Its Snowing!!!

White white everywhere

looks so pure

The sun trying to make its way
but no hope of it even during the day

Day and night it snows
and the festive spirit just shows

All is merry and bright
oh what a beautiful sight

Wishing for more snow, I keep longing
but for now, I thank God for this little blessing

Getting things done

A few ways to get things done

• Do it yourself
• Request someone's help
• Did I say do it yourself?
• Ask the husband

Outcome: NIL

Lesson learnt: Forbid the husband from doing it.

Rollercoaster

So my mom and dad left for India and now am back home.Except for some crying in the airport, I was ok till I discovered that my life is rocked!


I had to enter the kitchen.5 months of bliss ended.

Instructions to TH

Dear Th

So I am with my folks for a couple of days and not at home.No,this is not a post to say about you being missed.This time around, I am more worried about the home front.I just thought I will leave you with a few instructions so that "our home" will not loose its sanity.Now, I know you can manage , but thats only to a certain extent and that will not be my way too.It will be unfair if I leave you clueless on what is to be done, where things are to be kept.Shall we get to the list?

1.I have tucked in the bed neatly.Once you are off the bed in the morning, fold the blankets and spread the comforter the exact way I do.

2.When you shave or trim your mosutache, donot leave the bathroom dirty. Thats the most horrible thing you coul do. Bother to clean up all the hair mess.And I will find out when I come there. Duh!

3.When you are done taking bath,Do NOT leave the wet towel on the bed. You know I hate that.Leave the wet towel in the towel hanger inside the bathroom.

4.After you have your breakfast,put the dishes in the sink.And remember to put the waste in the trash and THEN drop the dishes in the sink.Do not forget this, else be ready to face my wrath.

5.When you are about to leave for office, look around the house to see if you have turned off all the lights, the stove, the shower.Lock the door properly.

6.After you park the car, switch off the lights,remove the GPS and put it inside.I am sure you will remember my furious face that day when you had left the lights on.

7. When in doubt, call me. I always have the time to give you instructions.

The list will be endless,but I shall stop here.Good luck honey.

Lots a love,
ur wife

You think you are smart

when you hunt , hunt and hunt for a good deal on a particular thing for the home and actually manage to get it, ONLY to realise later that there was a much cheaper deal for the very same thing that you had got. Hmmpphhh!!!

Dishwasher

SHE: Hey I was ringing the door bell for 5 minutes, what were you doing?

HE: I was washing all the vessels

SHE: How sweet of you to do it.

HE: Wait, everytime you wash the vessels, there is some dirt in it. So, this time, I wanted to show you how to wash the vessels properly.

SHE: &^^%$$##@???

From scratch

From 9 months in a place to a totally new place
From leaving behind a vibrant bunch of friends to forming a new set of friends
From the comfort set up of home to slowly setting up another one
From everything in order to starting from scratch....

We are packing our bags and moving coast to coast!As if life isn't spiced up already, we wanted to add a little more to it.Things are being sorted out and tracked, goods being packed, lease cancelled, flight tickets purchased, temporary accomodation arranged...but goodbyes alone will not be said.

Diwali Time

Sweets, savouries, crackers, new dresses, socialising, making merry...its that time of the year again.DIWALI!!!And a diwali celebrated far away from the very happening place for the festival- Chennai. What's diwali without new dress or noise bursting the crackers anyway?How has diwali celebration changed over the years and how could it be over a few years from now? ( with some due imagination)

5 years ago---
Get up as early as 4 in the morning, take bath, wish relatives who get together for diwali,wear the new dress ( read ready to show off to friends and others),rush out of home to start bursting crackers.There used to be "healthy fights" amongst friends as to who started bursting crackers first. After a while, eat all the savouries ( bhakshanams) made at home and watch tv till the next session of bursting crackers.Visit temple.

Now---
Get up around 7 or 8 in the morning, take bath, wear a new dress if interested.Call up parents and all relatives wishing them a happy diwali.Eat some self made savouries. Crackers?- no mood for them. Watch tv , sleep. Visit temple.


5 years from now---
May be folks would do a video conferencing on the diwali day and we could virtually celebrate diwali, burst crackers,eat all the savouries.

Anyways, diwali at my home is being celebrated with some home made sweets and savouries, new dress, a visit to the temple.Happy diwali and have a safe one.

