Phrases that I find really ODD...

Alright, It so happened, I was arguing with a friend for something. He wasn't believing me until I showed him some facts and then I heard " My Bad"....What? Is that all you had to say?I thought.
Rather than apologizing for the mistake, I thought he was asking me to get over it and move on. Yes, I understand, you don't have to apologise for everything but my bad was rude and uncaring, my friend.

And then, when I meet or call up someone and hear " What's Up", it makes me uncomfortable. Other than replying "Nothing" to that dismissive phrase, I don't understand what more to say. I mean come on! Helloo sounds so much better and personal. It feels the person cares.

What do you exactly mean, when you say " I Freaked Out"? Because I think freaking out means something out of control or manic but I hear it so often when a person is excited about something. It confuses me honestly. Its such an over used phrase.

Good luck with That. Share a problem with a someone and hear this phrase...Yes, I am glad too that you are not the one who has to deal with the problem, but it sounds so uncaring. It almost feels you are brushing me off instead of being any help.

I know there would be many more odd phrases, that I can't think of it right now. I would love to hear from you what words or phrases you find odd and feel the traditional English is so much better....

Its the little things in LIFE...

Aanya, do you know it's snowing...
Everything is white out there...
What??

So, we wake up last morning with a sudden snow shower. Yes, snow is a rare thing here.

Let's wear our jackets and shoes and go outside, Let's catch snow flakes....
Yayy!! Yes, lets go.

As we were wearing out jackets, Puneet asked if we were really going out and my answer in affirmative made him smile. I like it when you get excited about little things. I can never do that. He said. I remembered, last year when it snowed, how Aanya and I had ventured outside just to collect snow in her little bucket.

Snow fun 2014

Yesterday, it was just little flurries and before it stopped, I wanted Aanya to get the feel of it.

I am glad we got excited about the snow. Its these little things in life, little moments in life, that are actually not little because they make you smile and get sealed in your memory for future smiles...Infact, come to think of it, life is a bundle of these little things and we all get excited about OUR little things, which for others, may appear foolishness.
For me, few of my little things are...Watching sunrise every morning, cooking new things, my DIY projects, Aanya's artwork, Table Tennis, Thai food, impromptu picnics by the lake or park...

What are your little things? Things that really excite you? If you haven't figured it out, do it now. Don't let your passion and enthusiasm get mistaken for foolishness....an important lesson our kids teach us! Right?

Carrot Oat Muffins!...Weekday Surprise :)

5:00 am.

The time I woke up this morning. My husband, who rolled out of bed at 4:30 am, was already at work and my daughter, Aanya who usually wakes up around 6:30 was up well before 6:00am.
Yes, we are one silly family who are early risers...

But there is one good thing about rising before the sun. You get things done. By the time, the sun was starting to peek through the window, I had already made lunches and these Carrot Oat Muffins for breakfast.

My kitchen was warm and filled with scent of cinnamon, a load of laundry was freshly dried and dishes from morning baking were done. And having spice filled muffins bursting with carrots and oats were a very nice change of pace this cold morning. My family was surprised and we all for a change had breakfast together on a weekday.

Muffin with plain cream cheese

And now for the recipe, for those who are interested :)

Yield: 12 Muffins, Prep time: 10 min, Cook time: 20 min

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated carrots
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking power
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare a muffin pan by lining with cupcake liner.
In the bowl of a food processor, add the carrots, both sugars, canola oil and egg, and process until just combined. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and baking powder. Add the carrot mixture to the flour and mix until combined.
Divide the batter evenly in the muffin pan.
Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Valentine's Day: No big deal (to me)

Alright! I get it, its a Valentine's Day today. Otherwise, why would Kroger flower shop, which on normal days is deserted and empty, be full of flowers especially roses and 3 staff members selling and packing the bouquets... The cash counters having long queues of people holding flower and gifts. For some reason, retailers think women revert back to their childhood preferences on February 14th...what else would explain the flood of stuffed animals displayed? :)

A friend asked me if I had any plans for the V-day and my answer was No. Not that, I have anything against this day, its just that Puneet and I never celebrated Valentine's Day. Never. Our first Valentine's Day together didn’t feel any more special than any other day. He always showered me with love and affection, so V-Day just didn’t seem to be such a big deal. No gifts, no flowers. I always like spontaneous love gift from him compared to obligatory offering made on this day.

