Chatter chatter

I have been very busy. Doing what you ask? Baking cookies of course! Tried my hand at more techniques of icing. Some I did right, some I still have lot to learn. It's bed so much fun though. The problem is they don't disappear fast enough. So I have so much cookies lying around the house. Waiting for then to halve before making the next batch. Till then, something to show I am sticking to my resolutions!

Cookies and more

Several months ago as we were planning Bakku's first birthday I had come across many party ideas which included homemade cookies. I was hooked. I love planning parties. I love theme parties even more. The icing on the cake ( cookie in this case) was having a homemade something the kids take back.

I made the cookie a few times and even managed an eggless version. Since I have been baking quite regularly I thought how difficult can icing a cookie be, right? Wrong!! Especially if you wait till the last moment to even experiment with icing. My mom in law was kind to say ' they should look like they were made at home'. My Neighbour said it looked like a kindergartener had iced it. So you get a rough picture of how bad it was.

But the idea of making cookies stuck. They were simple and I could make a healthy alternative to store bought ones for my biscuit fanatic ( read Bakku). So the first thing I did was I went shopping (don't we all do that when you get a great idea! No? Okay then maybe just me). I found some tools to start off with and searched for some blogs to learn and refer from. The more I read the more I got hooked. I also had good encouragement from the in-laws. So what was the problem you ask. The cookies never lasted till I got around to icing them!

So finally I decided that I will not wait for the cookies to harden for a day or two and just went ahead and  decorated them. My first attempt at my new hobby.

New Beginnings

Happy New Year!!
So this year started on a high note. We went to watch the fireworks in Dubai and the next morning we sort had an impromptu picnic and shopping outing ( don't ask how the first led to the latter). We rented a 4WD and packed a good amount of food and set off to see flamingos.

New year resolutions you ask?

Well for one I want to write more and blog more often. With an iPhone and iPad at my disposal, I should not have an excuse ( except I still have a toddler running around the house). I also hope this will lead to my active reading also.

Another thing I really want to do is hone my baking and icing skills. I seriously want to take up cookie decoration as a hobby. I need an avenue where I can be creative and since dance is off for a while, why not I say!

Of course the job hunt and weight loss plans are on and going, but feel very slow moving for now.

Let's see how much of all this shapes up.

Introducing Bakku

Introducing the newest edition to the Bakshi family, Pranav Bakshi aka Bakku (nickname courtesy of Sumit's friends)

Things have been improving at home. Bakku seems to be settling down well. Even though his weight is still a concern, he isnt gaining weight as he should. He is averaging at less than 100gms per week right now and still has not come to his birth weight after 3 weeks. But on the plus side, his infection has nearly subsided. He is an active baby who keeps us busy when he is awake. His favourite pass time is to count with his fingers. I call him "chinta manni" because he seems to be in deep thought all the time.

Uffff…So much Drama!

All was going on fine with regards to the pregnancy. But I should have known, things were too good for comfort, no? During my routine check up in the 8^th month, we found out that the baby’s weight which had been good or over the normal mark always, had “dropped”. He had not put on any weight in the last 3 weeks. So he became small for his gestational age; not very small, just 300-500 gms below. Doctor just told me to start having egg daily. Of course there was a lot of debate at home at what could have possibly caused it, even though the doctor said not to worry clearly that wasn’t gonna happen. You have to expect that much analysis from two researchers!

To add to that, the doctor dropped another bomb that he was gonna be out of town for 3 weeks! So basically, in my ninth month I was gonna have no check up till I hit 37 weeks. He only told me that in case of emergency I should contact the other Doc in the hosp. But he failed to tell me what classified as an emergency. I wasn’t too worried, considering I had a fairly decent pregnancy till date.

Two of those 3 weeks went by alright, mom left and Sumit’s parents came. We got busy getting them accustomed to Abu Dhabi. In the last week however, self doubt crept in, fear started. Am I taking this lightly, am I missing something? Is my baby’s weight going up? I used to wake up at night all scared and wondering if I felt the baby move at all. Added to this were the physical problems I was trying to deal with, swollen hands and feet, back pain, muscle pull, heartburn, nausea, etc.

Finally the day of the check up came, the baby had put on weight and become normal again, much to everyone’s relief. Doctor told us we could pick the date for the C-section. In all the excitement, we overlooked my high BP. The nurse who had taken it did not record it and I forgot to bring it up with the doctor.

The next day, Sumit went to finalise the date with the doctor. He also mentioned my high BP from the previous day. The doctor immediately sent for me. The doctor suspected I was showing signs of preeclampsia.

Since our scheduled date for the C section was within a few days, I could try to take a mild BP medicine till then and wait it out. Although he did warn me that if he felt the need he would do an emergency surgery. The only problem with this situation was that the BP medicine was unavailable in the hospital pharmacy or any other hospital pharmacy in the city! Poor Sumit spent the day hunting for the medication but the whole of Abu Dhabi had run out of stock. The doctor gave me what he had in his emergency stock and asked me to come back for another round of check up the next day.

