Had a very nice Christmas! Was grateful that Papa was here. Went to the Christmas Eve Service at PAC. Rev. Hannold talked about 4 prophecies of the birth of the Messiah that were made starting ~730 years before the birth of Jesus.
We had yummy biriyani for dinner & lunch on Christmas Day.
Christmas Day was our annual party for our friends around NJ. This year we had the Bhimpures, Vasireddis, Khers, Ahujas, Dharankars, Markales, Natu & Singh families here to celebrate Christmas with us. We all had a blast - catching up with each other. The kids put up an awesome magic show in the end! Catered food from Crown of India & had plenty of cookies, cake & candy. Anita made a great pomegranate & Proseco drink!
My notes on life.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Nov 22, 2010
Rutha is 11 years old today! She is turning into such a beautiful person - inner & outer - pardon the maternal bias here. She had a blast this past weekend at the Junior's Campout in Middleville NJ. It was a very memorable experience with learning rope climbing, hiking - day & night, campfire, hot chocolate & s'mores, making their own lunches & dinners & building a whole lot of camaraderie & friendships!!
This past year Rutha has done so well in academics. Her NJASK4 scores were fantastic - a perfect 300 on Math, 296 in Language Arts and 267 in Science. Her new interest for excelling is currently social studies - finds it very interesting. Her grades are already maxed out this marking period. She handles her other interests/activities too very well. Has done well in chess - won 2 plaques for 2nd & 3rd place at PCS & SciCore. Performed in 3 items - Lavani, Raag Kedar & murali manohar in her Guru's annual function. Came up with the piece to perform an Asian Fusion dance with Roopa (Bharat Natyam) on the song Believe by Ozomatli from the album "Street Signs". Really showed initiative here - also commended by Archana for her initiative on this. Is progressing very well with violin. Did well in her swim lessons - teacher recommended that she could now do the stroke clinic but we are taking a break for a few weeks over the winter. Is also a member of the school choir. Will be taking part in the Odyssey of the Mind Contest with 6 other participants from her grade.
My prayer for her today is that she continues to grow, reflects her love for her God in all that she does, is the best among the best and brings praise & honor to her Creator as we acknowledge His blessings on her!
This past year Rutha has done so well in academics. Her NJASK4 scores were fantastic - a perfect 300 on Math, 296 in Language Arts and 267 in Science. Her new interest for excelling is currently social studies - finds it very interesting. Her grades are already maxed out this marking period. She handles her other interests/activities too very well. Has done well in chess - won 2 plaques for 2nd & 3rd place at PCS & SciCore. Performed in 3 items - Lavani, Raag Kedar & murali manohar in her Guru's annual function. Came up with the piece to perform an Asian Fusion dance with Roopa (Bharat Natyam) on the song Believe by Ozomatli from the album "Street Signs". Really showed initiative here - also commended by Archana for her initiative on this. Is progressing very well with violin. Did well in her swim lessons - teacher recommended that she could now do the stroke clinic but we are taking a break for a few weeks over the winter. Is also a member of the school choir. Will be taking part in the Odyssey of the Mind Contest with 6 other participants from her grade.
My prayer for her today is that she continues to grow, reflects her love for her God in all that she does, is the best among the best and brings praise & honor to her Creator as we acknowledge His blessings on her!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Toronto Summer 2010
We dropped the kids for 2+ week vacation with Sunita in Toronto. Met Satish, Neetu & Roma who were visiting Savita & Sangeeta. It was really nice seeing them!
Picked up the kids on the 1st weekend in August. Went to Scarborough Bluffs on Saturday - a lovely day to hang out at the beach! Went to Frederick's for dinner - quite a disappointing experience.
Sunita had made lovely biriyani & a yummy Malabar Shrimp Curry.
Left Toronto on Sunday night - crossed the border only to realize that I left my purse in her kitchen. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn in Henrietta & Pramod - bless him left at 6 am to go back to Glendale Ave across the border to pick it up & Sunita & Savita - bless them drove from Toronto to bring it to us.
Picked up the kids on the 1st weekend in August. Went to Scarborough Bluffs on Saturday - a lovely day to hang out at the beach! Went to Frederick's for dinner - quite a disappointing experience.
Sunita had made lovely biriyani & a yummy Malabar Shrimp Curry.
Left Toronto on Sunday night - crossed the border only to realize that I left my purse in her kitchen. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn in Henrietta & Pramod - bless him left at 6 am to go back to Glendale Ave across the border to pick it up & Sunita & Savita - bless them drove from Toronto to bring it to us.
Vancouver 2010
Attended JSM 2010 at Vancouver this year - its was 10 years since I went to a JSM meeting! Vancouver was beautiful - just as I had remembered from my visit in 2003.
Met so many old friends, ex-colleagues and my old teachers and professors. The convention center was HUGE so I guess that is why it did not seem so crowded. I attended some good talks (some not so good ones), helped with my company's hiring efforts, went to the bookfair, attended a meeting of the Committee for International Relations - which I serve on. The committee had sponsored a teacher from Costa Rica and it was very interesting listening to her about the conditions for teaching Statistics in her country.
One of my friends (my senior) from Penn State Omer Ozturk was elected an ASA Fellow - a truly deserving honor for Omer. Had lunch with him one day. We were joined then by Prof M. B. Rao - a very interesting and engaging conversationalist! He is a historian - his anecdotes are so informational and entertaining! He told me of a recent article from the WSJ that talked about a 25 year follow-up study on children who were given additional motivation/stimulation and those who were not - of course no surprise - the ones who were given this stimulation did much better in life in general than those who were not! Phew - not too late to work on Rohun as he becomes a kindergartener this year!!
Prof Bruce Lindsay recd the Fisher Memorial Prize this year - he was a very good teacher & researcher. Clearly nervous while giving his lecture - it wasn't as impactful as one would have expected.
Met Susan Murphy - the same energy - the same style - even better - she is now a silver blonde with a lot of style! Jim Rosenberger & his wife - looked the same as ever - really lovely couple! Very happy to see Dr. Bill Harkness - such a devoted teacher - he has lost loads of weight - his was a Santa Claus image from 15 years ago!
