Heroic endeavor

I did it again. I stepped in front of a bunch of people. I danced, I entertained. Or so I thought.

I could tell by the exasperation of the Dance class teacher that I was not doing it right. She even spoke some few sentences in English just to make sure that my idiotic dance wasn't due to the language barrier.

I tried. I really did. Dance class / aerobics isn't just for me anymore. Or so I think. 

Today's finding of the dance class place was a memorable success. My sister and I made it. We met at the right stop, she jumped in the same bus. Got off at the right place and walked all the way to our destination.

For a moment I thought I should just go back, but knew deep inside that I HAD to do it. I had to take the dance class. That is the least  I can do to keep a healthy body.

We were 10 minutes late. By the time we opened the class door, this heat and sweat odor felt like a punch in our faces but in we went to face the consequences of this heroic endeavor .

I forgot to bring a hair tie. I felt instantly sorry for my victims. Wet hair slapping. It's awful, but I had to continue. Life is more than just sweat dripping hair.  The innocent students will recover one day.

My sister will not. After the class finished, I took advance of my hair situation and hair-slapped her many times. She almost threw up. She detests it.

The class lasted 50 minutes and I felt beaten for life after that. Walking was slowly. Changing clothes even slower. Reaching the center by foot took us almost an hour. I don't know whether I can make it tomorrow. My body needs a rest. It deserves it.

I wish I could have that energy and jump high and enjoy the moment but every aerobic class feels tremendously boring. My body just wants to go into sleepy mode. I think it is already because otherwise I'de move more.

After reaching center one hour later, I met N. We both took the bus home. I thanked my sister for making me company this afternoon.

A generation gone?

After two and half hours of wandering around in the streets of Helsinki I finally made it home...safely. Yes, safely. I had no phone. 

In the morning soon as I had performed the office routine tasks; remove socks. Checked. Put music player on left side of desk. Checked. Put mobile phone on left side next to music player. Oh oh. 

If it wasn't for the communication and social tools we have available today on the internet, I would have felt like a complete orphan. At some point I think I did. Despite being from a generation that grew up without all this technology, I am pretty much attached and consider myself well adapted to the social demand of today.

Fooling myself? Not until I was 19 did I own my own personal  Stone era mobile phone. A pink Nokia phone that must have costed me a fortune and most probably made me live on fish tuna and rice for at least a month. But it did what I intended to; make me feel like my generation: Cool. 

My sister on the other hand was born super cool, she needn't ever even think how to get a mobile screen touch phone. It was given to her by her father as a compulsory defense instrument for her to survive in this world. How otherwise would we, the eldest, know when she gets off school and whether she is at home?

I had a safe sort of life growing up. I never thought when I was ten, that a mobile phone can be indispensable one day.  Four hours ago, I was lost without it.

After work, I was supposed to meet my sister to go for a dance class. After carefully reading my instructions on Gmail, N had to coordinate our meeting in the center so that my sister and I meet at one point at a certain time ( He called from his mobile to my sister's). The operation failed and I think I lost my identity for a second. I missed the class too because without a mobile with internet I could not search at which stop I had to get off. This is how I ended up wandering around in the snowy streets of Helsinki today. 

So is my generation really gone?. No longer will I meet someone unless calling that person 5 minutes before with my mobile to check if she/he is there already. No longer will I rely on memory for bus schedules since my phone, the ipad or a computer can do the trick in a few seconds. No longer will I make that long distance call to my friend in Australia or Singapore because Skype or Facevideo will do that for free.

Those who were born in the eighties know what I mean. What is left for us to treasure is the assertion that we had the legacy from the generation masters before us and that we are constantly learning from the young of today. Take for example lol or lmao.  

When the world is not enough

It was in 1993 that she was born. I was eleven when she came to my life.  Eighteen years later she is back to surprise me. It seems like God listened to my very old prayers after all.