The next day, another patient with high BP had just delivered and had some left over medication, which the nurse promptly requested from her on my behalf. Even with the medicine, my BP showed no signs of coming down. The doctor wanted to up my dosage and asked me to come to the hospital twice a day to check my BP.

To add to the drama, with the increase in dosage, I started having allergic reactions to the medication. I was having itchy rashes and a strange tingling feeling over my right forehead. The first day the doctor dismissed it away. The following day it promptly got worse, but since we were going to have the surgery in another day, it was dismissed again.

The morning of the C-Section, 6^th October, it was Vijaydsasami/Dassera day. We left home at 6am and walked to the hospital, which is 5 minutess away. There was such an excitement and anxiety in me, it was hard to believe that 9 months were over and yet I was worried about how I would manage. I got ready for the surgery and was all scrubbed up and taken away. It was strange going into the operating theatre as a patient, having spent so much time there over the last few years for my research work.

I was given spinal injection to numb me waist down. All of a sudden, things started happening very fast. There was a curtain in front of me, so I couldn’t see what was happening, but I could feel the tugging and pulling. Eventually I heard crying, very shrill and loud crying. By this time, I was very nauseous and feeling faint. I heard someone shout, “8.44am, 3kgs”. They brought the baby to show me, but he was too far and I wasn’t wearing my glasses, so it was hard to see anything.

I remember coming out of the OT and showing my rash to the doctor, who suggested we stop the BP medicine. Up until this point, it seemed like that it was merely an allergic reaction. I went to the recovery room, then to my room, I still hadn’t had a chance to see MY baby. I was eagerly waiting and kept asking the nurses when I could see him. Finally after much requesting, they wheeled him to me at 4pm.

I cant begin to describe the feeling of holding Baby Pranav for the first time. I guess I am not going to try to also. It’s an experience with no words. He was wide awake for a good hour, before the nurses took him away for further tests. Little did I know then, it would be a full week before I be able to hold him that way and see him to my heart’s content.

The next day morning the rash had worsened, my right forehead was full of tiny boils, my right eye was puffed up, the pain and the itch were bad. My gynecologist immediately called for a dermatologist consult. I had contracted Herpes Zoster, which is caused by dormant chicken pox virus in the body. Since my eye and forehead were involved, it was Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus. Immediately an ophthalmologist was contacted to ensure my cornea was not affected, as that would deem as a serious emergency. The pediatrician was not due to come in till much later, so the baby was kept in the special care unit. In the meantime, there was much discussion on whether I could breastfeed the baby or not, whether I should be allowed near him, what vaccinations he may need.

Then the following morning, the tiny boils became fully blown boils, my right eye was nearly shut due to puffiness and my left eye was also swollen up. Finally the pediatrician came and said the baby was fine, I would not infect him unless my boils burst on him. But to be on the safer side, we should look for an antibody injection he prescribed, which was not available at the hospital. Meantime, Sumit called up a close friend in Singapore who is a doctor, to double check and get a second opinion. She also suggested the same antibody injection. We decided we were not going to share the news of the Herpes with anyone, mostly since my mother sitting far away in Singapore may get worried.

The next day, Sumit went to every hospital in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah and coudnt find the antibody injection anywhere. So many hospitals told him to let them know in case he finds the injection as they were also looking for the same.

By now, both my eyes were shut, so I couldn’t see while I was feeding the baby, so my mom in law or Sumit had to sit while the baby was feeding. Added to that we weren’t getting much rest as someone or the other kept coming into our room in the hospital, either to give me medicine or to clean the room or to take my BP or the nurses were changing shift or simply checking in. Even though I was loaded up on pain killers, my head would spasm in pain and there was no comfortable position I could put it in so that it wouldn’t hurt.

Two days after the surgery, I still hadnt had a bowel movement. The doctor kept pushing for an enema, which I eventually put my foot down against. I was in enough pain as it is. So he prescribed a laxative. But by the time the nurses gave it to me, I had already passed motion. What resulted was in me having excessive diahorrea and terrible weakness I was extremely drained and kept losing consciousness. Feeding became even more of a nightmare, cos I did not have the energy needed. They refused to let us bring food from outside the hospital unless it was home cooked. Mom in law was stuck in hospital with me so she couldnt go home to cook, cos Sumit n FIL were searching UAE for meds for Pranav. After many arguments with the dietician and nurses they finally brought me some extra food.

Finally the day of being discharged came, we were looking forward to going home, even thought it was quite a daunting feeling at this point. I wasnt sure how I would handle things at home considering I still couldn’t see. They told us to be ready by 6pm for discharge but we only left the hospital at 11pm after completing all the formalities. So in the meantime, my meds, food were all cut. Quite a stupid system really!! Anyways we finally came home and well resting wasnt gonna happen. Pranav wasnt co operating with us, I guess it was too much change for him. He cried all night, requiring Sumit, MIL and me to take turns to keep him quite.