Met some very nice people through Arvind Shah - Rajesh Selukar, Pandu Kulkarni and Madhuri Mulekar. Had met Rajesh at another conference in 2002! Cannot talk about Vancouver without talking about food!! We all (the above, Charu, Amy & Jessica) went to Vij's for dinner one day. Its a great Indian restaurant with a twist. Very small, on a side (residential) street, they take no reservations so the wait is considerable. After reaching there a little before 6 pm we had to wait for 1.5 hrs. But the chatting company was great & the waitresses - prettily dressed in black frocks (classy blonds) brought out platters of yummy free appetizers and cups of chai. The food was great - not your run of the mill chicken tikka masalas - but very interesting! The drinks were also great - I had a rum drink with mango, garam masala and ginger!
Met Varsha's brother Vinay & sister-in-law Rekha - they took me out to dinner at a place called Red Door - an asian fusion place with great food! Very tasty & served in style with a very good Okanagan peony wine! This was another fine evening with great company - we went for a quick stroll at a beach & a drive through Stanley Park.
I stayed at the Sutton Place - nice hotel with great breakfast included!
The flight to Vancouver was filled with 70% statisticians & the return flight had about 40% statisticians!
Another very good talk was given by Jim Goodnight from SAS - the question answer session was even better!! He talked about bringing science/computational education in schools across America & the need for a crisis that will lead this great country into another area & era of leadership & innovation! I am praying for that too!
Met Prof Anil Gore - my teacher from Poona University - got caught up with news from Poona. It was sad to learn that Prof Kunte had passed on - he died after meeting with an accident on his scooter returning from a game of bridge. His was the most riveting laugh I've ever heard - loud and so filled with laughter - if you know what I mean - was glad in a way that his end came following a game of bridge - he was a very smart statistician!
Ro & Ru were Sunita & Mom in Toronto - having a blast for 2 weeks - but one evening while I was in Vancouver Ro had a meltdown and claimed that his heart was sad because he missed his Mama and Dad :-(
Met so many old friends, ex-colleagues and my old teachers and professors. The convention center was HUGE so I guess that is why it did not seem so crowded. I attended some good talks (some not so good ones), helped with my company's hiring efforts, went to the bookfair, attended a meeting of the Committee for International Relations - which I serve on. The committee had sponsored a teacher from Costa Rica and it was very interesting listening to her about the conditions for teaching Statistics in her country.
One of my friends (my senior) from Penn State Omer Ozturk was elected an ASA Fellow - a truly deserving honor for Omer. Had lunch with him one day. We were joined then by Prof M. B. Rao - a very interesting and engaging conversationalist! He is a historian - his anecdotes are so informational and entertaining! He told me of a recent article from the WSJ that talked about a 25 year follow-up study on children who were given additional motivation/stimulation and those who were not - of course no surprise - the ones who were given this stimulation did much better in life in general than those who were not! Phew - not too late to work on Rohun as he becomes a kindergartener this year!!
Prof Bruce Lindsay recd the Fisher Memorial Prize this year - he was a very good teacher & researcher. Clearly nervous while giving his lecture - it wasn't as impactful as one would have expected.
Met Susan Murphy - the same energy - the same style - even better - she is now a silver blonde with a lot of style! Jim Rosenberger & his wife - looked the same as ever - really lovely couple! Very happy to see Dr. Bill Harkness - such a devoted teacher - he has lost loads of weight - his was a Santa Claus image from 15 years ago!
Met some very nice people through Arvind Shah - Rajesh Selukar, Pandu Kulkarni and Madhuri Mulekar. Had met Rajesh at another conference in 2002! Cannot talk about Vancouver without talking about food!! We all (the above, Charu, Amy & Jessica) went to Vij's for dinner one day. Its a great Indian restaurant with a twist. Very small, on a side (residential) street, they take no reservations so the wait is considerable. After reaching there a little before 6 pm we had to wait for 1.5 hrs. But the chatting company was great & the waitresses - prettily dressed in black frocks (classy blonds) brought out platters of yummy free appetizers and cups of chai. The food was great - not your run of the mill chicken tikka masalas - but very interesting! The drinks were also great - I had a rum drink with mango, garam masala and ginger!
Met Varsha's brother Vinay & sister-in-law Rekha - they took me out to dinner at a place called Red Door - an asian fusion place with great food! Very tasty & served in style with a very good Okanagan peony wine! This was another fine evening with great company - we went for a quick stroll at a beach & a drive through Stanley Park.
I stayed at the Sutton Place - nice hotel with great breakfast included!
The flight to Vancouver was filled with 70% statisticians & the return flight had about 40% statisticians!
Another very good talk was given by Jim Goodnight from SAS - the question answer session was even better!! He talked about bringing science/computational education in schools across America & the need for a crisis that will lead this great country into another area & era of leadership & innovation! I am praying for that too!
Met Prof Anil Gore - my teacher from Poona University - got caught up with news from Poona. It was sad to learn that Prof Kunte had passed on - he died after meeting with an accident on his scooter returning from a game of bridge. His was the most riveting laugh I've ever heard - loud and so filled with laughter - if you know what I mean - was glad in a way that his end came following a game of bridge - he was a very smart statistician!
Ro & Ru were Sunita & Mom in Toronto - having a blast for 2 weeks - but one evening while I was in Vancouver Ro had a meltdown and claimed that his heart was sad because he missed his Mama and Dad :-(
Friday, July 16, 2010
Conversations with Rohun July 2010
Scene 1: Driving home from swimming with Rutha & Rohun
Rohun: I think I can fall in love with some girls
Me: What do you mean "some girls" whom do you mean?
Ro: I mean if I see some pretty girls then I can decide if I want to fall in love with them or not.
Rutha: (the brightest bulb in the family!) Looks can be deceiving buddy!