To our nine months

Love, life, lust, laughter, fights ....thats what these nine months of married life has constituted.Truly priceless.One of my friend told me " you guys argue a lot". I met TH 6 years ago.From blindly listening to him to screaming a shut up if he happens to talk while watching tv, we have come a long way.

Many times, seeing our married friends, I tell TH" oh they look so perfect together". They are so much in sync with each other, if one starts a sentence, the other completes the sentence.If one looks at the other,the other nods in perfect understanding.

But we are two different people.He loves watching movies, while I just wriggle through any movie.He is easy going, while I am rigid.There are more like these,but inspite of these differences, we live in the same room. And, I still feel at home.He is my home.

Here's to our 9 months of married life. However cliched it may sound, I can't put it any better. I love you.

2 in 1

SHE: Hey, I have invited "M & his wife" home for lunch on Sunday.

HE: Why did you choose a Sunday? Sunday mornings are meant for cleaning and evenings are meant for relaxing

SHE: Ya precisely, you vaccuum the house, clear the trash, clean the bathroom only on Sunday mornings.I call someone for lunch and the house is also clean.Orey kallula rendu maanga

HE: %^^$$##@@@??!!!

The Best Part of

returning home after a good 50 days is

- vaccummed and a neatly maintained home by TH
- lunch cooked by TH and kept in a casserole ready to be eaten

and





and

Packages...of love

I have always loved packages from home.They take me to a different world. I start looking at the cover/ bag in which the things are brought. Sometimes a Pothys , or a sweet shop cover ...or even something wrapped in a tamil/ malayalam newspaper.I kind of start mentally visiting the very same place which the cover mentions.My parents brought a few things for me when they came over here.Goodies from in laws, friends, grandmother and that wee moment, I felt the distance of 1000s of miles melting away.It was like seeing them through the goodies they sent for me.

Opening the bag is a whole different experience. Its not for the pleasure of getting some goodies..the pleasure comes from fondly picturing how they thought of what we would want and shopped for them.The phone calls that follow will be filled with conversation like " did you like whatever I sent?" " did you taste the sweet"? " does the shorts fit him?".I cleared everything from the bag and stored the bag carefully.Everytime I wish to travel to Kerala/ Chennai mentally, I would simply pull out the bag, touch it and picture myself going to all those shops.

I just came back home after a good 50 days of stay with my parents and sister's family.I dont have any package as such, but some home made snacks by amma, a top that my sister gave, an IPOD travel kit that my BIL got. For now, I am feeling a little more...little less homesick

There is no better sight

than watching the little sapling you planted a month ago bloom into its fullest.

It is short, stumpy, sensitive, temperamental, almost exactly like a newborn.The plant will grow slowly, steadily like a growing child and I will cherish it with all my heart.

Call me weird

We had a very funny situation at home today. One of our friend who had come home to visit us, happened to fart err...a little louder. My 4yo niece who kept asking the visitor - uncle poo poo? had us in splits.That set me thinking of the type of farts that one could possibly try depending on the place/situation he/ she is in.

1.The bullet fart:It sounds like a bullet bike engine which is started.It is sure to startle the people around.So you could possibly attempt it to scare people away from you

2.The concealed fart:The name says it all. You are with people around and all you need to do is push your b**t down into the seat you are sitting and ease out the fart very carefully. You could bet noone would know you did it.But yes, sometimes, the odor shows the culprit.Its quite the common type of farting

3.The rocket fart:Its a single shot fart and sounds like a rocket that goes into the sky.

4.The attention diverting fart:Sometimes, you cough, sneeze and fart -all at the same time.Since you get to do more than one thing at a time, you could easily divert the other persons attention from your fart.

5.The relief fart:This is very common amongst old people. They fart and give away an expression like " oh god, finally, its out""what a relief"

6.The musical fart:Funny kind of ring tones like "tup", "tada tup". "tuussss" contribute to the musical fart

7.The no effect fart:The fart that comes out without a sound or odor.You could still be talking as normally as you were and continue to do whatever you were doing without any interruption

8.The funny face fart:You fart and also have a funny face and a sheepish smile that so shows you are the one

9.The rotten fart:It exactly smells like a rotten vegetable or a rotten egg.People just flee away from you.

10.The no one noticed me fart:You fart, it stinks, you turn around and see that no one is around there, you heave a sigh of relief saying "thank god, no one noticed me".You immediately move away from that place.

