Post Diwali...

After a week long break for Diwali and Bhaiya Dooj, it's sheer laziness that keeps me away from blogging :) ... it's getting cooler day by day and once I get done with my daily chores, I just want to snuggle into bed and read or catch a short nap...watch some TV...

Lil Anuraj is in his 4th month. He sleeps for longer stretches and for 5-6 hours at a stretch at night. So now I get my regular sleep hours at night! The older one has his school tests through this week. Afternoons are spent going through his lessons.

Diwali was good fun. We spent a weekend with my in-laws and shopped for Diwali gifts and oh yes suitcases to use for our upcoming trips. We also had visitors dropping in to wish us and the house was flooded with sweets and dry fruits :) and some very nice and pretty gifts.

Christmas is the next big occasion in our family. Usually we spend it with my in-laws. Bhaiya (R's brother) puts up a huge Christmas tree and all the gifts are placed underneath the tree. Mamma (mum in law) makes her delicious 'yakhni' pulao (it's a lamb rice dish) and of course christmas (rum & fruit) cake which I bake at home! I usually bake chocolate and plain vanilla cakes also since the kids tend to avoid fruit cakes :P

This Christmas we'll be on the train to Bhubaneshwar but should be with my parent's in time for Dinner :). I haven't been to BBSR in...6 years now! All my cousins have grown up. I've seen them grow through photographs. Looking forward to meeting them all.

My aunt and family are also coming back to Delhi from a long stay abroad. Right now they're in Mongolia! We've been getting their flat done up...a lot of renovation work. Here again my cousins have grown up a lot. They left India the year I got married...that's 9 years ago! Their flat is within the same apartment complex that we live in and I've missed having them around. It'll be great to have them back again :)

Below are some pics taken on Diwali and Bhaiya dooj...

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I usually avoid debates, issues, controversies in my personal space. This is more like me scribbling in my diary though in the past I have engaged in debates and issues. But there are enough people voicing their opinions on everything and anything that matters here in blogsville. I usually state my opinion in my responses to their posts rather than start a debate here in my blog. But yes there are times when I feel really strongly about many things and I usually wait for a while for any strong sentiments in me to die out or reason them out with ppl around me before I sit down to write a post.

Past experiences here in blogsville's shown me there are always those few who mask their identities and talk crap or force their opinions on ppl. In the guise of "anonymous" they get away with spreading a whole lot of ill feeling. It would upset me plenty earlier but then I told myself...anyone who can't reveal themselves can't

be taken seriously...and shouldn't be!

Of course blogger has comment moderation but then I do get to read their shit even if I choose not to publish it....

But ever since I've been sticking to my usual ramblings about my mundane life, I think I've successfully put off trouble makers...controversy rakers...good riddance to bad rubbish is all I can say :)

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Time to get on with my routine... more later!

::: Added the song "tha karke" from the movie 'Golmaal Returns' ... saw the movie last weekend. A sheer waste of time but this song is catchy huh? ... Vedant loves this and two others....one from Karan Johar's latest movie "Dostana"...song called ' Desi Girl' ... and from his current fav movie "Roadside Romeo" (an animated hindi movie about a dog called 'Romeo'...hmmm!)!!! So u see nowdays it really doesn't matter if I really like the songs, it's him who decides what plays here :D ... oh well, 'tha karke' I don't mind :P

Chail Trip :-) .. "A walk in the clouds"

Long long time since I updated here! I've been concentrating a lot on my new blogs @ "ishi's daily dose" and "Between Friends" and also been caught up at home। My usual ramblings can be read in the "daily dose" blog and I will not repeat all that's been going on with me here all over again :)

What I got here to write about is the trip I made to Chail this past weekend. It was R's annual office trip. I blogged about the last trip here >> "Heaven is a place on Earth :-) ... The Khajjiar Trip!"