'When is she gonna start talking, mom?' I used to ask about my sister to my mom. She said to give her time. My sister was about three years old and the only words she said were ' DAH' and more 'DAH'. Three years later she was on full TALKY mode and couldn't be switched off so I put a kitchen towel  in her mouth to stop her from answering back to me when arguing. It was also the Age Difference realization time. 

When she was a baby, I used to take her and put her on my tummy to make her sleep. Years later when sharing the same room,  I used to switch off the lights and pretend to be a an evil witch with evil sounds to make her sleep. She only cried. 

One time I prayed to God to make my sister grow big so I can finally talk to her about my problems and share beautiful experiences with her. But it seemed timed passed by and it never happened. I grew up to be an adult, she grew up to be a teenager. 

God meanwhile gave me other things to pursue; I went to highschool, I went to college. I went to work, I went travelling, I got blissfully married. Despite all these things in my life, I realized, yesterday, that my world like this is not enough.

The search for an idyllic life with idyllic circumstances only takes you away from the truth that, family is the only thing that matters. I missed my sister yesterday. I missed not having her so much around. I missed having thoughts of her to grow quicker and understand my life. I missed the world where there were only two sisters, her and me. 

Then Saturday came and so did she. My now eighteen years old sister and I spent a very natural sister time. I then understood this is the sister I've always prayed for. This is the sister that can talk to me now about her problems, this is the sister I can talk and share grown-up things with. After only eighteen years, God finally in a very subtle way said' There, tell me now, was it not worth the wait?' I must admit I love it when I am wrong and He is right.

Now I have a lifetime ahead to share and experience with her. This awareness inside me felt like a lightning bolt. I can finally say that the world without a sister would not be enough.

The Techie Wife

Have you ever had nothing to do for a whole afternoon, for a whole day, for a whole week or for a whole month even? Well, that's me right there, in the first two options. What do you do then when there is nothing to do?

The moment we got to know that N had been admitted to the Master Degree education,  I knew that was it for me when it came to my the-two-of-us-doing-something evening plans. Not for the next two years will I have N coming home early. This change meant the earliest I'd see him in the evenings would be at nine ó clock. 

Our Feng Shui specialist, whom I had contacted only years after I read her book ( Fengshui-Aapinen, Gummerus ), paid us a visit, and after foreseeing somehow that N would get accepted to the school, she told me I'd better enroll for some evening classes , like knitting or a language class, for she knew my evenings would otherwise be monotonous and I'd be missing N. 

Not only I forgot to check and enroll for any evening classes, but I also had not special hobbies whatsoever. So next I had to figure out something to do in my spare time and the first thing that came to my mind was to turn this home into a wireless Media one. Yes, a paradise-like media room where you can access media files like songs and videos from one place, all wirelessly.

I've always had this project in my mind but I never really sat down and started to plan for it. You see, you have files everywhere, you have a TV, two computers; In each there are different things you want to view from another computer or even better, straight from the TV. You need storage space, you want to listen to songs from a particular place and you want to do that without having to plug cables here and there. What would then a home wireless media system feel like? 

In order to find out, the first thing I figured out we needed, was a printer. But not just a regular printer that, in order to print from it, you have connect the computer to it. Oh no, it had to be a printer that can do the job from whichever room we were sitting at. So a wireless printer it was. After a long research on brands and prices and, most important of all, reviews from customers, I ended up picking an HP wireless Photosmart printer. Believe me, it was pretty, sure, but carrying it itself was not so much a pretty task. 'Never again', I use to say, after carrying heavy stuff from the center to home in a bus. Just the walk from the store to the bus station is painfully slow. But I forget that 'Never again' as soon as I am at home.

From my research I also learned that installing media devices nowadays is a piece of cake. Moments after laying down on the floor to rest my arms and observe the heavy and pretty looking box in the corner, I decided to get my hands into it. 'I can do it', I kept telling myself, 'I can do it',' I don't have to wait for N to do it', ' I can do it!'.  So my job as techie wife had started with the first successful media device installation. We can now print from any room at home!

