3 Things you should clean everyday

If you are thinking about your teeth, taking a bath, or doing the dishes, then here is something important for you to know! Yes, besides maintaining our personal hygiene, there are many more things that need our attention and cleaning every day, I will be talking about the 3 things today. 

1-Kitchen Sponge:

Your kitchen sponge is the most important thing that needs proper cleaning, and it is the most common thing that gets easily infected with germs, ideally you should be changing your kitchen sponge frequently, I change it every 2 months, but if you think that your sponge needs replacement before that then please do that! Every time you wash do your dishes, clean you sponge thoroughly too and let it sit in your kitchen window and soak up some sun! 

2-Kitchen Sink: 

Especially the sides & corner, yes it needs daily cleaning too. During the process of cleaning, it gets sticky and dirty and coated with oil, making it ideal breeding ground for germs, clean it off from oil and gunk every time you clean your dishes. 

3- Bath sponge/ loofah :

Yup, after a good refreshing bath, you should clean your bath sponge, usually, the shower area is damp and a perfect place for pathogens to grow and flourish, because sponge is porous, it soaks up water and along with that bits of our dead skin and dirt, that's why it is advisable to clean it under running water, squeeze it off and let it dry in sunshine so that you stay healthy and happy every day!

Stay clean stay healthy be happy!

Photocredits:Pixabay and Photopin

Motherhood- Holy guacamole

Motherhood-Holy Guacamole

 When people tell you that it's the right time to have a baby, they are talking about your body and your age, but it's not just that. It's not just the age that matters while you are planning to have a baby, it's a mix of many things. Physical health, psychic component, right perspective about life is what all needs to be in place. 

Everyone knows that being a mother is not that easy, it demands a lot, after all, you have a life to nurture, to take care of, to teach about life and it's doings. It demands selfless love- literally.

 You need to be healthy to take care of your child. Health is wealth and who so ever had said that surely knew the blessing of a healthy life. If you are not well, you cannot give your 100 percent and wearing the motherhood shoes demands a lot of running around, and most of the time it is a one-legged race and the shoes are pretty heavy ones,

It is like juggling things, and the stuff you are busy juggling is most precious and delicate, and you cannot miss out any of it, all of it is very very important.

 I read a quote somewhere "I don't want to sleep like a baby, I want to sleep like my husband" yes it's true. It will be you burning the nights and not expected to let the smoke out, you will have to keep it contained inside, initially, you do it but then it's not humanly possible, and some day it will just explode, fill up the air between you and your spouse and suffocate you guys unless one of you opens the window and lets the fresh air in so that you can breathe and see each other clearly again like you used to till the time the hypnotism is shaken off by a shrill baby cry and you rush again to the farthest corner of the room . It definitely is straining for the couples. 

It teaches you the intricate art of doing things with one hand because the other hand is busy holding the baby. 

Your social circles takes a toss:

 Your friend pings you; wanna grab a cup of coffee at 3.00 

You: yeah sure, oh no its baby's nap time, maybe some other time. 

Friend: Hey I was in your town, and you didn't call me up ( happened with me last week) 

You: Oh yeah, sorry, baby had a loose gut, so all I was doing was diaper change, diaper in bin, baby in cot, one more bout, then again diaper change, diaper in bin, baby in cot, one more bout, then again diaper change, diaper in cot, baby in bin....wait a second, did I say baby in bin? Aarrghhh....I am stressed out :( I hope you understand. 

Seriously when I am going out, my bag is full and loaded with baby wipes, diapers, extra clothing, baby food, water ....my stuff...I don't even know where I kept my shades, my wrist watch...phew who needs them anymore :o

 You are so tired to change into anything while going out and wearing yoga pants seems the best possible option and you have no complaints about that. Style quotient goes on a vacation :)

 Off diaper time is a warm jet of freshly brewed pee on your face, ahh! Refreshing. 

