I believe that the simplest foods out there, are the ones that can be made with simple ingredients and eating raw makes you go back to the basics of food and dining. I absolutely loved this recipe by Andrea and I had to try it. The only modification I made to it was make it into balls rather than brownie cupcake shapes. I also did not add walnuts ( i processed by almonds coarsely - and it had enough nutty-flavor that I did not need walnuts ). It came out really well, and even my husband who hates RAW sweets, devoured them :) I strongly recommend that you try this even though you might not really decide to turn raw/vegan anytime soon.
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Sunday, 4 December 2011
Weekend Ramblings
How was your weekend? Mine is going "Okay" so far. I ended up not being pregnant this month after all. Strangely, I am not too upset about it. I decided that I was putting too much pressure on myself and my body. The husband and I felt we should take a break for 3 months and just enjoy ourselves. We still have age on our sides(we both are in our late 20s) and there is still ample time to start a family. I believe that we will wait another 6 months at least before starting fertility meds. I want to lose some weight, become mentally prepared and not stress myself out as much as now, most importantly give my body time to get pregnant when it feels right instead of acting as desperate as I had been this last month. My doc told me yesterday that if I am as stressed out about pregnancy and PCOD as I am , I am never likely to get pregnant thanks to the stress. Thus, I have decided to let go. And a huge weight as gone out of my shoulders, and I am feeling better.
All the pent-up energy that I was focusing on to get pregnant? Well, I am using that to focus on my exercise :) So far, exercising everyday of December is working great. Today is Sunday and I ended up walking for one hour. It was great. I went out at 6 am and exercised till 7 10 am :) It was a great start to hopefully a great day today.
Unfortunately, my mom's not been keeping well. She might have to be hospitalized this week. We are doing some tests today and tomorrow the doc would let us know based on the tests whether she needs to be hospitalized or not. She vomited blood out two days ago and that is a sign that something is seriously wrong. Will keep you informed on how things work out on that front.
Also on Saturday afternoon, I went out for lunch with my gal pals. I wish, in retrospect, that I had voiced out my views stronger. It was decided that we would go to Little Italy to sample Italian food. Not only is this restaurant housed in a costlier part of town, but also having Italian food in India would cost more. Hence, I decided to go to a buffet with an Italian spread which would cost us Rs. 300/- per head including tax. I found that restaurant and booked a table for 4 there. But, one of my girl pals did not agree, she wanted to sample Little Italy at any cost and of course to another girl, Little Italy was near to her house. And so we went, we met, had a few drinks, ordered what we all felt like, ate it all, and 3 hours later, we ended up spending Rs. 800/- per head. When my husband and I go out to dinner with my inlaws, we spend Rs.800/- to finance that entire meal. But on Saturday, my share alone was Rs.800/-. I knew that Little Italy would be costly and I was mentally prepared to pay Rs. 500/-. But when I saw the bill of Rs. 800/- as my share, I was less than amused.
This is not my idea of having a great time. I save half my monthly pay check every month and in some months I save much more. Spending Rs.800/- does not break my bank/wallet. But it is still not worth it. I strongly believe that this is not the kind of outing I would like to be part of in the future.
From next time, I will join these girls only if I know what would the cost be in advance (i.e a buffet restaurant with a fixed price irresp. of what we eat). I am not going to join if they go to a very classy restaurant. The time spent in the restaurant sampling the food is not worth the money spent no matter how much I enjoy the time I spend with these girls.
On Sunday, I had called my parents home for lunch. After her diagnostic tests were done, they came home and then we had a great time. We had our lunch, watched Venkatesh Kumar's private home recordings, a Malgudi Days episode :) and bits of Pather Panchali ( my favorite scenes are the ones with the old Aunt).
And thus, the weekend got over, with me spending Rs. 800/- for one lunch, but otherwise it was a simple weekend with no money spent!
All the pent-up energy that I was focusing on to get pregnant? Well, I am using that to focus on my exercise :) So far, exercising everyday of December is working great. Today is Sunday and I ended up walking for one hour. It was great. I went out at 6 am and exercised till 7 10 am :) It was a great start to hopefully a great day today.
Unfortunately, my mom's not been keeping well. She might have to be hospitalized this week. We are doing some tests today and tomorrow the doc would let us know based on the tests whether she needs to be hospitalized or not. She vomited blood out two days ago and that is a sign that something is seriously wrong. Will keep you informed on how things work out on that front.