The second thing I came up with was to get a NAS device ( Network Attached Storage). It's like an external back-up hard drive, the only difference being you can transfer your files into it wirelessly! Finding out that these devices even existed made me feel like Bill Gates for a while. I thought that was an amazing personal discovery. For this device too I had to spend hours researching, for I wanted a good device that can do the job and would last for ages. So our home got a Buffalo Link Station II storage device that is doing what it promises! This too was a simple installation. step by step followed from a computer screen. In just minutes the installation was ready! and now I can store all my old and new pictures there without occupying space in my computer, and you can even access your files remotely over the internet! Like if we are in India I can go to my server and pick up a few pictures here and there or upload my trip pictures directly there as well!

Also a scanner that had been sleeping in a box but which does amazing quality scanning of really old pics found its new place in N's desk.

I've also set up a hard-drive for our TV for recording channels, but it needs to be formatted each time you want to record something so this doesn't  really count.

So, this is how I became a techie wife one day. It took me two weeks to do what I consider an amazing job in our new media home.  We can now view pictures and videos on our TV screen, connected wirelessly to our NAS device and, if that wasn't enough, I started to repair, install and use old electronic devices that had been hidden in our new techie home.

Mission accomplished?

After finishing my shift at work yesterday I couldn't leave the office right away because my coworker needed some help with some things. I knew N would be meeting me at 5 in the center so I wasn't in much hurry yet but when the time was way past four thirty I started to worry.

N and I had decided to go see a movie that evening. It had been a long time since we last saw one and we've been wanting to see Mission Impossible 4 for a long time as well. So we had fixed a date at five o clock.

Soon after I finished what I had to do in the office, I put on my coat, my winter hat and gloves and  quickly left the building. On my way up to the main road, N called me to check on me. He wanted to tell me he had gotten sooner off work and he was wondering whether I was around the movie theater already. 

After I hung up, this weird and feel-good realization confronted me; A husband calls his wife to check on her. A wife replies confidently she'd meet him soon. This was a friendly conversation between them two. I then wondered, 'what If I had been single?' What would my thursday plan be like? Would I have had a friend there to share a movie with that night? Instead I had a plan. A natural plan. Talking and doing things with N feel as natural as drinking water or breathing. Talking to him feels no longer awkward like it might have been on our first day. This was a conversation between two people who share a life together.

So, has a relationship, once married, accomplished a mission? A mission of letting go of fears and doubts and perhaps too, prejudices?. The mission of talking and listening to each other as if it was ourselves to whom we were talking and listening? Have N and I entered the comfort zone of a marriage? 

We still talk and laugh like kids every night before going to bed and I can't help but ask myself, 'Is it something that fades away with time?' or is it a habit learned, that once is perfected, you never forget?

I once read a book that says that one should encounter aloneness. One need to be alone and meditate and learn about oneself. Only then you are capable of being with others. If you can be with yourself alone and be happy, you can also be happy with one another. But do not confuse aloneness with loneliness. Loneliness is the state of feeling empty and alone despite being surrounded by others. This usually brings with it a sad feeling and not a content one.

So I reached the stop and, while I was waiting for the bus, pondered ' why does it feel so natural?' Why doesn't it feel awkward at all? There is no nervousness in my voice. There is not insecurity in his. Did we go through our meditation, loneliness AND aloneness period for so long before we met?

Whatever the answer, I think we have pretty much accomplished what any person alone or in a relationship would; Acknowledge what you have and be thankful for it.

Public transportation, fancy a ride?

Just when I was about to make it this morning, that is, after leaving fashionable late from home and running faster than Usain Bolt to take it, my dear bus that was supposed to take me to the train station ( and to work ),  just went by without stopping. I mean, it could at least winked a back light or something but no, oh no, the soon to be dead in my dreams driver just drove off despite seeing me making STOP signs with both arms and legs. I swear I jumped higher than free Willy but no mercy whatsoever from his side.

Public transportation can be that fun sometimes. On the excuse of maintaining number one place on right timings, drivers assume it's better for the country to have well scheduled buses than people who are sane, because after this episode, I almost lost it.