The next morning, my herpes worsened even further, adding to more distress, it had spread further into my hair and few more boils appeared on my eye lid. Meantime, I requested my MIL to cut my hair as short as she could, cos they were pulling against the boils in the head. So I now sported a very short bob cut.

But coming home was good, cos MIL transformed into a one woman army. Home was her turf, she took care of EVERYTHING! From cooking to washing, to looking after Pranav and me. While Sumit n FIL handled the outside work. Food was no longer a problem, so my strength was coming back. No one disturbed us every hour, so that also gave us more rest.

To add to more distress, Pranav's weight in the first week dropped by 15%, instead of the expected 10%. So Doctor told us to supplement breast milk with formula, to ensure he wasnt going hungry. Pranav was waking up every hour at night and he would cry non stop. He refused to feed or calm down for atleast an hour. It took him a few days to get settled down.

My herpes boils were started to dry out, my left eye was no longer puffy and I could on occasions open my right eyelid. Finally we thought we things were going well when a new problem started. I was passing a lot of blood in my stool. It then became blood clots the next day. Once again we ran to the hospital. They made us wait to see the General Surgeon before he informed us that we should be seeing the gastroenterologist. The doctor said that I was to stop all pain meds and just have to bear the herpes and c section pain, since they were causing ulcers in the stomach. Meanwhile my old friend BP has returned w a vengeance and my BP is not coming below 160/120.

The following afternoon, when I opened Pranav’s diaper, I discovered his umbilical stump had an infection, so once again Sumit and my MIL ran to the hospital. We found out that he had developed Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. We felt like we simply weren’t getting a break from the hospital.

Finally after 2 weeks of running around, the baby still has not gained weight at a good rate but doctor said that could be because of the infection and the stress I was undergoing. In any case, lets hope things improve soon.

Random Ramblings

A lot of things happened over the past few weeks, none of which are actually blog worthy though. Mom came, Ramadan started, we have been having a lot of visitors all of a sudden, blah blah. The summer heat is still there but temperatures have dropped by a few degrees, especially night time. So atleast now its bearable to go for a walk, even though the humidity has increased. The whole country is on a slow down for Ramadan for another 2 weeks then it will close for Eid celebrations. Oh the laziness is so much more addictive even for someone who is already sitting at home.

Mom's been here 2 weeks now, already she has found a group of friends for morning walk and exercise. She started off with one hour and now spends 3 hours in the morning 'hanging out' with them. I think she really misses her phone ringing constantly and being busy all the time. I am happy though, to see her resting so much (plus getting fed with lovely food daily is a bonus for me). I know my dad misses her, even though he doesnt say so, because she keeps him very busy, with driving her around and their social meetings, etc.

Raksha Bandan went by with half the rakhis I sent not reaching on time, even though they were posted one month in advance.

Someone recently drowned in my swimming pool, which isnt very deep or long. But I have seen people doing things they ought not to be like diving into such a shallow pool, even though the attendant on duty is telling them not to. Anyways this has posed a problem for me cos they are making a fuss about me using it worried that I will get a heatstroke while swimming or go into labour!

I need to go lie down again, my back is killing me already.

Entering T 3...one step closer to D-Day

With just 12 weeks to go, sometimes its hard to keep the emotions under check. There is a mix of everything from anxiousness to excitement. Thank God I have S around to calm me down and walk me through things every time I get jumpy.

We are trying to prepare the house for the long list of visitors who are going to stay with us for the next six months. The days seem to be passing by fast suddenly. We did try to do some window shopping for the baby, but quickly gave up. I think its best we do that with the parents, since we are both quite lost of what is really a must have and what just is a waste of space.

I have been getting so much info from so many friends and relatives. I feel really happy to have such a great support system around me. Even if I dont feel like I need to follow everything, its good to know there are people I can turn to.

A lot of people have asked me if I would like to have a natural delivery or a C-section. Honestly, I dont think its a question of preference at all. I think its best to let the doctor dictate what would be needed depending on the situation. Speaking to a few friends, I have also realised that you may have to switch from natural to c-sec half way thru labour also. Nearly all the websites I am subscribing to for pregnancy info also asked me if I was worried about labour.

I wonder if its strange that I havent been very worried about many things.

I was told by websites that I need to count baby movements and kicks, but my doctor did not tell me to do that. So I havent actually been counting.

I did not sign up for any antenatal classes, cos there wasnt any I could find here. But I did read up and talk to my friends who went for them. I managed to go attend a forum on breastfeeding babies, which was quite informative.

Different people told me to start supplements for different things ranging from Omega 3 to DHA for the baby. But I really am against taking any pills my doctor hasnt prescribed. I m hundred percent sure that my mom did not take any of these fancy pills and managed to have me and my brother. Our brains grew just fine.

