Life is Good

In a week, how many times do we ponder over all the things that are going wrong in our life or not going the way we want? I am sure the answer for most of us is atleast once. Now, how many times do we think about all the things that have gone right in our lives ?

If you answer yes to these questions below, then in my opinion your life is good.

1. Do you have a loving family ?
2. Do you have friends ?
3. Do I have good food to eat ?
4. Do I have roof over my head ?
5. Do I have time to enjoy myself with my family and friends ?

Beyond these anything that you think you need, is really things you _want_. And once in a while its good to look back and wonder do I really _need_ these things. Do I really want that new dress from Anthropology? Do I really want that diamond necklace? If you believe the answer is yes, have you considered how long has any of these objects brought real joy? Compare it to how long has the joy lasted for after seeing a dear friend or family member that you haven't seen in a while.

I know this post is a complete shift from all my other posts. Last two weeks I have been on road trips with my husband to see friends and family and now that I am back, I realize how much fun it was and what a lasting impact will it have on me :).

This attests to the fact how rarely do I look back and see what really brings joy in my life and what is that I really cherish. And I hope that this post makes my readers do the same. Good food and good company can be never replaced by a new dress or that diamond necklace !

p.s: I did buy some jewelry on these road trips... but let me tell you what I cherish the most is not it !

Yummy Chocolate Mousse

Summer term is over and I have a few weeks to enjoy without guilt. So I am making the most of it. Catching up on movies, tv shows, visiting bffs etc. etc. :D. My latest hobby, believe it or not, is cooking. I have been cooking elaborate dishes once in a while with hubby dearest to take my mind of the school, work and stock market craziness. Also, I am watching all these chef shows like Top Chef, Hell's Kitchen, Master Chef that have further encouraged me to cook.

So this week I am on desserts. Yesterday I made chocolate mousse. The inspiration came from the winning dish in one of the Master Chef's challenges. This female made this gorgeous looking mousse and I decided I will make one myself. Now I have never ever made mousse before, so it was exciting and above all it was easy.

I used the slightly modified Julia Child's recipe by David Lebovitz (btw... I have no idea who this is) http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2008/05/perfect-chocola/. I would highly recommend this recipe as its very simple and doesn't require too many crazy ingredients :). Follow the recipe closely and it will you will be good to go.

A few things to keep in mind, it does involve a lot of whipping. But it is a great way to exercise those arm flabs ;). The other thing a beginner or first time mousse maker should do is watch some youtube videos on how to "fold" the mixture. It is extremely important that you "fold" the mixture rather than just mix it conventionally, as the folding is what gives it the volume otherwise your mousse will be hard chocolate :). The video I watched was this : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqDa7sdEcGs, but I am sure there are plenty videos out there.

Here is my beautiful and extremely yummyyy chocolate mousse :D

My Top Three Fictional Couples

Recently, I have been watching a new detective series and the on and off couple in this series made to my top three favorite fictional couples. The series is Veronica Mars and couple is Logan & Veronica popularly nicknamed as LoVe (cute eh!). And this couple cropping up on the top of my list is the inspiration for this blog. So for the curious ones my top three favorites are:

1. Edward and Bella from Twilight (Suprise!!!) - For the ignorant who don't know about Twilight series, there are always exceptions, it is a novel about vampires. Edward is the vampire and Bella is a normal high school girl and the two of them are in looooooooooooove. What draws me to this couple is how crazy Bella is for Edward and how protective Edward is for Bella. And how the whole world wants them apart. If this sounds crazy, please read the novel :).

2. Logan and Veronica from Veronica Mars (yes they made to number 2 after season 1 :D) - Veronica is the daughter of a private investigator and solves high school mysteries on the side. Logan is a son of a big actor whose now dead gf was the best friend of Veronica. Its one of those stories - boy hate girl, boy always bugs girl, boy needs help, girl helps, boy falls in love with the girl and vice versa and then things go wrong. But its not the story but the chemistry between these two characters that just draws you to it. And you want to see episode after episode to see what happens between the two of them and not for the unraveling of the mysteries.

3. Raj and Sonia from Kaho na Pyaar hai (ofcourse how can my list be complete with Hrithik eh :)) - For this one the credit goes to Hrithik Roshan. I think if this character was played by any other actor it would not be in my top 3. But what draws me to this one is Raj's unconditional love for Sonia and him going out of the way to protect Sonia even when he expected his love to be not reciprocated.