Nose Cut

She is away from her husband for more than 3 weeks.Is all excited to see He.

She has a make over with new haircut-with layers and all

She dresses up to her best and is all geared to welcome He at the airport

She wants to surprise He with the haircut and is eager to listen to what He has to say

He comes,She squeals a hi

He doesnt even notice the haircut

Finally She looses patience and asks He "how is my haircut"?

He casually says, ya its good and gives a 7/10

hmmphh..so much for asking about my new haircut!!!

Dirtying a cleaned bathroom

Get into the tub and open the shower

Cover the water exit hole in the tub with a small plastic lid

Open the shower to the maximum extent possible

Start singing ( read screaming)

Use some creativity and apply the soap on your toe nails as nailpolish

Pick up the soap and wash it in the water till the time you see bubbles

Jump around in the tub and splash the water wherever possible

If your soap is anything other than white colour, use it as a crayon to scribble on the tiles.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
Courtesy : My 4 year old niece

To the one

who doesnt make any fuss in life

who cooks on his own and manages the home perfectly in my absence

who never used to move his b**t, but now cleans the home every weekend

who actually comes home to a locked door, but still knocks thinking I would come to open the door

who cannot match a pant & shirt,and hence calls me to ask if a grey shirt would match with black pants

who sits reminiscing about me all day

who has wrapped me in chains of love

I love you and am missing you terribly .Cant wait to be back with you.

Earning a good name

from your in-laws is very easy- says TH

Offer to cook for everyone at home on a Sunday, when everyone likes to laze around.
Hang a DO NOT ENTER board infront of the kitchen
Do all the work from cutting veggies to boiling rice
Make some delicious sambar & spicy raw banana fry
Set up the table

Have the in-laws going oohh and aahh over the meal.
Have your wife envy you for all the complements that you receive from the in-laws.

Company

IHS series

HE:I am going on a 2 day trip to Bombay to attend a seminar.

SHE: Oh, how can I stay all alone?I would be so bored.

HE: Why don't you ask your friend "K" to come and stay with you in our home when I am away? That ways, you won't be bored too.

SHE: Ok, ok, that sounds good. I shall call her.

He comes back from tour and sees She has survived 2 days without He.She tells he about how "K"s presence helped her survive the days without He.

After 3 months,

SHE: How will you manage a week without me when I go for the training next week?

HE: You remember, "K" was so friendly and gave you good company in my absence. So can we ask "K" to come and stay when you are gone for the training?

SHE: %&#*$$$$**&^%^

Slippers

He walked out of the temple and to his shock, his slippers are missing.It was a feeling of being cheated.Then came denial.No not to me. Oh why me? Then some anger, he had just spent some money on the repair of those slippers. He then thought he got rid of the torn slippers.He started looking out for a pair of 'decent' slippers which would fit him from amongst the many left outside the temple.

Too early

My little 4 year old niece (4yn) is here for her vaccation.She has been entertaining all of us with whatever she says / does. One such conversation.....

4yn looking at my chain: Chithi, is this chain yours?

Me: Yes baby

4yn: My mommy has one.

Me: Ya, you are right.

4yn: My paati has one.

Me: Ya.

4yn: I want one too.

I was quite under a shock because the chain is the "mangalsutra".Just wondering...why do you want to fall into the pit so early baby?

What have you got?

With all the price soaring, job cutting scenario, what would be the conversation between a Gen Next IT guy and a Non IT guy

One such fictional conversation...

Gen Next IT guy : Car EMI=6000, Home EMI= 45000 , Savings for MS course= 8000

Non IT guy : Bank loans, diwali bonus

Gen Next IT guy: I have a 3BHK flat, car and plans for MS in one of the top notch Universities in U.S.A. What about you?

Non IT guy: I have mental peace, happiness, and I lead a tension free life.



Ps: No offense meant to anyone.This is a purely fictional work.

Weekend

IHS Series

HE: Boohoo weekend is coming to an end.Back to office tomorrow :(

SHE: Hmm.. everybody seem to be bragging about what they did during the weekend

HE: How did you like the weekend?

SHE: Weekend was superb!

HE: Superb? We went on a long trip just for one day, we were at home for the rest of the two days.What was the exciting part in staying at home?

SHE: Because, you cooked, cleaned and did all the work at home while I just lazed around.

