New Year's resolution time...

Two Christmas dinners and a bunch of cocktails later I am sitting here, a pomegranate margarita in hand, contemplating my new year's resolutions as a scary movie plays on the TV.
Speaking of TV, I am absolutely loving watching "Desperate Housewives". Ah! Vacation time!!!
Anyways, back to resolutions, here are mine...
Just one more sidebar.... must say I have enjoyed all the baking I have done this season! A cherry spice cake no longer intimidates me neither does a New York style cheesecake. A new beginning.. a new business venture..I wonder!?
Speaking of what else I enjoyed this season, I volunteered at Mini-Me's school. I definitely want to continue doing that. Makes Mini-Me happy too!
OK, so here are the resolutions..
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Yes, you guessed it, can't think of resolutions!
I am in a happy state of mind between all the good food and alcohol and cant really think of anything I want changed! As long as this continues next year, I got nothing to complain about!

Our second newsletter.

Quiz Time -- Book No #1 -- The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

1. What was Edgar’s earliest memory?
A. His dog Almondine when he was in his crib.

2. What question did Edgar ask his parents that was never truthfully answered?
A. How they met.

3. Claude told a lie to Edgar’s parents. Edgar knew it wasn’t true, but he went along with it. What was the lie and why did they tell it?
A. That Forte killed the deer, when in fact he shot it. Edgar did not want Forte killed.

4. Dr. Papineau came to dinner one night after Gar died. What dessert did he declare, “I bought it by hand.”?
A. Lemon meringue pie.

5. Where did Edgar hide to spy on his mother and Claude? Did he get caught?
A. In a tree overlooking the kitchen window. Claude saw him, his mother did not.

6. Edgar helped Henry find answers to what kind of puzzle?
A. Crossword.

7. What kind of car was Henry restoring?
A. 1957 Ford Fairlane Skyliner, retractable hardtop convertible.

8. Who was the ghost in the shed?
A. The previous owner, who had collected all the stuff because his wife wouldn’t throw anything away.

9. What is a waterspout? Does it make noise?
A. A tornado or funnel cloud over the water. It is very loud.

10. What is the significance of the photo Edgar found of Claude and Forte?

eNewsLetter #1

Jack and Jill...

This past weekend I carved two Jack O' Lanterns. A first for me! One for Mini Me and one for Mini Meow. Happy face is Mini Meow's & the other is Mini Me's.

It was fun!

We (Mini Me & Mini Meow) have decided to carve (Me doing the work!!) two small pumpkins per week until thanks giving. We (Again, Mini Me & Mini Meow!) want to carve a turkey (Turkey O'Lantern!!) during the thanksgiving week. Will keep you posted.

Radhika.

Deep thoughts...

Hi there Book Worms;

Radhika asks:
Do you think Carl Spitzweg was thinking of us when he did the painting??

Do you have any book wormy thoughts to share?

Gift to the Clubbies.

Consider yourself tagged...

You are now officially a BookWorm.

Why?? Because Oprah said so...

The first book that has been picked is "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" by David Wroblewski.
Being new to the eBook Club scene, I wanted to play it safe. So I went with Oprah's pick. As we evolve as a group, we can pick the book based on mutual consensus or let a person pick each time around. We'll see how that goes.

For those of you who might have read the book already, please do discuss the book with us. The window to read this book is Oct 6th thru December 6th. We can discuss the book in the weeks following and take it from there.

If the majority of the group has read the book, we will change the book, of course!

In the meantime, feel free to leave comments on where you are in the reading of the book and such. Let us avoid spoilers as far as possible.

Be nice!! The goal is to have fun as a group.

I am still trying to figure how we could tag each other along the way to encourage each other to finish the book. More on that later.

eBook Club.

I have always wanted to be part of a book club. But I have never quite found the time to join one. The one I did attempt to join, I was not interested in the books they were reading.

My blog has provided me with an unique venue for a book club. I would like to read a book at my convenience & write my thoughts at my convenience.

I would love it if you would join me! Shoot me an email if you are interested. I personally lean towards mystery novels. We shall pick simple books we all enjoy reading & talk about them via the blog.

I am leaning towards "The White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga, a 2008 Booker Prize nominee. Do you have any ideas on any books that we could read?

Let's have some fun reading.

Mini Meow and the donuts

Foreword By Me: Upset with your sibling?????? Write a story & publish it on a blog!! Revenge in the Internet era!!
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One day there were two brothers named Mini Me and Mini Meow. They were very nice, intelligent and strong. On that very day their mom bought a donut pack. When Mini Me held the donut packet Mini Meow would cry for it. When Mini Meow had the packet Mini Me was nice and did not complain.
On that night Mini Meow hid the packet of donuts. When their mom screamed for the packet of donuts ten times, Mini Meow had to tell his mom where it was and he got grounded. So Mini Meow lived a grounded, sad and boring life.

The End.

An Ode to the Cooking Blogs.