I have totally left the post delivery things to my mom in law's capable hands. I decided I will jus follow wat she tells me to do as far as baby care is concerned.

A lot of the elders voiced concerns about my swimming during pregnancy, but since my doctor seems to be ok with it, I guess its not doing any harm. Of course the thing that gets Sumit all worked up is when I suddenly get up and start dancing to some song that comes on tv.

Oh ya..bending. That has been a big point of debate. While a lot of people kept telling me not to bend or lift things. My mom has been encouraging me to bend and get up and do housework. She feels it will aid with the delivery. I guess as a dancer I have one advantage; I dont bend from the waist even normally. I usually jus go into 'muzhumandi' or full squat position automatically.

Most Indians will tell you to avoid pineapple and papaya during pregnancy. My in-laws also avoid bananas. But I couldnt do that, I needed the banana for the constipation. In fact, my doc said I cud eat pineapple and papaya also if I wanted, but I really dont like them, so it din matter.

I am really glad I havent had much cravings through my pregnancy. I think Sumit is more happy that he wasnt woken up in the middle of the night and made to run around. I have actually been able to pass the chocolate and eat fruits (ok just the regular everyday chocolates, I did get a box of French handmade chocolates which I couldnt pass up). My appetite has actually gone down, because of the summer heat.

I noticed that if I started singing, my baby kicks me. I am not sure if he is saying "Shut up I am trying to sleep" or "Go ahead sing more" (pretty sure its the first, or it may be sheer coincidence).

I guess enough of my pregnancy talk. I should go to bed and rest my swollen feet now.

Movie Marathon Months-- Updated

Somehow a lot of good movies…movies I want to watch are being released June and July. While I love going to the movies, I do feel a little guilty about doing it so often when I am unemployed and sitting at home. Anyways that said, it did not actually stop me from going.

Hangover II - 1.5/5 (Give it a miss, go watch something else)

I wasn’t really dying to go for this, but then hubby said that it was doing well. Hmmmm, not sure how, cos it was bad. I think the first movie worked cos it was novel and drastic. Walking in to see a tiger in the toilet…that is funny! Licking a guy’s broken finger, is jus disgusting. The movie was needy just like one of the protagonists and in places plain insulting. Not my taste. Anyways I am not gonna write much cos I have forgotten most of it already.

To spoil the movie more, two burka clad girls walked in super late and then insisted that everyone in the row get up so they could move to the corner seats. Before I could even realise wat was happening, some guys from the back started shouting at us to get up and let them in. And people say that Singaporeans are incourteous!!

X Men: First Class - 3.75/5

I absolutely loved this movie. Loved. It. More than the movie, I thought Michael Fassbender was pure eye candy. Even if you have not watched a single X Men movie, you will be able to follow this. At the same time, for the diehard X Men fan (me!) it was still entertaining. Its kinda hard to believe that there was a time Magneto couldn’t control his power. The thing that did not sit well with me was how everyone needed help to sharpen and control their powers…except Prof. X, who seemed to come pre-honed. I liked that not too many mutants were introduced, unlike the first two movies, where so many were shown but not built on. I was surprised that Beast who built the cerebro was not even mentioned in the previous movies. In fact the impression was that it was built by Charles and Magneto. Overall it wasn’t very noisy and with too much going on, but at the same time kept a good pace so you don’t feel its dragging. Definitely worth a watch!

Kung Fu Panda 2 - 4.25/5

AWESOME! There is something about cartoons and Jackie Chan movies where even if the story seems along the same lines, you still don’t watching it for the action and comedy. There were times when the backdrop would look so real, you tend to forget that this is animation. But it makes the 3D totally worth it. I loved the character of peacock! The use of the peacock’s feathers the way a fan is used in kung fu was amazing. It was funny how the goat kept going for the silk robe. The concept and importance of inner peace may have been a little profound for the little ones, but very well portrayed. Somehow even X men dealt with the same theme of inner peace and how it was important to be able to channel ones energy.

Cars 2 - 3.5/5

I read a lot of poor reviews about this movie. But since I really liked the first CARS movie, I wasn’t gonna miss this. Okay, the movie mixes a lot of things, from James Bond to F1 races. Storywise, there isn’t much link with the previous film. As much as I liked the movie as a good watch I think the movie was for the young at heart rather than the young. The story is complicated, maybe a little more than a kid can understand. The focus is more on Mater than Lightening McQueen. There was a lot of ‘killing’ of cars which I did not really think was needed. Its hard to understand the long winded moral of the story which is don’t judge a person (or Car in this case) by how he behaves or looks or talks.

Delhi Belly -4/5

The story isn’t complicated to understand, its not a new original script, its not some artsy fartsy (well maybe just fartsy) movie. Its not a movie that everyone will enjoy. Maybe don’t take your parents or children to this one. If you are the sort who likes to eat popcorn during a movie, maybe you want to wait for the first 30-45 mins of the movie to pass first. I am not a fan of toilet humour at all! That was a huge put off for me.

