A wasted snowy day and my peace lillies

It was an early release due to predicted snow, not as bad... but I let myself go lazy, just cooked and sat about watching movies or reading.

I need to clean up a lot of clutter that I end up having in spite of repeated resolutions!!!

That said,  I love the peace lilies at home, so many at a time, my natural air cleansers... muuah.

Some days...

Been going through a lot of health issues of late, so OA had given me an ultimatum to get back on track, eat good, exercise, eat LESS 😋😜😜 and all that...

Finally go to my long pending maybe 5 years overdue exam, the results are back and good, the sheer relief was so good that I slept straight 12 hrs. 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Before the result, came home clean, chop and store away veggies for the week and the pic with curd is arrrrrrrrrrgggh and Grrrr... don't know if I should be happy he set the curd overnight as I slept without setting it or be mad that he did in my milk boiling bowl... hatavidheee...!!!

Eating Out - IHop

The kid has a standard menu wherever she goes, Mac n Cheese or Grilled cheese sandwich with orange juice and add a smiley face pancake if it is IHop..

and I have a standard too, Tuscan Scramble :), so when we go there it is our "usual".

Eating Out - Moroccan and Mediterranean

I love experimenting various cuisines but due to lack of company end up going to the same old same old, Cheescake Factory and CPK as the kid loves it there..

Found this lovely place called Fez, the food and ambience is perfect..

The baklava is toooooooo good, the best I have ever eaten.

A different taste!!!

We have heard in our Isha workshop about goat milk and how it is easy to digest and a better alternative to cow's milk.  After a lot of contemplation, picking up and placing it back on the rack later, one fine day last week we decide to bring it home and test.

Verdict... ewwww!!!  We used it in Tea, could not have a sip of it in spite of no odd smell or anything but the very thought that it came from the stinky goats I had seen as a child was so revolting that I could not dare it.  OA did however complete his cuppa and decided no more ever.. his being the same reason..

The "Jugaadoo" me did try to make curd, 'cos I can gobble up anything remotely curd and in stead of throwing away the remaining tried to set curd, it took a lot of time and it was very shaky and jiggly, not completely set... and this time I did try a spoon and promise myself I would never ever ditch our good old gaay maataa :) as long as I am in US.

A busy day

Weekends are much more busier than weekdays some days and the kid prefers it that way.. the single child woes, trying to keep her busy and occupied rather versus i-pad induced coma :(

Dance, then chess workshop at the library, followed by a 3-hr. break and then the scout meeting and bi-monthly grocery shopping... uneventful hectic day!!!

Did I say, I LOVE our library system, loads and loads of stuff for the upcoming winter break and much much more... I am going to miss this place very badly.

I finally caught up with the backlog and am trying to make sure I post at least one pic a day, the moments to cherish and remember before we wind up... 

A magical Evening

One of the best things about the kid's school is the various fundraising activities and the fun filled evenings once in a while.

#26 - Mom and Daughter Classes

The kid and me join the PLTI and CLTI for the next 20 weeks, I feel so bad I did not do it earlier and had to do at this juncture..

The kid seems to have had a blast and I am beyond impressed with the content.

#25 - India for Kids

One thing I really enjoy doing here in US is talking about India to kids, that we do have running water, that we do not ride elephants, that we are not a poor country struggling to meet basic needs or the fact that kids go to school very much like them...

I love the questions they ask and sharing a part of our culture...

#24 - Sunlight

The best part of living in this high-rise is ample of sunlight and the thriving indoor plants, the view, Zoey my neighbor's friendly, fat old dog, Zoya my next door neighbor who I would not have met otherwise... 

#23 - Flavored Water

With the kid frequently falling sick due to weather and her general phlegm issues... one thing I have taken to is boiling water.  I don't prefer buying bottled water, so it has always been tap water and given that the building maintenance is very poor, the perfect resort is to boil it.

A few leaves of Tulsi, 1/4 inch cinnamon bark, a clove and tadaa our flavored water is ready.

#22 - Lighted Up

We have heard so much about this house which is lighted up every Christmas.. 

Thousands of lights and lots and lots of hardwork, kids just love to visit this place count up the lines and lines of lights.  Something I decided the kid should not miss seeing :)

#21 - Sleeping Under the Stars

The best mornings are those that begin under the open sky, pleasant and no disturbance at all...

Overnight camping near the cove, an experience to cherish...

#20 - Model RailRoad

There is an amazing mini rail road fully functional and awesome in the basement of a church and it is a total delight to be there and experience it.

#19 - Cooking Spree

And such rest days are followed by heavyduty cooking when we expect house guests where I have no option but to cook a bit better than normal...