Scene 2: Another day of driving back from swimming - Pramod, Ru & Ro. The topic was Pramod's dad
Ro: Where is your Dad?
Pramod: He passed away - is no more.
Ro: You mean he went to heaven?
Pramod: Yes I guess so.
Ro: (After a 2 min pause) How do you get to heaven?
Pramod: When you do good things you get to go there.
Ro: (An instant reply) Oh then you will never get to heaven Dad - because you don't do good things with me - you yell at me, you force me to sleep when I don't want to, you are mean to me.
Rohun: I think I can fall in love with some girls
Me: What do you mean "some girls" whom do you mean?
Ro: I mean if I see some pretty girls then I can decide if I want to fall in love with them or not.
Rutha: (the brightest bulb in the family!) Looks can be deceiving buddy!
Scene 2: Another day of driving back from swimming - Pramod, Ru & Ro. The topic was Pramod's dad
Ro: Where is your Dad?
Pramod: He passed away - is no more.
Ro: You mean he went to heaven?
Pramod: Yes I guess so.
Ro: (After a 2 min pause) How do you get to heaven?
Pramod: When you do good things you get to go there.
Ro: (An instant reply) Oh then you will never get to heaven Dad - because you don't do good things with me - you yell at me, you force me to sleep when I don't want to, you are mean to me.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
June 2010
June - a lovely month!! Spent a lot of time in the garden this month - planting flowers & vegetables & pulling out weeds!
June - a very successful month for Rutha. She won a medal & certificate for being the highest scorer in her grade on the Continental Math League & NJ Math League Tests. She also won a 3rd place plaque at the Princeton Charter School Chess Tournament on June 12. Rohun won a medal - he actually won 1 game against a 3rd grade girl! His enthusiasm for chess is boundless so far. Recd Rutha's 4th grade school report card - she excelled in every subject & got an excellent report from the G&T teacher Mrs. Rogaski - who commended her on her high organization skills & for "getting things done". She looks forward to working with her in the Odessey of the Mind program next year.
June 17th - my b'day - got a lot of beautiful cards from the kids, Pramod & Papa. Many wishes by email, FB & phone calls. On this day Rohun "graduated" from the Montessori Kindergarten class - he was moved up from Pre-K in late March. He was the dragon fly in the class play "The Very Quiet Cricket". He also took part in his class' science fair - did a model of a car moving on wind energy (a balloon).
June 20th was Father's Day - missed my Dad not being here. Pramod got shirts & ties from us & a card from the kids. June 21st for Papa's b'day - missed him again - his sister's and other family visited/called him & spent time with him.
June was also a month of promises kept by an Always Faithful God. In the layoffs & reorganization in my dept not only was my job safe but the number of my reports increased from 3 to 5. I look forward to this added responsibility. Also looking forward to diving into the area of Diabetes Research at work.
My Rohun is desperate for friends & playdates - he just loves having those but unfortunately does not have any or as many as his sister Rutha - which totally ticks him off! My prayer for him is that he has many friends and gets to have the best time with them his entire life!! But one thing he knows - he does not care to have a playdate with any friends who have (large) dogs - he has declared that he is allergic to dogs!!
June - a very successful month for Rutha. She won a medal & certificate for being the highest scorer in her grade on the Continental Math League & NJ Math League Tests. She also won a 3rd place plaque at the Princeton Charter School Chess Tournament on June 12. Rohun won a medal - he actually won 1 game against a 3rd grade girl! His enthusiasm for chess is boundless so far. Recd Rutha's 4th grade school report card - she excelled in every subject & got an excellent report from the G&T teacher Mrs. Rogaski - who commended her on her high organization skills & for "getting things done". She looks forward to working with her in the Odessey of the Mind program next year.
June 17th - my b'day - got a lot of beautiful cards from the kids, Pramod & Papa. Many wishes by email, FB & phone calls. On this day Rohun "graduated" from the Montessori Kindergarten class - he was moved up from Pre-K in late March. He was the dragon fly in the class play "The Very Quiet Cricket". He also took part in his class' science fair - did a model of a car moving on wind energy (a balloon).
June 20th was Father's Day - missed my Dad not being here. Pramod got shirts & ties from us & a card from the kids. June 21st for Papa's b'day - missed him again - his sister's and other family visited/called him & spent time with him.
June was also a month of promises kept by an Always Faithful God. In the layoffs & reorganization in my dept not only was my job safe but the number of my reports increased from 3 to 5. I look forward to this added responsibility. Also looking forward to diving into the area of Diabetes Research at work.
My Rohun is desperate for friends & playdates - he just loves having those but unfortunately does not have any or as many as his sister Rutha - which totally ticks him off! My prayer for him is that he has many friends and gets to have the best time with them his entire life!! But one thing he knows - he does not care to have a playdate with any friends who have (large) dogs - he has declared that he is allergic to dogs!!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Memorial Day Weekend 2010
Had a wonderful weekend with Pramod, the kids & my mother! We left (no stress departure - the best!) around 7:30 pm on Friday night for Harrisburg. Stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn. After a good night's rest and a very nice breakfast watched the kids & Pramod swim. Pramod's greatest achievement this spring would have to be teaching Rohun to swim. The scaredy cat used to be so afraid to swim after a false start & that it had us all wondering if he will turn out just like me & never learn to swim. He was having a blast!
Then we had a pleasant drive to Happy Valley. It had been 11 years since I last visited State College - was pregnant with Rutha then & we had visited the Gill's at their lovely huge house in SC.
So much had changed in Penn State in terms of new state of the art buildings, new roads & road closures but yet some things were so unchanged. The memories for one had not changed & surfaced right up as we drove through the areas where we lived, watched people get on & off the CATA buses. We ate spinach stuffed white pizza at Hiway Pizza - still the best! Clicked pictures at the Nittany Lion Shrine where Rutha wanted to know if they "worshipped" the lion since it was called a shrine! The ear that was glued back is still the same as are the awesome paws at the entrance to the museum. Pattee Library is now Pattee & Paterno Library. The Creamery is now Berkey Creamery & has a new home in a spanking new location which is huge & has a gift/convenience store/restaurant-like feel to it - its no longer in Borland Bldg. Had to have the icecream - same size (1 size = 3 scoops) at $2.75 a pop. I remember the days when a $1 icecream was our lunch!
