Zip Zap Zoom

A month long blogging marathon,
Looked daunting and doubtful at the onset,
Today, the month comes to a roaring end,
And, boy am I glad, that I carried on without my spirits dampened.

As day and night would see,
All things, daily motions and even small talks resembling A to Z,
As zillion thoughts would swirl my mind,
All zesty and zany ideas sprouted and shined.

Hubby and kids saw me in a mad mad tizzy,
I huffed, puffed and trotted along in a possessed frenzy.
The good news is the consonants and vowels sailed past,
And I have braved the challenge at last.

The A2Z, FB page gave the challenge a thumping roar,
And under Corinne’s mighty leadership I did soar.
Made some good friends and came across a truck load of talent ,
Loved that all the participants despite their super busy schedule stood gallant.

I value the 30 days of introspection and perseverance,
Of appreciation and becoming enriched with zippy thoughts and perspectives.
And as the zenith is conquered,
I fall into a zen like state of inner peace and happiness.

Viva A2Z

Yay, Yipee - Conversations with Y(H)ubby

Me : Hey Hubby! Am yet to write something on Y; do you have anything in mind?

Hubby :  Oh! Is the challenge still on?

Me : Hello, we still have 2 more days to go. Y, Z are still waiting for their transient seconds of fame. Any thoughts??

Hubby : Yam, yolk, yogurt 

Me : Food? Nothing else?

Hubby : Yeah, these 25 odd days have hardly seen any kitchen activity don’t you think?

Me : Oooh, have we been starving, I don’t see my weighing scales giving me any happy buzz :P

Hubby : Nooo, because I have been donning the apron on many of those days when you were busy thinking about what to write!

Me : Aaah, OK, sshhhhh. Coming to the topic, I am planning to write about Yoga; my father ardently and religiously does it everyday!

Hubby : Have you ever done it? I have never once seen you stretching and shrinking :D

Me : Ha; how rude.

Hubby : Ok, why not talk about Yahoo or You Tube ? 

Me : Enough people would be writing about it and yours truly will not be part of the gang.

Hubby : Yeast woes ring a bell?

Me : I have written enough about it in my other blog ---- Wait, can I talk about the Yummy food I dish out?

Hubby : {poker faced} Was I in planet Mars or Jupiter when that happened this month?

Me : Grrrrr

Hubby : Yin and Yang; why not talk about it.

Me : Nah; no one would be remotely interested in the yawn fest that would ensue!

Hubby : Youth, Yesterday, Yellow

Me : Nothing sounds exciting!!!

Hubby: {exasperated} Lady, I yearn for some pressure free zone and time - how about writing about that ? Thank God English alphabets are only 26----

ME : Yeah; the only thing I agree with You today!

XL - L - M

XL - Every woman’s nightmare are these 2 syllables or for the matter of fact even a L or a M is enough to send many a female into a frenzied tizzy. As a food blogger few, some, many, love handles get attracted to me, like a bear to honey. And the figure, literally speaking, jumps from a M to L to XL if I am not careful. It varies depending upon my itch to try new recipes in my endeavor to tick down the self created culinary bucket list. How I envy those femme fatales on TV shows creating one master piece after another without breaking a, gram in weight, sorry sweat. Don’t they gorge on their creations mercilessly? Don't these people feel the urge to lick off the condensed milk dripping down the tin or nibble a handful of choco chips they swirl into the batter?  I guess they don’t; yours truly does all that and much more. More than 10% of the ingredients of a cake or for that matter of fact any dish I cook is tucked into without a woe. Frankly I don’t care. NO I do care; I care when the weighing scales refuse to recognize me and send back some alarming numbers. I care when my trusted old jeans refuses to budge anywhere above my calf muscles;  I care when a random stranger hints at whether I am sporting a happy bulge. While I am tempted to retort "I have a figure, round is a figure"; I simply mumble inanities and rush home :)

It’s then I wage a little war against the fancy pots, pans and the beckoning oven. These allures are kept at a safe distance and going raw/green becomes the new motto. Eating healthy kicks in and the home sees a Hitler rule where all things that spell sinful is ditched. This continues for a while till I see a couple of hot blog posts harping about the owner’s win over some culinary bombshell and then all hell breaks lose. It is hearth attack like no tomorrow.