But that said, I did enjoy the movie. The movie is about mix ups, misunderstandings, coincidences and such. It’s really hilarious when it gets going and outright unbelievable at time. It felt like a lengthy sitcom, well paced and witty.

However the movie goes, whether you laughed or cringed, you will love the last song of the movie. Aamir Khan does a ‘Mithun’ spoof. Great way to end the movie.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon - 2.5/5

I love Transformers, that is why I went for this movie against the advice I was given. I liked the first two movies, they were loud, lot of action, a lot of transforming.

The background story of Sam Witwicky’s life was also not a drag to watch in the previous movies. There was too much unnecessary stupid things going on. There was NO NEED to bring the parents at all. There were so many unnecessary characters brought in for no reason.

I know every movie has a damsel in distress with the ‘oh please save me’ look and her boobs sticking out. I still felt at least Megan Fox redeemed herself with a little of the tough girl act. Girl could drive and fix cars atleast. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley was there only to show her legs and what not. The stupid ‘motivational’ speech she gave to Megatron…yucks! I just couldn’t take it I duno how Megatron did. She really seemed very out of place in the movie for most part.

McDreamy cannot be evil. NO I will not accept that! Come on, how could you do that. In the beginning he said he was forced to do the bidding of the Decipticons, but why did he continue to hang around and help even when they were getting defeated?

The major action was limited to the last 20-30 minutes of a painful 2 and half hour movie. It was good action, but I wanted more. It’s a transformer movie, you watch it for the action not the story!!

Movies yet to be watched

Harry Potter 8

Budha Hoga Tera Baap

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

(My mom is not gonna be happy with me watching so many movies!)

First Incident Report

So in continuation with the passport fiasco:

Friday morning was a mad rush. First to the airport then in search of a police station to lodge a complaint. Abu Dhabi becomes ghost town on friday mornings. There is hardly anyone on the streets, almost nothing is open. Including the police station apparently! They refused to file an FIR in the police station we went to and told us to come back on sunday.

Saturday Sumit spoke to his company PR officer (person who helps with local administrative process) and he advised that rather than go to the police, it was better to go straight to the immigration office.

Sunday at the immigration office, Sumit was told he couldnt file a report for missing passport in Abu Dhabi as his visa was from Dubai, so he had to go there. He went to the taxi company's office hoping to identify the cab driver and maybe calling. The good thing was we had had a lady driver, and there are only few of those here.

Monday Sumit was back in immigration office with his PRO to try to atleast file the FIR. Again there were told to go to Dubai. When asked what will happen if in Dubai they do not accept, since we reside in Abu Dhabi and the passport was lost here, the simple reply was, 'we will send you back to them'.

By this point we were quite frustrated. It had been 4 days and so far we hadnt gotten anywhere, not even an FIR. We had been calling the airport daily to check on any updates. Every morning our conversations started with a recap of what had happened at the airport that day. Speculating on potential scenarios. Should we go to the Indian Embassy straight? should we go to Dubai and try?

August is start of start of the fasting month, nearly all work comes to a stand still. Sumit's visa was expiring, and we were gonna do the renewal this month. Usually visa renewal required a visit out of the country, so we did not want to delay that, since I wouldnt be able to travel very soon. We needed to apply for Sumit's parents visa after his renewal, so that they were able to be here for my delivery. So we needed to start the passport process real soon.

As we were heading to bed, close to midnight, we got a call from the airport police saying that they found his passport. We ran out of the house like crazy, even before the call ended. I dont think too many people run around the airport if they are not flying out or in.

Funny incident of the day:

The Pakistani taxi driver found it amusing that I was pregnant, we had no luggage, we seemed to have ran down the road at midnight and were rushing to the airport. He couldnt contain himself, he asked us with a very serious look 'aap bhag ke shaadi kar rahe ho kya?' (are you running away and getting married?)!!!!

I made a BooBoo

I am an extremely paranoid traveler. I dont like carrying passport in hand. I check for it every 5 minutes. I have a passport pouch which is bulky, so that if I drop it I will know. Any left over currency from a trip I save it in the pouch, for use during emergencies, like I lose my wallet.

A long time ago, my entire family was traveling back to Chennai from Kumbakonam (my paternal village) after my brother's Andinarave (1st birthday). We took two autos from the station to our home. Some confusion ensued over the payment and stuff, 2 suitcases were left behind in one of the auto. The 2 suitcases just so happened to have all the gold jewellary. Some my mom's and some my aunt's and also cash, all the expensive silk saris they had bought or were gifted, you get the picture. All in all it was a very expensive mistake! After a month of running from one police station to another, tracking the other auto driver etc, we finally recovered partially what we lost.

Then the following year, my cousin sisters were coming to Mumbai to visit us. They did the exact same thing, and were left without any clothes for their one month trip.