Sunset view from the resort

We left Delhi by Kalka Mail on thursday night. The train was running late but we made it to Chandigarh at around 4:15 am and then took a bus ride to the resort which was around a 4 hour drive. The resort "Tarika Jungal Resort" was some 5-6 kms away from main Chail on a hillside with a grand view of Shimla and Solan on one side and snow peaks on the other.

View from our balcony

We were a group of 50 odd people. Most of us travelled together on the train and bus (two 35 seaters) while some others travelled in their own cars. We had much of the resort to ourselves and the children were delighted with the play area for kids :)...there were swings/slides and other games to keep the kids occupied. The resort was spread over a rather vast area and had different living arrangements...cottages, rooms, suites, etc. What was interesting was the glass dome like buildings of the reception area, gym/suana/spa and the honeymoon suite which gave a nice view of the sky and hills around....hmmmm :)

Suchi had joined us in this trip and we got two adjoining rooms with balconies that had a lovely view of the peaks. Lucky for us the rooms had a connecting door which made it easy for us to be together. Vedant decided that one room was for the boys (that's him and Rajiv) and the other was for the girls (that's Suchi and I) :)

The walk from our rooms to the dining area was very scenic indeed. We took a nice path that cut across the resort area and gave us a spectacular view of Shimla and Solan towns in the far distance. At night watching the twinkling lights of the two towns reminded us of jewels glittering in the dark :)... loved that!

There were a lot of activities too. One could make use of the gym or take walks/short treks to a temple nearby/ get a kerela body massage (i heard that was very relaxing!). There were games like basket ball or cricket and a pool table. We had our own games for the kids and the adults too. Of which Rajiv won the "fire in the mountain" game :P and later at night we partied a lot. Rajiv was lucky through the trip winning the seconf prize in the fancy dress nite. He went as a bashed up guy with a broken head/legs/bruises all over/black eye etc and a placard that read "I kissed my neighbhor's wife!" LOL! :D I went as a gypsy woman and V was a fireman! :) The first prize went to one of R's colleague's .. a guy who dressed up as a glamourous woman :P ... truly outrageous but a helluva lot of fun! The best win was when R and I won the couples paper dance :) ... don't even ask what a task that was... he he!

There was also a trip to the famous Chail cricket ground (said to be the highest in the world) and to a famous temple nearby.

We were there till sunday morning and left soon after breakfast. Took a bus ride to Kalka town and stopped midway for lunch. We got the Shatabdi (train) to Delhi in the evening. The train ride was fun too. In fact I guess you'd agree that anytime you're in any group outing everything ends up as fun. All the talks, games, gossip sessions, singing, dancing...everything adds to the fun and hulla bullla! :P

Personally, I would like to go back to this resort with just the family and spend a good holiday there. It was nice, secluded and I liked the whole idea of just lazing around and being away from the hurried pace of city life.

I'd recommend it as a place to visist to people living in and around delhi and more so if they're keen on driving up and making it there in their own car. A stop over for the night at Chandigarh would help one get refreshed and start the drive uphill early morning! :)

Enough for now. Changing the music in the sidebar to a song which shows off the hills of North India :) from the movie "Taal" ... the song playing is "Taal se taal mila" (one of the few songs of aishwarya I love)

150 Not Out! :-)

UPDATE : I'm not going to be around here for a while ppl...busy at home coz I have my parents visiting :-) and I have more family visiting the following week! I want to thank you all for your comments on this post :-) ! I wish I could reply to each one individually...I will try but not right away. I've also been caught up with the new blog "Between Friends" which is now all set and doing great! Tonight I've also updated my favorite blog "pOeMs 'n' QuOtEs" ... yes you heard me right...Not this (my main space) but that (my poems blog) is by far my favorite blog of all the four that I am a part of...which is why this is a really special moment for me... :-)!! I love all the blogs but I love that the most! :P and btw anyone who wants to know if all's ok with me...you could check this "ishi's daily dose"... this just started on 17th and is on an experimental basis :) ...

