Mind of an orchid

(Picture taken last fall at a local Pumpkin Patch)


Happy Halloween! A few years ago, I could not have imagined wishing anyone for Halloween because I didn't know much about the holiday. Surprisingly, Halloween has not penetrated the Indian culture unlike other western traditions such as the Valentine’s day and personally, I could not have imagined being a part of a much hyped commercial tradition such as this. I would rather celebrate the fall season for what it truly represents, the wonderful colors, the beautiful weather and the delicious foods. But being in the United States and being a mom to a three year old, I cannot ignore this holiday and I am just as into this whole Halloween shebang as anyone else, so Happy Halloween again and enjoy your night out tomorrow as you will be greeted by ghoulish decorations and costumes at every turn. However, make sure your kids appreciate the fall season for what it really is !


And A decided he wants to be a Power Ranger, I could not understand why...I wanted him to be something more popular like a Pirate or Spider Man and make it worth the money I was spending! Then, I had to let go and remind myself that it's more important for him to be happy. Why do they grow up so quickly and insist on using that mind of their's ?!!
This is what he looks like with his costume on...although that's not him in the picture :)

Last night I was talking to my friend SM. I wrote about her in a previous post Hang in there! and her little daughter is seven months now. As you can imagine, we spent a good 45 minutes discussing the woes and delights of mother hood and in what turned out to be a rather candid discussion, we both came to the conclusion that our life is nothing like what we meant for it to be anymore. Then SM sent me a few pictures and as I sat looking at SM and her really cute daughter, these thoughts crossed my mind. SM didn’t look anything like the SM I knew back in our hostel days, at least not like the vivacious girl friend that I hung out with all the time. Her pictures seemed to have mommy written all over them, the glint in her eyes and that beaming smile on her face was clearly a translation of the love she had for her little angel. I just realized how motherhood changes all of us and it is never going to be about just us anymore. You’ll probably never even send anyone a picture of just you; it will always be one with your kid in it. Of course, if you are Angelina Jolie or Posh Spice then it might be a different story. Anyway, it was nice catching up and trading mommy secrets. Since we were talking to each other like two moms and not just two friends even our sense of humor seemed rather bizarre :). She is new mom, so you won’t believe how many times we used boob and poop in our conversation. We spoke of the guilt, of the stress, of the lack of time, of the need to get a break and more and this got me thinking. If you are reading this and you are mom, take a break. You are not alone (I know some of you through your blogs and many of you personally and as moms we all pretty much go through the same thing each day). Just remember that you are doing a great job even though you are second guessing yourself even as we speak. Let’s just celebrate. What you ask? Celebrate being a mom and more importantly being a woman. We never take the time to care for ourselves and like I already said we wouldn’t find the time even if we wanted to. Get yourself a facial, sleep in late this weekend, have a nice relaxing bath instead of the customary 5 minute shower or just go buy some shoes. Go, do it now because sometimes a little rejuvenation of your spirit and energy will simply mean you will be a better mom!

Sometimes, your emotions get the better of you and I hate when this happens. It’s as if your thought centers are under the vicious grip of a flood of emotions. You lose your ability to rationalize and even if some cells in your brain can still do some rational thinking and tell you to stop, your emotions make sure you don’t and soon the situation gets totally out of control and you are sliding down this downward spiral and suddenly you have landed in this vicious cycle and getting more emotional and making the situation even worse. These are the times when I wish we were designed to be less emotional. To me, that would solve a lot of problems or not create problems at all in the first place. There would be no anger, hatred, frustration, betrayal, love, compassion and in the larger scheme of things, maybe there would be no wars, no crimes. People would not be unhappy. Maybe we would be more productive as humans because we would not attach undue importance to anything. But then again, there would be no happiness either. I know it sounds rather twisted. I think the closest we can ever get to being totally unemotional is trying to dissociate ourselves from emotions when they are unnecessary and that is not going to be easy!

Did you know that the new seven wonders of the world are going to be decided by a global vote and apparently even you can be a part of what they call “history in making”. Neat! They have 21 nominees and you can check them all out here. The 7 new wonders will be declared on 07/07/07 and as of today, we are 260 days away from that. I am fascinated by this concept of having the entire world decide on which of these man made structures should have the privilege of being titled “the seven wonders”. And of course, even if you decide not to vote, the list just makes for a very interesting read especially if you like traveling. Well, most of us are already familiar with almost everything on the list for they represent the oldest, the longest, the most mysterious, or simply the most perfect. However, a couple of them, like the Statue of Liberty, I thought were surprise additions, because to me the seven wonders have always meant ancient architectural wonders. However, when I read through the literature, it made sense that they had included these nominees because they were not only unique structures but also highly symbolic of essential human attributes -hope, freedom, endurance, progress, persistence, immortality, fantasy and even suffering. On the downside, it is going to be difficult to vote for structures you have not seen, after all seeing is believing! I already know I have a few favorites simply because I have been there. So, in that sense maybe, the Great Wall and the Taj Mahal may have an unfair advantage in that each might just end up garnering over a billion votes. Oh and it was interesting to note that there was nothing to represent Africa on the list. Anyway, check out the website, vote if it interests you or just read if doesn’t and maybe plan a vacation even!

