Happy Ganesh Chathurthi 2012

Wishing all my Hindu Friends ( nevertheless any one who loves Lord Ganesha) a very happy Ganesh Chthurthi. Have fun making good festival food and enjoy the day. May lord Ganesha bless the world with whatever is necessary for a peaceful life.

I have already written a post on how to make Ganesha idol. So i dont have anything to say this time. Pls find my ganesh chathurthi pictures which was celebrated couple a year ago. Becoz this year i have no idea what to do! :))

Another Obsession

Other than handbags, i have few more obsessions and one of them is my rings! I love wearing and collecting different rings. As im from India , we basically buy gold rings most of the time. But since i live here for the past 8 yrs, i started admiring rings which are made of metals other than gold. But i only have about 5 or 6 of the non-gold ones. Yet i love them the most.
The one thing that i will never stop buying is Rings. I started collecting them since when I was around 7th or 8th grade. Now i might be having aroung 70 or 80 probably. I never keep a count of it. The best part of buying gold rings is that you can wear them every day. It is a kind of investment. On top of it it makes amazing souveniers.
I wanted to show all my collections but they are all sleeping peacefully in the safe! so may be i will post the picture when i get a chance to go to my bank.
I am just posting a couple of pictures of the rings that im currently wearing.

Tanishq diamond ring, is one of the most popular diamond jewelry brands in India and is known for its innovative designs. This one is simply 3 diamonds built in 18k Gold. Came with a certificate of Authenticity. Each diamond is approximately 50,000 INR.

These are regular gold rings .

I.M.H.O Ash's weight gain!

Considering she's just going through a natural process, why all this fuss about a little weight gain ? Ugh!! It takes time to work off post-pregnancy weight. And it's only been 6 months since she delivered, so I am sure she'll get back into shape with time.
And people compare her with Lara Dutta who delivered at the same time. I dont know why people fail to realise that each and everone's pregnancy is unique. She has gone through a hard time getting pregnant & during pregnancy.Which means there is something more like getting just pregnant. It involves a lot of Harmonal changes, physical and emotional imbalances.  So, please refrain from getting judgmental.

Honestly to my eyes she has gotten more prettier than before.A rose is always a rose by whatever name may it be called!

How to add copyright symbol & name to Photos in Picasa3

Very simple....
*Select a picture
*Then select 'Add/Edit the Photo' option from the toolbar on the left
*It basically gives you the option to write something over the picture
*Now comes the main part - Press & Hold Alt key and enter the number '0169' and let go of the Alt Key. Picasa will add Copyright symbol to that picture.

Thats it. Have fun copyrighting your pictures.

My Birthday!

The most insanely beautiful day it is. Yes its my birthday. And i loved all the wishes, phone calls, text msgs, and wishes from Facebook friends made my day. On top of which my husband surprised me(as always) with this loveable cake! What more could i ask for. I thank god for making this day a wonderful & a pleasant one.

Oh the 5 candles r for 5 of us in our family! Cute isnt?! <3<3<3

My New Nikes

One of my new year's resolution is loosing weight. It is so challenging and tough with 3 kids. Yet i try my level best. I have a long way to go. Sometimes i get so low that i have to motivate myself. Lately i gave perks to myself as a token of achievement for reching my short-term goals(like losing 3 to 4 Lbs per month!).

Hence this post. I got these new nikes from sports authority. They r basically training shoes, which can be used for walking too. They carried only quite a few colors. I chose grey with flsc.green. I was skeptical at first about the color but it blends with almost any of my excercise outfit. Above all the comfortbeded sole is like walking on a cushion. So its a winner!
Price $75, with a 20% coupon(Available online in their own website). It came to about $60 plus tax = $64.

Love your feet

This morning i decided to do something that i have been thinking to do long since but never really did. Its pedicure! first time here in US. After say about 6 yrs. I have been lately finding a away to relax and soothe myself. And this is one such way that really makes me feel so nice.Its our wedding anniversary tommorrow, but we cant really do much about it as our schedule depends on our children. So i celebrate by giving a pedicure to myself.

I finally found a nail salon and got them done today. Aaww ....cant explain how happy i felt in yrs. Here's the pic.

My new favourite morning tea mug

Im a tea lover. i have to drink my tea, the minute i come to the kitchen as the first thing in the morning. Well not anymore. Im becoming lazy to make tea as it is time consuming. And i have to do 10 things at a time in the morning. Plus im on diet/excersie. So i found a new alternative to that which is a ready-made beverage mix. So, my morning ritual includes drinking tea/beverage mix, with marie biscuts. Allow me my dear readers to introduce my new favourite morning tea mug, tada...!!!