So assuming I'd spend again another day working from home, I went back, head facing ground, towards the stop in front of our place to wait for the next bus. Luckily It came after just 10 minutes so I made it to the next train that leaves to Helsinki. I was already late for work at this point.

The trip couldn't have been more tragic after I had realized I had forgotten my music player at home. There is nothing more monotonous than to travel in a train full of , sometimes scary, passengers. This is why I need my music player that sings my favorite hindi songs.

Soon after I got off the train, went to pick the next connection bus. As customary, it was full. And this is Finland, people. Indian buses have less people than here. So here again I managed to get trapped among passengers where there is no place to get hold of and, after being swayed from one's person back to the other, I managed too to get off at my stop and feel the oxygen in my lungs again. Since I was 15 minutes late I ran to work.

The irony of the story is that we do have a car but we never use it. Like it's there like a statue seeing 4 seasons quietly. It does wake up in the summer time and we use it a lot in the autumn, but for the rest of the year we put him to sleep. 

What I need is more consideration from the drivers. Think how cold it can be sometimes here. Think of the location. It's not like I live down town where buses come every 5 minutes. My buses come every 30 minutes and that's between 7-10. After that only 1 every hour. 

Yes, I'd fancy a ride, for as long as I feel I am welcomed. After all I've paid for a travel card for every month, right?

Shahrukh mania

Yesterday morning, soon after the mail was dropped from the door slot, I heard N get up from his chair, go to pick up the mail, going back to his room, opening something and then coming to the living room where I was reading. He then stretched his arms slowly towards me, I look up and in his hands was something I had secretly longed for.

It was Shahrukh Khan 'My Inner World' DVD. A 2 DVD package documenting the story of my favorite Bollywood star, Shahrukh.

Fun fact: Till this day N tells me he regrets the day he showed me a Shahrukh Khan's movie. Not because they are bad, not because he hates him, but because I got 'cutely' obsessive with him.

N would have liked me to be impartial with Bollywood actors. For instance, he would have liked me to prefer Aamir Khan as well or even better, Salman Khan, his childhood movie hero.

But I guess I like Shahrukh because of his life story and the way he made it into Bollywood, a movie industry that has been widely dominated by sons, daughters, grandsons and granddaughters of Bollywood moguls. Sad fact: You had to be rich or know someone in the industry to become an actor.

Shahrukh was not rich, knew no one, lost his parents when he was young and married the woman he fell in love with. He fought on his own until one day he became what he is today, The King of Bollywood, 'King of the world', Shahrukh Khan.

From the successful movie Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge., ( which is the movie that probably made me notice he was cute ) to movies like Kal Ho Na Ho ( I was sold at that point! ) there has been something in each of them that keeps you coming back for more. More romance?, more Shahrukh Khan lovable expressions? Who knows.

My mom says it's his charisma. He has it. He owns the whole room. No wonder that many women around the world adore him and dream to meet him . Take me, for instance. If it wasn't because I was married, I'd have Shahrukh Khan posters all over our bedroom wall :)

Soon after we finished watching  tearful, joyful and cherishable Shahrukh Khan life moments I couldn't help but feel happy at the thought that N tried and succeeded to surprise me despite him being TOTALLY jealous of Shahrukh Khan, King of Bollywood. What N doesn't know is that he himself, is King of my heart.

Thank you IKEA

First of all, the images here can be copied, reproduced, infringed, however you call it in case you want to create a living room like that. No copy rights reserved.

When N and I purchased our apartment we knew it would be big for us. It has three rooms, a kitchen, living room, bathroom, an extra bathroom and a balcony. I was even afraid that our lives together would be spent him working in a separate room and me sitting alone in another.

We had this whole new empty space to decorate and make our home, yet we did not know how or where to start looking for furniture to create a place we can call our own. 

We looked everywhere. We picked up some things from here and there but we weren't quite there yet.

Then IKEA came. Yes, the IKEA catalogue fell from the door mail slot as if an answer to our prayers and it felt like a calming breeze to this newlywed couple.