Classroom Bldg had just become Joab L. Thomas Bldg right around the time I left PSU. The road in front of it is a brick walkway with a raised lush lawn. Then off we went to College Ave - to replenish our PSU logo stock of paraphernalia!
College Ave is svelter than what I remembered - stores with designer goods, a fancy cupcake place etc. Didn't have time to stop at the Diner but picked up some stickie buns at the creamery.
The visit was much too short but long enough to make us long to come back again!!
From there we went to Pittsburgh - a short 2.5 hour drive - to see our friend Chopra! We had promised Anu & his wife Shivani a visit for a long time & were so very glad to see them again. Shivani & Anu are wonderful hosts - along with their very adorable sons - Arjun & Arush we had a great relaxing time! They have a beautiful home in the hills - I mean literally their back yard is valley & as you look up the hill there are beautiful homes all having a dramatic drop-down end to their backyards! Its really like being in a hill station - as one of their relatives aptly described & we couldn't agree more it was like being in Nainital. We enjoyed the wonderful company & the delicious food at every meal (along with the recipes) on Saturday evening through Sunday afternoon.
Anu, my mother & I had a very enjoyable trip to the local nursery for plants & pots - indulged by our spouses who stayed home with the kids & let us enjoy our passion for plants uninterrupted!!
We drove back to NJ & reached home around midnight. Poor Rohun had a terrible cough for 2 days & finally threw up in the car 20 mins from home. I suspect he has allergies or some kind of post-nasal buildup.
Memorial Day 2010 - was a proud day for us. This year the 4th grade girl scouts had the honor of picking 2 scouts to represent all of Cranbury's Girl Scout population. Rutha was selected as one of them. She had a great record as a scout this year & really enjoys it! 2 girls & 2 boys had the honor of being the color guard to lay the wreath & raise the flag at the Cranbury War Memorial. Our town, as you may know, is actually a historic village. The neighboring towns join our parade & the parade has several bands, highland pipes, scouts, twirlers, veterans, old cars & historic floats in it. Rutha did a good job at the ceremony I was a bit worried that it was too hot & humid at the practice held this morning & the kids seemed quite tired around the "stand-at-ease", "attention", marching & saluting. Congressman Rush Holt, Rep Linda Greenstein, a couple more politicians, Mayor Stout, the Lions Club President spoke - short & very effective speeches!
Rest of the day was spent racing through chores, gardening & enjoying the scent of my lovely pink Sarah Bernhardt peonies! Rutha also baked her first banana bread from scratch all by herself. The banana bread was delicious despite the fact that she used chapati flour instead of the all purpose kind!!
Ro's cough is still bothering him - he worked with his Dad on his science fair project & as if knowing that there is safety in numbers had his Dad & Rutha working on it for him!! :-)
He also was not pleased that I called his teacher "stupid" & told me a couple of times that he will tell his teacher what I said. When I tried to reason that he should not tell her since I did not mean it - he calmly says "OK I will never tell her but you know I can tell her if I want to"!! My husband quietly perceived the inner fear of mortification that I was threatened to experience by a 5 year-old & said aloud "She does not fear her husband or her father but does fear her son"!!!
Then we had a pleasant drive to Happy Valley. It had been 11 years since I last visited State College - was pregnant with Rutha then & we had visited the Gill's at their lovely huge house in SC.
So much had changed in Penn State in terms of new state of the art buildings, new roads & road closures but yet some things were so unchanged. The memories for one had not changed & surfaced right up as we drove through the areas where we lived, watched people get on & off the CATA buses. We ate spinach stuffed white pizza at Hiway Pizza - still the best! Clicked pictures at the Nittany Lion Shrine where Rutha wanted to know if they "worshipped" the lion since it was called a shrine! The ear that was glued back is still the same as are the awesome paws at the entrance to the museum. Pattee Library is now Pattee & Paterno Library. The Creamery is now Berkey Creamery & has a new home in a spanking new location which is huge & has a gift/convenience store/restaurant-like feel to it - its no longer in Borland Bldg. Had to have the icecream - same size (1 size = 3 scoops) at $2.75 a pop. I remember the days when a $1 icecream was our lunch!
Classroom Bldg had just become Joab L. Thomas Bldg right around the time I left PSU. The road in front of it is a brick walkway with a raised lush lawn. Then off we went to College Ave - to replenish our PSU logo stock of paraphernalia!
College Ave is svelter than what I remembered - stores with designer goods, a fancy cupcake place etc. Didn't have time to stop at the Diner but picked up some stickie buns at the creamery.
The visit was much too short but long enough to make us long to come back again!!
From there we went to Pittsburgh - a short 2.5 hour drive - to see our friend Chopra! We had promised Anu & his wife Shivani a visit for a long time & were so very glad to see them again. Shivani & Anu are wonderful hosts - along with their very adorable sons - Arjun & Arush we had a great relaxing time! They have a beautiful home in the hills - I mean literally their back yard is valley & as you look up the hill there are beautiful homes all having a dramatic drop-down end to their backyards! Its really like being in a hill station - as one of their relatives aptly described & we couldn't agree more it was like being in Nainital. We enjoyed the wonderful company & the delicious food at every meal (along with the recipes) on Saturday evening through Sunday afternoon.
Anu, my mother & I had a very enjoyable trip to the local nursery for plants & pots - indulged by our spouses who stayed home with the kids & let us enjoy our passion for plants uninterrupted!!
We drove back to NJ & reached home around midnight. Poor Rohun had a terrible cough for 2 days & finally threw up in the car 20 mins from home. I suspect he has allergies or some kind of post-nasal buildup.
