Today

"You don’t always get back what you give
Sometimes you’ve got to just keep giving
Without expecting anything in return
Tough as it may seem
To want it all is like
Living an illusion
An impossible dream..."

Ps: The music playing is an all time fav hindi song "tum itna jo muskura rahi ho" sung by ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh from the soundtrack of the movie "Arth". Lines from the song...

"Jin Zakhmon Ko Waqt Bhar Chala Hai

Tum Kyon Unhe Chhedhe Ja Rahe Ho

Tum Itna Jo Muskura Rahe Ho
Kya Gham Hai Jisko Chhupa Rahe Ho

Rekhaon Ka Khel Hai Muqaddar
Rekhaon Se Maat Kha Rahe Ho

Tum Itna Jo..."

I love...

Sorry Yashita!! This was the tag I was supposed to do wayyy back but somehow a lot of other things came up inbetween…but here I am all set to do the tag and hopefully it’ll be up in the blog today!

The tag says I have to list out five things I love about my body and myself…

Ohkkkkk!! I love talking and writing about myself. And I’ve done a lot of that in my posts here in my space but this one’s not an easy tag. Not that I am very pessimistic about myself (anyone who knows me well enough will tell u that I’m quite an optimist in all respects!) but I am also my biggest critic! So to sit here and talk about what I love about my body (ahem!) and myself is going to be a lil tough!!

We’ll start with body: P (in random order)

1. My lips…my smile! Though I’m not really sure if people around me feel that way…I did have couple of friends tell me that I have a nice smile and a compliment I got way back makes me wanna smile some more :) … no not what you’re thinking (though yeah that’s a definite plus ;-)!!)! What I’m talking about is friend’s telling me that any shade of lipstick or gloss looked good on me but my lips without make up had a distinct shape and needed none of the added color…hmmm!! :-)))

2. My eyes! Okk my eyes are too small and look carefully (@ pic) and you’ll see that I have inherited my father’s eyes...they’re not symmetrical! When I smile, they disappear!! So why do I like them? Well because my eyes don’t lie even when I try to…my eyes are truly the mirror to my soul. If I am uneasy I will avert my eyes because I know they give away more than I wish to…

3. Writing about the first two was easy…Now I have to thinkkkk…lol! Ok I love my legs…not that they’re anything fabulous…shapely and long etc etc. They’re normal and okk…but well we’re talking about what I love about my body right so yes I love my legs! I am blessed not to have two left feet…I love to dance and I can dance and I am learning dance…*sigh*…it’s my greatest stress buster!

4. My hands…I can’t talk without using my hands. They play a huge part in the way I express myself. And I’m a very demonstrative person…if I wanna hug, I will. If I wanna hold your hand I will…That’s me! I don’t think and show I care…I just do! Oh yes, I love henna in my hands...see the pic! :-)

5. Last but not the least is my hair…ummm…I’ve been treating it really shabbily in recent times starting with a disastrous hair cut after Vedant was born. But that was coz I wanted a no fuss hair cut considering the fact that I hardly slept or got anytime for myself for the first couple of months after he came along! But soon after I tried desperately to get it back to a decent length and cut. And then I experimented with colors…not that I had any grey to cover but well, I thot it would be fun…so colored it at home. Finally last year I got it straightened although I have straight hair…hmmmpfhhh! I told you I am one restless soul! :P But anyway now I’m ok with it…It’s not as lustrous and nice as it was before I got pregnant but it’s one definite positive feature about me…love it the way it is now :-)

Pheww….!! You have no clue how long I took to get all that done..! Now about what I love about myself…ofcourse I’d club all of the above in the first point (that’s allowed right??)…so that leaves me with 4 more to go…hmmmmm:-)

1. All of the above … 5 things I love about my body!

2. My family…that includes my extended family too (with a few exceptions!) and the friends I’ve made coz they do define the kind of person I’ve come to be…the Ishita you know now. The daughter, the sister, the wife, the mommy and the friend that I am.

3. And continuing from the last point, I love being a mommy! I may not be the perfect mom…and I know I am not! But I love being one…it’s the best feeling and it’s just so me!!!

4. I don’t hold on to grudges. I get mad…upset but I let go of negativity in time and try to get back with whoever I might’ve had a tiff with. I learnt this the hard way coz there’s a friend I lost to a lot of misunderstanding and lack of communication. Now when I think back, I feel I was stupid and naïve but you know what they say about it getting too late to go back and fix things…well, that’s true and I know it best! So now I never leave it for later…

5. My ability to connect with people and express myself! I can be quite brash when I want to and very diplomatic when I need to be. But I will not lead u on and be someone I am not.