But IKEA in my mind meant no quality whatsoever . The Do it yourself concept allowed people to believe that by doing it yourself you are paying less for the product. 

N on the other hand was way too enthusiastic. In fact, he had never been to an IKEA store before. ( Another great chance for me to make fun of his expressions once we visited it :) )

The fact is, once we entered the place my whole view about it changed in a second, for it was a dearly family furniture shopping event, if you know what I mean. The time we had back then meant to be practical and, what did WE really want?  Did we want a home with a white fire place occupying a whole wall or an IKEA super white divan that'd seat our guests instead? 

To my surprise, we ended up picking a center table that has a really nice retouch. It looks elegant. ( Yeah, not so elegant looking yourself when assembling it, sweat all over your face) A white sofa side table would made the touch to the living room as well. A TV set that does wonders in storing both our Hollywood and Bollywood movie collection. ( The Bollywood being more sacred to me, it is neatly arranged by actors' names, Shahrukh Khan taking number 1 position ). A rose design carpet, and what about the cost-effective bookshelf that we've ever purchased?! All of these were meant to make our home. 

Home sweet home. They say heart is where the home is, well in this case, the living room is where the heart of the home is.  This is where we spend most of our time. This is where I get my ideas to write a blog. This is where we enjoy some home-made food while enjoying a movie. 

So, Thank you IKEA for making our home. We are very grateful  that you came one day from that door mail box and changed our lives.

To finish this post, a pic to introduce an Indian dish N made today. Aloo peas pulao.

The wedding video.

This is the moment N and I had been waiting for. I dare too to say that even my whole family has been waiting for this moment also.

It arrived from Indian yesterday. Delivered fast-courier by one of N's team members  :) It was finally in our hands by 7 pm.

It was worth the wait. Anxious and curious at what we'd see, we carefully opened the DVD case, placed it in the DVD player, took some steps back to lean on the sofa and then waited patiently.

We were terrified at the thought that we'd either see ridiculous shots of us or enchanting happy moments. It was both. It was hilarious to watch ourselves celebrating something that, viewed from the safety corner of a sofa, seemed like pure comedy, love and drama. Oh yeah, lots of drama.

Planning a wedding is one of the most pleasure-stress producing phases of a relationship. If done with true intentions - that is - if you really are there for each other and are willing to say YES in front of a bunch of people ( mostly relatives) then, it is pure fun. Stressful fun.

Oh no, don't get me wrong. I don't think any couple is safe from the arguments and the tiredness a wedding brings, specially on the days before the BIG DAY. You even end up wondering whether it all had been a crazy idea after all and should ALL be thrown out of the window and go back to the safety area we knew as boyfriend-girlfriend relationship.

But it all comes down to commitment and common sense. Do you really want to take this person as your beloved wife or husband? at the end of the day is a 'Yes, I do'. No question about it.  Fighting for what you want in life is worthwhile.

So, after 3 1/2 hours of wedding entertainment - it all came down to a few realizations; It was our own special wedding, It were moments that will never come back and it is undoubtedly something we want to repeat 5, 10, 20 years from now.

We want to say Thank You Sowmya Photography team for editing our wedding.

Here is an edited clip that comprises all the ceremonies during that special weekend 10-11th December.

Enjoy!

iQ = success?

Today morning soon after I'd had a glass of water and let some daylight in the living room, I sat on our red sofa and started to read a book called The Winner's brain.

The book teaches 8 strategies the great minds use to achieve success. I guess I was curious to find out whether I've used some of these strategies at some point in my life.

The book reminded me that being successful doesn't always mean owning your own company, being super rich, having a mansion with servants or going for a foreign trip every 3 months. In fact, Anyone who achieves something that has personal meaning to them is a successful person, he or she is an achiever. It also says that IQ, circumstances and luck have nothing to do with success.

