Reminder to remember what I am constantly reminded of ...

Lately my mind has been filled with a billion thoughts so had to put them down in order to rid my brain of all the unnecessary, overflowing information.  Every time something tragic happens to someone I know, I think to myself "This is a reminder from God to cherish what's important and to not waste time on the trivial things in life"  Quite often I'm bothered by the nitty gritty useless yet time consuming issues of life ... he said, she said, they should, we didn't ... family, friends, coworkers, strangers ... you come across a ton of circumstances that make up your daily life but so few things in life really matter.  I'm human, things get to me, I'm bogged down and shocked by deceits and insecurities and back stabbing and gossip and irrational behavior and selfishness. I get that things were so much more dramatic when I was younger but I have changed dramatically in the past 5 years.  What made such a big difference in my life in my 20s seems so childish and foolish in my 30s.  Most of my friends are in their 30s and 40s and I just find it ridiculously immature for people to harp on the dumbest issues in life.

I feel so blessed to have so much in life. Most people around me live a good life and although I'm sure we can all find things to complain about (myself included) or wish for more from life (I know I do), you have to agree that most of us live a very good/comfortable/happy life. There are people that suffer through uncontrollable circumstances disease, disaster, death and can do nothing but accept the hand God has dealt them.  Somehow complaining about what one person said to another or who did/didn't invite you or who does/doesn't like you just seems so damn trivial.  I'm reminding myself today of the things and people that matter and the drama and gossip that doesn't.  I can feel good about myself at the end of the day knowing that I'm a good person and have done nothing malicious or selfish and only wish the best for everyone around me.  Even though I get sidetracked and bothered by the drama of life, I constantly try and remind myself of what really counts!  I hope others will do that same too : )

So much to say ... so little time

I miss writing!! I have been a SAHM (Stay at home mom) for almost 1 1/2 years now and as much as I LOVE being home with my child, I'm starting to miss using my brain for more "adult" things (people had warned me about this, I guess it just took me a lot longer than most others to get there).  If anything, my idle brain has started to produce more thoughts than ever (who knew that was even possible).  Feel like I have so much to say and so much that I want to do but time has become a rarer commodity than ever before. Hoping, now that my baby is not such a baby anymore, I can start to put these thoughts on paper (or the web) again :)

Happy Friday Everyone.  Beautiful day in DC today which we spent in Chinatown which seemed more like Linetown today courtesy of the Living Social $1 lunch specials.  Every restaurant in DC seemed to have a line out the door and around the corner.

Girl's night last night, another girl's night tonight. Easter egg hunt tomorrow followed by some much needed family time (as in me, hubby & baby), followed by some very annoying house hunt (looking for a house in the DC area is like pulling hair from your upper lip one by one .... lol ....  don't ask me why thats the comparison I came up with).

Until next time ...  buh-bye (as my baby would say)!!!!

One man's annoying is another man's .... best friend???

I know we all know people that we think are annoying.  Whether its someone who is overly dramatic (like beyond bollywood dramatic), persistent whiners (suffering from the Poor Me syndrome every day), the idle gossip (only capable of talking about other people's lives) or the eternal cheapskate (pinching pennies on $200 bills). I know I have a few people I've encountered that I find to be extremely annoying and that I could really do without having them in my life. What's interesting however is seeing how people that I find to be eye sores could be the apple of someone else's eye.  Especially when those people happen to be perfectly normal, seemingly cool friends of mine.  Is my tolerance just very low or do people just have different personalities around different individuals.  I mean maybe I'm doing something to bring out the worst in these "annoying" friends or maybe they just want to do things to get a rise out of me every time.  Otherwise how is it possible that what I (and apparently most people around me) see in these annoying beings, completely escapes other individuals?  I mean, are they not seeing what the rest of us are seeing??

The Fear of Pregnancy

For as long as I can remember, I was petrified at the thought of being pregnant.  I never could understand how women did that for nine months, carried a little person inside them, walked around as if nothing was unusual about them and then to top it all off pushed a full size baby out their Va-jay-jays.  Just the thought of it made me cringe.  After I got married, every time the topic of having children came up, I found myself asking for a bit more time.  I just didn't feel ready to go through this.  To experience such pain for 9 months and then give up my life for the 18 years after that.

The quickest way to get over that was a surprise conception.  Yep, I was going about my life as usual and then BOOM came a delayed period and a surprise pregnancy :-O  I can't express to you the shock and surprise that hit us when we realized I was pregnant, I mean I knew one day I would be but I definitely hadn't thought it would be here NOW!

A year later, here I am with a beautiful, most adorable little girl in my arms and somewhat surprised at the beauty of pregnancy.  Nine months is a long time. Everything happens so gradually that you don't have to work hard in getting used to the idea of carrying a child. I still remember the first time I heard my baby's heartbeat, words cannot describe the feeling you get when you hear that fast sound of a tiny beating heart.  Its the first realization that there is a life growing inside you.  A truly incredible and memorable experience.  Then the first time I saw my baby on ultrasound, it blew me away even more.  The tiny little head, hands, feet and torso, it is indescribable how amazing it feels to see the image of your child and realize what is happening inside you.