I Love Handbags

Lets see, .....my love for handbags started @ the age of 3. (wud soon post the picture as a proof). I cannot go to a place without it. I adore all cute bags. But im incredibly picky when it comes to the perfect one of my personal choice.

Im not a brand addict. Yet I love to have branded ones . NOT TO SHOW OFF BUT I REALLY LOVE THE QUALITY FOR THE PRICE IM PAYING.It gives an immense pleasure that we have gotten something thats worth the lifetime.FOR LIFETIME!!! if anything happens to it, you send it back and they fix it! How nice isnt?!!.. genuis! perfect! And no dont you dare to flash a question about knock offs to me. Im totally against stealing brand names. So i dont like fake things.

Anyways i have a cocktail of mixed range of handbags. Coach is one of my favourite brand. Coach reigns in my closet and even though I have a bevy of unique and pretty bags, I end up carrying one of my Coach bags 99% of the time.

Well im sure a lot of people out there are Coach lovers. When you go out for shopping or elsewhere, you can see atleast 5 to 6 people carrying Coach. Why? Because its the most popular affordable low end designer bags . People like to own brand names and please their wallets at the same time. So this is the widely used choice.Personally, I don't find Coach bags overpriced. In fact some, don't even consider it a brand now a days to be honest. Anyone can own them. And thats what i have mentioned earlier in this paragraph.















My next target is : Louis Vuitton Bag/Wallet & Burberry bag/wallet.Thats when i get back to work. Not for now.Anyways I love my bags. This is just my Coach collection. Others are pretty old ones and some are not branded. I cudnt take pictures of all becoz of time issue.

I cant wait to do another post about the popular "what's in my purse" . I like comments/following my blog , so pls feel free to do so. thanks for your time.

My twins turned 1! Yay!

When we reached our twins’ first birthday, we thought, we'd deserve a little celebration. After all, we have survived the first year.
You actually planned to have a big birthday bash with dozens of friends, decorations, and entertainment.
But all of a sudden, I didnt want to add stress by having a massive birthday party.
Fortunately, the first birthday is the only chance in your kids’ lives when they have no expectations of what a typical birthday should be like. Your twins’ first birthday is therefore your only chance to take it easy. So I took it easy!

Happy 4th Birthday to my Blog!

Happy birthday to you my sweet blog! Its been 4 years i started scribbling  my thoughts.This 4 years of blogging has taught me lot many things in life. Four years ago i had no idea if, anyone would read my blog, although i created this blog mainly as an outlet to my thoughts. I am amazed and delighted to see the number of visitors to my blog. Also i have earned few blog friends which is quite amazing.
To all of you, I give my million thanks . I loved having you visit, hearing your kind words, and sharing your experiences.
Thankyou.

Image courtesy : pincakebox.com

Karnan Old Tamil Movie in DTS

Sivaji Ganesan's Old tamil movie Karnan has been digitally enhanced and is to be released with DTs sound technology tomorrow in theaters. It is sure to make a hit among the latest crowd once again.
Although i watched the movie a million times during my childhood, I never got bored. I seriously cant wait to see it.I have mentioned this as my top most favourite movie of all the times in my previous post Classic cinema corner - Tamil. But im not sure it would be released here in US. Lets wait and see.



Image courtesy : www.chennai365.com

Simple Pleasure

After coming back to US, home alone! without my mom! was really a nightmare. Managing 3 kids without any help.Aww.... I myself feel like a big time complainer. :(
This made me so depressed and thus i ended up cheering myself. Hence this thought which i wanted to share with you all.

Life is filled with tons of simplest pleasures that we miss to recognise . Dear friends and readers, we happen to meet rough times , and tend to get stuck . But the trick is get self-motivatedly cheering ourselves.
In my case i was obsessed with baby sitting and doing the household chores. Eventually i tend to loose my mind , which lead to stress. So I was  casually stalking around the internet and read some people talking about having more kids and yet having simple pleasures. Thankyou web-friends, for reminding me what life is all about! Their experiences reminded me of  my simple pleasures to bring back my mood!
Here are they are:
Snuggling with my kiddos in the bed.
The moment i saw a wonderful handmade card by my Son for the mothers day!
The minute i saw my son's valentine card , that he had mentioned "My valentine is my Mom"
The first time my twins said Momma
Hearing someone say I love your hair/eyes/smile :))
Being told I did a great job on something
Reading emails from readers of my blog.
The smell of my house after the maids leave
The smile on my son’s face when I pick him up at school
Hearing my twin girls saying bye-bye to their big- brother when he leaves to school in the morning.
My twins huge (mostly) toothless grin when they see me
Unexpected “Mommy, I love you”s from my Son.
When my Husband says "this is the best dish i have ever had" with my cooking. and/or
"Not even my Mom(supposed to be every guy's best cook) could make such a tasty dish!
(Actually the later would be the biggest credit to my cooking.