US population crossed the 300 million mark a couple of days ago, the death toll for US soldiers in Iraq reached a grim 3000 this week, the Dow Jones inched past 12,000 y’day, I manage to burn around 225 calories each day and I have lost a pound finally!

Last night, after my workout, I decided to talk to hubby about it. I admit he is the resident expert on matters of the gym and I decided to ask him these questions on calories and more for which I could not find answers even after hours of googling. The problem, however, is that my idea of a discussion often involves short answers to very specific questions and if the answers are what “I” want to hear then there is an even greater chance of the discussion being just that and not crawling into the territory of an argument. On the other hand, hubby believes discussions should be 40-45 minute one sided Exercise 101 (in this case) sermons and let’s just say that’s when I decided the whole discussion thing was a bad idea but I went ahead with it anyway. Finally, I convinced him to skip the lecture and instead of the short (not-so-brutally truthful) answers I was looking for, he came back to me in a very official sounding voice with this question - “Do you want to lose weight for health reasons or because you want to look good?” Without pausing I replied for both reasons and a second later it just hit me that it was a blasphemous question even if it was asked in the course of a very professional consultation. It got me thinking, is he implying that I don’t look good now? It’s a universally acknowledged fact that when it comes to discussing matters of the weight a hubby is just supposed to LET GO because there are simply no right answers for questions like, “ Do you think I am fat”, “Is this dress making me look fat”, “Do you think I need to lose weight”. So,imagine asking the wrong question. I don’t think that’s even discussed in the ideal marriage handbook because really which sane man in his right mind would even make that mistake. Well, mine did!! It’s another thing for us to cringe about our weight and announce our diet and exercise plans to the whole world but it is SO NOT OK to have our men thinking out loud that it would be nice if we looked like that girl on the cover of Glamour magazine. Makes you wonder what happened to those marriage vows when he swore that I would forever be the most beautiful woman in the world. I have to tell you, for a second, I felt like that bad queen in Snow White who was betrayed by her loyal mirror. So, you decide. Should I make him dinner tonight?

Why can't I learn to make peace with the choices I make every day until I learn to choose otherwise ?!

...yes it is and I have an official diet and exercise plan folks. Don’t know how long I will be able to stick with it but at least I have the plan. Without revealing too many details, let me just say that the goal is to lose 20 pounds. I know, it is a lot but it’s not “lose 20 pounds in 3 days”. Like all the weight loss websites say (yes, I visited quite a few of them this week), if I somehow lose 500 cals every single day then I will lose 1 pound each week. If you are just thinking about it, doing the math or in this case writing about it then losing 500 cals does not seem like a big deal, right? My research says sleeping for 1 hr burns 45 calories, I know, I know I sound pathetic even to my own ears because I am trying to find the easiest possible ways to burn it all. Believe me, I even looked up calories lost while watching T.V, talking on the phone and blogging!! At least I am making some effort people! Anyway, it is exciting I should say because it is a challenge. However, like with all other challenging things I know I will probably be looking at quitting in the next few days and that’s when I will need someone to whoop-my-behind and get me back on track.
On a different note, DFW India Cultural Society has organized what they call a “Grand” Diwali Mela this Saturday and I am really looking forward to it. It’s only been a month since I got back and I am missing Bangalore so much already. I am hoping that with everything that this Mela is claiming it has, it will feel like I am back home at least for the evening. Even otherwise, I plan on having a good time at the Mela. After all, isn’t living life richly all about taking pleasure in simple things and taking the time to enjoy the moment or in Oprah’s words “taking time to smell the roses”

Source: rediff.com
O.k I admit I have not been a huge fan of Rai. I maybe wrong here, but I think she is not genuine. She is extremely pretentious, lacks attitude and spontaneity and I also believe she is doing a horrible job of representing India globally. When she is in an interview, I find her ill-timed nervous laughs a wee bit annoying. And oh, I am not too fond of her acting either, o.k, I assume you get it and I will shut up now. But that said, I don't think anyone can deny that the girl is beautiful. I mean, it is not without reason that she was named " the most beautiful woman" in the world and this picture from her upcoming movie Umrao Jaan proves just that. Was a little annoyed when hubby was all praise for Rai and this picture last night but then I said y'know what, he is right! She is beautiful and there is no denying that. I think I will watch the movie-it's got to be a visual treat!

If you are like me, wanting to do a 1000 different things and never really finding the time or simply putting off things for a later date, then here is one for you. I watched the movie Chicago at a friend’s place this weekend. I have been meaning to watch it for a long time now but like I said….. Anyway, what a movie! I am deeply in awe of the actors who had the courage to accept such roles, who believed that they could deliver and who actually delivered such spectacular performances. The singing, dancing, strutting and acting would take a lot of talent and Zeta Jones, Zellweger, Gere and the rest of the crew simply made Chicago work. You might wonder if a cocktail of adultery, humor, dance, comedy and music can actually work, well Chicago proves it can. With it being an Oscar favorite, I am sure all of us heard so much about the movie, yet some of us haven’t watched it. So, the next time you have some time and are in the mood for a movie- watch Chicago. It’s brilliantly made, extremely entertaining, has the right cast, the right notes and the ability to simply make you feel good.