I grant December the "Funnest Month of the Year" Award. I don't even know where to begin. I had my first ever baby shower which was simply superb! I had so much fun at the shower... I can't thank my friends (you all know who you are) enough for having thrown me the bestestest shower. Thanks to all my friends (again, you all know who you are) who came and shared your evening with us and gave us such wonderful and thoughtful gifts.
I had another surprise shower at work... my manager, also a good friend of mine organized everything. She managed to sneak V in to work as well. It is an amazing feeling to have such wonderful co-workers.
Two showers meant two delightful cakes! Needless to say, V managed to polish both off in a decent amount of time. The first one was one helluva strawberry shortcake from Pastries by Randolph... which was decorated with the cutest blue booties you'd ever find. It was so cute that V & I refused to touch it. So, before marking our territories with knives we carefully lifted the booties off the cake. The one from work was a double chocolate mousse cake, shaped as a baby in a blanket... which was another winner.
I must've been a very good girl this year, because I got a wonderful Christmas gift. Spending time with my friends from college. It was so much fun hanging out with my girlfriends. It was so sweet of them to have planned a trip to come visit me. It was just like good old times. We watched movies, we ate so much that our stomachs hurt, we laughed so much that my friends thought I'll go in to labor...
All in all such a perfect month!
11 January 2010
Welcoming 2010
We bid adieu to another decade and welcomed a brand new year! Here's wishing everyone a fantastic year ahead filled with precious moments!
18 December 2009
Happy Holidays!
My favorite time of the year is here…. That time of the year when the holiday bug infects everyone. Despite the chill in the air, there’s cheer on everyone’s face. Brightly lit homes and some with curtains pulled back to let others catch a glimpse of that beautifully lit Christmas tree…. This is the best part of winter.
Enjoy the season.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a Wonderful New Year.
Enjoy the season.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a Wonderful New Year.
03 December 2009
Ready or not
I am supposed to be “self evaluating” for the year-end performance process… Wonder if “Manage, monitor and maintain the development of a human being” qualifies as taking on additional responsibility!
Anyway, you were given sufficient warning in the previous post about how I was switching gears to write about pregnancy. If my pregnancy does not interest you, now is the time to close this blog and read something else… may I suggest highheelconfidential.com – go check it out, I won’t mind… promise :-) (psst.. I am hooked on to that website myself)
Ok… so where do I begin? Let’s see… What is the number one question folks have asked me after I shared the “news”? Was it planned? The thought that instantly comes to my mind is... Does it really matter? Now that I am in this situation it’s too late to back out even if it was unplanned.
Seriously, I don’t think I would ever have been 100% ready. I could not picture myself longing to start a family, be a mother and all that. Three years ago, one of our friends announced that they were expecting a baby… while I was genuinely happy and overjoyed for them… their news only reinforced my belief that I was not ready for that journey yet. Over the next few years, as I saw more friends and peers stepping in to parenthood…. I used to wonder, is a baby really necessary for me? Am I ready to shoulder the biggest responsibility in my life? Well, once you are married it’s not just “me”, “my decision” anymore. I posed the question to V… We had a lengthy discussion about that question, many others and something else that was nagging me…. Is it a selfish desire to want to have one’s own baby while there are so many abandoned children and babies out there?
At the end of that discussion, it was clear that V was more ready than me to start a family of our own. He was convinced and totally enthusiastic that I brought the topic up. “Don’t you want to see a part of yourself in a person, an opportunity to mould and shape a young mind, to be a positive influence in a person’s life…” he said all that with a lot of josh… It made me feel quite guilty, I had never thought about it that way… Am I the selfish one here who’d rather shirk responsibility and live a life according to me with no worries? So I took another stab at the question. Do I see myself not needing a family forever? May be I don’t see the need for a kid now, may be I don’t see the need when I am 40, but as I grow older, I am sure that I would miss the fact that I don’t have a family. As is the case with me always, I would long for something when it’s too late ;-) I realized that I was looking at the decision of starting a family from a short-term angle.
Was I ready then? No. Would I've been ready in two years, five years… may be ten? I don’t think I’d ever be fully ready. Having a baby, being responsible for shaping the life of a child, is a huge deal and I would always be apprehensive about the big change, no matter how old I was. If I knew something for certain it was that life couldn’t just be V & me always… Then, does it really matter if we decide to go ahead and take the plunge now or five years later? I decided to close my eyes, hold my breath and take the plunge…
There you go short question “Was this planned” and a very long answer. I don’t know about planned or not planned but I can definitely say that a lot of thought was put in to it :-)
Anyway, you were given sufficient warning in the previous post about how I was switching gears to write about pregnancy. If my pregnancy does not interest you, now is the time to close this blog and read something else… may I suggest highheelconfidential.com – go check it out, I won’t mind… promise :-) (psst.. I am hooked on to that website myself)
Ok… so where do I begin? Let’s see… What is the number one question folks have asked me after I shared the “news”? Was it planned? The thought that instantly comes to my mind is... Does it really matter? Now that I am in this situation it’s too late to back out even if it was unplanned.