And when finally your baby is fast asleep, you are exhausted, you look like a drug addict...but then you marvel at the beauty, the innocence, the calmness on his face, your heart overflows with love, your eyes brim up with tears, you feel a lump in your throat and kiss that face and you thank God for the sweetest gift and if by any chance baby wakes up again..you are dead!! mind it...nobody should disturb a sleeping baby..

It's like that!!

A Prayer

Sometimes there is a lot going on inside,

A sea of questions surging high in a full moon night, calm otherwise but on certain nights, it surges high! Gently pulled but harshly pushed by silver glistening moonlight

A rolling thunder far far away, but loud enough to give you jitters,

A hurricane, mighty enough to cause an upheaval of otherwise well-tamed emotions.

When there is so much happening Inside, what do you do?

I PRAY!!

251/365

251/365

Today Vihaan and Jovi had a play date ;)

Jovi din't go school today and Jo had her dance class so she dropped Jovi in the morning and can't tll you how much fun these two babies had.

while Jovi was busy with her pretend play, being a mommy of a baby kitten, Vihaan too grabbed his alien friend and pretended to put it to sleep.... we had a great time together! while Vihaan and Jovi were busy playing, I managed to capture few shorts.

What is life?

Tonight, as I write this post, I hear the clinking of the spoon in the kitchen, Akash is brewing coffee for me, It was a request from me for a cup of hot coffee... 

This clicking sound takes me far deeper in my thoughts, and I think, what is life?

It is being born

Being loved my your family

Making friends

falling in love

having to undergo heart breaks

sulking about being treated unfairly

Falling in love again

dreaming of a future

setting up  goals

working hard for achieving your goal

then realizing that not all your goals were realistic

feeling depressed

getting married

those initial years when love is in the air :)

having a baby

then everything about the baby, all the time baby baby  baby

ouch! occasional skirmishes over the baby

Well, that's what is happening in here right now ;)

My coffee is brewed and absolutely ready...I am going to gulp it down, lie in the arms of my sweetheart, close my eyes, and stop the tape that is playing out in my head, that says, "what is life? :)

Good night!!

My 32nd Birthday

I turned 32 on November 8th. My friend Jo (Josna), (yep, that's what I call her now) gave me a wonderful surprise party. She arranged for a yummy cake, did all the decorations secretly at her place and then called me up on 3rd November to her apartment, I along with Vihaan went there as usual casually, and then what I saw just touched my heart, balloons, lighting, cakes, and music....I did wet my eyes, I was happy and at the same time also touched by her sweet gesture.

I had to leave for Jammu on 4th Nov, so she gave me surprise beforehand. 

some relationship's are just meant to be, no matter from where you are? or what are you are? when it click...it clicks..right? yes, that what is between two of us.

Spending time with her is the wonderful thing, at times we don't talk much about ourselves, it's just Kids and kids, but still it feel good to be together.

Thanks Jo for this gesture, I will cherish it for the lifetime, and I am saving it here in my blog forever!

DIY - Lingerie Bag

When it comes to organizing things for traveling, I am a big freak, 

Travelling gets my adrenaline rush surging and that sets in motion a chain reaction of thoughts, starting from planning and organizing every little thing. I like to organize and pack things in style, I love to spend my hours sorting things meticulously before locking up the door!

This time around I made/upscaled a drawstring cloth bag into a Travel lingerie bag.

Supplies:

An old cotton drawstring bag
Stamp
Fabric paint
Brush
Sponge


 Dribble the color on the palette, place a layer of sponge sheet on top of it, firmly press your stamp on the sheet, and then simply stamp the pattern on the cotton bag one by one, using sponge sheet ensures that your stamp is colored evenly. Let it dry completely and then you can pack your valuables in it and carry your things in Style ;)

I totally love the concept of DIY, it breaks the monotony of life and lets you dig deeper into your creativity, and is an excellent stress buster.

161-186/365 and life lately

161-186/365

I don't know from where to start, It has been a whole month and I haven't blogged, haven't clicked many pictures, life has happened pretty fast here!!