And that’s it!!!

Who do I tag? Yashita tagged Kesh but I’m not really sure if she’s done this one? If u haven’t, please take it up Keshi :-). Also gotta tag some more of you here…Rajbir, Uttara, John, Suchi, Sanjay, Amy, Lalitha … If u guys haven’t done this already, then please do it!!! :-)

Also tagged Jitendra! :))

Ps: The music playing is "What's up?" by the 4 Non Blondes. Enjoy and oh yes, have a great weekend everyone :-)

I believe...

Ideally I’d like to crib about my lousy connection but those who know me well have been hearing this for ages now and they’re also the ones who visit my space here and I can guess they’re rolling their eyes and saying “Oh God not again ishi!!!” ….. he he :P

Ab kya kare…that’s the plain and simple fact! I feel really handicapped and as a result I’m quite irritable now days. Its frustrating to have things to write about and then have the whole thing just lying here … unpublished! Hmmmpfhhhh!!!! Then when I do manage to get a post put up…I find that I’ve run put of patience and time to surf around and read up my fav blogs…yes yes I mean yours…and your and hmmmmmm…everyone!!

I couldn’t put up my Valentine post on time either. No not here but in my other blog “pOeMs ‘n’ QuOtEs”. I did put it up later though. I guess some times things aren’t supposed to be there when u want them to. You know how people say in hindi “har cheez ka apna time hota hai” (everything happens in its own time).

I do believe that (No silly not b’coz of one post not getting published as planned)! I believe in it seeing and observing the way life’s been for me and people around me. We can plan it all but there’s no surety that we’re gonna get the results we want! Hell sometimes it sucks but sometimes the results are so much better than we could ever imagine!

Then there are those times when we’re waiting for something to happen and it just doesn’t….and the wait seems unending! No light at the end of the tunnel….and then out of the blue, things happen…and they happen so fast, one’s left breathless and too stunned to react. I mean all that in a very positive way…don’t you just love it when that happens?

Something like this happened recently with a dear friend and it makes me smile coz it makes me believe that no matter how miserable things around us get, good times do come if you have the strength to keep moving forward.

Hmmmm :-) ...

Another incident that gives me the strength to face the depressing times life sometimes throws up is to do with a friend I met online. Someone I’ve never met but have known for two years now. We got to know each other at a time when I was very vary of people I met in chat rooms or networking sites. But he came across as a very genuine guy and we hit it off very well. In the course of our conversations I learnt a lot about him and vice versa. He was very candid about himself. It shocked me to learn that a guy so young and with so much to see of life was dealing with an extreme state of depression.

There was a day when he was going through a really bad time and all the things he had to say that day had me scared for him. He seemed at a point of no return. I don’t remember all the things I said to him but I do remember telling him that he could never know how wonderful his tomorrow could be if he let his today overwhelm him like this. I kept talking about how much more of life there was left to see and how a negative situation doesn’t last. I admit I said a lot of it just to make him feel better about himself and his life because I for sure couldn’t tell him that I knew what it was like to be in his shoes coz I’ve never been there…never been to that extreme.

I don’t know if what I said had an effect on him. He insists it did. He says that I happened to be there for him at the right time. All I know is God puts us in these situations…

My friend wasn’t the only one who got past that day with a new belief in himself. Today he’s doing well for himself, with a wonderful life, career, and found the love of his life soon after.

I learnt a lot from that experience too.

I learnt that there are times when life gets very tough and we lose all hope and we just can’t seem to see the silver lining. But people around us can pull us through. That just having someone believe in us can make all the difference.

And when I face a difficult situation or get depressed about anything, I think of that day when I talked to my friend. I tell myself, why I can’t I believe in the things I was trying to convince him about? When I put things in that perspective, I find it easier to believe that I can get past it all…

Ps: The music playing is “I believe I can fly” by R.Kelly and has everything to do with the post!! :P ... Lines from the song ...