HE: $$**%%##???

Minimal posts

More people at home - check

Little niece running around the home and driving all of us nuts- check

Good food - check

Sweets and savouries from India- check

Chit chatting about family members- check

Getting pampered royally- check

Visiting places - check

Yippie...parents are here and good times ahead.

Birthday Gift Ideas

June is a speical month at the 'He-She' household. He- She share the same birthdate. With just a week for the 'special' day, I am sure TH ( meaning The Husband and henceforth will be addressed this way) is already thinking of some gift ideas.

Here are my tips for you honey...

1.Chocolates: Who doesnt love chocolates?So I do love them too.But not the stuff which is available in a grocery store.It has to be lindt or ghirardelli.I say a big No to the Hershey's kisses.

2.Perfume: What? is that a way you tell me that I stink?

3.Greeting cards: A card to wish me or a card to say that you forgot its OUR birthday?There is no way you can easily get away with just a greeting card

4.Flowers: Yes, that would be nice. But remember flowers = RED ROSES only.

5.Music CDs: Yes, they would count only if you get them to my taste.

6.Stuffed toys: No thanks,I love to cuddle with you more than them

7. Long drive: Nothing can beat that darling

8.Spa/ Beauty parlour gift card : Trust me, you can never go wrong with this one.Would love to go there every week, but then...

9.Handbags, clothes: Be careful when you venture into this dangerous territory.Be 100 % sure what I like.Many times, I myself have not been sure of what I like.Just thought of warning you..thats all.

10. Jewellery: Bang on!But no gold business here.You know me right? I like everything in complete set.So go ahead and splurge here For now, a necklace will do.We shall together shop the next weekend for the matching earrings, rings and the bracelets.



Much love,
Your better half

Noothukku Nooru

Sachin Tendulkar has many of these to his credit

Any Rajinikanth movie easily passes through a triple of this

Securing this marks in a Maths paper is associated with brilliance


Now, I have done it too...in my own way. My 100th post.



Here's to many more....

Random notes from the household

*We got our car this week.Mighty excited about it.

*Playing poker like mad.Poker with money and loosing big time as well.

*Been eating out atleast twice every week. Cooking has takena back seat.

*Resumed gymming this week.Dreaming of weight loss and wishfully thinking I really do loose.

* Parents visitng us in 10 days.Good food, fun, visiting places, going to my sisters place...what more to ask for?

*Thinking of joining for some cake baking class

Life is beautiful I say!

You know you are talking to an NRI

when......

1.He greets you with ' wazzup dude?'

2.On every Friday, he asks you about the weekend plans, and on every Monday, he asks you what you did the past weekend.

3.He cannot talk without using words like ' cool','hows life'

4.When 'pardon me' gets replaced with ' I am sorry'.Trust me, I was taken aback once when I was talking to a lady and she said ' I am sorry'. I was like why should she be sorry?

5.Even simple words like 'how are you doing', becomes ' howdy doin'

6.NRIs suffer from X=X+1 syndrome.They keep postponing their return to India by 1 year.

7.Soda is a necessity..he needs to have a soda with dosa/ pizza/anything

8.Can and Can't - both are pronounced similarly.You are left puzzled as to what is it that he is actually saying.Similarly STOP is said as STAAP.

Just before sleeping...

What does the dear husband do
when the wife asks important questions like

* Do you love me?
* Do you feel happy with me?
* Do I keep you happy?
* What made you like me/ love me?
*Am I your darling?
and many more,very religiously every week, especially when going to bed at night?

.............

.............

............

............
The dear husband simply dozes off not knowing a way to stop the wife from asking these kind of silly questions.

The Summer

In the last one month that I had called my family in India, I get to hear how hot and humid it is.Love it or loathe it, the peak summer is bound to stay with you atleast for a good 2 months.The month MAY reminds me of the blessed dullness that a scorching mid day brings along with it.

* Better hygiene as you end up taking several showers.
*Crisply dried laundry
*Trickle of sweat on the back
* Long afternoons
*Darboos everywhere
* Pieces of kirni liberally sugar coated and left to cool in the fridge
*Mangoes in all form- juce, shakes et all
* More mangoes in the form of maavadu, thokku
*Elaneer, nongu
*Butter milk ( neer moru) prepared with ginger, tiny black msutard seeds, corrainder leaves floating on the buttermilk sea
* Mottai maadi thookam
*Paati swirling a handfan over me and chasing away the heat

and lastly
hoping that the summer would come to an end.

