In anticipation of weekend-

For V’s birthday... Sumit got her a Mickey Mouse Baking set. A complete set with tray for twelve mini cup cakes, pre mixed frosting, cup cake mix, sprinkles, Spatula, measuring cup (all with Mickey art).. the whole deal! I have been wanting to use the set for a while... now that the Birthday celebrations have subsided, I am planning to use this Saturday afternoon with V, in putting the baking set to good use.
Yes, I was am way more excited about it than V currently is. The cup cake set even comes with liners of Mickey! I mean come on, what’s not to get excited about. I shared the plan with a dear friend, She awwed and said: "Mommy- Kiddo bonding time"
And I smiled and thought... hmm.. So true.

One of my most vivid memories from childhood is cake bakes I did with my mom, the icing I fought with my brother to lick for and above all placing the "Gems", Tutti Fruity, Mixing colors in icing, using cake pens, and trying to make the cake look all pretty.
Growing up, for all our birthdays, mummy and her best friend K Aunty (My fav. Aunt), would get into planning mode and Eggless cake had to be made. Two... one for adults to pretty up and other for the kids- My brother and I to 'pretty up'. Mum had a collection of heart shape, round, teddy bear and numerous other baking pans. They mixed and matched different pans to make different shapes; I remember a teddy bear cake made with three different cakes, a butterfly cake, a three level cake, a boat cake and so on. They are creative!
The day of the baking was the most fun. We, the kids were given the task of mixing the flour with the condensed milk and the other stuff. In those days, electric beaters, whippers were not so common. I remember stirring and stirring and competing with my brother, my batter was smoother. Then, mum would give us the icing to mix. She and K. aunty would put all the ingredients together and we mixed. We licked a lot in the middle, loved the smell off the Vanilla Essence and countless other things. Yes, we got scolded for not washing hands between licks, for dropping the spoon, for not leaving enough icing to go on cake. But they smiled, and Mum and K. Aunty involved me completely in the cake bake process.
Bhaia and I were just happy licking/ mixing the icing. Mum and K. aunty would put the cake in baking. The mixing bowl was for us to lick! And we waited! Patiently, I must add.
They decorated the main cake. The second cake- was all for kids to decorate. I loved it. I remember one heart shape cake, K. aunty gave my brother and I one side each, so we don’t fight. We competed to get the 'our' own side prettier!
I know, this time when I go to India, I must dig for those cake pictures.

As I wait now, for Saturday to roll around and get to my first baking expedition with V where life is way simpler: I will rely on pre-mixed stuff, the oven will not conk off in the middle, the cake will not go bad! The electric beater will do the smoothness, the bake spray will ensure no stickiness, the sprinkles will flow freely through the containers. I know there will be a mess, licking of the mixing bowl, falling of batter and so on. But hopefully fond memories that V and I will create together over an afternoon of 'cake bake'!

SD thanks for a wonderful gift for V.. and for me.
Mum, K. Aunty...I will miss you both a lot this Sunday as I try to recreate history, this time with your granddaughter!

Mommy's Girls!

I am blessed with a concoction of girl friends, spread across the globe. Tied to email chains, re-connected via FB, college mates, room mates, new friends, and oh yeah.. Those few, who still see through me.!. Gosh.. I hate them ;-)
But here is my lame categorization of friends whom all should have.. but a mom should have for sure!

Fashionista: Oh O... I can’t describe in words, the NEED for such. They are the ones who will keep you motivated to be always chick! These will do your eye make-up in 1/10th of the time it would take you. These would be the ones, who'd tell you what’s in and what's not. They will be your “Aunty-hood” check! These would be the ones who'd scrounge at your sneakers when you take the kiddo to the park. They'll recommend ballerina flats. They'll love you. They’ll keep you in the "look" and they will make sure you don’t miss out on "what's up" in the world of "in". You need them to feel like a girly girl for a long time!

The single friends: They will be the ones, who will grab you by the collar and take you for a brunch, a night out or just out. They will frown when you mention it’s late and you need to sleep. They will help you realize, you are not old cuz you have kids. They will energize you, make you laugh... and will talk about their latest "finds" (better half of course) and they astonish you with what's "out in market" and then they will make you love your man even more.. for not being one of those creeps.. I swear!

The Mom friends: :-) Oh, yes.. They will understand. You can go on and on with the "potty-training" stories without guilt. They will give you advice on what to do with the non-napper. They will always have the right distraction for the kiddo. They will be the ones, who'll make you feel: "you are not alone" all kids do this, and all mom's go through this. They will nod in agreement before you complete your sentence.

The Planners: They are always upto mischief, more trips, more gatherings and are always ready for fun. They will encourage you to come along for that one "dinner". They will be adore the kiddo and will always offer to help out! They'd understand the need for sitters and the importance of a date night and will always understand if you can’t make it. You can have a huge party at home, and never worry about them. They will fend for themselves and be the silent hosts in disguise.

The soul-searchers: These are the ones; you could meet for coffee and discuss anything under the sun. Careers, In laws, life, Shoes, Trips,.. anything. You will not be judged no matter what, they will just listen to you. They will also be heard. They will offer advice and be okay if you don’t follow them. They will never tell you, I told you so…and above all. They will be there through it all.

The Critics: Oh yes, you need these. They might criticize the food, the child rearing, the choice, this and that and anything and everything under the sun. They would make sure to have lots of advice for you. They will never mean any harm, but will not bite their tongue either. They might not be politically correct, but they will be right a lot of times! You’d love to hate them ;-) But you’d fight hard to keep them around.