#18 - Snow and Snug..

Some days, I just luck out when the OA cooks something and lets me sleep in and do whatever I want to... 

#17 - Happy Days

4 little monsters who did everything together are now in 3 different states in US.  The kid misses them a lot.  With them around, it was like she had siblings and now all of a sudden all alone but then life moves on... 

#16 - Adventure Trip...

One big adventure me and her did was to go to NYC alone and see the places she liked, we took the tour bus and by the end of 3rd day, we kind of were all set to be the tour guides.  She loved the trip to the core and had a blast watching the lady, happy kiddo, happy mommy... 

#15 - 2 Times Spartan...

Spartan kid's race in Stamford is something she has enjoyed and I love this city for providing us with so many options to engage the children, done 2 years in a row, still cant get over it..

#14 - Kid Baker

The little helper loves to bake, especially brownies and chocolate chip cupcakes...

and loves the CPK birthday parties where they bake their own pizza and eat it too... 

#13 - Radiocity Rockettes

When our best friends are moving out of Stamford for good, we decide to take the kids to one last show in the city as a farewell party... A bit expensive and to be honest, not much liked by the kids... it was a delight to the eyes.

Loved the visuals...

#12 - Arts and Crafts

Paint and bake ceramic craft she got as a birthday gift.... she loves to sketch, paint and write.  With a little help and a few touchups from her art teacher, not bad for a 7-year-old.

#11 - Beautiful

A rainy day in fall... 

#10 - Horror

We happen to be on the roads on 9/11 this last year and it hurts deep to look at the empty space and the terror and horror that shook me to the core when I was in the streets in person... the image of 2 towers and a plane is a different thing and being there and just imagining the consequences which could have been way worse is nothing worse than hell... 

#9 - Grandprix Derby

 Why should the boys have all the fun!!!  So, here we go we do a derby for GS, the kid gets the kit...

 Cuts and sands it into the shape she wanted to...

Painted and got it ready for race....

she did not win and was pretty much upset about it, but this is a good learning experience to give your best and appreciate the better efforts of others and not feel bad about losing...

#8 - Heavenly Evenings

The amazing canvas of God that keeps me mesmerized for hours together, blessings showered from up up and above... Thank you Mother Nature...

#7 - Views...

The best thing about life in Stamford has been the house with a view...

 and undoubtedly, fall view is one of the best ones...

The final few days of fall... 

#6 - Diets :)

There are times when the crazy OA has some specific requests suddenly... complete raw diet, keto diet, Atkins, half-cooked, half raw, you name and he will come up with some crazy thing which might go on anywhere from a day to a week to a month...

In a way, it is much much better than those fasting days when he gets hungry and then crazy and we tend to fight like mad dogs because of his super cranky unreasonable fits of anger masked hunger..

#5 - 3rd Year Scout

We started as a Daisies with 8 girls, bridged to brownies lost 2 girls to out of town moves and have grown a bit to 13 girls :).  An eventful journey...

I really liked NCC and scouts and guides in India and with high hopes became a co-leader and got into GS with the kiddo.. while it is a beautiful learning experience, it is totally a different concept out here.

#4 - Hooping and Helping

Scouts is something that we are into, both mom and the child and as part of it, we meet at a senior living and get to help these wonderful grandmas for their evening social at times... kids put up a little talent show, sing songs and pass along their evening snack and drinks over the weekends.

The LO loves hooping... and she can go on and on and on and on....!!!!  

#3 - Soccer Tales

We think of introducing a sport to the child and end up choosing the obvious.. Soccer!!!

Within 2 seasons we realize that it is not what we want to do and this goes down the history as "well.. we tried!!!"

#2 - Baby Bookworm

The happiest person on this earth is the one who loses self in the world of books... like mom, like daughter... though the sometimes less intellectually challenged at school gets overconfident and thinks she is way ahead and tends to skip reading... it is good to see her taking a liking to reading... 

At Barnes and Nobles, the one place where I like relaxing... In US, thanks to the amazing library system, I personally thinking buying books is a wastage, so we end up going there and reading or just spend some time and come back... 

#1 - Telugu...

 Nostalgic, the child who started learning telugu alphabet back home, comes to US and forgets Telugu completely...

When it is time to go back 5 yrs. later... we try to teach her again, a day and she master the acchulu, she still feels they are some funny symbols though!!!

Lapse again

There has been a lapse again... just plain laziness yet again...!!! me and my hopeless wasting myself out...!!!

This 24th day of the month, I will try and bring up to date with the posts... hopefully 365 even if the day lapses, take a pic and post later should be the target...