Gut Feeling

IHS series

HE & SHE are travelling to a friend's place for the first time.

SHE:We are totaly lost, no phone coverage. and noone around to ask for directions

HE: Enna panrathu?

SHE: At times like these, your gut feeling really works.What do you say?

HE: I think we should head southwards,thats what my gut feeling says.

SHE: OK, lets head northwards then,its always E.X.A.C.T.L.Y. the opposite of your gut feeling that works.

HE: ##$$$$@@@@@^^****

07.05.08

As I look up at the daily sheet calendar , I notice that it was Akshaya Thrithiyai .I was immediately transformed into the jewellery world in Chennai - T.Nagar.With so many jewellery shops, I was mentally picturising all the buzz in the jewellery shops this day. It would be a day in the jewellery shops

** where gold gets sold like vegetables in the market
** where all the ladies prove their bargaining skills, while they bargain for the best price
** where noone understands the darn calculation the salesman/ saleswoman says
** where lakhs of rupees overflow every hour
** where raagu kalam and yema kandam timings are religously followed by one and all
** where you need to push your way in/ out of the shop
** where all the ladies are busy comparing each others purchase

where the husbands anxiously wait outside the shop to know how how much of the 1000s or lakhs are busted

School

Unpolished shoes
Kizhinju pona socks, hidden under the pants
Bath in the morning, thala neraya coconut oil
Viboothi
Amma hurriedly packing the lunch in the 3 deck aluminium tiffin carrier
Thakkali sadham, egg inside the rice
Butter milk in an old ruchi ooruga bottle
Butter milk stains in the lunch bag
Loud chatter and chaos in the classroom
PT sessions
Book cricket during social studies class
Paper rockets

Oh boy....what fun

Tiffin

Imaginary He- She( IHS) series

SHE: Hi, enna innikku officela irunthu seekirama vanthuttiya?

HE: Ya.weekend mood.Amaam, nee enga poittu vara?

SHE: I went to see my friend "G"

HE:Seri va, namma tiffin saapadalam.

SHE: What? so you cooked?

HE: Ya, I made rava upma.

SHE: How sweet of you,officela irunthu seekirama vanthu tiffinum panni vechurukka.

HE: Illa, nee eppothum rava upmava kindi koozh mathiri seyyara, athaan innikku naan correcta pannalameynu senjurukken.

SHE: ##@@@$$$$?????

Food Cravings

First few weeks in US -
when you are just settling down and friends give you what they cook-anything in the name of food is good. Friends are god sent.

Next few weeks -
self cooking- Wow, I cook well and the food is yum.

The weeks thereafter -
same rice sambar and vetha kuzhambu, lets try out different cusines..Mexican, Italian..etc.Taco bell is heaven.

After some tryst with multi cusine eat outs -
Oh, nothing like Indian food. Let me hit the Indian restaurant here.

After lot of naans, chaat items, panneer butter masala, gobi manchurian at the local Indian Restaurant -
homely saappadu is what I am craving for.

After some mental picturisation of home made dosai, idli, pongal -
call up mom / MIL and ask them when are they coming here?

This day, That year

From mere infactuation to committment,

From just like that to "let me do this regularly",

this blog is on for one year. Yes, its a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my blog.

Husband in the kitchen

Purpose: To make Vada

An assessment....

• Chopped onions, chillies and curry leaves strewn on the floor
• Kitchen messed up to a great extent
• Maximum dirt on the outside of the mixerjar
• As many spoons/ forks used and scattered
• Sink with an uphill of vessels to be washed
• Onion peels flying in the air

Satisfaction : Highly staisfied for not needing to enter the kitchen to make something. Had some relaxing time watching tv and browsing the net.

Conclusion: Totally worth it and absolutely Y.U.M.M.Y. vadas.

Count of vadas: More than 8.

MBA

Apart from all the book knowledge, interns and what the professors impart, what does an MBA offer you? I mean what are the takeaways from the MBA course one pursues?

1.You are not an MBA until and unless you use the jargons like strategy,planning, marketing for every question you are asked.

2.You worship internet and especially GOOGLE.

