Round Up!

Of course it is a wrap! 2017 is closing down and 2018 is gearing up for a start.

I stopped believing that things really change in the new year. I do not believe that an entire year sucked or rocked because of one incident. What is a year but a marker to keep life feeling immeasurable...and yet, I do these posts every year.

2017 seems to be the year I blogged the least. I guess I was busy at home and at work to spend a few minutes on my blog. I will try to fix that in 2018. I am getting older and wiser.

Things we did this year:

•   S ran her first 5K with me. We joined a running group and she ran-walked the whole thing. It was super fun.

• Enjoyed Holi with friends at the temple with friends! It was crazy!

• We threw a fun Harry Potter Themed Baby Shower for our dear friend A.

• We camped in OK by one of the most windiest lakes ever. Our tent almost flew with us in it. It was an adventure and we loved it!

• S had her second Bharatanatyam recital. She did amazing and so did her entire class. Parents visited and spent two months with us. It was amazing!

• Summer was filled with pool fun. Friends and family alike...S enjoyed.

   

• Z visited us alone! She is a big girl now and we had a great week with her.
• G's family visited us in summer! We went to Destin with them!

        

• The Solar Eclipse of 2017! Where we rocked the solar glasses! 

• And then, off we went to Niagara!

• S got her bangs hairstyle that she wanted for the longest time. She was super excited!
• Dandiya with friends - twice! It was super fun! I am looking forward to it again this year!
• S and G had multiple birthday celebrations! Lots of cake, lots of friends, I wish we could do this all over again ever year! Love the friend-family.

     

• Started biking this year with G. We have had some fun and adventurous rides exploring our neighborhood! See the turtle we hung out with at Interlaken in Plano.

• S turned double digit! so we had a fun birthday planned! A slime party and sleepover with a handful of girls! 

       

• S did her first Bollywood dance with a new friend that she enjoyed hanging out with!

• And then we left for our world tour! 
• Germany
• Visited Schloss Alsbach
• Dinner at Heidelberg - double date sans kids
• Drive to Neushwanstein - met with M & B there!
• Eat - the yummiest veggie paella in the world!

      

• India
• Taj Mahal
• Wedding fun @ Kurukshetra
• Eating @ Delhi
• Pune - Enjoying with J and family - Karla Caves
• Mumbai - Spending time with M, A and R. It was a treat! 
• Visited the India office of my company.
• Mangalore - Reception fun.
• Beach trip
• Village visit
• Bangalore - 
• Bino, Thameem
• SP's family
• Hareesh, Seenu
• Eating and dancing - S's first dance floor experience.
• Spending time getting pampered with friends and family and Lakme alike!

      

            

• France:
• Paris
• St. Gervais Les Bains
• S and G's first ski experience. They loved it! 
• We had to trek down from our chalet to buy oil, wine and bread! The trek was in 4' of freshly fallen slow. We had no roads or trails that we could see. I fell a few times before we reached St. Gervais! It was an experience. Spectacular views...Alps!

         

• Started the trip in Alps and ended it there! How fun!
• Came back feeling empty and luckily had friends to cheer us during the X-Mas break!

      

Now we look ahead to the next year and hopefully it is not rocky and is smooth sailing!

Happy New Year to everyone! Cheers and have a great one! From ours to yours...

A New Year ART

To leave and to be back...

The moment you drive up the house you were so eager to leave on a vacation a mixed feeling of excitement as well as dread sets in. In the two weeks we were gone, the grass in the lawn was now a field with swaying blades of grass welcoming you. Weed has overtaken one of your favorite knockout rose bush. "I am not doing lawn work today," I declare as I step out, "just too tired to handle this." Husband agrees but looks at the work in front of us. We go to the backyard to inspect our pool and things are still looking good but there is weed everywhere. The okra plant is now a rogue plant looking to compete with trees overpowering the basil  next to it. I walk back in closing the door saying, "Nope, not going back out till everything is clean." Husband comes back and tells me, "something is surely dead in the weed." Yuck!!!

That is what you get for leaving home and going to far away fantasy lands for two plus weeks. The walks, the sights, the relaxation, and the multiple coffees that you enjoyed while neglecting your house...well the house wants it revenge back. I have been walking around slowly into every room to make sure that the solitary roach has not invaded it yet. So far so good but I am always stuck with one rogue roach that manages to make my home its home in my absence.

The first few days away from home was filled with me moaning for sleep. I missed my bed, my shower, my home and my potty. We were driving through the roads of France and Spain, peeing in seatless toilets and eating food that could have easily spent a few more minutes in the oven. I was craning my neck to get a shut eye while also ensuring my husband or his brother did not take a nap on the steering wheel. I was cranky when we reached Barcelona.

From there on, every road we took was an adventure. Of course after a full night of sleep everything smells good and a smile is plastered on your face. Yes, the roads that took us through our vacation was filled with filthy toilets and basic food (sorry EU, you need to up your game on travel amenities along the road), but the views were one of a kind, the people were great and if all else sucked, the coffee still rocked. I am more of a tea person but the espresso and the style of serving it made me an instant convert. You cannot do that style with making tea.

This was one of the few vacations where I relaxed without worrying about coming back to work and mundane life. I relaxed at a coffee shop sipping on my new found love, noisette, and chatting up with our favorite Romanian barista who served coffee with such elan that I thanked my stars for being in that place at that time. Yes, this trip got me obsessed with coffee that my sister-in-law and I would sneak out in the pretense of shopping to get a sip of coffee. We would giggle like little girls while adding the 4th pack of sugar that most coffee shops thought was weird. We tried every coffees shop on the street and always landed at our favorite place.

All that high from coffee to looking at my lawn made me groan. This is it, the reality of life. You cannot go away thinking that everything will be at a standstill waiting for you to come back. Life growed on in our yard while time stood still in our vacation. I did not care if it was a Monday or a Friday. Every night when we settled in the various hotel rooms, we slept dreamless sleep, toes curled from all the walking and snored away to peace as the tired of the day behind slowly slipped away.

In a few days time, our lives will return to the grid but the memories we made will remain forever fresh like the Italian Coffee in the small shop across from Garbatella station in Rome.

Missing you already Europa. May you stand stuck in time from past with everything modern assimilating beautifully in to your lifestyle. May the coffee never go down with the recession. And hopefully we will meet again for a nice chat over a cuppa.

Love
Travelling ART