Memorial Day 2010 - was a proud day for us. This year the 4th grade girl scouts had the honor of picking 2 scouts to represent all of Cranbury's Girl Scout population. Rutha was selected as one of them. She had a great record as a scout this year & really enjoys it! 2 girls & 2 boys had the honor of being the color guard to lay the wreath & raise the flag at the Cranbury War Memorial. Our town, as you may know, is actually a historic village. The neighboring towns join our parade & the parade has several bands, highland pipes, scouts, twirlers, veterans, old cars & historic floats in it. Rutha did a good job at the ceremony I was a bit worried that it was too hot & humid at the practice held this morning & the kids seemed quite tired around the "stand-at-ease", "attention", marching & saluting. Congressman Rush Holt, Rep Linda Greenstein, a couple more politicians, Mayor Stout, the Lions Club President spoke - short & very effective speeches!
Rest of the day was spent racing through chores, gardening & enjoying the scent of my lovely pink Sarah Bernhardt peonies! Rutha also baked her first banana bread from scratch all by herself. The banana bread was delicious despite the fact that she used chapati flour instead of the all purpose kind!!
Ro's cough is still bothering him - he worked with his Dad on his science fair project & as if knowing that there is safety in numbers had his Dad & Rutha working on it for him!! :-)
He also was not pleased that I called his teacher "stupid" & told me a couple of times that he will tell his teacher what I said. When I tried to reason that he should not tell her since I did not mean it - he calmly says "OK I will never tell her but you know I can tell her if I want to"!! My husband quietly perceived the inner fear of mortification that I was threatened to experience by a 5 year-old & said aloud "She does not fear her husband or her father but does fear her son"!!!
Rohun the sword-dangler!
Have any of you ever felt threatened by your own child??!! At some point in time I must have in my frustration called Rohun's teacher stupid - thats it! The kid picked that up & has reminded me twice this weekend that I called his teacher stupid & he is going to tell her about it! I have a terrible feeling he just might.... The funny thing is he does not mean it a vengeful way - he just didn't think it was the right thing for me to say as he does not think his teacher is stupid.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Mother's Day at Rohun's Montessori
Today Ro had his mother's day event & I nearly missed it. Forgot to put it on my calendar. Rutha called yesterday at 5 pm saying "Mom Rohun is really worried that you will not come to his school tomorrow - he kept talking about it all the time - so just wanted to warn you - he seems worried he will be the only kid without his mother there".
I avoided a response but finally told him I may not be able to make it since I had a meeting that would be hard to change. He was crying softly - copious tears at bed time & wouldn't tell me why for a while - then said its because I cannot come to his mother's day event at school - so I told him I will check my meeting time & let you know. By the time I logged on & checked the agenda & found out that my part only began at 11 & I can make it he was fast asleep. When I told him this am - in his half sleepy state he had a big smile on his face. Glad I went though - it was very nice & he was clearly v happy that I was there. The kids sang a song, then each one read what they wrote on a cloth napkin & gave it with a beautiful rose to their moms - brought tears to my eyes! There was a prettily decorated table with bagels & fruit & a lovely card. Could not wait for the play but that was OK.
I am so thankful that I did not miss it!! Among the saddest things about kids growing up are the tender stages they leave behind, never to return. I made his day today & he made mine!!
I avoided a response but finally told him I may not be able to make it since I had a meeting that would be hard to change. He was crying softly - copious tears at bed time & wouldn't tell me why for a while - then said its because I cannot come to his mother's day event at school - so I told him I will check my meeting time & let you know. By the time I logged on & checked the agenda & found out that my part only began at 11 & I can make it he was fast asleep. When I told him this am - in his half sleepy state he had a big smile on his face. Glad I went though - it was very nice & he was clearly v happy that I was there. The kids sang a song, then each one read what they wrote on a cloth napkin & gave it with a beautiful rose to their moms - brought tears to my eyes! There was a prettily decorated table with bagels & fruit & a lovely card. Could not wait for the play but that was OK.
I am so thankful that I did not miss it!! Among the saddest things about kids growing up are the tender stages they leave behind, never to return. I made his day today & he made mine!!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Our natural inclinations
A thought... excerpted from Purpose Driven Life's daily devotion for the day. To me being a Christian is not about surrendering your natural inclination once & for all, because that is not reality, its about surrendering your natural inclinations many many times a day!
We are, by nature, self-centered. When hurt by someone, your natural inclination is to hurt back. It is natural to hoard money instead of generously sharing it, to defend yourself when criticized, to hide your mistakes instead of confessing them, and to try to impress others. You can usually figure out what will please God by doing the opposite of your natural inclination.
We are, by nature, self-centered. When hurt by someone, your natural inclination is to hurt back. It is natural to hoard money instead of generously sharing it, to defend yourself when criticized, to hide your mistakes instead of confessing them, and to try to impress others. You can usually figure out what will please God by doing the opposite of your natural inclination.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Sunday April 18th onwards
Had a terrific time laughing, eating Mexican food at Chevy's and viewing Varsha's wedding pics on Saturday night.
Sunday we were off to Deven's baptism at the Allentown Presbyterian Church. I was very impressed with the youth group! Very talented, very vibrant and passionately devoted. One of the lead singers wrote & composed his own song & sang it at the service. It was extremely good - better than American Idol (which actually I don't watch - just hear about) and would easily be in the caliber of any top-rated Christian pop song! Seriously!!
It made me think that the foundation and grounding you receive up until your teens - which then seems to be MIA or AWOL in your 20s - comes back in a big way as you raise your family or just get older.
Deven was very excited and it clearly was an important event for him and all of his family (which includes us :-)). Had a lovely lunch, fun conversation and relaxing afternoon before it was off to Kathak class!