So there you go, another one of my girly girl blog after sometime.

Rain Rain Come Again

Last month it was raining a lot and I was finding myself without a raincoat on several occasions and had to do with a snow coat in June !! So finally I bought myself a nice raincoat, I had never believed I will buy a 150 dollar raincoat, but I did. Yes, it was an impulse buy :)

Of course, ever since I bought the raincoat the rain kinda vanished. So finally today it rained and it rained cats & dogs !! And I didn't have my raincoat with me... so I decided I will go home and test my super expensive raincoat. So I drove home in a thunderstorm!!! Well, I am not completely crazy, I had a good reason to go home - I had to take care of Clover - but I will understand if one still thinks I am crazy :).

I got home, got my raincoat on and played with the doggie in the backyard! I love my raincoat it was awesome !! I am happy !

Bed and Breakfast

Just got back from one of the most wonderful weekend getaways - Lake Champlain, NY. It's been 4 years since we stayed in a Bed & Breakfast (Sugar Hill Manor) and I regret not doing this sooner. The first time was right after our wedding when we stayed at Hubble House near Seneca Lake, NY.

There is such a stark contrast between your everyday hotel like Hilton or Best Western and a B&B and the price difference is not all that much. For starters, almost all of these B&B's have some kind of interesting history or lineage. The decorations can be quite ostentatious but if you observe you will notice that all the decorations are done with much attention to detail; its truly amazing. Some of the artifacts can date back to the 1800's or since the very first owners lived there. Not only are the rooms gorgeous and most comfortable, the owners are always very warm and friendly. Oh! and lets not forget the delicious breakfast one gets to eat every morning. And if you are a fan of Victorian houses, like I am, then it is definitely a must do.

This time was even better for us. We booked early so we got the biggest room and it had this giant bath tub with jets. I tried taking a bubble bath and after turning the jets on there were more bubbles than water, it was awesome ! Moreover, the location was great, we got to do many things including a tour of the Ticonderoga Fort, swimming in Lake George, eating awesome food around there and just enjoying the beautiful lake.

So if you are ever looking for a relaxing weekend getaway, go to the nearest lake or scenic place and stay in a B&B and just chill !!

Are you a phone person ?

-To all those who complain that I don't call them and do not want to keep in touch ! :(

In the past decade or two the modes of communication have not only gotten better but have exponentially increased in number. Now we have twitter, facebook, kin, skype etc. apart from the good old telephone (or cellphones as we now call them these days ;) ). But telephone/cell phone is probably still most common means of communication - the one I am painstakingly bad at :-s.

Yesterday, I called one of my best friends visiting US. Now we chat on the internet almost everyday and hardly ever run out of things to talk about, but yesterday I probably had one of the most awkward phone conversations. I called, and after saying Hi! I was literally out of ideas of what to talk about. The bad signal didn't help either. But comm'on, she is my bff, how can it get that awkard? sigh !

A few weeks ago a good friend moved out of town, a good 3000 miles away. So, I called her to ask about her new apartment, new job etc. But after that, again I had no idea what to say :-s. When she was here, we could talk and gossip forever, but its like on the phone I get this weird mental block and then I become all awkward.

So, this is not something I realized just recently. I have always been awkward on phone and therefore I never call people, unless there is a good reason. Even then its always to the point, or until the person on the other side can hold up the conversation :P. But I CAN CHAT !! I can chat and chat and chat away over the internet. And I can exchange emails... long long long emails :).

I am not completely sure of why I am like this, but I have a few theories, out of which the following one makes the most sense. For those who know me, know how sometimes I formulate my sentences without much thinking (cos that is too much work for me) and I either end up embarrassing myself or them :). In person you can always see the expressions on one's face and hence people realize I didn't mean to offend or embarrass them. On chat, I can read what I am going to say and realize before hitting SEND, and correct myself before the damage is done :). And I am not under constant pressure of oh I have to say something, the silence is going to ruin everything !

So to all you out there, who think their friends don't call them and don't want to connect anymore, give them a chance via email or chat before you make up your mind :).