Firstly, My little boy has started his day care for an hour, yes!! he spends an hour without me at his day care, an hour!! Ahh!! when I say that, I feel a little sink in my heart, a flutter, how that happened, how we both transitioned, and how nicely both of us are doing it!!  You enjoy being there, initially you did cry and so did I, silently behind the locked door in the corridor, we both felt a piece of our heart being taken away, but then soon things turned around, that tells me ,you are my big beaming boy and I am your strong mamma , God bless you.

secondly, I am back to work again :)    .....yes!! and that's the reason why I am not getting to blog lately, I will figure out how to run the show, how to manage my time effectively so that everything gets due attention but for now I am struggling to find time to click pictures and blog, and it breaks my heart a tiny bit, we both were doing a great job of capturing our precious, loving moments, Trust me we will bounce back soon, pretty soon, till then please bear with me !!

Around Here-Calming my mind

Around here-Calming my mind

Immersed in silent contemplation, thinking about life in general, my course, motherhood, and what's coming ahead!!  Like the weather outside, my semblance also seems to be soggy, muggy !! may be it is the effect of the weather, can be!!  After all I tend to gravitate towards nature, It definitely affects my selfhood, my epseity!!

I feel I am not doing a great job of documenting 365 days of Vihaan, well it's not*- that this feeling is recent, it keeps happening to me ever so often, sporadically, I go down the hill!!  why?? because mind (brain) is never at rest..... thinking all the time...or to put it precisely...it's on auto thinking mode....made up of some billion of  neurons, that are ever so excitable, working tirelessly, transmitting impulses (Thoughts) among each other...some times excited...sometimes sad....sometimes pepped up...transmitting signals effectively....sometimes delayed and bit laid back...but working 24/7!!

so while I am in this auto thinking mode, Vihaan is playing nearby, busy with his toys but also checking on me every few minutes...and smiling.... intoxicating my senses with his loveliness !!

I close my eyes...try to free calm my mind, my neurons for a brief time period, I chose to sit in the Padma asana (Lotus pose) and  I bring my palm together, in the Namaskar pose, thanking almighty, the supreme lord, for the sanity still  left in me, for the hope that is baffled but persistent in the existence...submersed in the gratitude surrounded the cool air by the continuously rotating ceiling fan, that sets the otherwise still air in the room into the motion, housed by the walls painted in the shade of chrysanthemum 4002, I feel a light tug at my right elbow, it's Vihaan, I open my eyes and for a brief moment I feel disoriented...Vihaan is looking at me with curious face...he has not seen me like this before, i know I am done for the day :)

Sun is setting, far far away, in the valley... the cattles may have come back by themselves..

it is a warm evening and both of us are pleasantly tired with our day long chores, I fill the Vihaan's bathing tub with cool fresh water, he gently and happily immerses his right foot into the cool clear water,  I see the visible excitement on his face and I pray

May he always be a happy chirpy soul!!

Messy hair diary

Messy hair diary:

Imagine this: you got to go out, everything is ready and perfect and you are all set to shine but then you look at your hair, all messy, frizzy, unruly, euuuuhh!! That’s my story, it has always been that way since my yester years but lately after delivery and this journey into motherhood, it has become all the more grubby, disheveled, and to be honest enough, I  haven’t tended to them also, I haven’t cared enough, no oiling, no proper conditioning, nothing much!! Hmmm where is the time to do all that…I comb them, well that seems enough.  I have been thinking of possible solution to my messy hair story, questioning and counter questioning all in my mind:

Let’s go for a haircut?

We can but what if it turns out to be utter disaster, makes it even more unmanageable,  what will I do then??  no let’s consider other options first. So Haircut!!

Ok, the how about hair straightening/smoothing therapy?