Seriously, I don’t think I would ever have been 100% ready. I could not picture myself longing to start a family, be a mother and all that. Three years ago, one of our friends announced that they were expecting a baby… while I was genuinely happy and overjoyed for them… their news only reinforced my belief that I was not ready for that journey yet. Over the next few years, as I saw more friends and peers stepping in to parenthood…. I used to wonder, is a baby really necessary for me? Am I ready to shoulder the biggest responsibility in my life? Well, once you are married it’s not just “me”, “my decision” anymore. I posed the question to V… We had a lengthy discussion about that question, many others and something else that was nagging me…. Is it a selfish desire to want to have one’s own baby while there are so many abandoned children and babies out there?
At the end of that discussion, it was clear that V was more ready than me to start a family of our own. He was convinced and totally enthusiastic that I brought the topic up. “Don’t you want to see a part of yourself in a person, an opportunity to mould and shape a young mind, to be a positive influence in a person’s life…” he said all that with a lot of josh… It made me feel quite guilty, I had never thought about it that way… Am I the selfish one here who’d rather shirk responsibility and live a life according to me with no worries? So I took another stab at the question. Do I see myself not needing a family forever? May be I don’t see the need for a kid now, may be I don’t see the need when I am 40, but as I grow older, I am sure that I would miss the fact that I don’t have a family. As is the case with me always, I would long for something when it’s too late ;-) I realized that I was looking at the decision of starting a family from a short-term angle.
Was I ready then? No. Would I've been ready in two years, five years… may be ten? I don’t think I’d ever be fully ready. Having a baby, being responsible for shaping the life of a child, is a huge deal and I would always be apprehensive about the big change, no matter how old I was. If I knew something for certain it was that life couldn’t just be V & me always… Then, does it really matter if we decide to go ahead and take the plunge now or five years later? I decided to close my eyes, hold my breath and take the plunge…
There you go short question “Was this planned” and a very long answer. I don’t know about planned or not planned but I can definitely say that a lot of thought was put in to it :-)
To write or not to write...
... about my pregnancy that is the question.
I’ve been going back and forth on that for several months now….well, not more than seven months. I had mentioned in one of my earlier post that many blogs I read/lurk (yes yes I know it’s a shame, but I don’t mind lurkers on my blog at all... although I have to admit that its nice to get a comment or two from total strangers) are about new moms, veteran moms, to-be moms… so when I found out that I was pregnant I was thinking may be I should write about it…but then, a part of me wanted to just wait until the baby arrived and then share stories of baby and pregnancy. Now that due date is fast approaching, I notice that I am pre-occupied with just baby/delivery/pregnancy thoughts and that translates to nothing concrete to “capture” on the blog other than my baby/delivery/pregnancy thoughts. So, I decided not to wait and go ahead and jot down some random pregnancy related things while I am still pregnant… after all, it will lose its “sensational” effect after the baby, because I hear that babies take up all attention. :-)
Stay tuned for some pregnancy posts coming up…
PS: See how many times I used the word "Pregnant" in this post. I am telling ya, I've become very single dimensional.
I’ve been going back and forth on that for several months now….well, not more than seven months. I had mentioned in one of my earlier post that many blogs I read/lurk (yes yes I know it’s a shame, but I don’t mind lurkers on my blog at all... although I have to admit that its nice to get a comment or two from total strangers) are about new moms, veteran moms, to-be moms… so when I found out that I was pregnant I was thinking may be I should write about it…but then, a part of me wanted to just wait until the baby arrived and then share stories of baby and pregnancy. Now that due date is fast approaching, I notice that I am pre-occupied with just baby/delivery/pregnancy thoughts and that translates to nothing concrete to “capture” on the blog other than my baby/delivery/pregnancy thoughts. So, I decided not to wait and go ahead and jot down some random pregnancy related things while I am still pregnant… after all, it will lose its “sensational” effect after the baby, because I hear that babies take up all attention. :-)
Stay tuned for some pregnancy posts coming up…
PS: See how many times I used the word "Pregnant" in this post. I am telling ya, I've become very single dimensional.
07 November 2009
Picture time.... finally
Pictures, at long last!
Lake Tahoe - Foggy & Snowy
Salmon Spawning
Lake Tahoe
V all smiles at the 18th hole of Pebble Beach - someday he might get to play there for real ;-)
18th hole - How come all beautiful locations are taken up by golf courses? No fair, I say!
Checking out some produce at a Pumpkin Farm
Ocean on one side.....
