2018 - Recap

I always enjoy writing a re-cap of the year that was. It takes me through the travails of the days gone and helps set realistic goals for what I want to do this year. But I slacked. I took a really long break from writing. Not that I did not have much to write or the time but lacked energy or the enthusiasm to do so. I know this is more of a whiteboard for me and my thoughts and memories that hopefully my daughter will find entertaining enough to read about in the future. So keeping with the tradition, though a month late, here is a quick recap :)

January: December 2017 ended with G and taking a look at ourselves. We did not look healthy or fit. We did not like our reflection, this is not what we wanted to become, old and unfit. Growing old is not a choice but being fit is. I hope I come back to this statement in the future if I get back to being unfit again. So, we took it upon ourselves to start living a healthier life. We had to make some adjustments, not a lot of dieting though. We still ate the same but added a workout routine. We started to bike.

Biking - Start of the Year

February: I got one of those calls that you dread about - mom is sick - please come. I rushed to NC the very next morning (thanks to my friend RR who got me a seat on a flight) and spent a few days.  Mom seemed to be recovering, so I got home.

March: A night in a camp that we had evacuate because of rain. Celebrated Holi with friends. A hike in the hills of south Dallas. Another trip to meet family in NC again, this time mom was doing much better.

It was also the month I turned 40. My daughter, niece and nephew were the first ones to welcome my 40's. They surprised me with cake, decorations and lots of fun. Then of course, G threw a huge party for me along with my friends and it was a super fun night!

Turning 40 is not so bad...nothing really changes drastically overnight. The only difference is that I have slowed down. I like to go to bed by 10 on Friday nights. My wild nights now end by 11 and if they last past that, I am extremely tired. I am enjoying it though, I feel well rested and energetic that I can run 5 miles and bike 10 miles all in one day.

Happy Birthday to Me!

April: There was more biking. The distances were growing and the time spent on trails were longer and we were thoroughly enjoying it. It was a relatively quite month in terms of activity. We were winding down towards end of school year.

More Biking...weather getting better - shorter sleeves

May: S had her annual Dance recital show. It was exciting for us also, the dress rehearsals and the practices. School ended and S was the happiest. She had the whole summer planned out. Another trip to NC for mother. She was sick again and this time we had to make some really tough decisions. I had to rush to NC from my fun work trip in Nashville. I was so sad to have been having a great time.

June: G and S left on their EU trip. They spent a couple of days in London before heading to Paris. S spent the whole of June and part of July on her own with her uncle's family. I spent a couple of fun weekends with friends. I went with R to Legacy West and had a great evening and then had a girls night out with M and A - an evening to remember. I also went to Sallu show with friends and relaxed and chilled the rest of my alone time.

July: G was back and we had 2 weeks to ourselves. What did we do? We biked. We did 30 miles...in our crappy cheap bikes. It felt like we could run faster on some days.

Then I left to Paris to pick S up. We went up to Italy for P's wedding and spent three days with my brother and his family walking around Pompeii and Rome. It was so relaxing.

G joined us in Iceland where we spent 5 days hiking up all the waterfalls in the south of the island. One beautiful trip with great stories and memories. The photos show how much coffee I drank and bits and pieces from all our trips

I got so sick after this ride. It was 115 deg's on this day and we did 25 miles

Coffee in a Cafe in Paris

Coffee in Italy

Coffee in Paris

Crepe in a Creperie in Paris

Kid like joy enjoying nature in Iceland

G and S trying to fill water from a waterfall - Iceland

August: We were back in the States and ready for new school year. It was still hot in Texas so we biked some more. S tied Rakhi to A again this year...that is 3 years in a row. They are growing up together so well now that it is cute.

More Biking - different trails, different days

September: A trip to Houston - lots of gluttony, boating, walking, playing tennis. More biking and relaxing as the cold starts to come in.

Getting colder - it rained right after we took this pic - fun experience

October: It was S's 11th. We had a great time celebrating her but unfortunately I had to rush to my family once again and could not celebrate G turning a year older. It was a stressful week for me. I did get to meet with S in NY when I went there for work. His twins were the best thing that happened to me in a while. We had a great time. I actually got to eat in a real Korean restaurant in NYC. It was amazing. I enjoyed the company and the food and it was exactly like I had imagined it would be....Daebak!

Samwon in NYC - the best Korean Bap! They even had the right kind of silver!

November: BIL came down with his family. S went back with him to Houston and we got to spend Thanksgiving with them. It was pretty much relaxing and cold. Visited a brewery and had a full pint of beer for the first time. I took three hours to down it but it is still not my favorite. Though I see the advantage of drinking beer over other things...not looking forward to a beer belly so beer is still unpopular with me. And of course the most memorable Diwali party that we will remember for a life time! Oh! and the cold trip to Iowa for work.