My mom was returning to Singapore and my little cousin was 5-6 years of age and wanted to go to the washroom, so mom requested the airport staff in India to let her take my cousin in. She gave her passport and ticket my aunt who was waiting outside and went in. (This is a long ago, when security wasnt so strict). She came back to the gate and handed my cousin back to my aunt, said her goodbyes and went back. Without her passport and ticket. It took her a while to realise it too. These were the days when mobiles were not there either. So mom started panicking. She did not know how to contact them in time for the flight. Luck had it that my uncle had discovered the passport by the time they reached the car park and was rushing back.

I lost my wallet at least once a year. Either I dropped it by mistake or it got stolen from my bag in school (yes, that happened few times). There was a couple of times I was getting down from the bus and dropped my wallet. It used to be soo frustrating,even though back then I did not have any credit cards and not that I carried much cash. But as a student I was always broke, so it used to really pinch losing my wallet so much.

My brother did not want to be left behind, last year on his way to Abu Dhabi from India, he happily forgot his PIO card at home. He assumed since he had a Singapore passport it was alright. Of course it wasnt, and my poor uncle had to drive across Chennai in a mad rush, he even got caught by the police, to reach the airport in time to hand over the card. That seems to be the only 'booboo' story of my brother that I remember.

While my dad (like Sumit) claims he never loses things, just misplaces them. Always only remembering at the last moment that he has. I know the number of good watches my dad has forgotten in hotels and country clubs. Last year, he left his wallet in the flight, along with a bottle of Chivas that he bought inflight.

I often say that my dad and Sumit have many things in common. After yday's luggage confusion, seems like Sumit also managed to lose his passport. I distinctly recall him showing it to the guard when he went to return the luggage. Somehow this morning we couldnt find it anywhere at home. He is quite forgetful, even I agree, but he hasnt lost much things in his life (or so he claims). There is always a first, especially for 'BooBoo' stories.

Mixups

So it seems it was a good idea I went to the airport after all. Even though I left an hour before the flight arrival, the flight arrived 45 mins early! Since Sumit was a Business passenger, his luggage and all came out quite fast and he was out of the airport as I reached. Luckily I had left him a message stating I was just reaching. When we were about to get into the taxi I noticed that the luggage piece with him seemed different. It took Sumit much longer to realise that he had by accident taken someone else's luggage! He refused to accept that he made any mistake, even though I told him our suitcase was dark brown and the one he had was very light brown. His point, 'brown is brown!' (sigh!men!!!!)

So we ran around the airport trying to return it and get back our suitcase. It was very important to me especially cos all the goodies my mom sent for me were in it and I wasnt about to lose them. God knows when we would get it and whether they wud have spoilt by then. Thankfully the nice Chinese gentleman whose suitcase we had was very understanding about it.

Hmmm

So 5 days seems to have gone by faster than I expected. Thanks to me sleeping thru most of it. Sumit should be back in 2 hours and I am trying to decide whether or not I should go to the airport to meet him. On the plus side, it would be a good surprise, on the minus side, it would mean a one hour ride all the way there.

We have been having so many friends and cousins who had babies recently (last 6 months), and I know it sounds lazy of me but I really hadnt sent out gifts for some of them. With some people, you dont want to gift clothes and the usual stuff. Plus some places I couldnt find good online stores, where I liked something worth sending. Its one of those things, I like to send something that I feel the other person would like. Sometimes I find something, but in the wrong country and it doesnt make sense to ship it internationally. So finally I came round to doing my gifting. I found this great site for the US, which shipped these incredibly cute rockers for kids. I mean they had the cutest designs I had seen. I was totally in love. Its totally impractical to carry around though but still...I mean they were cuuuteee and they sang songs as well. I sent a butterfly to my friend in NJ for her baby girl and froggie for my niece in CA. Both of them told me today that they got the packages. Seems like it has been a big hit, I am so glad.

Anyways as much as I am proud of finding the right gifts, I still have a few more to go. As soon as I finish one round, seems like more people are popping out!

Sumit leaves for Singapore tonite on business. Well its his first 'Business Trip', so I am being supportive. Even though he is gonna be gone for 5 days and I am gonna be stuck here alone, I am being supportive. He is super worried about leaving me alone, since we dont have friends here and he is sure I am going to something crazy and get hurt. I am not six! I do wish I could go with him, but I just came back from Singapore few weeks back. I met up with everyone I wanted to and had a great time.

Anyways, in other news, my day started with swimming around in the pool, finally after they turned the heater off. Its such a simple pleasure of life, to be be able to just float around in cold water. Blissful start.

I decided to make South Indian for lunch today, my 2nd attempt at sambhar. I know its quite a shameful thing that being a south indian, I dont know how to cook sambhar. But the sheer number of steps needed to make a decent one used to really put me off. Not to mention the number of utensils that get used. I am more of a lazy one-step all-in kinda cook. It came out decently, not as good as the last time. Ah Well! I knew there would be left over and I could just use that for dinner.