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Okkk first things first...check out the new blog "Between Friends" ... love it hate it...it's here to stay :P ... so go ahead take a look and yaa comments are always welcome :)

Another reason for the wide grin on my face is the fact that this is my 150th post...finally! Considering the fact that I have taken a whole lot of breaks and almost quit blogging a couple of times, getting to this figure is quite a big deal for me!!! :)

But I won't celebrate it in any unconventional way. I'll opt for an old familiar tag I picked up and modified to get sum answers from u guys...so here we go (puhleez do this ppl!)

Where did we meet (I mean came to know each other):
How long have you known me?
How well do you know me?
Do I smoke?
Do I believe in God?
When you first met me (online/in real) what was your impression :{ be Honest}
Color of eyes:
Do I have any siblings?
(If opposite sex) Have you ever had a crush on me: (If same sex) Have you ever been jealous of me:
What's one of my favorite things to do?
What is the best feature about me?
Am I shy or outgoing?
Would you say I am funny?
Am I a rebel or do I follow all the rules:?
Any special talents:
If there was one good nickname for me what would it be?
What songs make you think of me?
What do you think of me now?

And before u run away…just a few more (indulge me okk!)

1 thing u hate about me...
1 thing u love about me...
1 thing u learnt from me...
1 thing u don't believe about me...
1 thing u could give to me (from your personal treasure)...
1 thing u wanna take from me...
1 thing u think I should change...
1 thing u admire the most in me...
1 thing u wanna do with me...

Ps: The song playing is "you make me feel" by Bonfire...an old favorite! I simply luv it!! (yeah...memories with this song!)...

"Deep in the night, when I'm alone
My heart starts to burn, cause I feel for you
I've been away too long from my love
I leave it up to you to understand

I've got this feeling, deep in my mind
Come back and love me, just one more time
On the ground of an ocean, we buried our love far away
My heart's still bleeding, won't you come back and stay

I can't understand, why there's salt in my eyes
I can't understand, why your heart is in disguise
For I still need you, and I want you to come back again
You make me feel...never again

I can't find the answer from a look in your eyes
My heart's still crying...don't tell me your love is a lie
Why don't we give us a second chance

But I can't understand, why you laugh, though you cry
And I can't undersand, why I don't say goodbye
For I still need you, and I want you to come back again
You make me feel like never again

For I still need you, and I want you to come back again
You make me feel like never again"

....*sigh*...I so luv it :)

A friend is...

Enjoy the Holi pics! As you can see it was fun and I'm hoping you all had an enjoyable time. Don't we look a mess?! *grin*

The weather's changing too. Days are getting warmer and its time again to put away warm clothes and get out summer clothes. I've been busy settling the house before mum & dad get here on monday next.

That doesn' leave me with much time to be here and get around. I do spend some of my time checking mails and chatting with friends. And ofcourse check orkut...It's amazing how many friends I have got back in touch with! All thanks to orkut! :-)

Though what really was a nice surprise was getting a mail from a friend who found me through my blog! :-) And that was one friend I would often look for... doing a google search but never found him....till one day his mail popped up in my mailbox!

I'm not very good at keeping in touch...I'll write to friends out of the blue....longg mails and then get caught up with my life here and not write for months! Sometimes I don't call for ages....and then suddenly I just make a call and talk away. That's the thing I love about good friends, you can pick up things from where you left off without feeling awkward.

I read this today..."Even though we've changed and we're all finding our own place in the world, we all know that when the tears fall or the smile spreads across our face, we'll come to each other because no matter where this crazy world takes us, nothing will ever change so much to the point where we're not all still friends."

And I think those of us who have such friends in our lives are blessed. Friends don't make demands, don't have unreal expectations... I know everything is give and take but nothings forced in a friendship. You give coz it makes you happy...sometimes happy just seeing your friend happy and you take because what you're getting is so priceless :-)...

My fav friendship quote is "Silences make the real conversations between friends. Not the saying but the never needing to say is what counts." Isn't that how it is with a your good friends too? I know it is with mine...

And I love the way a good friend just knows what's on my mind without me having to spell it out? "A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words..."

