Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Out with the Old..........Bring in the New

After writing the post on death,I have tried to be cheerful and have a positive outlook on the future.As I was thinking about a new post,I heard police sirens in the distance.It did not pass thro but kept on getting louder and when I peeked out my window,I saw that it had stopped right outside our house.I screamed and ran out and saw 2-3 police cars outside.Hubby ran out in his robe and we realised that the neighbors house was on fire.
We stood outside as the Fire dept tried to save the house as it burnt down to the foundation.The couple that lived there had 3 boys,none of of who were inside.So glad no one was hurt
All the neighbours were out there with a single purpose of helping a neighbour or just to be there for them.
Please pray for this family as they start from scratch and for good neighbours who are there to help.
On that note,I am glad that 2008 is over and that 2009 is ahead.Its a clean new slate,with blank pages to be written on.
I pray that I will do what Christ would want me to do and that I will approach every negative thing with the attitude that its Gods will

I had to add this bit.we just got back from a trip to Biltmore and stayed at a cabin in the Smoky mtns and realised that a whole host of bloggers did too!Was it a blogspot retreat ?Now why did we not co-ordinate with each other?So we could have met!

Death and the void it leaves

December has not been a month I will ever want to cherish.
It has too many deaths in it that make it a sad month
Most of you know thro WIXYS blog about Suzannes passing.A wonderful photographer,we became blogging friends thro a very sassy self potrait she had posted.I posted it on my fashion blog and people loved it.She would send cheery emails from time to time.She will be missed

Most of you remember my druggie neighbour,well he lost his son in Afghanistan.The boy was 19 and the circumstances of his death are strange,they said his gun went off when he was cleaning it.

My front door neighbours wife died of cancer.She was a sweet,very southern lady.

I dont like ending 2008 on a sad note but I understand that there was a part these special people played in peoples life

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone.May this season be filled with love and joy and peace.
Had to add the Christmas Santa on a bike picture.I love Norman Rockwell' s pictures

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Us Indians do it again

Had to post on some (minor)achievements in the light of all the tragedy in Mumbai
Miss India was crowned first runner-up at Miss World

I swear I look just like her.....................NOT!


The Indian Navy has been very busy,they captured 23 pirates (two days ago)who threatened a merchant vessel in the lawless waters of the Gulf of Aden and a German naval helicopter thwarted another attack Saturday on a freighter being chased by speedboats off Yemen.


Obviously Somalian pirates are boldly operating in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes kidnapping/hijacking crude oil laden ships.

This next picture is for blogging pal,Pat Jenkins who has a problem with the Indian armys head gear!I had to prove that the Indian Navy has a very smart uniform incidently derived from The Royal Navy



Dont forget my blogging will be sporadic the next few weeks.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

My mommys coming ......

Imagine me skipping and singing Tra,la,la my mommys coming.
And thats exactly how I feel.
I am also nervous.I can see dust everywhere and places that need to be cleaned.
I will be a crazy loon until I actually see her at the airport.
I worry about her on that long flight but remind myself that she has done it before.
Best of all she has 2 suitcases filled upto 50 lbs each with stuff for me !
She will be here for a bit and we plan on travelling a lot so you will hear snippets from our adventures.
This is the first time she will be here in winter and its supposed to be 68 degrees and raining next week which means that it will be a humid Atlanta day.
It will be an Indian christmas for me this year.We always go to other relatives houses for Christmas lunch/dinner but this year both of us are going to cook a traditional Indian Christmas meal.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

"Do onto others as you would wish them do onto you

In the spirit of Christmas,I thought I would share this story with you.
It happened this June on a HOT Atlanta day when the heat indexes were well in the 100's.
Hubby was getting ready to leave for work and he noticed a car parked by our mail box.Mail boxes on our road is on the left side of the road so our house faced our mailbox.He noticed it was an older woman and asked her if she needed help,she said that she was okay and had run out of gas.He had some gas in a gas can and offered it to her.This was also around the time gas prices went sky high.
He left for work asking me to keep an eye on the woman.Around 12.00 in the afternoon he wanted to know if she was still there and I peeped outside and yes,she was still parked there.He asked me to go outside and offer her some water.People who know me know how much I hate talking to strangers but I did walk upto her car.She was an older woman looked like someones grandma and she mentioned that she was waiting on a ride.I gave her the water and told her to come upto the house if she needed anything.30 minutes later she came up and asked to use the bathroom.I showed her where it was and was silently freaking out.I am suspicious of any stranger.She finished with the bathroom and asked if she could use the phone which she did.In the meantime I got her an energy drink since it was still blazing hot outside.
At 2.00 in the afternoon she was still there,so I took her some bags of chips and some juice.She thanked me and was very grateful.I felt bad as I was so suspicious.I came inside the house and something made me go on Guideposts.org and send a prayer request for her.
Later on that day hubby got a call from a good friend who said that the woman was his sister and she had called him from our house and he recognised our house when he came to pick her up.She had a problem with alcohol and had not told her family where she was till she called him from our house
I was so ashamed of myself.I could have invited her inside to sit in the airconditioning,made her lunch but on the other hand suspicion got the better of me.
"Do onto others as you would wish them do onto you..."