Cooking fancy food = blissful/sinful indulgence = happy flaunting on blog = more such dishes = love handles. 

This continues till the weighing scales - old jeans - pregnant question sets in. It is a vicious cycle of sorts. And the figures happily dazzle me for a while with stunning M, an OK L to an alarming XL. 

OK, jokes apart, XL to L to M is easy – as long as you are not starving and leading a normal healthy lifestyle.

• Move your body – shake, dance and groove
• Eat smaller portions but more number of meals
• Feel an urge to snack? dig into an apple or a pear or a handful of nuts rather than reaching out for the biscuit packet or chips
• Drink loads of water – {I saw a T-shirt message the other day which is so true} - the more you drink, the more you shrink
• Ditch the elevators and use the stairs
• Fond of sugar? try using honey instead

It is OK to indulge in chocolates or pizza or a bigger dollop of butter every once in a while as long as you burn it and have a healthy lifestyle otherwise. While XL in figures may give you the jitters, we can all aspire to Living and Enjoying Life XL

Woman : Juggler Par Excellence

Have you seen a juggler?

Ooh yes, that, skill peddler !

Tossing, flipping, catching and holding,

The juggler does all the balancing.

Wanna catch the jugglers in motion?,

Look at the women, she must have surely consumed some magic potion.

She is a mover and shaker ,

For home, work, family and {many times blog} she does deftly maneuver.

She is a tight rope walker,

And sometimes does falter.

Now and then she feels that her life is in disarray,

Nevertheless she musters courage and manages not to stray.

What a woman does is mighty challenging,

It requires tonnes of hard work, patience and adjusting.

It is fine to juggle as much or as little as you can,

But be sure to listen to your heart’s game plan.

For what is true for Jane need not be right for Susan,

But whatever be the case she is truly a remarkable woman.

Veto Domestic Violence

Sometime back I had met an ex-maid of mine and was shocked to see her swollen and almost disfigured face. She had worked for me for a very brief period before quitting citing reasons of husband’s failing health. I remembered her cringing when she saw me and when I enquired about the bruises she brushed it off saying that she had fallen somewhere. Not to be undone, I persisted and finally she revealed the abusing habit of her hubby. She was quick to add that he only beat her when he was drunk. And he drank almost everyday------

Domestic Violence is something we see/hear about almost every day – in small doses or something really huge. Either way it leaves the women in question totally shattered. And it is never an isolated incident. The first time a man hits a woman and sees no retaliation, it sets of an avalanche of many similar incidents. The woman becomes his pet yo-yo of sorts which he can play around.

Domestic violence can take any form of abuse - physical, emotional, financial, sexual. And whatever be the form of abuse, the main purpose is to gain control over the victims. To prove his dominance over her; to set a reign of terror and subjugation. The amusing part is that it is not the illiterate women alone who go through this humiliation and/or aggression. Even well educated women for fear of toppling the apple cart or for fear of being shamed and shunned by the society refuse to stop the audacities happening to them.

Statistics say that 1 in every 4 women will be a victim of domestic violence in some form and on more than one occasion. There is no need to be in fear of the person we love; if there is, then it means that therein lies some form of abuse. There is domestic violence if the person

• is of very low self esteem
• spends more time in private rather that boldly/happily face the world
• is withdrawn
• has visible physical bruises
• is anxious and depressed

{Image Source : Google}

We all talk about domestic violence, so what concrete steps can be actually taken/done to put an end to this menace :-

• First and foremost, teach the children at home about gender equality. Both the boy and the girl need to be drilled in that there is no thing such as gender superiority and both the sexes are equally capable of achieving anything.
• Instill a sense of self appreciation among the children and especially the girls.
• Say NO the very first time the abuse happens and every time; refuse to be cowed down.
• Accept the grimness of the situation and seek help.
• Recognize the abuse the first time it happens and muster courage and support to deal with the same.
• Abuse in many cases are more psychological and emotional; though the physical pain may not be there, the mental stress will be the maximum. It is wrong too  - so get help
• Speak up – ask if the person is in trouble; do they need support and offer help.
• Move to a safer place if the abuse persists.
• Enlist the support of friends and family.