So, back to Kroger, I saw many happy faces, faces in anticipation and women dressed up to maybe going for a party or a quite romantic dinner with her partner. It all looked nice. Somehow, I feel this day is more like a festival now. People have started devoting an entire week for Valentine. Preparation for the day, much in advance. Massage centers and salons generate quite a business on this single day. My own favorite hair studio was promoting 'True Romance' by promoting perfect style for Valentine's Day date( Ha ha!).

Amongst all this madness, I really liked the "Family Day" event organised by Georgia Museum of Art, where the kids had to explore the playful multimedia works of Italian artist Piero Lerda for inspiration, then make own collaged valentine.

So, if the essence of Valentine's Day was to make the day extra sweet, this one event made it. I like this idea of Valentine more than the force-fed images of colorful bouquets, chocolate covered strawberries, teddy bears, lingerie and any number of other kinds of gifts we are seduced into expecting from those who profess to love us.

Hope you all had a great loved Valentine's Day!

P.S. I started writing this post on Feb 14th, and posting it today....:)

Dressing your Age: Women in 30s

A few days back, I was shopping at Macy's and I saw a women in late 30s. I am assuming her age as she had a 10 year old daughter. She picked up a lacy deep neck top and held it in front of her. I was like Nooo..., Please! It doesn't go with your age.

Yes, I agree, a number doesn't define your age. Your lifestyle and energy does. Yet, I am on of those women who still believes in age related fashion dictum. We need to be realistic about our changing body and the message we want to send at this stage of our life.
Now, you might be thinking, in a world where everyone from 9 to 90 wears jeans, what does "age appropriate" actually mean? Well, its a little tricky thing to figure out. And that's one reason, I see many women struggle through it. I do too sometimes.

Sharing with you all the best advices I have ever received. The goal is not to look OLDER than you did ten years ago. It is to look more polished, more aware of yourself, more confident.

1.  If you can picture your nineteen year old niece wearing it (dress/top), FORGET IT. She doesn't have the confidence you have yet, or the wisdom and experience.

2. Stop shopping in Junior Stores and the Teen section of department stores. PERIOD.

3. Too much cleavage show or skirts at your thighs is a big NO. You are young, but undoubtedly All Women. You have earned this title, so don't feel the need to prove that to anyone by showing it in their faces. Bring out the pearls. The stilettos.

4. NO graphic T- shirts please. If you have to, wear it with a cardigan. Like this...

5. NO crop tops, even if you have a super body, leave these shirts for younger folks.

6. NO Hoop earrings. Only high school girls can pull these off.

And now, some visuals. Women in 30s should look like these pretty and confident ladies...

Outfit from Ann Taylor

Outfit from Ann Taylor

Outfit from Gap

Outfit from Loft

from Nordstrom

From loft

And DEFINETLY NOT like these

Graphic Tees from Juicy Couture

This lacy outfit is for women is 20s

This deep neck dress from ASOS, is a NO

Leave mini skirts for juniors

No crop tops...

So, my friends in 30s, REMEMBER! We are expected to be a little more mature, and we should dress like it too. Hope you enjoyed this post. Comments are welcomed....:)

The Day Well Spent....

Where that day gone went....Yet I know that it's time well spent!

What does it mean to you to spend a day well?  Is it time with your family or friends enjoying each others’ company no matter what you are doing?  Is it being alone with a good book and a warm cup of tea?  Is it busying yourself with projects you’ve been meaning to complete and now have a chance to?  The list of how we find ourselves spending the day is as different as each of us, as complex
as our thoughts can make them and as simple as our desires present. No matter what we do, what we experience or what we accomplish, in order for us to feel that it has been a day well spent must include one thing; Happiness. Right?

It was a beautiful day today, the weather was perfect for outdoors. We headed to The Lake Herrick in the morning, which had a water front and several jogging trails...Aanya had taken her binoculars and was keen on watching birds....

The morning, couldn't have been better. And in the evening, as per the weekend ritual, went to the Ramsey center to play Table tennis and to do little bit of exercise.

The day ended with a bowl of cheesy vegetable pasta....!