Monday, December 8, 2008

Happy Birthday to me

So I turn 34 today...There I said IT...
34 does not seem as bad as turning 30.
I seem to have come to grips with it this year.I was freaking out last year,some of you may remember that!

My husband assured me that I look good for 34,good skin,no jiggly bits,no greys but said that I have started dressing for comfort rather than to look "sexy".Wonder what he wants me to wear ?
I did not dare ask !
Somehow I do not think I will accomplish much by wearing "sexy stuff".Will scandalise the neighbours and may bring in some tourism here but not much else !

My 33rd year brought about a sea of changes and I am hoping 34 will just slide by without much happening.
I did manage to complete a goal I had set -to run a half marathon by the time I turn 35.
All in all I am glad I have my health,am still a good person,am pretty grounded,still have a conscience etc etc

So heres to 40 more !Hoping the Rapture happens before that.
Indian women dont age too well,we shrivel up and look ugly so I dont want to llive longer than 74-75!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Cross posting from my post on Red County-Terrorism in India contd ....?

My mother has been my main source to all thats been going on in India.
She mentioned that threats of more attacks on the 6th were circulating.The 6th of December was the day that the Babri Masjid(a Muslim mosque) was destroyed by Hindus in 1992. It lead to a lot of riots then.The Hindus in India want to build a temple on that site and its been a bone of contention for a long time.

There have been news flashes sent out asking people not to go to the local malls,theatres and restaurants as warnings of more bombings continue. The local airports have been threatened too. The news had reported that there were a few terrorists who came in with the others were in Bangalore,Chennai and Delhi.

So when you thinks its over,is it really over ? Is it a case of being cautious and heeding every rumour or warning?

Heres how this affects me personally. My mother is travelling next weekend to the US and had planned to spend a few days shopping in Mumbai. And is now wondering what she needs to do? Whether she even needs to travel at this time.Which is what every other person there is going through.

I also feel for the average Muslim who lives in India.The everyday person like you and me who just wants peace but is probably looked at with suspicion because of all thats going on.They are not radicals and believe in a religion of peace.

Security has been tightened of course and every citizen is very aware of their sorroundings.
It is truly a time of turmoil and unrest in India.Again,I hope that nothing happens and the rumours were just rumours.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Tagged-SEVEN RANDOM AND/OR WEIRD FACTS ABOUT ME.

I was Tagged by Don to do this
I am very boring so its been tough to find anything even worth mentioning!

1)I love reading and read 2-3 books at one time.
Right now I am reading Fannie Flaggs,Welcome to the world,Baby girl and Julia Alvarez' s-How the Garcia Girls lost their accents.Its a crazy time for me so I am only reading two books at the same time !
An ex once told me that mentally disturbed people do stuff like this !

2)I hate buying new books and only buy them at .99 cents a piece at the thrift store or borrow them from the library or if I absolutely have to buy them new,I buy it on Half.com/Amazon.

3)When I am stressed out,I eat Lindor truffles or Ferraro Rocher chocolates.Since August I have personally kept these compnies out of bankruptcy or in need of a bail out!

4)I am very happy when I am cooking.I love cooking huge meals and the fridge is stocked.

5)I am the fattest runner I know.Cant even use the words big boned in my case.I am small boned with fat and I run...almost every day.

6)I talk to my dog...constantly.Its embarrassing when we are running and I catch myself talking to him about which turn to take.Neighbours probably call me the crazy dog lady

7)I dont make friends easily.I dont like anyone getting too close to me.If they do,I lie and get out of it !

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Secretary of State

So me,like most other people are still wondering,why Hillary Clinton ?
After Condoleeza Rice,this will be a far fall from grace for the US
Wonder what the Bosnians will think?
Remember when she misspoke?Click here for a funny article from The Huffington Post