Ah! The wonders of having a dog

Meet Clover Ardis, the only dog in the Ardis family :) ! I believe I have mentioned him once or twice in my blogs, but this is the formal introduction. He is a Golden Retriever-Collie mix, we got him when he was 4 months old, and now he is 2.5 years old. We recently celebrated his 2 years with us.

This post is not really to rant about my dog, but it was prompted by a funny event yesterday. When Clover sleeps he dreams. And we can tell he is dreaming because he often woofs, runs (well, not like really run, but his legs move as if he were running), tail wags, and twitches in his sleep. Yesterday, for the first time ever, he humped in his sleep. I kid you not ! He was humping for atleast 30 seconds if not more. I was embarrassed and glad that it happened only when Paul and I were around, but I have to admit it was extremely funny and I regret not being able to capture it on a video :). Ah! the wonders of having a dog.

I used to think people are crazy when they look at their babies sleep and feel immense peace, but now I understand what the feeling is like. Right before going to bed at night, he will give this big sigh, while lying in his crate. That is our lulabye to go to bed.. seriously :).

When I come home from work, or for lunch, hubby opens the door with this wide irresistible smile, but let me tell you it is nothing compared to the tail wag and lickies that I get from the dog, and therefore the first hug goes to Clover. Poor husband :).

But don't get too carried away by Clover's looks or this post... we have had our fair share of "issues" with him. But you know what, it's totally worth it :)

Sex And The City - 2

Yesterday I went for SATC-2 with my girlfriend, and I have to say despite the reviews I had been reading it was nothing but entertainment. There was drama, there was fun and above all there was fashion ! It was just like 4 episodes of our beloved SATC series one after the other.

I loved Miranda's wardrobe !! Her dresses are not as ostentatious (or weird) as Carrie's, or as revealing as Samantha's or as conservative as Charlotte's. Its somewhere in the middle of all of these. Though it was a bit strange to see her all dressed up and accessorized all the time. I don't remember if that's how it was in first SATC movie.

Big was HOT as ever, and so was the Aidan for whatever time he was on the screen. The desert scenes were beautiful, and even though I have been to Egypt, I regret not going into the middle of the desert and enjoying what its like. May be I will have to experience this in good old Rajasthan :).

May be it had to do with the fact that my expectations were lower after reading all the reviews, but its a great excuse for girls night out and it is a must see for all the Sex & The City fans out there.

Kites

Yesterday night we went for a late showing of Hrithik Roshan (skip a heartbeat) 's movie :). For starters its been a long semester and after ages I went for a late night show.

The theater was surprisingly (not so surprising after watching the movie) scarcely populated. And there were very few Indians... again not a surprise after watching the movie. Initially, I found the movie quite entertaining. But after it ended and there was no more Hrithik to ogle at, I realized the movie was crap. Ofcourse, as you can tell, I LOVE Hrithik, but oh my god.. he couldn't stop overacting; he was on acting steroids, I swear. I am afraid he is so going to be the next SRK(Shahrukh Khan).

Hrithik, I believe is actually a very talented actor, but when these actors try to make every single scene powerful, you actually start laughing at it. Please don't overwhelm me with emotions when not needed. The only time I really liked him was when he was acting totally non callous and the last scene when he cries - now that is supposed to be a powerful delivery and he did an amazing job. The savior of this movie was the female lead, a South American actress: Barbara Mori.

On the plus side, it was very funny to watch Bollywood style action being done with white people! Thanks to my dear hubby and good friends R&S, who couldn't stop cracking jokes, and made the movie a bit worthwhile.

You know you are busy when

1. You have been making plans for your husband's birthday for weeks before but forget to wish him in the morning as you wake up.. because work is on your mind
2. You wake up in the morning and are sitting staring at the blank wall, rummaging last day's unfortunate events at work and how it could have gone better
3. You forget it's lunch time
4. You have to go pee but can't because you have a deadline !!

Please feel free to add & good to know that other people have gone through the similar misery :)

Stolen Post :)

A post i am stealing from my best friend P. Hilarious but true to its every word :

STOLEN POST

Don't you judge me :)

Why I changed my major !

Last quarter I took my second finance course, where I learnt all about portfolio management; which is a two step decision. What stocks to select and how to distribute your money within these stocks.