... Farms on the other
A Hot fudge brownie sundae anyone? At the Ghiradelli shop in SFO
SFO - on our way to Sausalito
Noisy, Stinky seals enjoying the sun....
Now here's one from Vegas! (didn't want Vegas to feel left out)
Dad and Son at work... fixing a flat tyre. After seeing the Canyon, we came back to see the flat...
Hoover Dam (from another side)
El Tovar at the Grand Canyon
hmm.... do I have to say what this is?
Taking it all in...
Sunrise
Lake Mead
04 November 2009
Releasing... Rush 3.0
It’s the day I say Good Bye Twenties… and Hello, Thirties!
Another decade gone by… From being that girl in her twenties to that woman in her thirties… I don’t think I have changed and morphed in to a wiser woman overnight... and I will be dishonest if I say I haven’t changed at all... but I am in no mood for reflection! :-)
Today, I decided to write down twenty points that came to my mind when I thought of my twenties… So, here’s a quick twenty20 ;-)
1. Became financially independent
2. Bought two vehicles with my money ;-)
3. Continued my constant fight with fluctuating weight
4. Developed a love for baking
5. Lived away from parents and outside India for the time… for work
6. Learned a little bit of German
7. Learned a little bit of Spanish
8. Learned to be a decent cook
9. Attempted to learn swimming… ended up learning how to float
10. Met some wonderful people, who I call very close friends now
11. Met the person I wanted to spend rest of my life with
12. Got married; thankfully to the person I intended to spend the rest of my life with
13. Trained for and participated in two 10 K runs
14. Realized the importance of fitness and eating healthy.
15. Realized that I can't stick to the eating healthy part always
16. Shed my geeky glasses for contact lenses…even sported colored lenses for about a year
17. Started drinking alcoholic beverages… experienced some really terrible hangovers as well ;-)
18. Got to see some beautiful places, amazing beaches, vibrant cities and historic monuments…
19. Worked in four organizations
20. Volunteered… two times in ten years… I know, it's pretty bad!
In the next 10 years, I hope to…
1. Travel… top places on my list are: Hampi, Taj Mahal, Brihadeeswara temple, Ladakh, Rajasthan, North East India, Goa (I know, I know, never been to Goa! Shame on me!), South East Asia, New Zealand, Alaska, Italy, France…
2. Become a mother… a decent one at that
3. Continue focus on fitness
4. Learn a new language… I should be able to speak fluently
5. Learn how to swim… not just float
6. Own a dog
7. Do something adventurous… Skydive… may be ?!
8. Own a house
9. Learn cake decoration
10. Train and Run a half marathon
In ten years from now, if I make a list… I have something to validate it against ;-) But for now, its happy birthday to me…
Now go on… wish me well and say nice things.
Another decade gone by… From being that girl in her twenties to that woman in her thirties… I don’t think I have changed and morphed in to a wiser woman overnight... and I will be dishonest if I say I haven’t changed at all... but I am in no mood for reflection! :-)
Today, I decided to write down twenty points that came to my mind when I thought of my twenties… So, here’s a quick twenty20 ;-)
1. Became financially independent
2. Bought two vehicles with my money ;-)
3. Continued my constant fight with fluctuating weight
4. Developed a love for baking
5. Lived away from parents and outside India for the time… for work
6. Learned a little bit of German
7. Learned a little bit of Spanish
8. Learned to be a decent cook
9. Attempted to learn swimming… ended up learning how to float
10. Met some wonderful people, who I call very close friends now
11. Met the person I wanted to spend rest of my life with
12. Got married; thankfully to the person I intended to spend the rest of my life with
13. Trained for and participated in two 10 K runs
14. Realized the importance of fitness and eating healthy.
15. Realized that I can't stick to the eating healthy part always
16. Shed my geeky glasses for contact lenses…even sported colored lenses for about a year
17. Started drinking alcoholic beverages… experienced some really terrible hangovers as well ;-)
18. Got to see some beautiful places, amazing beaches, vibrant cities and historic monuments…
19. Worked in four organizations
20. Volunteered… two times in ten years… I know, it's pretty bad!
In the next 10 years, I hope to…
1. Travel… top places on my list are: Hampi, Taj Mahal, Brihadeeswara temple, Ladakh, Rajasthan, North East India, Goa (I know, I know, never been to Goa! Shame on me!), South East Asia, New Zealand, Alaska, Italy, France…
2. Become a mother… a decent one at that
3. Continue focus on fitness
4. Learn a new language… I should be able to speak fluently
5. Learn how to swim… not just float
6. Own a dog
7. Do something adventurous… Skydive… may be ?!
8. Own a house
9. Learn cake decoration
10. Train and Run a half marathon
In ten years from now, if I make a list… I have something to validate it against ;-) But for now, its happy birthday to me…
Now go on… wish me well and say nice things.
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