I started writing this post with some other things in mind...but drifted into this topic...can't seem to recall what I set out to write about now...*sigh*

Ps: The song playing is one I found on youtube called "What's forever for"...nice lyrics....hear it and you'll find yourself agreeing with every word!

"I've been looking at people
And how they change with the times
And lately all I've been seeing are people
Throwing love away and losing their minds

Or maybe it's me who's gone crazy
But I can't understand why
All these lovers keep hurting each other
When good love is so hard to come by

So what's the glory in living?
Doesn't anybody ever stay together anymore?
And if love never lasts forever
Tell me what's forever for

I've been listening to people
And they say love is the key
And it's not my way to let them lead me astray
It's only that I want to believe

And I see love-hungry people
Trying their best to survive
While in their hands is a dying romance
And they're not even trying to keep it alive

So what's the glory in living?
Doesn't anybody ever stay together anymore?
And if love never lasts forever
Tell me what's forever for

And if love never lasts forever
Tell me what's forever for"

Ps: Started a new blog!! Take a look here - www.betweenusfriends.blogspot.com! and do share your comments :-)! Of course, it's still work in progress!

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 :-)

Some Time Pass :-)

Wanted to put up some fun stuff I picked up from Rajbir's blog. This one's long overdue but never too late right :-) ! The first one talks about which drink describe me best...kind of obvious this one :P

.:What alcoholic drink are you:.

You're... Beer!You go with the flow. Very mainstream! You're a lot of fun to hang out with, and you make good relationships with people. The good thing about beer, is the variety. There's light, dark, normal, and now there's all the other stuff. It's like different moods of beer! Everyone loves beer!
Take this quiz!

The next one's a lot more fun! I tried the face recognition site or better known as Celebrity look alikes site and below are the results. Different pics give different results of course...The first pic was taken last year...The second one was taken recently...:-)

And this last one is of hubby dearest :-) ... hmmmmm!!!

Ps: The music playing is totally unrelated to the post but an old fav...Fleetwood Mac's "Little Lies" :-)...enjoy! Lines from the song ...

"Although I’m not making plans
I hope that you understand
There’s a reason why
Close your, close your, close your eyes

No more broken hearts
Were better off apart
Let’s give it a try
Tell me, tell me, tell me lies"

New Year special :-)

First things first!!!!! it's wayyy tooo colddd to type a long post...lol :D...Mumbai spoilt me u know...got me all lazy and laidback. There are a lot of things to write about and share with everyone. I really dunno where to start and where to end!!!!:p I wanna thank all of you for ur wishes in the last post comments :-)...hopin u all have a fabulous year ahead too!!! :-)

Although I was in Mumbai for two weeks...the exciting part of my trip began when I met Uttara! Honestly, no matter what I heard of her or read of her (in her blog!), nothing really prepared me for the kind of bonding I had with her in such a short time! she's one bundle of energy and smiles and at the same time when u get past the giggly, talkative girl...u see a person who's sensitive and downright sensible when she dishes out advice. In less than a week, we shared so much...she's one special girl:) and a friend I will cherish always!

We hung out together and talked nineteen to a dozen! Hah...I'm not the only talkative soul around ok :p!! Our fav plc to meet was a mall named Center One at Vashi coz' it was midway from her plc and mine:)! We had long conversations and grub and took a lot of pics although yes there was a sign prohibiting cameras inside the mall :p!! But by far my fav conversation with her was while we sat at the Mumbai Airport Terminal entrance munching "masala corn" :)...sharing my thoughts and just being myself comes very naturally when I'm with her:)

I also met Puneet (Yes of "Puneetdreamz" blog fame!) and his pretty wife Archana:)...who made a lovely picture of togetherness:). He's quite like what I'd expected him to be...friendly, good humored and with a charming smile. Yeah but I must mention all his attention was focused on his lovely wife :p... aah the bliss of a newly married life!!!:))...God bless!