I am sooo looking forward to my mom coming here end of July. I am running out of ideas and patience to cook. Dad is trying to drop by sometime too, on his way back from Iran. I am completing 24 weeks of my pregnancy. I cant understand why people keep telling me that I dont look pregnant, cos when I look in the mirror, I see a very big belly. On most days I get some major kicking from inside to remind me also, as if I had forgotten. Trying to deal with belly itching. Nothing seems to work.

I discovered Fox's cookies in our local supermarket and it has become my comfort food. I sneak in one or two biscuits a day. My favourite one being Chocolate Viennese....mmm buttery and yummy yummy yummy. I am giving myself this allowance now with the promise that once the baby is out, I will be more careful with my calories.

Dearest Mama

My guru S. Sathyalingam Mama passed away recently. I had not seen him in many months as he was battling cancer. But his lessons will always be with me, I will strive to follow and teach my children.

Summer Woes

Its summer time again, weather keeps going up and down. There are weeks when its just plain horrible heat with absolutely no wind, leaving a suffocating feeling. On other days, there is a cold wind which subdues the heat and makes it bearable to go on walks. I look forward to such days, when I am not going to be on house arrest. One of the other perks of such days is being able to go for a nice cool swim. Except my stupid gym had closed the pool for half the week in the name of maintenance and when they finally reopened, they started the pool heater! Its summer for god's sake, who wants a heated pool?? And after all the 'maintaining' they did the pool was still sooo yucky and not very clean. Sigh, makes me miss Singapore a lot.

Of course there are perks of being in Abu Dhabi, especially when you dont want to get cooked like a lobster. You can get nearly EVERYTHING home delivered. Even if its just one lemon you want, they will deliver it and quite quickly too. Now my regular stores have seen my pregnant bump, I get priority service.

But all said and done, I will take the rain any day to the sun!

My Bakes

Sitting at home, I started experimenting with various recipes, especially cakes. The good thing is its just two of us, therefore if something screws up not too much is wasted. Initially I tried very basic quick breads and brownies. Few months back I proudly bought a mini muffin tray to add to my collection.

So far I have managed to successfully make lemon, orange-strawberry, and lemon-blueberry breads, brownies, variety of muffins including cheesecake. But I have been having craving for a simple marble cake. So this morning I tried the first recipe I came across and very proud of the results. Thanks to my friends K and S who got me some amazing cocoa powder from Brussels.

I have been waiting to put up this post for a while, but since I am not a great photographer, I am dependent on Sumit to take the fotos and give them to me from his complicated camera which I refuse to operate and he doesnt trust me with! So finally I got some of the fotos out of Sumit's camera to put up.

So I am proud to present my

Lemon Cheese cupcakes

Orange and Strawberry Bread

Orange Cake with Chocolate-Cinnamon Frosting (Had baked it for a friend's birthday. I know the cake doesnt look so great but it vanished within 30 mins!)

Marble Cake

** Special Thanks to Sumit for being my practice dummy, eating everything I made and giving valuable feedback. :)

Positive News

English movies usually show a girl taking a pregnancy test and bracing herself by sitting on the toilet seat, indicating that it was positive and unexpected. On the other hand in Tamil movies they show this girl running to vomit. Her husband comes rushing to see if all is ok. The mother in law in the background will smile and whisper to the father in law, who will whisper to the son, who will then ask the girl 'is this true?' and the girl will give a bashful nod to indicate that she is pregnant. In Hindi movies, the girl will faint and someone will check her pulse and say 'Badai ho, aapki beti maa ban ne wali hai!' Its just soo funny and oh so melodramatic.

For me this was always just a joke, something I made fun of and never really believed happened in real life. I mean come on. My body works like clockwork, I knew exactly when my next period was gonna come. I never had pain or vomiting or cramps, I used to run and dance even during my worst days.

So I was in India attending a family wedding, getting ready for the evening function, out of the blue I rush to the washroom to puke. I havent eaten much all day and am terribly dehydrated cos for some reason the wedding hall was short of water. So naturally my first assumption is I have acidity. But of course it had to happen right in the middle of the room where all the ladies were. My mother in law's looked at me very curiously and asked 'Are you pregnant?' Immediately all the others chimed in and started asking me if I was late or expecting this and feeling that. To me that was a ridiculous question. I wasnt even late! I know it had been three years since I was married and they had been expecting that by now I would have had 3 kids, but still, I would know if I was pregnant rite?

All night I kept telling everyone ( cos the news had spread thru the entire wedding hall!) that I was alright, it was probably nothing, just acidity. I was sure of it in my head that it was impossible that I could be pregnant now. I mean Sumit and me just had the 'oh we should think about a family when I get back' talk, the day before I left.