Well  

A) it’s expensive and

B) They are going to apply so many smelly chemicals on my head, and the aftercare is heck!! just too much,

 so a big NOOO, hair straightening/smoothing therapy

What are my options here?? a bit of care, oiling, and conditioning, can work wonders, let’s try that first….it will not happen overnight i know, A lot of care and disciplined regimen is what I need for now!! after all I have no other choice !!

And while I have come to the end of this post, I have convinced Akash to give me a coconut oil head massage ;) so got to go  :)

Have a happy weekend!!

Around Here

Empty spaces, hollow voices, sweat beads crumpled on my upper lip and very uneasy restless me! That’s who I am lately!! Ever since I have returned from Kashmir....  I wake up unrefreshed from my sleep, for many hours I am insomniac and if at all I fall asleep then it is light and disturbed!! 

Everyday I open my laptop to write something but the moment I start, I feel the coldness of my fingers freezing the words , not letting them flow free,  they leave the fingers and loose their essence midway, rendering the thoughts lifeless, meaningless!! 

With disappointment I close the flap and retire to my couch, staring back again in the empty spaces, trying to listen to the hollow voices!!  I will bounce back I know, sooner or later, it’s just a phase I tell myself!! And I wipe away the beads of sweat from my upper lip!!

Where am I??

I wake up to the comfort of a familiar surroundings, Lofty wind pushes it way inside the room and fills me with a sense of calmness and comfort!! I am wide awake ....and happy for being that way!!

Earth is rotating slowly to complete one full rotation around the sun, and I am completely unaware about the rotation because I don't feel it anyway, I am too busy marveling at the beauty all around me, too happy to a part of it even though I know that it's not my reality anymore, that as the earth will keep rotating around the sun making days and nights and before I know , My day will be looking at me directly into the eye and mumbling, "it's time to go".

and even though i will pack my stuff with heavy heart,  get my luggage x-rayed for any potential threat to the airport authorities, take a boarding pass for the flight to Mumbai, a "PREEMINENT" part of my heart will always be in Kashmir, wandering in the wilderness, getting awaken by the crisp morning breeze every day...

I will always love you with the deepest core of my heart!!

Celebrating Jovi's 3rd Birthday

Celebrating Jovi's 3rd Birthday

`Our little missy turned 3 last week, Josna had invited us over for a get together...Jovi  was busy with her crayons and drawing pad and Vihaan was also busy...annoying her...

I loved the authentic Kerala feast served on banana leaf...we did a mini photo shoot to capture and save the best moments!!

Right words....

Right words!!! are not always easy to find, sometimes they are like a moon shrouded by the dark night in the heart of sky, unseen, covert, clouded, and veiled!!

and sometimes you struggle hard to catch hold of them, and often when vulnerable emotionally, the right words seem to be like the so infamous Mistral wind, accelerating when passing through the galvanic farcical temporary psychological state of mind!! blowing away the grit of memories and making the marbles little more luminous ( which is not always for the good) !!

Right words!! sometimes come so easily,unheralded like the first ray of sunshine, combination of bright light and radiant heat, warming body and soul!, fueling the very existence!! enhancing the growth of the our invaluable relationships!!

Right words!! if only you can find!!

A fleeting moment - Thank you note :)

Last night , late late at night, a girl not so happy seemed to be emerging from my core,  leaving  my chest...evaporating into the air all around me...she turned to face me, looked me into the eye....and  I saw a pang of sadness in her perfect orb shaped twin eyes.

Her face pale as left over milk, her heaving heart that barely seems to be beating, her dry cyanotic lips, her clouded mind... chaotic with so many prophetic queries.... and I wondered why?? 

 I looked at her with those probing inquisitive eyes, and exactly at that very precise moment she smiled faintly, opened her mouth and said to me:

Tonight,I am nothing but your imagination,  a sham, a story book, a chimerical unfounded  nebulous entity, a pure figment of your and only your imagination  "Thank you " for liberating me !! For You have worked real hard to make me what I am today, and I am so glad you made me a Phantasmal blue-sky!!