3.Giving treats and attending various parties become the order of the day..oopps night!Mind you, the whole class asks for a party simply because you wore a new shirt that day.

4.Like begets like. So the Tamil clang clings to tamil, mallu gang clings to mallu and so on.And all they wait for is a move release of their language.

5.It is most likely that when you pass out of college, you not only pass with a job, but with a girl friend/ boy friend.

6.The campus will be like a mini India where people from all states study and in all probabilities you pick up some Hindi.But it doesnt end there. You neither speak proper hindi, nor proper english. You need to use ki / abbey for every sentence you speak. For eg, " abbey what I am telling you ki, lets do it now itself".

Man proposes & God disposes

Everyday was a good day, but no longer.I had always hated this.I would do anything just to skip this.Everytime when I was asked to do it, I have mostly managed to evade the job given to me and when I have done it, I have done it half heartedly.

I thought I can always get away with it. But man proposes and GOD disposes.Ya, I cut onions almost E.V.E.R.Y. single day and all by myself. Bah!

Traffic rules -here & there

I am in awe with the traffic rules here and more so with the way people obey it.But I dont even remember seeing or reading a traffic rules book in India.Now you know how the traffic rules in India must be.A few days back, one of my friend left a comment in my blog about the traffic in USA and in India. So, I try and compare them here.

Here, there are traffic rules which are religiosly followed, and back in India, people try and reverse engineer the traffic rules.

You follow lanes to the core.But in India, you drive anywhere on the road.Some prefer to keep left, while some dont even bother about the white line in the middle of the road.

I havent heard honking sound here.In India, you blare your horn like mad especially when you are stuck in a traffic jam and you cant even move a bit.

Your car meets with even the smallest of an accident, you call the cop.But back in India, its nothing but customary to exchange some bad words if you hit a motorist or another car.

Cows, dogs, cats and sometimes pigs have their way on the road in India.Roads are strictly meant for vehicles only in USA.

Seatbelts are mandatory here .What?We Indians are brave, we can show how brave we are, come see us driving two wheelers without helmets and cars without fastening the seat belts

Some of the best aasanas in yoga are performed by people while they try and cross the gates closed for railway crossing. Its a treat to watch in India.

Sometimes after a fight

Wife: I am sorry
Husband: Sorry ellam ethukku?
Wife:I am saying sorry no, accept it.
Husband: Namakkulla ennada sorry?
W:Just say I am forgiven.Please.
H:Ok,you are forgiven.
W:No, you didnt mean that.
H:Ennada sollra? How do you know that?
W: I will know it.
H:I cant take this anymore, please da, dont make me beg.
W: Oh ya, I only make you beg all the time no?
H: Naan appdi solla varala da.
W:Ok, what I said was stupid and silly, now just leave it.
H:Dei, ennada ithu, oru vishayatha pottu ippdi pannara?
W:Enna panren?
H: Freeya viden da.Athaan sorry solli oknnum solliaachey?
W: So? Does that mean I shud shut up?
.....
.....
.....
.....

You are going to U.S.A.

If you are recently married and you are moving to U.S.A.along with your husband, this is what you can expect:

AMMA: udamba paathukko ( take care of your health), nalla healthy fooda saapdu( eat healthy food).Avarayum nanna paathukko ( take care of your husband).


APPA: anga poittu settle aagittu ethavathu padikka try pannu. chumma ukkarathey ( after settling down there, study something and dont be idle).


AKKA: seekiram vadi.( Come soon) Cant wait to see you . We will meet there.

Well pretty expected and straight right?These are fine, but that ain't all.There are more...

1. People will express condolences because you will not be eating rice, sambar frequently.

2.There will be a volley of questions like " do you know to cook? else, you have to adjust with pastas, sandwiches".

3.Puli, (tamarind), vadam ( crispie which needs to be fried in oil), oorkai ( pickle) sambar podi, rasam podi ellam eduthundurukkiyo? ( have you taken sambar and rasam powder?)

4.Some of your friends will say " nalla enjoy pannu di, ippo vitta vera chancey kedaikkathu"( enjoy now, you wont get this back later)

5. Some old thathas will ask you " enga irukka porel? ( where are you going to be located in US?)and when you tell them the place, they go like " oh anga thaan naan 1950la oru velai vishayama ponen ( I was there in 1950s).Ennoda office 15 miles thalli irunthuthu ( my office was 15 miles away from my home) etc etc..and bore you with stories .