Did I mention the others…. The adventurers, the partiers, the simpletons, the chefs, the funny ones, the readers, the writers, the super excited ones, the-drag-me-along, the i-am-up-for-anything-anytime, the constant daters, the work-o-holics, the mom-o-holics, the kid-o-holics, ……….Oh I can go on and on.

All of my girl friends will easily fall under any or all of these categories… and I love them very very dearly. They are my angels, my friends, my confidantes and my support. And oh yeah, my girly talk and gossip buddies! (SD winks!)

But yes………..if you ever have all these types under a roof at a time. It will be a riot!
Thank god. I am living in such a riot.

Turnign 50!

Hell no.. i am not... of course not.. there is a long long long time for that... but my sweet blog is turning 50... 50 posts old.... with this post!

You know i believe in the words: "It's a start"!!! as much as I do in "Life is Good!". Its the name of my blog for crying it loud. And I chose this name after I kept drawing a blank on what to call it..or how to start writing. I admit I had been wanting to this for a while... and every time would come at choosing a name.. I’d draw a blank. I wanted it to be catchy, to relatable, to be intelligent.. and yes to be cute, peppy , cheerful, funny and all other possible adjectives. But i couldn’t figure it out. I landed on: It's a start.. Thinking could procrastinate as long as i wanted to... i knew.. Without starting I’d actually never start. Hence the justifications of the lovely name of the blog roll!!!
And may be i was right.. since here 50 posts later... It's a start!
I write.. more correctly blog.. because i enjoy it. I can count the handful of friends who read this space. And yes, I pretty much do bully my family in reading and commenting on the same. Come on, who doesn't like waking up one morning.. and seeing more than one comment on the blog! Hehe. I have met wonderful people through the blogosphere, connected and re-connected with friends. Learned new aspects of people, shared common ideologies, argued a bit and yes I have learned a few new things about myself as well!
For me- It’s a start still stands true. Its a start- to what i dont know.. but just to something that i enjoy doing. This blog is more generic.. more of whatever comes to my mind... more of me, my thoughts and my observations (Gawd.. i am self obsessive!) ;-)
Hopefully the few people who do read it (After enough arm twisting) enjoy it as well.... if not all of the posts.. just some!
And yes, i am one of those who would shamelessly bring the blog up in conversations,.. just to peck friends curiosity in reading it. I would FB about blogging... and then poor SD.. ask him 5 minutes after i post: "Have you read it yet!"
Of course, my other blog is more specific and its about my experiences and transition from being a carefree (borderline careless), relaxed (borderline lazy) and chilled out person to a mother... Yes.. i am still all of the above.. but the other blog describes my transition into a mom!
But this blog.. remains my starting point. I know.. some day it will take its form and become purposeful and be directed... But for now, i am content at letting this blog be as it is! ;-)
And i am happy at turning 50 posts old!!! Come on that's half century... and coming from the land where cricket is worshipped.... at half century..... you'd be cheering and jumping up and down by now!
I am content by just grinning cheek to cheek!

Life is not one big story, but a combination of little ones!

This was a line SD said right after a cop pulled us over for crossing a white line at a turn! The cop figured we were genuinely lost, and gave us directions to the place we were heading. Phew, a sigh of relief, no fun in getting a stupid ticket at midnight! So alls well that ends well, and then SD said the above line: "Life is not one big story but a combination of little ones!"

Few words but profound meaning. We both have been feeling that lately.. lets live more for the moment, all is good and we have to make sure what we do is good and gives us and people close by immense pleasure. Learn from the small things we see, grow with things we learn.

So here are the little stories in the past month, which have struck a chord! And these small stories will be a part of our bigger one!

On a recent jet-ski trip with friends, by lets just say, some stupidity of mine, we overturned the jet-ski. So the jet ski is upside down, SD and I were eventually laughing hard with life jackets in a huge lake, and really hoping our friends find us there! Eventually a lovely couple on a speed boat came, towed our ski and helped us back to our rental place. Really nice.. the lady said a simple thing, the week before, someone had rescued her daughter from the lake! So for her it was only overdue to repay it back to someone. Hmm... What goes around comes around i guess.

We met a cousin after ages, and while discussing SAHM and WM's (Short forms for stay at home mom's and working mothers, in case you are unaware of the lingo), he said a simple line: No body can bring up your child but you. At the same time, you have to spend quality time and not quantity time with the kids! As you can imagine he favored my kind- WM's and the guilt of working while V plays in daycare subsided a bit.... And i know its true, since we do may spend lesser hours with her, but definitely more productive and fun filled than when i was a SAHM. Point duly noted!

V and all of us went to Shedd aquarium in Chi town, just a huge place with a variety of fishes.. and dolphins and sharks.. and walrus.. and all you can image. I saw people of all ages, all colors, number of nationalities... just mesmerized by it all.. these lovely creatures, who don’t care what we do, where we come from and what our beliefs are! They live in there simple pleasures, and the mankind is staring at them, and cheering them on, as one! No differences, just one! Two things here, we all can live happily and share this earth without any issues.. and then, we should definitely go the green way to preserve what’s dear to us. I do want V and generations to follow to experience these simple pleasures!

And for going the green way- it may sound uber cool, so something which is a farce... Its not. We can all do something for this Green revolution- and the the title "Life is not one big story, but a combination of little ones" will hold true. If we do the little things to save earth.. all these small things by millions of people will add up to the bigger one- generations to follow enjoying mother nature in its simple, beautiful form.

So we must go on, continue enriching our loves with these little stories and keep an eye out for the younger ones to be able to do the same!