I must admit that I never was an A student. In fact, I was an average student, sometimes below average, but that never really seemed to bother me. I remember my high school time when I definitely did want to pass my exams and not be called a dummy. But If I think it through, I guess the things that I did and achieved at school were because of this desire to make my mother proud. Deep inside I knew I was doing that effort to please my only and greatest fan, my mother. It meant a lot for her to see me graduate so I kept studying so that she can always be proud of me. This was between the ages 14 and 19.

When university time came, that's when I hit rock bottom. Literally. I understood at some early point that the career path I had chosen was not apparently the right choice for me, but I guess I thought it was too late to change that. ( I know, I was young and ignorant). So, basically during my uni studies I felt completely out of place yet I understood at some level, that life isn't just about studying and getting A's.

I even remember some students at my class laughing at me when I did not know an answer yet still I persevered and graduated. That was between the age 21-24

During this time also I did not have another income but that of the government. I shared a flat with my high school friend. It was really affordable and the government would pay for our studies for as long as they lasted. So it was an easy yet a 'wonder-what-would-become-of-me' life.  I had basically nothing of my own but a family that has been standing by my side till today.

Am I an achiever? Without intending to sound arrogant, I want to say I am an achiever. I am. I don't know how to describe the step-by-step strategies that are written in books but I know I've used my mind and heart to obtain what I have today, that is, my own personal goals that have had great meaning to me only.

Writing a blog is for instance a personal reward. I feel happy writing it and it is something I've been wanting to do for a long time. Yet for you it's not as important and you'd rather read blogs than writing one.

So, can you see now your own personal achievements? can you find your own personal talents? A talent can be being a great friend, a daughter, a brother, a mother, a father, a speaker, a writer, a reader, a cook, a teacher, an instrument player. Anything that brings passion to you. Anything you feel proud about.

Today I am 29 and between ages 29-105 I want to achieve even greater personal things. I want to have children. I want them to be happy. I want N to be happy. I want my family and friends to be happy.

I want to be happy.

Live your life to the fullest. Do only things you love.

A man's job?

While I was cooking, that is, chopping some onions for today's dish, Chicken in an onion sauce, I could not help but notice from the window my neighbor arriving in his car, parking it and walking to his apartment. About 2 minutes later he comes back carrying two bags of garbage and his dog obediently following by his side.

In the morning when I woke up after N had left for school, I could not help but notice he had taken out the garbage with him. I felt pleased.

A man's job?

I still remember the time I used to live alone; The times I would clean up the house and the last thing to do to finish the job would have been to throw the garbage bags. Sometimes you have like 3 - 4 bags of whoknowswhat garbage piling up in the corner of the kitchen floor  and sometimes too, they can be pretty heavy. A tear or two would run down my cheek out of exhaustion, I guess, of wondering, when Mr Right would appear and take that trouble away from my life.

The thing is, in this country (and if you leave in an apartment), for you to take out the garbage in the winter time means literally to dress up so may times, take the lift, go down, walk to the garbage place, come back, take the lift, remove winter coat, sweater,wool socks, jeans and don't forget the gloves and hat.

Am I that lazy? After having written and read those previous lines, Yes, I really sound like it, in fact I sound really pathetic. But that was my reality. Everything but throwing the garbage. Has that happened to you too?

So, my question is, will men always assume that's their job? Do they see us like these fragile creatures that do not deserve to do that heavy job? Does N think that my place in this home is in the food producing place called kitchen and not outside throwing the garbage :)

I have to luckily tell you that  Mr Right doesn't only come up with the protective and helping skills, he is also there to love you and be with you. That' is truly a loving man's job.

To finish this post and before going to eat,  a quick preview to the Chicken in an Onion sauce dish.

How I felt in love

The first time I saw it, I thought it looked corny. It had some charm though. Could convince me yet. There was this intermission. Wait a minute, it's capturing, it's capturing....it's capturing me!

This somehow hidden world of mine, full of desire for music and dance, fantasy and glamour was suddenly exposed to N. He had made me fall in love......... with Bollywood films.