Finally, Rohun's funny statement of this month was as follows. When we were in Napa Valley a couple weeks ago - we had a flat tire & our rental car was replaced with a big Lincoln Towncar. Ro loved it! He kept asking Pramod if could get one for the family. So finally on Friday Pramod said to him - do you know how much a Lincoln costs? Its 50, 000 dollars that is 5 with 4 zeroes. He quickly replied Dad I have the 5 dollars can you give me the 4 zeroes!!! Such dumbness is so very cute! Will let you know when it stops being so :-))
Had Ro's parent teacher conference on Monday the 19th. His teachers were amazed at how well he has adjusted to Kindergarten over a short period of time, he seems to know the routine by heart & questions his teacher if she skips him on an activity, for e.g. reading, which may have been on that particular day's schedule. Since he is new to the program he often does not finish his assignment but still will responsibly let the teacher know that he could not finish it. Personally I have to say that there is an order magnitude improvement in his overall abilities compared to ECYC. The Montessori experience is way beyond my expectation for him - I mean it! Division & grammar in preschool/K - what the heck!
Ro also declared that he thinks he may be falling in love with some girls that he likes. An example of a girl he likes is Sarita Mavshi but he quickly corrected it by saying he is not in love with her - he just likes her a lot. Its funny to see him parse emotions in this manner.
Rutha had her science fair today (20th) - her invention was a cereal bowl attached to a mop to help clean up spilled milk messes. Was very proud & protective of her project & did not want to hear any criticism of it!
Last but not the least Sunita celebrated her birthday today with Savita & family & Sangeeta in Toronto. She had a pleasant day with loads of good wishes coming her way!
Sunday we were off to Deven's baptism at the Allentown Presbyterian Church. I was very impressed with the youth group! Very talented, very vibrant and passionately devoted. One of the lead singers wrote & composed his own song & sang it at the service. It was extremely good - better than American Idol (which actually I don't watch - just hear about) and would easily be in the caliber of any top-rated Christian pop song! Seriously!!
It made me think that the foundation and grounding you receive up until your teens - which then seems to be MIA or AWOL in your 20s - comes back in a big way as you raise your family or just get older.
Deven was very excited and it clearly was an important event for him and all of his family (which includes us :-)). Had a lovely lunch, fun conversation and relaxing afternoon before it was off to Kathak class!
Finally, Rohun's funny statement of this month was as follows. When we were in Napa Valley a couple weeks ago - we had a flat tire & our rental car was replaced with a big Lincoln Towncar. Ro loved it! He kept asking Pramod if could get one for the family. So finally on Friday Pramod said to him - do you know how much a Lincoln costs? Its 50, 000 dollars that is 5 with 4 zeroes. He quickly replied Dad I have the 5 dollars can you give me the 4 zeroes!!! Such dumbness is so very cute! Will let you know when it stops being so :-))
Had Ro's parent teacher conference on Monday the 19th. His teachers were amazed at how well he has adjusted to Kindergarten over a short period of time, he seems to know the routine by heart & questions his teacher if she skips him on an activity, for e.g. reading, which may have been on that particular day's schedule. Since he is new to the program he often does not finish his assignment but still will responsibly let the teacher know that he could not finish it. Personally I have to say that there is an order magnitude improvement in his overall abilities compared to ECYC. The Montessori experience is way beyond my expectation for him - I mean it! Division & grammar in preschool/K - what the heck!
Ro also declared that he thinks he may be falling in love with some girls that he likes. An example of a girl he likes is Sarita Mavshi but he quickly corrected it by saying he is not in love with her - he just likes her a lot. Its funny to see him parse emotions in this manner.
Rutha had her science fair today (20th) - her invention was a cereal bowl attached to a mop to help clean up spilled milk messes. Was very proud & protective of her project & did not want to hear any criticism of it!
Last but not the least Sunita celebrated her birthday today with Savita & family & Sangeeta in Toronto. She had a pleasant day with loads of good wishes coming her way!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Ben Franklin Camp-in
On Friday April 16th, Rutha & I went for her Girl's Scout Camp-in at the Ben Franklin Museum in Philadelphia. This was such an awesome trip!! There were 17 girls from her troop and 6 chaperones. There were about 400 girls & chaperones from all over the area! The event was exceptionally well-organized. We were given the train factory exhibit room as our campsite. Had pizza for dinner. Went to events that were held on the hour. One was on chemistry - very interesting chemistry concepts demonstrated live. Then one on making ice-cream - delicious creamy vanilla - made in a jiffy using liquid nitrogen! Then the planetarium. We saw a sports exhibit - detailing the science behind different sports activities. An awesome exhibit on the HEART (sponsored by none other than Merck!) where you could walk through a large heart like a maze! Watched a demo of an open-heart surgery, life-size replicas of hearts of various life forms - animals, birds etc., and an interesting game centered around how common ailments were treated across the ages in several different cultures!
The girls had a blast - they sang & danced & taught the enthusiastic staff some steps of the hustle! Had a midnight snack which made it harder for them to wind down - I eventually slept around 2:30 am - and woke up around 6:30. Then it was off to a quick wash, a nice breakfast & then a wonderful IMAX movie on Ocean Life!! Its been ages since I watched an IMAX movie & this one was great! Great narration of a funny script by Jim Carrey.
Everybody had a blast!!
The girls had a blast - they sang & danced & taught the enthusiastic staff some steps of the hustle! Had a midnight snack which made it harder for them to wind down - I eventually slept around 2:30 am - and woke up around 6:30. Then it was off to a quick wash, a nice breakfast & then a wonderful IMAX movie on Ocean Life!! Its been ages since I watched an IMAX movie & this one was great! Great narration of a funny script by Jim Carrey.
Everybody had a blast!!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Back from CA yesterday. We left on Tuesday March 29th. Stayed at the SFO Westin for 2 nights. First day went to see the Golden Gate Bridge and Muirwoods. Both had heavenly views! Muirwoods was a real delight! Rutha was sick with a stomach virus that started its way from Rohun the previous week & then on to me & then on to Rutha. So through all that on Wednesday we had limited time at both these locations. We ate lunch at a Korean place called Tofu House.
Evening had dinner from Tava. Then Thursday Pramod took the kids to a Discovery House Museum in San Jose. The kids had a blast. I stayed at the Sofitel - helping out as much as I could with the wedding plans. Ru & Ro got mehendi on their hands. Ro wanted the same tattoo as Rutha.