So basically what i wanted to convey is that, please try and find beauty and pleasure in simple things that you would experience every day,  that would relax your mind.
Try it out folks, just ease yourselves from day to day anxiety and tesnions. Make yourselves physically and mentally healthy!

Wishing you all a Happy new year 2012

Hello friends , I miss you all terribly.I keep getting lots of emails and word of encouragement which means a lot to me. Thankyou all very much for your time. I try to reply to each of you who have personally emailed me. I could only wish for more hours in a day coz i dont think 24 hrs would be enough for me being a mom of 3 kids!

Year 2011 Recap

Went like a RollerCoaster ride!  :)) Or shud i say it was like watching a suspense thriller?! both would be apt.

Started skeptical(w.r.t my pregnancy)
Obsessions
Miracles
Excruciating moments
Grounds of Optimism
End of Extremity Era
Travel to India
Back to US
Busy  Busy Busy - No Nanny :(((


Needless to explain each topic! This was my year 2011's happenings. Meet you all in another wonderful year 2012.

Happy Krishnajayanthi 2011

Happy Janmashtami everyone. I love celebrating all our Hindu festivals, it is so endearing to me since i love doing pooja, decorating swamy idol & house, preparing food for them. This is such a wonderful task that I was bestowed with in my house and now even after marriage I continue the trend. There is something so satisfying doing these things.

Especially for this festival, drawing little krishna's feet is such a heart touching thing to me. Past few years had been even more interesting, becoz of my son Aran. WHen i finish drawing Krishna's feet, He will stand on the main Kolam where krishna's both feet is drawn and put his hand on his wait and would stare at me.... To me he looked exactly like Lord krishna has come to our house in his form. After all every child will appear like the God almighty, to their Parent.And im no different

Have a wonderful day.

My life with Older one plus Twins

When I was carrying twins I usually hear this phrase "Double trouble" from most of the people. I was like why would they talk to me like this?


Should it not be taken the other way round "Blessed twice"?!

Then i gave birth, brought them home.We named them Lalitha & Radha. Our first son was totally excited being the big brother.At this point I had this thought that all of these people had no idea what they were talking about. All those people who appropriately spaced out their children so they were able to enjoy each of them individually.

Its been 5 months now. Been having various emotions that i cant even explain.Although no complaints from this twinmama, I am totally blessed! However, I am in a state to face the roughest part of my life. I am sleep deprived beyond imagination. I am overwhelmed beyond imagination. I am hormonal beyond imagination. I am confused...well, beyond imagination.

The work involved with caring for twin infants is well beyond double the work. Yes, there are double the diapers, bottles and clothing, but it is more than that. No one speaks about the "third" side known as "inconvenience, logistical nightmare and do-overs". Let me explain...

I was carrying out a simple daily routine that I usually do with the help of a nanny who worked for us for about 2 months.My Nanny's timings are 8 to 5 pm. And my husband comes back at around 8.30 pm. During this lapse of time i have to manage 3 kids. Twins plus my older son. Twins cry at the same time(mostly). I had to feed them one by one and then Aran, getting bored of watching cartoons and doing the same old homeworks from his preschool. Somehow i finish the feeding, and then Lalitha poops, by the time i finish up cleaning her, Radha cries out loder and louder.... and my son Aran, cries that he is getting bored. With these loud cries I try and finish up cleaning Radha. And still had to manage Aran. The minute my husband enters home i will feel so relived that someone is there to help me out. I am really tired and exhausted.

And to my bad luck my mothers stamping got rejected as she had to come twice in the same year within few weeks gap. So me & my husband decided that We'll go to India and stay @ my mom's place for about 6 months and bring up these kids. So here i am now in india. Been a month now. And i already miss my husband and so does he. I hope i could get through this stage with strength and courage and with blessings of god.

If i shud thank one person and owe my lifetime that would be my adorable Mom. Without her i wouldnt be able to get over my most difficult twin pregnancy and had 2 beautiful twin angels in our hands. Now that they are 5 month old, growing up. Just cant wait to see them grow bigger.

Im still figuring out how to plan my time better. Another thing i realised is that this is the hardest work and its okay to ask for help.

It's is more than double the work.Im sure each new stage presents new challenges, but it is amazing how other twin parents (and other multiple parents) are able to overcome each hurdle. I also learned that "this shall pass too" and that after years pass by I will definitely miss these hardest yet most wonderful moment thats worth every second!!!

With tears of joy.