I can honestly say today, I loved being pregnant.  Despite the morning sickness, physical pain and sleepless nights (and boy did I have plenty of those), it was a warm and emotionally enriching experience.  People were extremely nice to me throughout my pregnancy.  Everyone was more considerate and accommodating.  My husband, family and friends were all so sweet. I felt incredibly loved and cared for throughout.  There is a genuine kindness that automatically occurs when people see a pregnant woman.  It was really amazing to see so much love and affection.  It kept me happy throughout the 8 months (you don't find out about your pregnancy till at least a month into it).

As far as the delivery goes, it was my biggest fear.  I had been to the Labor & Delivery course and let me tell you, whoever thinks you need to watch those videos to help you understand the birthing process couldn't be more WRONG.  There is no reason a woman who is about to give birth needs to see what is about to happen down there.  I couldn't sleep for days just worrying and wondering how in the world I would ever push a baby out, the way I had seen in those videos.

When my labor started, the contractions were quite painful (probably more painful than any cramp you've ever experienced) but once I got the epidural it was significantly bearable.  I felt like I was floating.  The anticipation was growing and the whole waiting period was well spent with both our families.  I highly recommend having family/friends around during labor.  It made time fly and seeing their anxiousness was quite endearing.

Pushing was quite exhausting, especially when you do it for almost 2 hours :D  However, seeing my husband's face as he held my hand, seeing the excitement in his eyes as he saw our baby's head helped me with the process tremendously.

Nothing in your whole life will compare to the feeling you get from holding your child in your arm.  Seeing and hearing your baby for the first time is the most emotionally fulfilling experience in the world. You can hear about other people's experiences all you want but no one can really explain to you how wonderful it feels to see your child, a tiny little life that you brought into this world.

I can now see why they say a woman feels complete after childbirth.  It is emotionally, physically and mentally the most intense process you will ever go through but the rewards are simply priceless.  We stare at her in awe every day and are amazed at how we created this incredibly wonderful and precious little person.  I can say with full sincerity, I would do it all over again :)

Hello 2010

Wow, 2009 flew by in a blink of an eye. It has been one of the most important years of my life. I acquired my most prized possession last year, my daughter :) It has been a wonderful journey and I can't wait to blog about it more. For now just saying Happy New Year!!! (Atleast its still January)

I miss writing. Hope to write a lot more this year!!

Hey Baby!!

My life changed in a flash in Spring of 2009. One day I was planning the whole summer out and the next minute I was canceling all those plans. We had decided to start trying for a baby in fall of 2009. Figured that gave us enough time to do all the traveling and other adventures we had hoped to finish before it was baby time. Somehow thats not what life had in store for us. The baby time came without notice and without permission. I still remember the day I took the test and then showed it to my husband. We stood there, staring at each other in shock, unsure which way to react. On one hand we were not quite certain that we were ready for this. On the other hand it was a blessing we had hoped for just a few months earlier than expected. Once the initial shock was over and we finally accepted our destiny, I couldn't believe it, I was going to be a Mom!

Now, sitting here just weeks away from my due date, I can't believe how fast these last 7+ months have passed by. It has been quite a journey: the sickness, the scares, the worries, the adjustments. Planning for a baby is not as easy as I had thought. Then again, its not as hard as I had expected either. Its a gradual process for a reason. I think its God's way of getting us used to the idea of such an enormous undertaking. The millions of things you need to do to plan for a little life, its just unbelievable. How can one tiny human being require so much from you? This little person, my child, my baby, I'm responsible for a life inside of me. It truly is surreal and unlike anything I've ever experienced before. As hard as the initial stages were, I am really amazed at how 9 months can produce a whole new life.

I am so anxious to meet this baby, so apprehensive for so much of what is unknown to me at this point, so thankful for all the help and support I have had through this process and so curious to see what life will be like after a permanent change like this. At this point I just hope it all works out well, the baby comes out healthy, I can recover and normalize quickly and most of all I do everything I'm supposed to do for this child in the best way possible.

Wish me luck! Hope I pass this test, one of the biggest of my life!

What a year ... already!!!!

Exciting, Exhilarating, Encouraging!!!!!!

Slumdog Millionaire has put India on the map like none other scoring 4/4 wins at the Golden Globes and 10 Nominations at the Oscars.

Obama has taken Oath of Office, twice, for the President of the United States - First African American President EVER!!!

An Indian has been offered the position of the US Surgeon General and another is about to be offered the position of Federal CTO (I hope its the one I know ... GO VK!!!!).

Ghajini has made Indian Box office history by crossing the 2 Crore mark within 2 weeks.

Shahrukh Khan has made history by appearing on the Golden Globes.

Amitabh Bachchan has made history with his Blogging.

Oprah has finally made it to DC to see me (yeah right).

I have made history by Snowboarding for the first time in my life (OK so none of you really care about that but me) :D

I'm sure there are a dozen other things that have happened but I've only listed things that are close to my heart, Bollywood & DC.

On a more serious note, I was at the center of the Earth this week, Washington DC!!!! There are not enough words in the dictionary to allow me to explain to you what a great sense of unity, love, and hope was felt all around town. A sea of people is what you saw everywhere and a crowd of hopefuls flooded the city. Everywhere I looked I saw happiness on everyone's face. It was a time like no other, given that only the future will tell what change will occur, the fact that everyone now has hope and the desire to see change can only lead us to a place far better than what we've seen so far in this century. So keep up the hope people and make atleast one change in your life this year.

YES WE CAN!!!!!!!!!!

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!!!!!!!