When we started dating, N thought of no better thing to do but to introduce me to his own culture by showing me all time Bollywood classics. Dating him was like walking down memory lane. I've learned about his childhood by the memories all these movies bring to him. I am thrilled.

Like many of my friends, I had heard before of the word Bollywood. I thought this was a really cheap copy of Hollywood. Nothing can beat Hollywood, I thought. How ignorant of me to think that.

Bollywood is all but a cheap copy industry. It is a constant creation of worlds and fantasies. It is a school of art and beauty. It is the lesson for old and new generations about family values and social behavior. It is a soothing melody to the wounded hearts.

To quickly prove my statement to you, I want to introduce you to one Bollywood movie song. This song is from the movie Lagaan ( Tax) and the song is called Mitwa.

When you see and hear it for the first time, it might appear so corny and really cheesy, but look closely and pay attention to the melody again and your eyes,  heart and ears will encounter beauty. Every single maneuver, every step taken is candy to the eye. Just the choreography for this song must have taken months to create.

Aamir Khan ( the lead actor, dancing in this video) just shines in his moves. He is totally dedicated to the presentation of this work. The same goes for the lead actress, Gracy Singh, perfection in action; God's reminder that beauty is more than giant trees and flowers. The music and dance are just wonderful.


You don't believe me? See it for yourself.

New earrings, a bride's best friends?

The first time I visited India with N and my mom I had a certain feeling I'd end up marrying N one day. It felt sure.

The second time I visited India with N and, this time, my whole family, was to actually get married to him.

Days previous to the wedding we went around places near the hotel we stayed in.  Our photographer Sowmya had recommended a nice place to shop for jewelry. This place is called Kushal's .

The moment I entered the store I basically wanted to own everything that was on display. It was far too beautiful, too attractive to my eyes. Pictures of adorned hindi brides dancing to a wedding rhythm  came to my mind. I wanted to look beautiful, I wanted to be adorned like it is supposed to in India.

But we had only a small budget for last minute yet important shopping. It was the shopping for matching jewelry for my wedding dresses. ( Sari, Lehenga, salwar kameez, Sari # 2).

After searching for a long time. I endep up picking 4 pairs of earrings. They all spoke to me. ' We are diamond blue, we match well with your blue sari. Pick us, we will make you a beautiful bride'. Pair number two said ' We are red full of passion to decorate your red Lehenga'. The green pair told me ' Don't you want to play with us on your Mehendi day?' and the last ones were just imploring me to take them because they felt they will match for any occassion ' Don't you think we look just adoraaaable on your ears?'. So i HAD to pick these 4.

My new dear earrings had not a matching necklace though and I had already exceeded the budget. So our dear photographer Sowmya was kind enough to offer me to use her wedding jewelry. She said she only used them for one day ( her own marriage ) and she'd be happy if I wore them.

So, after saying ' We'll see soon, Kushal's', we went straight to her place and took a look at all her jewelry and luckily, her wedding jewelry set suit my Sunday sari perfectly. So I ended up using most of her beautiful jewelry on our Sunday morning Muhurtham ceremony. For the rest of the ceremonies most of my new beloved earrings did what they promised.

These matched well with my Lady Diana engagement ring

These made best friends with my red Lehenga

They are me

Thank you for picking me

Melancholy

While N was cooking for us today, I was searching for some Whitney Houston songs on Youtube. I went through the old music videos repertoire from the 80's and 90's. The best of times. Pure gold music.

I kept thinking why would someone so beautiful do drugs? How is it that the life that is called ' so glamorous' takes in fact life away from the people who 'enjoy' it. Is it possible that under so much stress you feel so susceptible to the worst of influences in that ' fantastic' world? They say that drug dealers go directly to people with money because these are the easiest target. Like, there is so much going on, so many parties, no sleep, no consciousness of what's happening around you that, trying drugs, would just be another fun thing to do, something to try before you die. 

I will probably never know that unless I meet someone really really famous that could tell me what life is really like in the circle of the rich and famous.