Also on Saturday afternoon, I went out for lunch with my gal pals. I wish, in retrospect, that I had voiced out my views stronger. It was decided that we would go to Little Italy to sample Italian food. Not only is this restaurant housed in a costlier part of town, but also having Italian food in India would cost more. Hence, I decided to go to a buffet with an Italian spread which would cost us Rs. 300/- per head including tax. I found that restaurant and booked a table for 4 there. But, one of my girl pals did not agree, she wanted to sample Little Italy at any cost and of course to another girl, Little Italy was near to her house. And so we went, we met, had a few drinks, ordered what we all felt like, ate it all, and 3 hours later, we ended up spending Rs. 800/- per head. When my husband and I go out to dinner with my inlaws, we spend Rs.800/- to finance that entire meal. But on Saturday, my share alone was Rs.800/-. I knew that Little Italy would be costly and I was mentally prepared to pay Rs. 500/-. But when I saw the bill of Rs. 800/- as my share, I was less than amused.
This is not my idea of having a great time. I save half my monthly pay check every month and in some months I save much more. Spending Rs.800/- does not break my bank/wallet. But it is still not worth it. I strongly believe that this is not the kind of outing I would like to be part of in the future.
From next time, I will join these girls only if I know what would the cost be in advance (i.e a buffet restaurant with a fixed price irresp. of what we eat). I am not going to join if they go to a very classy restaurant. The time spent in the restaurant sampling the food is not worth the money spent no matter how much I enjoy the time I spend with these girls.
On Sunday, I had called my parents home for lunch. After her diagnostic tests were done, they came home and then we had a great time. We had our lunch, watched Venkatesh Kumar's private home recordings, a Malgudi Days episode :) and bits of Pather Panchali ( my favorite scenes are the ones with the old Aunt).
And thus, the weekend got over, with me spending Rs. 800/- for one lunch, but otherwise it was a simple weekend with no money spent!
Thursday, 1 December 2011
The office bus drive.
When I first joined this company, both my husband and I worked here and we used to commute by car. 15 days ago he changed companies, and I have been commuting to/fro office alone. I was using the public transport and I used to change 3 buses on my way to office, and change 2 on the way home. It was quite tiring. Thus, with the beginning of this month I enrolled for the office bus commute.
Yesterday, was my first day of commute with the office bus. We have AC buses in our city for public transport and our office bus is but an ordinary bus (no AC). Must say, so far I am not very impressed with the bus. The only positive is that the pick up/drop points are nearer to my house and I don't have to change buses during the commute to reach my destination. And of course, the office bus is cheaper( they charge me Rs. 1300/- for a month) when compared to the public transport (I have to pay around Rs.1500/- with monthly bus pass, else it costs around Rs. 2000/-) as they charge us subsidized rates.
So for this month, the office bus is what I shall be using to commute. I have not yet decided as to whether I would be using the same next month to commute or if I would shift back to the public transport.
Yesterday, was my first day of commute with the office bus. We have AC buses in our city for public transport and our office bus is but an ordinary bus (no AC). Must say, so far I am not very impressed with the bus. The only positive is that the pick up/drop points are nearer to my house and I don't have to change buses during the commute to reach my destination. And of course, the office bus is cheaper( they charge me Rs. 1300/- for a month) when compared to the public transport (I have to pay around Rs.1500/- with monthly bus pass, else it costs around Rs. 2000/-) as they charge us subsidized rates.
So for this month, the office bus is what I shall be using to commute. I have not yet decided as to whether I would be using the same next month to commute or if I would shift back to the public transport.
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
a new month begins.
The last month of this year brings hope in my case. Hope that we have one more month to fulfill all of our unfulfilled desires for this year. My company does not work the last week of December because of the festivities and this is another reason I love December.
The whole of december, I plan to work out - do some form of exercise or the other. I plan to start the new year with a weight of 65 kg. This is attainable and I know I can achieve this with well-planned diet and exercise. I would have to lose 4-5 kgs to achieve this weight goal, and I believe it can be done.
I really need to lose weight and make exercise a priority in my life. Too many half-hearted beginnings, followed by giving up too many times, expecting results too soon is the reason why I am at my current weight of 70-71kgs.
Hoping this is the month that shall bring about this change in 2011.