These are not only true for the ladies in the world but also true for all the gents, though in most cases involving the men folk it dosen't come out due to the fact that they are viewed as Macho.

For my part, I managed to convince the ex-maid after a lot of persuasion to report this and seek help to take a stand. To my delight there was a visible change when I next met her.

VETO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Unbridled Savagery, Upbeat Women

Unbridled savagery shook the country last week,
Unarmed innocence caught in fire,
Usurping body, mind and soul and not remotely alarmed,
Under despair and situation fraught.

Utter fury engulfs me,
Urging me to do something; anything,
Undo what happened; I can't,
Utopian Society I seek.

Uncanny abilities must surface,
Unleash, women must - their real power,
Upper hand we will have,
Unbeaten and upbeat we will remain.

Travel Trails - The Golden Temple (Namdroling Buddhist Monastery)

I love being bitten by the wander bug and as often as possible - For what is life without travel ? Enriching us of many experiences and also giving fresh insights and perspectives, travelling is a way of escaping the monotony and indulging in many magical happy moments.

{Source:Google Images}


And living to the hilt by this maxim, we set off to Mysore and Coorg (Karnataka,India) last week and got lost in nature's beauty. It is during our stay in Coorg that we came to know about a   Tibetan settlement and a wonderful monastery.The monastery is popularly called as NAMDROLING and is located in Bylakuppe, which is 14 kms from Kushal Nagar, Mysore District, Karnataka. Bylakuppe incidentally houses the second largest settlement  of Tibetans in India.In 1960 the Government of Mysore allotted about 3000+ acres of their lands to the Tibetan refugees seeking asylum in India and thus came in to existence Bylakuppe.

Also called as Little Tibet, the roads of Bylakuppe are dotted with Buddhist prayer flags on every building/house or wire or lamp post.

Buddhist teachings are upheld in this monastery as Namdroling is a thriving settlement to over 6000 + monks and lamas. The architecture is typical Tibetan and spells ORNATE all over..

The beautiful campus in which lies the spectacular temple is dotted with eye catching flora and a few guinea fowls around.

Established by HIS Holiness Pema Norbu Rimpoche and consecrated by His Holiness Dalai Lama, the Temple houses 3 large golden plated statues of Buddha Shakyamuni ,Buddha Padmasambhava, Buddha Amitayus of about 60 ft each.

The inside of the temple takes your breath away as it literally is like stepping in to another realm. 

Buddha's life history---

The walls are colorfully painted with beautiful frescoes of the god and goddess of Tibetan Mythology.

Next to the golden temple is a small temple of sorts were we saw many monks deep in prayer. Chanting and spinning their prayer wheels, the boom from the drums and the calls of their horns had us enthralled.

Besides the temple, the campus is also home to a retreat center and there are a few Tibetan shops housing a lot of souvenirs we can take back home. 

The monastery draws huge international and national visitors besides a large number of students seeking knowledge on Tibetan way of living. A must visit place if you are travelling to Mysore/Coorg

Sister Love

Bonded by birth,

Nurtured with love,

Together we travelled,

And many a treasured moment unraveled.

Partners in crime,

We have unabashedly enjoyed all the spare time,

My childhood would never have been the same,

Had you not been there my little dame!

As different as chalk and cheese,

We loved hard and fought harder,

 And then we made up,

As distance made the heart grow fonder.

Today we are miles apart,

and there are days when we barely talk,

But this is the best part,

That even in silence you are closest to my heart.

Seeing me rack my brains over this post, my daughter after hearing the theme drew something that best describes the post :)

Random Road Clicks

A picture is worth a 1000 words, so the saying goes ! Here are a few random clicks my camera captured on our recent trip to Mysore and Coorg. Each of the shot tells a story - of daily struggles, of sheer indiscipline or a busy day.

A busy day ahead for this watermelon seller !

Recovery after an accident  

Daily struggles and triumphs - Life

 Roads are mass urinals ! (Sigh)

People bustling about

Q am I

From me begins a sequence of people

And that makes you sometimes queasy.

Quesadillas and Queso

I am full of deliciousness.

Qabbala, the mystical theosophy

makes you tread an alternate religion.

Have you figured me out yet??