After a long break

Hello friends, I haven't posted in several months due to the premature arrival of my twin daughters, beginning of this year. For all of you who were praying for us, thank you! We are home after a long struggle and are doing well.It has been quite a long break for me from this blog. However, I am back and would be posting articles here forth though not frequently as before. So stay tuned.

Indian maternity portraits - Tips

I guess u mught have understood the title well. Many of you Indian Pregnant women, (like me) must be wondering how to take and preserve good maternity pictures. I kind of never liked exposing my belly or bare body of pregnant women in the photographs and preserving them.... Well its my personal taste. May be becoz the way i was brought up.This is so common here in UnitedStates or any other western countries. Believe me its becoming very popular in India too... But im sure, there are lots of people who still stick to my kind of taste.

Been thinking about this topic - 'Photography for Indian Pregnant Women' long since. Ok, so this post will be more useful for those of you Indian preggo ladies,  who resides outside India, and just have digital camera, ans still wanna preserve ur consolidated maternity memories, but do not have enough ideas to capture your thoughts.I Came up with some consolidation of ideas by browsing and viewing lots of albums, I hope you will be a starter inspiration for you all just like me.

There are several ways you can consolidate your maternity memories

1. Traditional
2. Contemporary
3. Mixture of both

Things you will need:

1. A good digital camera (Though a DSLR will be ideal)
2. An account with the digital photo developing sites like Snapfish/ Kodakgallery/Shutterfly/Clark etc etc
3. And a perfect mood! Have a natural smile in all ur pictures.Or atleast donot be a frowny.

Tips/Ideas

• You take pictures showing each month or by trimester.
• When you take pictures month by month , it is better to stand in the same place , prefferable against a plain wall , posing sideways, with some plain ( no patterns), and dark colored dress, throughout the pregnancy.That way u can see ur belly's growth.
• When you have no time for all these, then u might wanna take random pictures but remember to note the trimester. May be u can show up ur fingers as to what month you were , in that picture at that time.
• When taking random pictures:

Place: Outdoor photographs, in the daylight, are always my first choice. Prefferable greenery background. Like you can go to a nursery, or a playground, sidewalks with the green bushes, or even ur own garden for that matter.
Costume: You can either choose our traditional indian outfits like Saree or Salwar or even a mix like brightblue jean with white kurta or the wester outfits.
Costume Color: Denim blue Jeans and Whites for all skin type.
                            Dark red/Bright yellow/Dark Green for fair skin.
                            Mustard color/white/ neutral shades for dark skin.
 Make-up : Minimal. Just enhance your eyes with clear mascara, and lip gloss. Ofcourse with neatly tweazed eyebrows. Let your hair loose.

Place: Indoor Photographs with bright good light - will be my second choice.
Costume : Same. Denimblue and whites will be perfect for any occasion.
Color : Same
Make-up: Same as above.

Poses:

• Outdoor : Just a casual pose while walking in the breeze.
• Outdoor: Or by sitting or lying down over a green lawn , you seeing the blue sky....
• Outdoor : Just holding hands with your husband (either front or back pose), using self timer.
• Indoor: Lying in a couch with legs crossed and with some pros like reading books -picture to be take from behind your head, so that your face is not visible , only your tummy is visible.
• Indoor: Sitting in a yoga mat with some yoga postures.
• Indoor: If you already have a kid(s), then you can hold their hands or legs, and pose sideways.
• Indoor/Outdoor: If you already have a kid(s), then you can take the usual pose, by making them hug around ur belly and pose sideways.
• Indoor/Outdoor: Holding flowers close to belly and posing sideways. This should be a closeup shot of ur belly with ur hands holding flowers
• Indoor/Outdoor:A very common pose - again a close up shot  of ur belly with your hands making a heart symbol.
• Indoor/Outdoor: To have an indian touch you can pu mehandi in ur hands and wear beautiful gorgeous bangles.
• Indoor/Outdoor: Or you can take pictures when u hang out with ur friends or relatives.

Add up ur professional baby shower pictures to this collection and make a photobook! I personally love photobooks rather than storing the induvidual prints. Im sure many of you will think , it would have been better if i demonstrated with some pictorial examples. I will definitely comeup with my  own compilation examples asap. Till then have fun taking & preserving photographs.

Season 2 /Season finale!

Okay dear blog friends, i gotta tell u some good news thats happening in my life, that we are expecting again. And we have been experiencing whole lot of changes & hardships so far , which is one of the reason I wasnt able to continously post anything in my blog. We are so preoccupied that the family dyhnamics is unexplainable. But im so happy i got so many emails concerned about my absence. So this is it. Well, lets see yall in another wonderful.