"I believe I can fly
I believe I can touch the sky
I think about it every night and day
Spread my wings and fly away
I believe I can soar
I see me running through that open door
I believe I can fly
I believe I can fly
I believe I can fly

See I was on the verge of breaking down
Sometimes silence can seem so loud
There are miracles in life I must achieve
But first I know it starts inside of me, oh

If I can see it, then I can do it
If I just believe it, there's nothing to it

I believe I can fly
I believe I can touch the sky
I think about it every night and day
Spread my wings and fly away
I believe I can soar
I see me running through that open door
I believe I can fly
I believe I can fly
I believe I can fly"

3 Things!

Got tagged by John ...! But before that I know a very special day is around the corner... Valentines Day! A special day to remember loved ones and the very special someone in our lives. I think it’s a blessing in itself to be with and live with love and happiness. And when one has that, every day is special and every day is a celebration!!
Wishing you all A VERY HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! Hoping you all find, cherish and live the love and happiness you deserve!!! :-)

Now the tag!

Three things that scare me:

1. Losing someone close to me...
2. The dark!
3. Creepy crawlies....roaches! Rats...etc etc

Three people who make me laugh:

1. My son’s cute antics!
2. Mr. Bean
3. People caught on candid camera

Three things I love:

1. A good conversation and time spent with people I love...family & friends.
2. My pc!
3. Good food :-)

Three things I hate:

1. Malicious gossip
2. Last minute changes...delays...postponements...cancellations!
3. Vedant waking up before I do!!!

Three things I don't understand:

1. How an emotion like love can be sooo good and yet so painful at times!
2. Why is it raining cats and dogs in Delhi the month of February??
3. Why the cartoon series on TV are dubbed in a Hindi that one just doesn’t use in day to day life?

Three things on my desk:

1. This pc
2. My phone
3. Lil cartoon figures – Minnie mouse, superman, batman, dumbo the elephant, tigger, sher khan...lol...!!

Three things I’m doing right now:

1. This tag on a word doc
2. Answering Vedant’s 101 questions! (This one I’m doing forever!)
3. Cursing the internet service (disconnected as usual!)

Three things I want to do before I die:

1. Play with my grandkids...
2. Lose weight!
3. Have my dream vacation!

Three things I can do:

1. I can cook finally!
2. be there for a friend...
3. Dance

Three things you should listen to:

1. Your head vs. your heart
2. Music you love
3. A person who won’t beat around the bush and will tell it like it is.

Three things you should never listen to:

1. Stupid jokes...
2. Cartoon network in Hindi!
3. Me! When I’m in a cranky mood.....!!! :P

Three things I’d like to learn:

1. Some more cooking
2. Salsa ... the dance!
3. Meditation

Three fav. Foods:

1. Mummy’s cooking...home made food
2. Ice creams!
3. My own experimental cooking :-)

Three beverages I drink regularly:

1. Tea
2. Coffee
3. Milk

Three TV shows/Books I watched/read as a kid:

1. Tom & Jerry
2. Enid Blyton’s books
3. Disney comics

Three people I tag:

1. Rajbir

2. Uttara

3. Suchi

Ps: The music playing is “Groovy kind of love” by Phil Collins for my Valentine :-)

A Groovy Kind Of Love Video

A Groovy Kind Of Love lyrics - Phil Collins lyrics

Phil Collins Music Videos

Music Video Codes by VideoCure.com

Thanks everyone for your comments...sadly my lousy connection makes it tough to get back with replies...! or visit blogs... *sigh*...

Picture my personality :-) ...

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Mood - Easy Rider....

You’re a bit of a romantic and have a taste for the exotic. You love the feeling of sea breeze in your hair and sun on ur skin...slip those shoes off...you like to kick back. When it comes to Art you are creative yourself, and believe in self expression. You can see the little masterpieces in everyday life. You can be a touch sentimental. As for music, you are a focused listener and always on the look out for something new. Your music collection is your treasure. Your choice of treat shows you really care about your appearance. If u feel good on the outside, you’ll feel good in the inside right?

Habits - High Time Roller

You treasure your possessions. Looking fresh is standard for you – but can leave your pockets light. If you look good, you feel better. Your choice of drink reflects your classic taste. – Yes, you’re a bit of a glamorous one! You probably like to dress up, go out and be seen. As for the home, you favor a cozy, home spun look ... you love the D-I-Y (Do-It- Yourself) vibe big time!

Love - Home Soul

You’re a real home soul! You care deeply about family life and all that come with it, the love of a child very special. When you think of freedom, you think of technology providing you with links to communicate wherever you are. Opening more doors :-)

Ps: The music playing is the final selection for our dance presentation. "Tempted to touch" by Rupee (we'll be dancing to a speeded up version)...

Yashita I've been workin on the tag...saving it for next week :-)...!