A friend's cooking blog introduced me to the world of cooking blogging.
The wide variety of cooking blogs never seize to amaze me. Unique creations or the most common creations but with unique touches will now live on through the blogs.
Many a time, they offer me new ways to cook a dish or offer a new recipe with readily available ingredients. I definitely have to come to rely on them. Many a time I use the recipe but never thank the blogger, hence this post!
I am not a chef by any measure neither am I passionate about cooking, yet you foodie bloggers, through your efforts, passion and creativity have inspired me to pen a recipe of my own.
So here's to all you foodie blogger..... my many thanks, my appreciation and my love.

The Childhood of Mini Me

Foreword by Me: Here's to you ACI...
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Once there was a boy named Mini Me. He started studies when he was three. But there was something wrong. His mom could not take care of him because his mom was so busy due to her job. So the only people taking care of him were his aunt and his dad. Then when his mom left the job and got another baby and another job she took more care of Mini Me. Then they lived a happy life.

Pets are for petting

Foreword by Me:
This story is mini-me's attempt to convince me to get a dog. Ties in well to my previous post titled "Pet Owner" doesnt it!?
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Do you like pets? If you like pets then buy one. Would your mom or dad want a dog? I think everyone would want a dog because you can pet them, put them clothes and take them on a walk every evening. Do you really want a dog?

The End.

The unsmart Bobbi

One day there was a boy named Bobbi. He was so cute that adults wished he was their son. But there was something wrong with him. He wasn't smart. Finally his mother realized he wasn't smart. So she made him study. Finally he learned all the studies he's supposed to. Then he lived a happy life as a smart Bobbi.

The End.

Blame Gardening.

After an extended break from blogging, I am back!! Blame it on the gorgeous spring and summer seasons. Both seasons have meant lots of outdoor time.

One activity I especially enjoy during this time of the year is gardening. It is therapeutic for me. A real stress buster. For a couple weeks there, it even replaced TaeKwonDo. It means a lot of hard work, but well worth it at the end of the day.

This wasn't always the case. When I started gardening 4 years ago, my efforts always ended up as an eye sore. Weeds were the only thing left in the area where I gardened.Dead plants were a sure bet! Caused a lot of stress!

After moderate successes last season, and reading up on plants, numerous visits to local nurseries, employing mini me to help me (child labor, yikes!!), incessently questioning coworkers and friends and fretting over the plants constantly, I ended up with a bounty of blooming flowering plants this season.

Purslanes, marigolds, roses, autumn joys, million bells, impatients, you name it, I have it. They blossomed like never before. Filled up entire pots till the pots were no longer visible. The landscaping I did (re-did, actually!) in the back yard turned out pretty decent as well. My m-i-l adorned her hair with flowers daily and we also offered them to God.

I hope to enjoy this nature's bounty well into October. Even my indoor Cymbidium Orchid (the two pictures above the picture of the marigold below) has been in full bloom this season. Please find attached some pictures. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

I hope to repeat or do even better next season. If not, I will always have this blog post and pictures as proof that I did succeed, atleast one year!!

Short stories from an author in the making.

Manley the fish was eaten by Rob the crocodile. Rob was happy and he went home and slept with a full tummy.

The next day Rob went looking for food again. He did not find any. For many days afterwards he did not find fish. He was sad. He went to a new place. The fish were happy.

One of the fish had seen Rob eat Manley and told all the other fish to hide! So they were all safe from Rob.

The End.
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Ned the cow belonged to farmer Ted. One day Ned ended up at farmer Sid's farm. Ned didn't like farmer Sid.

The next day he tries to burst through the gate. He tried 5 times and it did not work. He kept trying and it still didn't work.

The next morning he tried one more time. He ran super fast and "POW!!!" the whole gate broke. He ran to farmer Ted's farm and then he felt fine.

The End.

Painting update.

Finished painting class with Larry. He turned out to be a wonderful painter and teacher. Even gifted me the painting he did while teaching me to paint. An older gentleman kinda down on his luck, I think!

I have taken pics with the cell phone. Not the best quality, but should give you an idea of the paintings.

Painting with trees is mine and painting with barn is Larry's.

Exhausted.

More later.

R.

Mantra.

My new mantra is "Everyday Eight". Why Eight, you ask? Well, for one it starts with an "E", same as everyday!! This should help you, my dear blog readers, understand why I have problems coming up with a creative story idea.

Anyways, getting back to the point, 8 more is the goal. Be it reading eight more lines or eight more pages or eight more chapters of the novel I am currently trying to finish (Salman Rushdie's The Jaguar Smile) or adding 8 more stitches to a cross stitch project (Disney characters) that has been lying around unfinished.

I am trying to motivate myself to reach the finish line on projects I start with a lot of enthusiasm and somewhere along the way other things come up and these projects lay around unfinished.

Maybe I should apply this mantra to the book I want to write. Write at least 8 words a day. With regards to this afore mentioned book, I seem to have writer's block even before I have begun.
I am trying to draw inspiration from real life. Zip! Zilch! Nada!
What about using my imagination, you ask!? BIG Blank!!