So I felt nostalgic. I felt also glad that I got to hear and see this beautiful woman become an icon to so many people. An inspiration to so many singers. Who hasn't heard ' I will always love you' ? Such a wonderful song. I am glad Kevin Costner picked that song for the movie and turned it into a glorious acapella melody. 

Today I want to show you a Rangoli decoration. This type of decoration is done in India for celebrations such as weddings and religious festivities. They usually use powder ( color or just white) to make shapes on the ground. In this case, I got a ready-made rangoli as you can see. A friend of N sent it all the way from India as a present.  I reaaaally like it. It's already on the corridor floor and it looks beautiful, doesn't it? Thank you for that lovely present!

Housekeeping anyone?

If there is one thing I spend a good amount of time on, that would be cleaning.

Out of 24 hours I spend 1 - 1 1/2 hours cleaning a day. Sorry, housekeeping.

I thank my mom for having taught me that.  But believe me, I did not enjoy it then when she told me to clean the house back in the time I lived at home :)  'Reinaaaaa, your room! clean it !!!!!!' she would scream, or ' Reinaaaaaa, this is the 10th time I tell you to clean the kitchen!!!'

Today when I came home, the second thing I did after I washed my hands in the bathroom was to go to the kitchen to drink some water.  This is how the kitchen looked like after it hadn't been tidied since yesterday, for we had a Valentine's dinner outside and we came home late.

I am so grateful we have a dishwasher! 

Bread, cornflakes, you name it 

Our favorite and only pan to cook :)

So I decided in the morning that after work I will come home and vacuum the floor. For that I had to go to the store first, to get me some new vacuum bags.  I also purchased some batteries, but that's another story anyway.

I also decided to get my almost daily routine done, that is, clean the kitchen and next light candles around the house and cook some food so by the time N gets home we can dine together a delicious meal I would prepare with all my love ( not entirely truth, I  did feel a little lazy, but still cooked with love and dedication).

So, between watching a movie on TV and cooking I managed to get that cozy feeling I love about a house, our home. N loves the same feeling of coming home and smelling the food. I think it's good therapy for any human being. Do you remember the time when you were a kid and after playing with the kids outside you loved to be called by your mom for lunch? Wasn't that the greatest feeling? and even greater to see the food being served on your plate? I miss those times.  Luckily we can reconstruct them with a friend, a lover, a spouse. Anyone who is willing to cook for you brings you back that special feeling. 

Now that N is at home, we can start enjoying dinner together. Excuse us. Before you go enjoy your dinner either with your lovely self  or the company of someone, I share with you the ' after' of this winter evening. One February evening.

This Mr Cat has been with me since Kokkola, it was given by my friend from Hungary 

Wine brought by our friend, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, that's how we like to call her

My inspiration

This lovely china is a wedding present from our friends in Singapore 

Bon appetit!

The first beautiful thing

To be able to talk to your father over the internet using Messenger for that. It's wonderful just how quick it is to talk to some person living across the globe.

My father is really far away but with one simple button, everything is fixed.

Today is San Valentine's day. Everyone is sending love messages over Facebook, sms, I even got many myself. I was surprised. Not because I don't feel I have any friends. but because somehow I think I forgot how or what they thought of me. Receiving an sms saying beautiful things about our friendship is just wonderful.

I am boiling some water because drinking tea in the evening is one of the happiest events in our daily lives. We drink this hot Ayurvedic and  organic tea that I buy from this organic shop and it's just delicious. Not milk or sugar added. Just plain hot tea. Good for the heart.

To celebrate Valentine's day, N and I went for a dinner to this new indian restaurant down town. Markus , our friend, joined us too. We hadn't seen him for a long time ( 2, 5 weeks ) but come on, it WAS time to see him and talk to him. We had a really good time talking to him and sharing common stuff like ' I am so tired' ' ' The food is so good!' 'I am so full now!' and stuff like that =) But it was fun.

I've been thinking during these last couple of days of things I want to write but which don't seem to come out into words but here I am , giving my first post after such a long time!


I hope you enjoyed it. Let's keep posting happy things because it's a beautiful world!