My Life, A Cocktail

Yet another Christmas rolls around, the holiday spirit and festivities are in the air. Christmas has always been special for more reasons than one, and it has also become quite the time to reflect for me, personally. Keeping with our Christmas tradition, we were out to watch the lights and decorations people had put up on their houses. We were at the front of one such beautifully decked up house this evening, when I noticed a donation box outside, the money to go to a child help charity. I immediately asked hubby for some cash and he handed me a few bills. I stepped out into the cold and dropped the cash into the box, as I admired the 'Make a wish' sign lighted up on their windows. I walked back to our car and just as I opened the door, my eyes looked up at the sky, and saw a star shooting by! Make a wish! :-)

This Christmas, I can't help but count my blessings. To have some family around, to be able to laugh together, decorate some trees and unwrap a few gifts, it can't get merrier than that.  Red velvet cupcakes made it to the baking list! Here's a picture.

My unexplained love for certain things in life that have remained over the years... The Moon – The perfect sphere with the perfect imperfections. Orange, blue, red or simply white, against the dark backdrop of the sky. The Rainbow – Colors splashed across the sky on a rainy day. To watch from the car as you drive through the hills, while little drops fall off your window pane like mini fireworks. The Swing –The exhilaration of going up aiming for the sky, with the wind on your face. Stirring that deep philosophical mood of how the swing is such an apt representation of life. Fleeting moments, that take you from up to down, from down to up.

Yes, the year is almost coming to an end. Time for resolutions, eh? With that, I decide not to hold grudges. Against anyone, for anything. Because I realize today, that it is just not worth it. If someone wronged me, it’s their bad. Upsetting myself over it, only takes away moments from my life and my family’s that otherwise could have been precious. With that, I remind myself the joy of being a beginner, all over again. Because there is nothing more important in life than constant learning. Being able to acquire knowledge and experience is life’s most basic and yet most fulfilling opportunity that one shouldn’t let pass. Let’s not be overcome by laziness and gather up excuses, instead let’s carve out the time to learn, each day, every day. With that, I define my new definition of success. The ability to go to bed happy. Because my happiness and of those around me is the ultimate goal. To have survived yet another day, together and happy is all that anyone nee...

Just finished watching a beautiful Malayalam movie called “How old are you?”. Quite refreshing and inspiring. The movie is about a woman trapped in the lull of daily work and house keeping, so much so that she has forgotten that part of herself that once dreamt big dreams. Cultural hypocrisies pertaining to our male dominated society are well portrayed. A story of a woman that finds inspiration to craft a dream after her husband and daughter have lost faith in her totally and completely that they leave her and move abroad. Manju Warrior has done an excellent job. Her character feels so real that I cried with her. There is no way anyone cannot be inspired watching this movie. In the midst of our daily roles and responsibilities as a woman, it’s quite easy to forget to have a dream, let alone chase it. But this story reminds you quite so beautifully that you can’t live your life without a dream, that you have to leave a mark for the future generatio...

It often feels like I am living in a daze, living a dream. As I see her sleeping like a baby between the two of us, I feel like she's made our connection deeper, our bond stronger. She has made us beginners all over again in life, to learn and relearn with her. With her, we shall grow, we shall live. She's our future, who will carry our traits into a world we shall not know.

Sitting in the dark, in one corner of my bed, with my darling baby sleeping soundly beside me, I slowly relish one of my all time favorites - the Rocky Road ice cream.  Yes, it has come to this. This is all the solitude and me-time that I can manage these days. But I am making every bite count!

Tonight's the kind of lonely night that despite the family next to you, there feels a void that is inside of you. You feel like pouring your heart out, if only someone would listen. You feel like listening to their share of truth, if only they could come out in the open. Tonight's the kind of night where dreams have no bounds, that despite the rules of society, your mind wanders into unthinkable terrirtories. You feel free, if only you could fathom freedom. You want to set free, if only they could value your generosity. Tonight's the kind of night that needs that long lost friend. To catch up under starry nights on a staircase or over a cup of coffee.

Life was whooshing past me. I stood still like a bystander, unaffected by what was around me. I splurged on pretentious happiness and would cry bland tears. Until the day you came into my life. I live life clinging to every moment before it can slip away. I can never run out of things to do now, I can never imagine what's it's like to be bored. I can see other people in the eye and genuinely know how they feel. I can stand upright with pride because I know I am doing it right. You have completed me in ways I had never imagined anyone could. To my sweetest little doll Kavya!

One idly vada, one ghee masala dosa, one chai and one rainbow, for here, please! That was our order this morning for breakfast. Sitting by the window, in this little hole in the wall type restaurant named quite aptly as the “Madurai Idli Kadai”, I tore apart pieces of the dosa smothered in ghee, dipped it into fresh coconut chutney and relished, with a sip of chai, the pouring rain and the beautiful rainbow outside. It is my kinda bliss. These are the kind of moments when I am sans any worries, sans any stress. While the rainbow played peek-a-boo with the clouds, I couldn’t help but think about the transient nature of life. Happiness was right here, right now, I wanted to bottle it up and keep drinking it, never wanting it to end. Until it finally did, just  like my hot piping chai. It is in the want of such moments, that we all live our lives. Everything else is insignificant. 

Togetherness may be transient, may even be an illusion. But it is a beautiful thing. Life is inherently boring. Loneliness in inevitable. But when life gives you the option of togetherness, I don’t see any point ignoring it. Be happy, be together. 

Yes, there is such a thing!!! Super delicious. @ Cafe Central at the Westfiedl Valleyfair mall in Santa Clara.

I was nearing the end of this book that I am reading, and a phrase about Turkish coffee and it’s aroma made me linger. Immediately and unknowingly, I was taking a deep breath and my mind was filled with the aroma of strong freshly ground coffee. I was transported to the crowded lanes of Manama, walking hand in hand with my dad, into this little coffee shop in the corner. It was the kind of shop that boasted several varieties of coffee grounds from the middle east - Turkish, Arabic, Persian. While my dad and mom would decide on which one to get, and wait for them to be roasted, me and my sister would greedily admire the huge baskets of candy wrapped in shiny foil papers of all colors. The store owner would notice and very fondly, call out to us and hand us a few pieces of candy. We would accept in delight. There are some memories that no matter how old, stay with you. They let you travel and relive the bygones as fresh as the present. Oh, you beautiful mind!

We live life like a race. A race to get to the pretend finish line. Like horses with blinders, we charge ahead, we walk with our heads held high, like nothing can ever deter us.   Until one fine day, one fine moment, nature decides to put us through an experience. An experience that opens up our vistas, and quite simply, swaps out the illusion with reality. You are amazed how you missed it all along, how can we not see? You realize there is no finish line. No race even. Priorities fall into place. 

Yet another beautiful birthday. What does a beautiful birthday entail you ask? Food. And perhaps a few diamonds? As always, woke up to calls from parents and in-laws. We headed out for breakfast deciding to try out a new diner in San Jose called Bill's Cafe. It had amazing reviews on yelp which made it a must try. It did not disappoint. The service was probably the best part. It is a true diner in the sense our coffee mugs never had the chance to get half empty (yes, yes, I ordered decaf). We ordered the Veggie Skillet which is basically grilled veggies and scrambled eggs served over crispy hash browns, garnished with avocado, sour cream and chives. We ordered just one breakfast and decided to share since we knew we had a full day of good eating ahead of us. This was probably the only restaurant that was nice enough to actually split out our dish upfront, so we didn't have to make a mess on our own trying to split out the portions. Each of our portions were individ...