At the beginning of the class I was extremely excited that I will learn what the people at Wall Street do. Alas! it all turned out to be a bummer - key is to simply invest in market index funds and go to sleep. That's it !! And as my professor put it: if you want to do better than the market, you have to be a LOT LOT LOT more smarter than an average investor, and on top of that spend practically every moment looking for arbitrage opportunities.

On one hand its a relief - that oh I don't have to spend every minute of my time finding the right stocks, all i have to do is invest in S&P 500 or something similar. But on the other hand I realized how much time, effort and RISK is involved in picking stocks to make that little extra money. Apparently, these giant companies make money on volumes, and an individual like me cannot do that, because to trade in such huge volumes I will need to own Swiss Bank !!

So, the mystery of individual investing is solved - market index funds.

But what about my major. I had dreams of walking on the wall street. (Yes, even after the market went kaboom !) I had heard that people put in very long hours and its a high stress job but I had never really realized the intensity. I am a very money minded person, so I don't take losses very well. Therefore, I definitely do not want to be the person bringing sorrow to investors. One always hears these success stories of folks who made thousands of dollars, but what about the stories where people lost even more. No wonder these people are paid rather well. But what about the quality of life? Specially, if you are married and are used to having a life :).

So I am back to good old CIS (Computer Information Systems). This doesn't mean that I won't have a challenging career - if I go up the ranks, I will definitely be stressed out once in a while. But the key is "once in a while".

Shiny Things

I am a sucker for shiny things - shiny things that I do not own, let me be specific :).

How many times have I lost the trail of my thoughts as I walked passed Swarovski or Apple store ? How many times have I almost bumped the car in-front of me, as I was checking out the coat of the pretty woman walking on the sidewalk? Yes, the answer is many many times.

Yesterday, I was appalled when I realized I have never noticed this gift shop next to my usual Starbucks. This gift shop had these amazing wind chimes, jewelry boxes, jewelry, cutlery etc... that I was so overwhelmed with. I spent an hour in the store deciding what to buy and I got so frustrated because I wanted to buy everything, that I left the store empty handed. But worry not, I am going back there on Saturday with a mission !! :)

But why is it that as soon as I own one of those objects, I lose interest in it, so much so that I forget I own it. The other day we were having lunch at a hot dog stand and I saw this female wearing this really cute jacket. And I was like how cute, I wish I had that. 10 minutes later it dawns on me - I actually do own that very same jacket. I haven't touched it in 2 years!! Jeez !

But am I the only one who has that problem? I know some people have worse problems, like this friend of mine who wears a different dress everyday for the past 3 years (I think she can enter in Guinness book of world records!). I have jewelry that I haven't even worn once and I am about to buy a similar looking one and I let it go (cos I am too cheap). And guess what, a few days later while rummaging through my junk jewelry I find the pair that I never knew existed in that box!!

Oh such is life!

Spa Adventures !

After a long tiring quarter I decided to treat myself to a spa treatment. I had been wanting to go for this for a long time but was always too cheap to actually go. But now that dear hubby actually earns real money I decided to do it :).

The reason why I am writing about is to not only to encourage (and may be make a little jealous) all the women out there, but to also point out the differences between a spa treatment in US and India. Now of-course labor is quite cheap in India, so you do get a lot done for a lot less amount of money, but that was something I was understood before I made this appointment. I mean how many things can I put off until I go to India again :).

First difference is that in India more than one person is usually taking care of you at one time - again this can be attributed to cheap labor. Second difference, which I think is the biggest, is that in US you are handled ever so gently. The scrubbing is gentle, the massaging is gentle and if they accidentally bump you they say sorry like 10 times. Contrasting this to the Indian spa, there are atleast two people pulling you in different directions, scrubbing you like a wash cloth and massaging you like you are dough. The third difference is how I felt once the spa was all done. I felt a lot more refreshed and clean after the Indian Spa treatment, a little sore may be :), but shortly after all muscles felt relaxed for a longer time. With the US spa treatment I felt good, but it didn't last the following day. And the last difference is the free gifts :). Come'on how can I not write about the free gifts, which obviously you get only in US. For example, I got a 20% discount and a free body cream :D.

But overall, I would say I think I like the Indian Spa treatment cheaper, better and more refreshing. Definitely getting one next time I go to India.