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
popping the bubble
This is a hard post for me to write. I wish I did not have to share this. But then, I promised a slice of my life, and as much as I don't wish this to be a part of my life, it is. I have fertility issues. I guess it is not so shocking to most of you. Considering that I am just 26, most of you would say it is not such a big deal as I have age on my side. But unfortunately, I have already been operated on for large endometric cysts on both ovaries, plus my ovaries showed PCOS last year. I am currently taking fertility meds and HCG injection. I am hoping all the meds taken this month should somehow help my conception. I should have checked my HCG home pregnancy test on 3rd Dec 2011 as that would be the day of my missed period. But then, I couldn't help myself and I tested yesterday.. It was followed by huge amounts of disappointment and sorrow and depression and weeping and finally acceptance.
Acceptance that I had tested early. Acceptance that pregnancy takes time. Acceptance that I have a condition that can be treated. Acceptance that the condition I have does not in any way make me feel like I am "lacking" as a female just because I cannot have kids without medical treatement. Acceptance that if this does not work, there are other options possible to have a kid in my life. Acceptance that I need to wait for a year of trying to have a kid before coming to the conclusion that all is lost. Acceptance that I need to be patient, and secure in my belief that I will be a mom to a baby one day.
Acceptance is what I am holding on to today.
Acceptance that I had tested early. Acceptance that pregnancy takes time. Acceptance that I have a condition that can be treated. Acceptance that the condition I have does not in any way make me feel like I am "lacking" as a female just because I cannot have kids without medical treatement. Acceptance that if this does not work, there are other options possible to have a kid in my life. Acceptance that I need to wait for a year of trying to have a kid before coming to the conclusion that all is lost. Acceptance that I need to be patient, and secure in my belief that I will be a mom to a baby one day.
Acceptance is what I am holding on to today.
BFN today!
I tested 13DPO. And I got a BFN. I am hoping I tested way too early for the test to be accurate. Fingers crossed! I want this really really badly!
Monday, 28 November 2011
An act of patience
Yesterday evening, after I got home from work, I went to the terrace to get the dry clothes in ( I line dry my clothes). Unfortunately, my maid had washed my husband's t-shirt (with white and blue stripes) along with an orange washcloth that gives out its lovely orange color, thus resulting the t-shirt to have splashes of orange all over.
I wish I could tell you that this is the first time that this has ever happened. But my maid is quite irresponsible in this situation, and this is my husband's fourth shirt that has been spoilt in this fashion. I was almost in tears when I saw this, so my father-in-law suggested that I should just try some lime juice and Rin soap and soak it for half an hour. I did. No change.
When my husband came to know about it, he got upset as I expected. But looking at my face which should have shown an equal amount of despair, he suggested that I not yell at my maid, but explain it to her that this was not acceptable any more.
This morning, when she came around, I showed it to her stating that since this is the fourth time she has been caught with the same error, and I was really disappointed. I did not raise my voice like the previous times. I was firm, but polite, and I somehow think I drove the point across. Because I did not yell , the maid looked at my face and said to me "Madam, I am disappointed too that this has happened, I will be more careful", and I realized that she was remorseful and she did not get defensive.
And it was a lesson in patience for me. I had last night to think about this. I really like my maid, she is efficient in her duties and loyal. So I knew that I did not want to make her feel defensive by yelling at her as I have done in the past, everyone makes mistakes after all. Now I just need to remember this every time I get angry and pissed off with someone as things can be resolved in a calm, patient manner as long as I am firm, but polite when I put my point across :)
Lesson Learnt!
I wish I could tell you that this is the first time that this has ever happened. But my maid is quite irresponsible in this situation, and this is my husband's fourth shirt that has been spoilt in this fashion. I was almost in tears when I saw this, so my father-in-law suggested that I should just try some lime juice and Rin soap and soak it for half an hour. I did. No change.
When my husband came to know about it, he got upset as I expected. But looking at my face which should have shown an equal amount of despair, he suggested that I not yell at my maid, but explain it to her that this was not acceptable any more.
This morning, when she came around, I showed it to her stating that since this is the fourth time she has been caught with the same error, and I was really disappointed. I did not raise my voice like the previous times. I was firm, but polite, and I somehow think I drove the point across. Because I did not yell , the maid looked at my face and said to me "Madam, I am disappointed too that this has happened, I will be more careful", and I realized that she was remorseful and she did not get defensive.
And it was a lesson in patience for me. I had last night to think about this. I really like my maid, she is efficient in her duties and loyal. So I knew that I did not want to make her feel defensive by yelling at her as I have done in the past, everyone makes mistakes after all. Now I just need to remember this every time I get angry and pissed off with someone as things can be resolved in a calm, patient manner as long as I am firm, but polite when I put my point across :)
Lesson Learnt!
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