As soon as we got back from the wedding, my sister in law had already bought some home pregnancy kits for me. Even though I had insisted I would go back to Abu Dhabi and get it checked 10 days later. The pregnancy tests came out not positive or negative. I wasnt even sure it was correct. But somehow my family read it as 'if it isnt negative then its positive' and promptly called Sumit and told him the 'good news'. SO much drama, rite? I just found all of this funny and little annoying, seemed like no one was gonna wait for me to go back and check. In the meantime, I had been banned from doing any work around the house, including going up and down the staircase. I felt like an idiot, while everyone around me was running about doing work, I was sitting down. I had also been told not to tell anyone anything yet, obviously cos as far as I was concerned, there was nothing to tell.

Finally after much fuss was created around me by my mother in law and sister in law, 10 days later I reached Abu Dhabi to find out the truth. I took the pregnancy test and when I finally saw the result, I had to sit on the toilet seat to brace myself.

It was positive!

Homemade spa

So when I was back in Singapore last month, I commented to my mom about how her complexion has remained fair in all these years. Last few months she has not been working and her skin has cleared up a lot more too. Of course I started complaining about how inspite of me doing the same, I dont seem to stop tanning. (I might have missed telling her about my regular swimming in the sun.) More importantly my mother has not been to a spa or hair stylist as far as I can remember, not even for my wedding. Obviously I wanted to know what her secret was.

Mom: Its simple, when you are making ghee from butter, what ever remains in the wrapper, put it on ur face. If your milk has cream, take a little out, put it on ur face. If you cut lemons or oranges, rub the peel on ur face before u throw it away. Then wash your face. Take some yogurt and besan, mix them and use it like a mask.

I know there are many home remedies for skin care out there. But when my mom said it I really felt it was bizarre! A friend of mine told me she used to wash her face with milk before her wedding to remove the tan. But still it was something I had never tried. Not that I am against the idea.

So after coming back to AUH, I decided I was gonna try some of the ideas. Considering I am wasting time at home anyways, why not. I am sure most of these are probably quite common and I am quite behind in my 'discovery'. Nonetheless, here are a list of things that I tried out.

1) Yogurt and Besan: this was awesome for the summer heat. It worked as a scrub as well as a mask. Very refreshing feeling after

2) Orange peel and Milk: I had a lot of heat boils in Singapore, and the marks just refused to go away. But After I rubbed them a few days with orange peel soaked in milk, Voila! They became soooo much lighter. This has become a regular thing now for me especially after swimming.

3) Milk and Honey: This one was great for dry skin.

4) Strawberry and Yogurt: I had bought some strawberries which were really sour. I did not want them go a waste, so after eating as many as I could, the made a paste of the last few, mixed with yogurt and made another face mask. It exfoliates the skin really well, quite refreshing.

Jab We Met

Event: Dad’s office party

Me trying to be polite and chatting with random people

Aunty No.1: “ So your husband is north Indian?”

Me: “Yes”

Aunty No. 2:” Did he used to work in Singapore?”

Me: “errr….No”

I know where this is headed and I was trying to prepare a version of the ‘long story short’ in my head

Aunty No. 1: “Ohhh…how did you guys meet then?”

Five years since we met and three years of my married life, I was getting a little tired of the question. Would they know if I lied?? Cant mom please call me now? Sumit look at me..rescue me…Damn it, he isn’t even looking.

Random uncle: “Ladies, why don’t you guys start having food?”

Thank God!

Aunty No. 1: “NO NO..I want to hear this first” Grabs my hand and makes me sit down

Sigh, I am stuck

The Short Version:

So Sumit while studying in IIM Bangalore, came to NTU, Singapore on exchange. At the same time, I had recently started working in NTU. We met first thru a common friend. It wasn’t love at first sight or anything, we became good friends. He left within one month and we had a long distance relationship. Two years later we were married.

Grilling matter

Lazy friday, spent having wonderful belgian waffles in the morning and awesome sandwiches for brunch. Thanks to a wonderful gift I got for my wedding. Problem is I dont know whom to thank for it.

Generally I dont forget what I get and from whom I get it from. However my wedding was an occasion whereby I left Singapore the day after I got married and did not even get a chance to open all my gifts properly. So my parents did the honours and also made a notebook of who gave what, so that I would know. Then they promptly lost the book in midst of all the commotion of coming for my reception in India. So I only got to see my wedding gifts a year after I got married. Among the few gifts I did manage to check out before leaving were 5 coffee makers and a sandwich maker cum grill cum waffle maker, the latter being something I really wanted. I did not have time to repack it with me and considering that I knew I was gonna be in India for few months before moving to Abu Dhabi, I felt there was no need to carry it with me then.

But over time it got lost, and placed somewhere very 'safely'. Mom and me searched the whole house, mom was sure I must have been mistaken. Finally 3 years after my wedding, I found it, still perfectly wrapped and in good condition. I sincerely wish I could remember who gave it to me though, cos I would really love to give that person(s) a huge hug. Its one of the most used thing in my kitchen.