Some thing more achievable, I think, is to jazz up this blog. I am hoping to spend some time this weekend on this.

BTW, my painting class is this afternoon!! How exciting!

R.

My first short story.

As I embark on my journey as an author, I thought it will be a good idea to write a short story. Get feedback from you, my dear blog readers! So here goes..

Once upon a time ... noooooo!! that's been done before.

A long time ago in a land far far away...Stop!!

He fell in love the minute he laid eyes on her...ugh!

As you can clearly see, the journey is going to a long one. I will post a story if and when it comes to me. I need to clear my mind, get into the zone, the writing zone.

Until then,
Om!!! Om!!!

Pet owner.

An extremely adorable family member convinced me that it was the best thing in the whole world to get a dog.

Being a sucker that I am, I readily gave in. So did my better half!! More easily than me, I should say! Yes, a pet would indeed be great! We had the name picked out too. Scruffy was going to be the new member of our family.

We would walk him regardless of rain, sun, sleet or snow. We would bathe him, feed him and keep his coat shining. Ah!! the good times were just around the corner!

We then took the next logical step, consulting with other dog owners, friends and neighbors on the type of dog to get, where to get it from etc etc. Ohhhh.. the excitement is building up now!!!

Crashhhhh!!! What is that I hear??? The bursting of our dreams by these very people who were supposed to guide us to doggy nirvana!? Unbelievable!!

They were all quick to point out why a dog wasnt right for us, for ME in particular!!! ME!? I was going to prove them all wrong! I was going to be a great dog owner.

Thankfully, a tiny voice in the back of my head took charge. I am indeed not a dog person! Maybe my recurring nightmare/daymare that a black dog with green eyes attacks me should have been my first clue. Settle down, Bear! I am not talking about you!
And I should clean up after a dog which could potentially attack me!? Wow, what a deal!!

Thanks to my dear friends, I am back to being a happy non-dog owner.

Hearing my friends talk about their pets, made me realize the amazing love pet owners must have for their pets to make owning a pet a rewarding experience. My hats off to all the pet owners around the world!

Although, I had asked my friends for their opinion on my potential pet & not their opinion of me! Wonder why they used this an opportunity to let me know what they really think of me!??? That was uncalled for. You know who you are!!

Painting.

I am finally getting back into painting. I am super excited!

I never was and never probably will be a great painter. But I am interested in it and was reasonably good it. In the past, if I set out to create a painting of a dog, it at least looked like a dog, or an animal anyway!

I have setup some lessons with Larry. I am a little apprehensive about this because I haven't met this Larry before. Just seen one painting of his. Pretty good, I should say! But I am setting up the classes in a safe environment, so I guess it should be ok.

Nonetheless, it is exciting to begin. To take the first baby step! Maybe I am destined to be the next J K Rowling/Pablo Picasso combination!!! An author who writes an amazing book and paints amazing pictures for the book!

So much to do so little time. I will post back on how the painting lessons go!

Ciao!

Workout.

My favorite form of workout is Tae Kwon Do. While I do take other toning and cardio classes, Tae Kwon Do is by far my favorite.

It is about training the spirit and the body. Initially I thought this was just a membership oath you repeat every day that you train, but it truly is a way of life with this martial art.

When you put in your best effort to get the technique right, it gives you a great workout but also relieves the stress of the day because of the focus required to do each form or basic. You forget your surroundings. Like my instructor says, it is about being in the here and now.

It is now a family affair for us. Even my husband, who was a bit workout lazy initially, is really into it. And I could not be happier!

We love the school we attend. Probably the best instructors in the world. They teach us the true meaning of what it means to be a martial artist.

Got to go.... Tae Kwon Do is calling!!

Overly ambitious dinner.

Last night after I got back from work, and against better judgement, I embarked on making a 3-course meal. The meal included -- made from scratch sambhar, tilapia fry and raagi dosa.

I started out with full enthusiasm, feeling proud of the variety of healthy food groups included in the dinner. By the time I was through with half the cooking, I was tired and irritable. I was short with the kids and didn't give them a bath. Pushed it off on my hubby. I also had no energy left to load the dishes.

While I made the raagi dosa batter with enthusiasm, I had no energy to fry the dosas. I made a couple dosas for my husband & myself, because we are avoiding carbs, and made rice for the kids. I feel guilty about excluding them from this healthful bounty. But I was too tired to care last night.

My little one was having one heck of an evening as well. My irritability rubbed on him and he wanted all my attention & energy. And I had neither left.

All in all a very rough evening. It started out with good intentions but didn't quite end well.
A lesson well learned.

New to blogging.

I am new to blogging. I never realised its potential and benefits till I read my friend's blog. I saw her in a whole different light than the friend I hang out with.

She seemed to have found her calling, it seems to have a given her a real sense of belonging. I found myself envious of her accolades but at the same time proud of them too. It also made me want to blog myself.

It is also bringing out my hidden desire to be an author.

So here's to a happy & successful blogging journey.