6. Your fond relatives will tell you " avara nanna paathukko, anusarichu nadanthukko ( take care of your husband and learn to adjust), dont hurry up and plan for a kid a year later.

Cooking

Some imaginary he- she series.

She: Hey, I met my friend 'P' today.

He: Enna sollra unnoda friend?

She: She says her husband cooks really well.

He: Oh, nallathu.

She: Enna nallathu? Naanum athirshtasali thaannu ava kitta prove panna vendaama, athaan, I have invited them for dinner tomorrow.Nee nalaikku officela irunthu seekiram vanthu samachu vechudu.

He: ???##$$$$$!!#@##

An ode to the mamis

Place: A residential community in Chennai
Scene:-Vegetable vendor(Vv) on the street shouting "kathrikka, vendaikka"

Mami 1(M1) comes out of her house to buy some vegetables.

M1: Yennappa kathrikka enna velai?

Vv:Kilo 12 roobai mami

M1:Ennappa nee nekkum sethu velaya sollara?

Vv: Ellamey velai yeri pochu mami

Meantime Mami 2( M2) joins the conversation

M2:Yenna mami eppdi irukkel? Aathula ellarum sowkiyama?Ungala paathey oru vaaram aaradhu.

M1:Aamam mami, orey busy ayiduthu. Velai kai ozhiyavey illai.Pona vaaram ivaroda anna payyanum maatu poonnum inga vanthuruntha. Avaalukku therinjava moolama namma Madhavanukku oru varan vanthurukku, athaan ponna poi paakalameynu ponom.

M2:Oh, ponnu entha edam? Avaa eppdi pattava?

M1:Ponnu west mambalam. Ava appa Indian Overseas bankla managera irukkar. Mami house wife.Orey ponnu, pikkal pidungal kedayathu.Nalla manushaala theriyara.

M2: Ponnu pakka eppdi irukka? Nichayam pannitela?

M1: Ponnu MCA padichutu software companyla vela pakkara mami. Maa nerama irukka, nanna kalaiya irukka.Mariyathaya pesina.Nichayam pannalai. Madhavan paathu sarinnu sonna, nichayam panniduvom.

M2:Appo Madhavan India varaana?

M1: Illai mami,antha ponnu adutha maasam velai vishayama Chicago pora.Appo Madhavanum avalum anga paathuppa. Intha kaalathula enga mami udaney nichayam panna mudiyarathu?

M2: Atha chollungo mami.Kuzhandaigal pathu, phonela pesindey irukkukal.Namma ellam photo kooda paathurukka maatom.Etho periyava sollaraleynu thalai aatinom.Ithugal appdi illaye. Pothathaukku cinema ginema vera.Inha kaalathu pongalum ithu venum athu venumnu na irukka.

M1:Ennamo mami, namma kaila enna irukku. Ellam baghavan prabtham. Nanum Madhavan kitta sollitten, itho paaruda nee paathu pidichuruntha sollu, udaney nichayam pannidalam.Avaa thaane senthu vaazha pora. Athugal santhoshama irukkanumey.

M2:Appo koodiya seekiram unga aathula nalla kariyam nadakka porathunnu sollungo.

M1:Paakalam mami, yaarukku theriyum baghavan yaarukku enna ezhuthi irukkarnu. Seri mami, naan kelambaren. Pottadha potta padi vanthurukken.

M2: Sari mami. Saayangalam kovila paakalam.

Yesterday's Special

We completed 2 months of blissful married life yesterday!And we need to mark the occasion with something special. THE OUTCOME...




Like they say, the way to a man's heart ....



Ps: First month anniversary was duly celebrated with carrot halwa ,and this time a simple plain vannila cake.



Pps: Decoration courtesy- HE

How to popularise a blog?

Best publicity in life is free.Why not use it for popularising one's blog?Just a few wierd thoughts on it.

1.Sign in your email with the blog url rather than your actual signature.

2.Get the blog url printed on the t shirt and wear that t shirt often.

3.Scribble the blog url on the walls in the house, so that visitors are forced to note the point that you blog.

4.Probably, name the child with the blog url.

5.Always have the customised status message in any messenger with your blog url.

6.Use your friend's laptop , leave your blog page opened and hand it over back to your friend as if you didn't know that you have left it opened.