Questions and Queries

I urge you to ponder and think.

Quagmire and Quandary

I also lead you to uncertainties and dilemmas.

Quarantine or quit

I sometimes isolate and abandon.

Have you caught me yet??

Que Sera Sera

And I rejuvenate you with the profound 

Whatever will be will be.

I am 17th in number

of a kingdom of 26.

Who am I ?? .......I am "Q"

Pachyderms (wild) Posing Prettily

On our way to Mysore from Trichy, we saw a couple of mama elephants and their kids posing merrily along the roadside of the Satyamangalam forest range.

Seeing the human folk, the little one went and hid behind her mama

My camera went clickaty clik and in no time these majestic beasts changed their minds and ambled away into the wild.

One and a half men

Men men men men, Men men men
Men men men men , ooh ooh--- aaah MENNNN MEN MEN

{Sing along to the tunes of the famous sitcom 'Two and a half men}

Presenting Sreeram and Sreenivas in and as One and a Half men

* ing

• Sreeram 
• Sreenivas

Plot :-

The one and a half men rock the household . They are the pride and joy of the lady of the house and are the apples of the eye of the little princess. The stars bring laughter and fun, joy and jubilation and at times add a little grief too. Tune into their capers 24/7 and savour the spice and sugar of their antics.

My Review:-

Sreeram as the One man is spot on as an awesome hubby, the bestest dad and the sweetest human being. He has his share of shortcomings that can be overlooked as he is a human after all. But the efforts he puts in, striving to be a better person, every single day more than compensates any misgivings. The mighty star is humble, the anchor of the household and is the wind beneath the lady's wings.

Rating : Priceless

Sreenivas - aka Le Cheenti - the Half man is the most adorable little dumpling on earth. His mischief and spunk is the reason behind the household's smiles and he breathes life into the dwellers of the household. He is the lady's Zen, her very own little Buddha. He is a ROCKSTAR.

Rating: A treasure

Nuts about Nuts

Most of the fat in nuts is the good type - monounsaturated and/or Omega 3 

The Greeks call the Walnuts "the nut of Jupiter" - fit for the  gods

Research says that, just much a handful of nuts a day and you are fit and raring to go.

So are you nuts about nuts ?

My Little Princess

Samyuktha aka Lil Jinks -- my innocent little doll,

You have turned 9 this year and I am the most happiest mother on earth :).
Its wonderful to see that you are blossoming into a sweet, intelligent, sensitive and beautiful princess. Do you know that I yearned for a girl when I was expecting you and was simply thrilled and over the moon when you were plopped into my trembling hands? 

You aspire to be a lot of things - one day you want to become a vegetable seller while on some other day you want to be an astronaut. There are days when being a kid doctor appeals to you while on others you wish to be a pet doctor. And on days you watch Nat Geo, your choice of profession is to be a paleontologist. You are in that age when everything appears exciting and interesting. Whatever you choose to be, just remember to give your very best. Keep in mind that no profession is too lowly and strive to excel in whatever you want to become. 

At times your dad and I are hard on you and expect you to be the perfect one; I understand that as parents we are guilty of over expectations but remember that no matter what, we always love you. While you are free to use your mind and make known your choices, I wish and pray that you never falter from the path of honesty and truthfulness. 

There are moments when I feel that you are more mature than me; you display sensitivity, sense and wisdom that is beyond your age and this soothes my mind and warms my heart. And then there are times when your bouts of insecurity and childishness baffle me. But whatever you do/say, your innocence sparkles. Don't ever lose this innocence - my little princess.

Love Crosswords

I just love solving crosswords and creating mini versions of it too ! This crossword is really simple; hope you have a shot at it !

{BROAD HINT: ALL WORDS START FROM L}

Across:-

1. a person followed by others(6)

4. free from orthodox views (7)

6. bane of summers - intentional power cuts(4,8)

7. a person who tells lies(4)

8. give one's attention to something (6)

Down:-

1. an intense feeling of deep affection(4)

2. name shared by a huge election win and also the erosion of soil (9)

3. human communication either spoken or written (8)

4. short tailed wild cat(4)

5. don't rest on past-------(7)

6. existence in general(4)

8. opposite of high(3)