On Friday April 2nd we went to Mayuri Restaurant in Santa Clara for the wedding. It was very nice. The priestess (Guneja) was very interesting. She had very nice explanations - of course to my equality-seeking mind it still lacked the respect and position that a woman deserves in any marriage. The analogy that a woman needs to be twice-planted like rice in order to fully grow and mature was a sore point for me - what crap is that in this day and age?!! On the other hand the correspondence of the DNA to the 9 nakshatras was interesting.
Varsha and Chandra looked great together! It brought tears to my eyes - one reason because she really deserved a shot at marital bliss and second because Ajay Bhasale was cracking me up as he was laughing so hard! The priestess made Varsha call Chandra "Oh Dear" and made Chandra address Varsha as "O Gracious One" to which Ajay burst out with laughter - saying this is a first for Varsha!!
In the evening we attended the reception at Sofitel. It was a very nice affair. The decorations looked lovely. The bride & groom lovelier together! We all danced with abandon!! I said a few words but felt like I could have been better prepared - but it was genuine & from my heart!
Next day we had brunch at an Omelette House with Leena and Harsha. Then went to Napa Valley with Harsha. NV was gorgeous!! We went to Sutter House & on our way to Sterling Wineries our rented Chevy had a flat. Went to Santa Rosa airport and were given a houseboat aka Lincoln Towncar. Reached Sandeep & Tejal Kadakia's house at 9 & were very warmly received by them & their kids Keya & Viraj & Vicky, Charu & their kids Nikita & Ruchita & Prashant & Varsha & their son Rohit (their daughter was out at a sleepover). It was an evening filled with laughter, old memories, jokes on our current lifestyles & hilarious attempts to scandalize the young ones with memories of escapades from grad school days!! The kids had a blast too - they must have run a mile or two in the house!! Ruchita stayed over - she is a very bright & witty kid! On Saturday went to park at the top of the hill in their Evergreen neighborhood - it was like watching a scene in Europe - very ethereal!! It was misty from the rains which added to the aura. Later that afternoon we all went to San Francisco - the usual Lombard St, Fisherman's Wharf etc - a total Patel trip as it was raining very hard. Pulled up at Souvenir Shop & then found a parking spot at the door of Ghirardeli. Enjoyed some yummy, icecream, desserts, chocolates & coffee there before driving around at Union Square. Then landed up at Nan & Curry a dhaaba-like joint for some delicious kadai Paneer, baingan bharta & veg biriyani & naans.
After yet another late night - headed back to NJ the next day - landed at midnight & were in bed by 2 am April 6th. Kids & I went to school & work late today. All tired out - so to all a goodnight!!
A reunion of Pramod's friends from Carbondale would be a great idea when Manish returns to the US!!
Evening had dinner from Tava. Then Thursday Pramod took the kids to a Discovery House Museum in San Jose. The kids had a blast. I stayed at the Sofitel - helping out as much as I could with the wedding plans. Ru & Ro got mehendi on their hands. Ro wanted the same tattoo as Rutha.
On Friday April 2nd we went to Mayuri Restaurant in Santa Clara for the wedding. It was very nice. The priestess (Guneja) was very interesting. She had very nice explanations - of course to my equality-seeking mind it still lacked the respect and position that a woman deserves in any marriage. The analogy that a woman needs to be twice-planted like rice in order to fully grow and mature was a sore point for me - what crap is that in this day and age?!! On the other hand the correspondence of the DNA to the 9 nakshatras was interesting.
Varsha and Chandra looked great together! It brought tears to my eyes - one reason because she really deserved a shot at marital bliss and second because Ajay Bhasale was cracking me up as he was laughing so hard! The priestess made Varsha call Chandra "Oh Dear" and made Chandra address Varsha as "O Gracious One" to which Ajay burst out with laughter - saying this is a first for Varsha!!
In the evening we attended the reception at Sofitel. It was a very nice affair. The decorations looked lovely. The bride & groom lovelier together! We all danced with abandon!! I said a few words but felt like I could have been better prepared - but it was genuine & from my heart!
Next day we had brunch at an Omelette House with Leena and Harsha. Then went to Napa Valley with Harsha. NV was gorgeous!! We went to Sutter House & on our way to Sterling Wineries our rented Chevy had a flat. Went to Santa Rosa airport and were given a houseboat aka Lincoln Towncar. Reached Sandeep & Tejal Kadakia's house at 9 & were very warmly received by them & their kids Keya & Viraj & Vicky, Charu & their kids Nikita & Ruchita & Prashant & Varsha & their son Rohit (their daughter was out at a sleepover). It was an evening filled with laughter, old memories, jokes on our current lifestyles & hilarious attempts to scandalize the young ones with memories of escapades from grad school days!! The kids had a blast too - they must have run a mile or two in the house!! Ruchita stayed over - she is a very bright & witty kid! On Saturday went to park at the top of the hill in their Evergreen neighborhood - it was like watching a scene in Europe - very ethereal!! It was misty from the rains which added to the aura. Later that afternoon we all went to San Francisco - the usual Lombard St, Fisherman's Wharf etc - a total Patel trip as it was raining very hard. Pulled up at Souvenir Shop & then found a parking spot at the door of Ghirardeli. Enjoyed some yummy, icecream, desserts, chocolates & coffee there before driving around at Union Square. Then landed up at Nan & Curry a dhaaba-like joint for some delicious kadai Paneer, baingan bharta & veg biriyani & naans.
After yet another late night - headed back to NJ the next day - landed at midnight & were in bed by 2 am April 6th. Kids & I went to school & work late today. All tired out - so to all a goodnight!!
A reunion of Pramod's friends from Carbondale would be a great idea when Manish returns to the US!!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Rohun in Kindergarten
My Rohun got moved to Kindergarten at the Montessori School yesterday - full time! He has made tremendous progress since leaving ECYC - reading, writing and math!!
He lost his 2nd tooth yesterday & wanted the tooth fairy to give him $3 for it. No more... so naive!!