7.When getting hold of a notebook or a paper, scribble your blog url rather than your name.

8.Prepare handouts with the blog url. Roam around in some malls and stick the handouts in the public restrooms.

Any more???

The good & the bad

of coming to U.S.A.


Being at a new place, a new country -check
Visit places -check
Eat fried icecream -check
Watch snow fall -check
Dirt free ( read carpetted) floors -check
Dry bathrooms -check
Luxury of heating the frozen food -check
Torture the husband by exploring new recipes -check


Hair loss, and take a bald avatar - check
Having all the time to kill and get addicted to playing games - check
Cook and eat self cooked food - check
Just two souls at home - check
He sleeping away to glory on dot 10 , while She still struggles to catch some sleep - check
No paalkaran, keeraikaari coming to your doorstep - check

C'est la vie!!!

Before I become one...

Before my dearest husband calls me fatty
chunky or alternatively chubby .....

I am not old and still have my wits
I need to do this before my body falls into bits.

Sometimes, I just raid the fridge
and get enthralled to see the chocolate fudge.
I happily eat away
every single day.
So I decided to find a way,
to keep the fat demon at bay.



For the above reasons and more, I am hitting the gym regularly now.

Meet her....

A wonderful wife

A perfect home maker

A loving mom

An ever giving & selfless grandmom

.............

and not satisfied with just these, she is

Learning to use internet and send mails

Attends cooking classes to further explore the new recipes

Yoga

English class to widen her knowledge

............

and as if all these aren't enough, she plans to

Join swimming

Start a fastfood/healthy food eatout.

Heres to my young Mother in Law.

Enna Samayalo

HE & SHE are newly married and SHE knowing that a way to a man's heart is through his stomach and with a wish to impress HE, tries her hand at cullinary skills.HE as the good responsible husband, stocks some frozen food so that SHE need not strain all the time.

On one such day.......

HE:Enna samayal da innikku?
SHE:Innum yosikkala..what do you want?
HE:Dont strain and spend a lot of time in the kitchen,we will adjust with some frozen food.
SHE was in the mood for a South Indian meal
SHE:Frozen food ellam udambukku nallathu illa. I will cook now.Dont you want to eat vengaya sambar, thakkali rasam,potato kaara curry?
HE:Nalla thaan da irukku, nee kashta padanumeynnu sonnen.
SHE:What?I have already soaked the tamarind and cooked the dhaal.We will have the South Indian food today.

On another such day.......
HE: Innikku keerai masiyal and vazhaikkai.......
SHE says " heat the frozen rava dosai" even before HE finished talking.

For my Valentine

No drums and drolls when he was born
When I was born, he was 5 years old.
Both of us went schooling in the same city unaware of each other's existence.
When I went to school, he went to college.
I was still in school when he started work.
And in 2002,we chatted once.It continued for a good 5 years.
Finally in 2008, our lives converged to the same point.

I know flowers, red roses, chocolates are all lovely.But,nothing like it when the indolent man sets up the bed every night, or warms up some milk for me,gets wild if I fall ill, happily cleans the house or washes some vessels, gives me a soothing massage when I have a headache....this is a much deeper love and affection than a mere box of chocolates or a boquet of flowers.

And to the tall, sensible, cool,calm,handsome man I am married to...
I did not know that destiny would bring a Smylemaker to me
and that everyday in my life would be a jubilee
The love that you so freely give
is something that makes me live
I cherish every moment with you
and look forward to each day expecting something new
My darling honey baby, even when we are old and our hair grey
my love for you will stay.


HAPPY VALENTINES!!!!

Was it just yesterday??

Was it just yesterday I bumped into Rediff chatroom?

Was it just yesterday we chatted just to know that we share the same birthdate?

Was it just yesterday we exchanged mails and chatted occasionally?

Was it just yesterday you proposed and I accepted that?

Was it just yesterday we started off the relationship , though it is a good 5 1/2 years?

Was it just yesterday that I was nervous about our parents meeting up for the first time?

Was it just yesterday our parents met to talk about getting us married?

Was it just yesterday we got engaged?

Was it just yesterday that I cribbed there is a whole 1 year gap between the engagement and the marriage?

Was it just yesterday I stood in the bedroom balcony with the bridal mehendi in my hands and still thinking if we are really married?

6 odd years of knowing you, but everyday is new for me, for us.