was familiar with the internet but did not have any idea about blogging and if you translate the name of my blog address in English it would be one in a million , why the name, because I was inspired by my little sister who introduced me to the world of blogging and she definitely is one in a million. I can never get tired of spending time with her. I will be posting about my favorites, be it food, thoughts, stuff and lots of other things I like on my blog, so as they say in Hindi lets start with Shree Ganesh which is in the name of God ( Ganesh) and that is how most Indians start any new venture.......Oh and another thing is that the title "LAMHE" means moments... and I have moments where I enjoy things that I see, feel, cook, and give...or share....don't we all ??