He lost his 2nd tooth yesterday & wanted the tooth fairy to give him $3 for it. No more... so naive!!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
A Rainy Day
The day was filled with windswept rain today. All day long...
Pranita sent me a picture of a lovely saree - I loved it - but being me I needed validation from every one else - on the price, the value, my real need for it.
My overly generous Rutha was willing to "fund" it - she said Mom if you liked it I'll fund it! My naive Rohun couldn't count the currency but handed me 4 notes - which totaled 23 dollars & said here you go. He also wanted to make sure that after I get the saree I will return his money back!!
I took him to the Pier1 Imports Store. He loved it!! There were so many beautiful things that caught his attention - he wanted me to close my eyes & follow him to one object after another that caught his attention! It was like taking a bull to a china shop - wait a sec - despite my repeated warnings to him to watch out he might break something - I was the one who dropped an ornamental frog! Rohun was disappointed that I was not picking up the things that he liked. He wanted me to get a mug shaped in a cow-hide pattern with a pink udder for its base. He said mama this is so beautiful please buy it - please buy it for you - please let Me buy it for you - for mother's day - please mama! $8. I rested my case! Will have Pramod pick it up for him one of these days.
The other day he said to me - mama you have a "love belly" just like Daddy says I have love handles!! I'm so thankful for my children!!
I walked today watching Filmfare awards.
Pranita sent me a picture of a lovely saree - I loved it - but being me I needed validation from every one else - on the price, the value, my real need for it.
My overly generous Rutha was willing to "fund" it - she said Mom if you liked it I'll fund it! My naive Rohun couldn't count the currency but handed me 4 notes - which totaled 23 dollars & said here you go. He also wanted to make sure that after I get the saree I will return his money back!!
I took him to the Pier1 Imports Store. He loved it!! There were so many beautiful things that caught his attention - he wanted me to close my eyes & follow him to one object after another that caught his attention! It was like taking a bull to a china shop - wait a sec - despite my repeated warnings to him to watch out he might break something - I was the one who dropped an ornamental frog! Rohun was disappointed that I was not picking up the things that he liked. He wanted me to get a mug shaped in a cow-hide pattern with a pink udder for its base. He said mama this is so beautiful please buy it - please buy it for you - please let Me buy it for you - for mother's day - please mama! $8. I rested my case! Will have Pramod pick it up for him one of these days.
The other day he said to me - mama you have a "love belly" just like Daddy says I have love handles!! I'm so thankful for my children!!
I walked today watching Filmfare awards.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
An excerpt from GTD
Pick up anything around you that you're wondering what to do with, and apply a simple set of formulae:
I don't need or want it
=
trash
I still need to decide what this means to me
=
In-basket item
I might need to know this information
=
reference
I use it
=
equipment and supplies
I like to see it
=
decoration
When I could possibly move on it, I want to see the action as an option
=
next action reminder, reviewed when and where it could be done
I need to be reminded of this short-term outcome I've committed to
=
project list item, reviewed weekly
I need to have this when I focus on a project
=
support material
I might want to commit to this at any time in the future
=
Someday/Maybe list item
I might want to commit to this on or after a specific time in the future
=
calendared or "tickled" item incubated for review on a specific future date
I want to achieve this "bigger" outcome
=
goals, objectives, visions that you review on some longer interval (a.k.a. your higher level Horizons of Focus)
It's something someone else is doing that I care about
=
item on Waiting-For list, reviewed at least weekly
I need to consider it when I do certain recurring activities
=
item on a checklist
Test these against anything you find lying around you in work or life that you think you need to know how to organize. Organizing tools should not be so mysterious—they are merely to support these various functions.
Pick up anything around you that you're wondering what to do with, and apply a simple set of formulae:
I don't need or want it
=
trash
I still need to decide what this means to me
=
In-basket item
I might need to know this information
=
reference
I use it
=
equipment and supplies
I like to see it
=
decoration
When I could possibly move on it, I want to see the action as an option
=
next action reminder, reviewed when and where it could be done
I need to be reminded of this short-term outcome I've committed to
=
project list item, reviewed weekly
I need to have this when I focus on a project
=
support material
I might want to commit to this at any time in the future
=
Someday/Maybe list item
I might want to commit to this on or after a specific time in the future
=
calendared or "tickled" item incubated for review on a specific future date
I want to achieve this "bigger" outcome
=
goals, objectives, visions that you review on some longer interval (a.k.a. your higher level Horizons of Focus)
It's something someone else is doing that I care about
=
item on Waiting-For list, reviewed at least weekly
I need to consider it when I do certain recurring activities
=
item on a checklist
Test these against anything you find lying around you in work or life that you think you need to know how to organize. Organizing tools should not be so mysterious—they are merely to support these various functions.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Hello!!
I am back!
This is the original recipe & below that I will tell you how I modified it since I did not have all the ingredients.
1 pkg yellow cake mix (moist)
1 small pkg instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup cream sherry (Taylor)
1/3 cup black poppy seeds
Method: Grease (bundt) pan with crisco. Combine all ingredients & beat well on medium speed. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Cool for 15 mins. Allow 5 mins extra is using a dark pan to bake.
Modification:
1) Replaced 1 cup lt sour cream with 1 cup heavy cream
2) Did not add vanilla pudding (didn't have it!)
3) Used white cake mix - pillsbury moist - didn't have yellow
Enjoy!
This is the original recipe & below that I will tell you how I modified it since I did not have all the ingredients.
1 pkg yellow cake mix (moist)
1 small pkg instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup cream sherry (Taylor)
1/3 cup black poppy seeds
Method: Grease (bundt) pan with crisco. Combine all ingredients & beat well on medium speed. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Cool for 15 mins. Allow 5 mins extra is using a dark pan to bake.
Modification:
1) Replaced 1 cup lt sour cream with 1 cup heavy cream
2) Did not add vanilla pudding (didn't have it!)
3) Used white cake mix - pillsbury moist - didn't have yellow
Enjoy!
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