Another amazing person I met and this is someone I'd been longing to meet ever since we'd got to know each other...is Kalpana:). She's the sweetest ever and trust me, one look at her and you'd never believe she's the mother of two adorable boys:)...! Rajiv and I spent a wunderful evening with her family and I got to savor some delicious chicken prepared in typical south Indian style...now that was sumthing new for R and I. A refreshing change from the usual butter chicken we get here in Delhi! This was on 31st evening:)...and I know in her I've found a friend forever:)

Later that night, We spent New Year Eve with Uttara and through her I got a chance to meet up with some more wonderful people! I met Preet (Strawy!)who joined us for a meal at the place where we (Uttara, Rajiv and I) were having dinner and once we brought in the new year amidst smiles and wishes, Uttara took us to Mala's plc:). Now Mala's yet another person I'd heard a lot about. The really nice thing about meeting them all was that I never felt akward or lost...I felt I was amongst friends I'd known fr ages! I loved the time I spent with them all and it's been by far, one of the best new year eve's! Thinking back to that night has me smiling..

We were joined by Puneet and Archana again later in the night...and after spending sometime, we left for home:)...

My first week was rather disappointing but all the excitement later more than made up for the initial disappointment...:)...thanks everyone for giving me such lovely memories:)

I'm already thinking of when next :p ... and waiting for another chance to meet up wid everyone...esp. with Uttara and Kalpana:) and yes next time I will try and make it to mumbai with Suchi!! :-)

Rajbir (Southpaw!) couldn't make it to Mumbai for personal reasons and we did miss him so so much but I'm sure we'll meet here in Delhi sumtime soon:)!

And another person I missed meeting up with on this trip was Arz000n but yes I gotto talk to him on the phone ... all thanks to Uttara:)...and m sure we will meet up sumtime in the future:). Also missed Sudeep a lot...he cldnt make it coz he was partyyingg in GOA!! lucky luckkyy him :-) but yes next time I'm not buying any excuse he makes :p

Yesterday (7th Jan) I got a call from John and that was like the icing on the cake...Thanks John! I really was hoping u would call before u left for Malta:-)....! U had me smilinngg away :-)

Keshi and Kathy...Missedd u lotss...!!! Hopin sumday I’ll get a chance to meet up wid u too :-)

okkk...this is it guys...I'll spare you all the other details of my trip:)...for then the post would reallllllyyy stretch out longgggg...and like I said typing in this cold is tough :p . I do believe that the way I spend New Year eve defines the year ahead...so now what with all this excitement, I'm hoping in the year ahead I'll get to meet and make a lot more interesting and good friends:-)

Now sit back and enjoy some pics (click to enlarge)...of my trip! (the remaining pics can be viewed in the pic blog laterrrr!)...

My first evening wid Uttara @ Center One :-)

Talkin to Rajbir....:-) ... misseddd meetin him :-(

Vedant wid Uttara :-))

@ Kalpana's plc :-)

Kalpana wid her two adorable boys :-)

Wid Kalpana...all dressed up to party :-)

Wid Uttara on 31st nite

R n I :-)

Wid Uttsy and Preet (Strawy!) on 31st nite

Heyyy warn us before u clickkk okkk :p...he he ;-)

New Years Eve At Mala's place :-)

Da Balloon Girl....Uttsyyy! :-)

Puneet and Archana ... d luv birds :p :-)!

Wid Uttara, Mala & Archana - Happy New Year! :-)

On our way to Lonavla

One for the camera....!

View @ Lonavla

Wid Vedant...don miss his sulkin face :p

@ the water park in Lonavla

Vedant having fun :-)

Driving back home!

Uttara n I ... @ our fav hangout "Center One"

Me playin waitress...lolz...:D



Uttara wid R's cousin Mark...sharin a sandwich :-)

Ps: Puhleezz take the time to watch the music playing...it's a special dedication to all u wunderful people :-)...the song is "I've had the time of my life" and the video is a collage of the ever popular series "F.R.I.E.N.D.S" :-)!!!

Edit: Also updated my other blog pOeMs 'n' QuOtes :-) (click here)