Oh wait! It hasn't ended yet. Off to read this book now for a while...:)

 Hope you all too had a great day today, in whatever way you wanted! Wishing you a wonderful week ahead :)

Our Battle with Infant Torticollis and Plagiocephaly...

Aanya had Torticollis soon after she was born or should I say, when she was born. I don't know. Infant Torticollis is a tightness in neck muscle which causes the head to tilt to one side. And Congenital Torticollis is a condition that is present at birth or shortly after birth. As first time parents, we didnot notice her tilted head for a month. Infact, we didnot notice her tilted head at all. It was the flatness in the head ( known as plagiocephaly) that we noticed after a month. We realised, her head is not as round as it should be.

After a thorough checkup, the doctor told us, Aanya has TORTICOLLIS. What's that? My instant reaction. And how could she have developed that? I asked. The reason could be any of these;
prolonged labour, pelvis being too small and fetal head too big or the fetal dropped early into the pelvis. We were told. Because the child cannot turn the head to both sides(due to tightness in neck muscles) and prefer one side, the head eventually gets flat from behind.

We got referred to a Pediatric Plastic Surgeon.To start with, he advised repositioning. Basically how to position the baby during feeding, sleeping, eating and playing to help stimulate neck muscles. And along with it some stretch exercises which were to be performed about 3 times a day. This would take care of Torticollis and once its treated and the head moves in all directions, plagiocephaly will be gradually gone ( though only about 60 percent).  He suggested doing a helmet which would correct the deformed head by 90 percent. The choice was ours, if we wanted to get the helmet right away or wait untill few months to see the progress with physical therapy and if a helmet was really required by then. We were also referred to a physical therapist who would teach us, twice a month, more exercises for proper muscular and skeletal development.

To our relief, by the end of 6 months and after regular exercises, increased amounts of tummy times and repositioning, Aanya's stiff neck got better but unfortunately the plagiocephaly did not.

During that time, we did lot of research on helmets- to do or not to do. And we decided to do it. It was quite emotional. Googling the helmet casting pictures almost traumatized me. I felt I failed Aanya by making her go through all this. The orthotists though tried to make the casting process as fun and light hearted but the overall thought was quite heart wrenching. The day Aanya was to get her helmet, I was an emotional wreck. I still did not have peace with how I failed her. Parenting could be so hard some days.

Aanya got her helmet at 7 months and we were told she would wear it until she was a year old. We could not believe how quickly her head improved with the helmet. She got it on right before a couple of major growth spurts and within two weeks, we saw a noticeable difference. It got better with each passing week and by the end of 4 months, it was 90 percent corrected.

Now, 3 years after the helmet came off, I never think about any of this. I barely remember those helmet days and Aanys’s head looks perfect. I do get emotional looking back her pictures from her head casting, first fitting and all other helmet days. I’m so glad we made the choice we did to use the helmet. This is my favorite helmet picture, she was always so happy and never noticed her helmet.

Torticollis in infants maynot be prevented but it is treatable. If it is left untreated, it may lead to long term problems like permanent facial asymmetry and a muscle strength imbalance that directly affects baby's development.
If anyone wants to talk to me about this, I will be more than glad to discuss. I believe we're at our best when we give ourselves fully and courageously to one another and share our joys, struggles, and lessons learned along the path.

Torticollis in infants may not be prevented but it is very treatable. If the torticollis is left untreated it may lead to long term problems such as permanent facial asymmetry and a muscle strength imbalance that directly affects baby's development. - See more at: http://www.baby-safety-concerns.com/torticollis-treatment.html#untreated

Torticollis in infants may not be prevented but it is very treatable. If the torticollis is left untreated it may lead to long term problems such as permanent facial asymmetry and a muscle strength imbalance that directly affects baby's development. - See more at: http://www.baby-safety-concerns.com/torticollis-treatment.html#untreated

plagiocephalypla

also called wryneck, is a tightness in the neck muscle - See more at: http://www.baby-safety-concerns.com/infant-torticollis.html#sthash.ftnvLGX3.dpuf

also called wryneck, is a tightness in the neck muscle - See more at: http://www.baby-safety-concerns.com/infant-torticollis.html#sthash.ftnvLGX3.dpuf

also called wryneck, is a tightness in the neck muscle - See more at: http://www.baby-safety-concerns.com/infant-torticollis.html#sthash.ftnvLGX3.dpuf