December: Was a travel month. Visited Chicago, KC, NC, and Santo Domingo. Each of them memorable in their own way.

Chicago: I missed my family as I was in downtown without them. I enjoyed my walk to Millennium Park. I enjoyed hanging out with work friends and it was a fun trip.

KC: A day trip. Tiring but still got a lot accomplished.

NC: Family trip. S went to Savannah with my brother's family and I got 4 full days alone with my parents. It was the best part of the entire year. I was a little kid but the roles were reversed where I was taking care of them.

SD: The best freaking trip. We had the best AirBnb house - the house itself was basic but we hired a cook - Maribel. She was godsent. She cooked the best food, hooked us up with rental car, sent us to private beaches and was just an awesome human being. The trip itself was great, made some great memories, learnt a lot of new things, ate some real authentic DR food and spent a lot of time relaxing.

Seeing myself in the reflection - a lonely walk

Santo Domingo - Very fun history walk

December 31st night: We were driving from Houston to Dallas and made it home just a few minutes past mid-night. I hope this year is filled with a lot more travel. There is a whole lot of world left to see.

Countries Visited this year:

France

Italy

Iceland

Santo Domingo

Cities visited this year:

Kansas City, MO

Des Moines, IA

Greenville, NC

New York, NY

Chicago, IL

Austin, TX

Houston, TX

Nashville, TN

Biked more than 1000 miles, walked more than that. It was a great year where collectively G and I lost a whole another mini human in terms of weight. We hope to keep it down and never go back to where we were before.

I hope I will get to blog more this year if not, I will at the very least keep the yearly recap going. 

Traveling ART

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

Glu with the Umlaut!

We were going from 70 degrees into 20 degrees F. It was a big difference, especially if you are suddenly transported from whatever weather to winter wonderland. We were dressed very warm and yet, it was not good enough. After seeing the Hohenshwangau Castle we had a small break. We went to the nearest restaurant and gorged on the yummiest squash soup ever and bread. We ate to kill the cold, runny noses and almost frost bitten digits.

We were almost thawed when we had to rush to take the horse carriage ride up the mountains to Neuschwanstein castle. One friend said the golden words in front of the waitress who spoke very little English and another friend translated it, "I wish we had some hot wine for the trip."

Tada! We had five coffee cups with lids filled with hot wine...or Glu (with the umlaut) wine in our hands. Our hands felt warmer as we climbed up the trail smelling horse poop while watching the most breathtaking views from up the Alps. We drank the hot drink that went down our throats warming us up inside out.

I craved to have more but the trip was short and we were out of Germany. I have traveled a bit in the last few years and I always come back with something I really love and a need to recreate it at home. We tried out Glu Wine at home on Xmas Eve and it was fantabulous. One thing to remember is that it is sweet with spices and sugar so it can be super heady. Also, one glass should carry you through the night.

Glu-ing ART
Looking forward to the New Year 2018!

With the Glu in our hands in the Horse Carriage!

Oye Teri!

I have seen it in my niece and nephew. I have seen it with my friend's children. I am seeing it in adults, in people of all ages and sizes. We are obsessed with our mobile phones, making memories while letting memories slip away.

I was at my daughter's school's holiday party where kids were performing. More parents' were keen on recording the video and taking pics than actually watching the show. It was annoying for those few who were actually there to enjoy the show. We had to see a bunch of raised hands and bright screens.

On the same note, when we now meet, as a family or group of friends, kids are sitting down with their cellphones and hardly paying attention to their family. My daughter likes to spend 10 minutes with kids around and then politely asks for wifi password before disappearing into the room watching her show. I have tried to get her out but she always claims some inadequacy and escapes.

My niece comes all the way to Dallas and guess what she does? I fly all the way to meet family in India and guess what they do? I invited a few friends over for S's birthday and guess what the older kids did? It is a frustrating series. I had to get rude and have the phones confiscated so they would spend time together.

On our trip to India this time, we realized that internet was a luxury. Everyone we knew had switched over to GIO which is like a wifi stick that barely has any strong signals to play netflix. This made S get out and socialize. She tried hard to watch and gave up. She sat between us, she got to know her cousins better, her family better and she actually enjoyed the trip for what it was and not for a memory of watching netflix in different countries and cities. It was such a welcome change. At the end of the trip she came up to me and said mom, "this has been the longest I have gone without TV," and I happily agreed. S finally understood that there is a life beyond Netflix when we travel.

India is always teaching lessons...this time it was for S, a valuable lesson.

I really wish we would put down our phones, meet people vis-a-vis and read emotional cues, feel the pulse of being together rather than exist in whatsapp groups wishing only for birthdays! It is good to be in touch on the web but it matters more to be present with the people you are with. Photos of feet and fish faces can wait but I might not...

Hope y'all had a very merry X-Mas.

Fishy-Facey ARTY from the French Alps!