Category: 100 happy days

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Happiness Update – Week 15

In January this year, prompted by this site here http://100happydays.com/, I took on the 100 happy days challenge. The idea was to find one happy thing everyday and upload a picture, 100 days in a row. Apprehensive about the commitment I opted for a weekly update in my blog. Today I am in week 15. The 100 days are up and what a fun ride this has been! I found myself looking at the many many tiny things that make me happy – A hug from the kids, a coffee with friends, a hard workout at the gym, a long forgotten song on the radio… so so many things that bring on a smile.

Oh I’ve faltered.. many times. There cannot be good days without the bad ones, can there? However I do sense a change, in me – an attitude to dig out the good from the bad. And that’s a real gain.

I will not say this is my last Happiness post for this is something I intend to stick with.

We are in the middle of summer vacations. This is the one time of the year when I get to enjoy living in a joint family.. well sort of, since we have four or five close relatives living close by. It’s fun hopping around from one house to the other – a lunch here, a dinner there and a sleepover somewhere else. The kids are of course thrilled being with cousins and aunts and being spoilt silly by the numerous grandparents with the authority to overrule big bad mama! Life’s good.

So here is my this week’s list of happy things…

 

The morning nature walk

Over the last few years some wonderful gardens and parks have come up in Lucknow. The sister and I packed off with the kids one morning and such fun it was. The kids went a bit crazy picking up jungle jalebis, exclaiming at the flowers, running on the walkways. The weather gods have been exceptionally kind and it was such a treat.

Playing old favourite board games

Snakes and ladders and Ludo.. such eternal favourites.

..and discovering some new ones

The kids discovered pictionary this year. We had a riot of a match drawing and guessing. A lot of rules were our own but then who cared?

Finding a teacher in a cousin

To my immense relief I found one of my older nephews teaching the tables to N. She proudly came to me asking me to quiz her and maxed the ‘dodging’. Happiness!

Washing the car

Anything to do with water is fun, right? So one morning spent washing the car was such thrill. N scrubbed and polished and then made everyone exclaim at how the car had never looked as wonderful.

Mama’s day out..

.. with my sister and the SIL. We caught a film and then some amazing lunch. Such a wonderful luxury to know the kids are safe and happy at home with the grandparents!

A choice of sleepovers

We’re spoilt for choice here with a bunch of relatives’ homes to choose from. H and N have different choices and each morning we spend some happy hours figuring out who will go where for the day. 

That’s it from me folks. See you tomorrow in a new week with a new author for the April Challenge.

Keep the smiles coming.

Linking to the Ultimate Blog Challenge.

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Happiness update week 14 – At Home!

This Sunday I intend to redeem myself and post my happiness post bang on time. I’ve plenty to be happy about. 
I’m home.
No matter where you go, no matter how many years go by, the city of your birth and childhood always remains special. It holds the dearest memories of a million seemingly inconsequential things that gave you immeasurable happiness. That’s what Lucknow is to me. Each year I return during the summer and try to recreat and reach out to all of those things. There’s a special warmth in the smiles, a special welcome in the greetings.

Since the twins came along I love bringing them to this city of my birth to share a bit of my childhood no matter how different it is from there’s. The food I loved, the friends I had, the places I enjoyed going to… All of it.
The happiness list is not easy to make, though, because it’s the scores of intangible things that make me happy here. Nonetheless I’m trying….
Even as we landed the kids were welcomed with that hug from dadu at the airport..

Mercifully my parents’ home and The Husband’s home are just a couple of minutes walk from each other and so the family converged the evening of our arrival. A few hours later we were off to our favourite roadsde pani-puri stall to kick off the home coming.

That kind of set the tone for the coming days. The two sets of parents here believe in the old traditional way of expressing love… Food! The FIL spoils the kids silly with laddoos ensuring there’s always a ready supply at home. Ostensibly they are for the kids but who’s checking to see how many the mum gets away with? Hah!
That’s not to say there’s nothing specially for me. Since the FIL discovered my favourites I don’t have to ask him or remind him either. Nowhere in the world do you get jalebis and khastas like in Lucknow. If you’ve been here earlier you’ll know my Lucknow holiday starts with these pictures, always. Here they are again.

The kids like the jalebis well enough but turn up their noses at the super spicy khasta filling.
The MIL meanwhile is not to be left behind. There are hugs aplenty which H has begun to resist, just a tiny bit. N, though revels in the attention and is often found perched on someone’s lap no matter that she’s a tall 8-year-old!

Despite a sever knee problem, she makes sure the dinner table is laden with all our old favourites. Palak-paneer tops the list. I can never get it perfect like her despite having her go over the recipe a hundred times. It’s the kids favourite too. That’s a bonus because the plates are polished clean even without my constant ‘Eat fast, keep chewing, talk less’.
What the twins like best, however, is goofing around with cousins. It’s a bit of a madhouse in this tiny place with kids getting underfoot no matter which way you turn. They spend the day showing off varied interesting talents like who can do the most summersaults or who can burp the loudest.

That’s it for now. Today evening we’re off for a movie with the kids – The Bhootnath sequel. They’ve watched the first one countless times so this promises to be a treat. And then it’s a PIZZA PARTY.

Okay, since I said that.. To appease my own conscience, I need to add that I’m off to the gym from Monday!! See you folks tomorrow at the A to Z Challenge with another one of my favourite authors. 
Meanwhile be happy.
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Happiness Update – Week 13

So my happiness post was supposed to come on Sunday, then moved to Tuesday and this time it’s Wednesday. Blame it on a super busy schedule, a bunch of packing and worst of all a Net connection that just disappeared for almost all of yesterday and half of today.

I take a quick break from the ‘amazing author’ deluge for my Happiness Update.

Here’s what made me happy this week.

Cool breeze and the company of friends

As the holidays kicked off and with no hurry to put the kids to bed I’ve spent the evenings down in the garden lounging out with friends till late. Pure bliss!

A trek

It truly tops my happiness list. This weekend we trekked up to Sinhagarh Fort with our buddies from the gym. There were parts when I thought I’d never make it. But I did and in the process I made fun friends, sampled never eaten before Maharashtrian food and spent half a day unapologetically making myself happy. I’m hoping I’ll do a post soon.

That’s the view from the top

Packing for home!

Packing is just as much fun as unpacking is a pain. I’m all set for a month of holiday. And the kids helped. I made out lists of what they should put into their bags and handed it out to them. It was fun to see them scurrying around ticking off stuff. Still have to do a final check.

Trying to make your little one smile

Sometimes, just sometimes, this is so much fun. Check out this sulky little girl. The Husband and I, managed to get that smile back after some hard labour!

A good movie

Caught Mirror Mirror on the tele. Such a fun take on Snow White! Julia Roberts is the amazing step mother and Snow White rescues the prince. My kind of movie.

A tub of ice cream

Chocolate chip, it was!

Tomorrow I travel to Lucknow for a month of happy holidays.. Parents, in-laws, siblings, nephews, uncles, aunts….. cannot wait. Hope to keep this space alive.
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100 Happy days – Week 12

It seems like the Happiness Day post has shifted from Sunday to Tuesday – I find I’m not able to get around to it at all before that. I’ve been so caught up with the April A to Z Challenge that I’ve barely got mindspace for anything else. Add to that the impending holidays and I’m in a rush to finish lots of things before I have the kids home all day. That is, however, not to say that happy things have not been happening. 

This week for me Happiness was in..

…Heart shaped dosas

at N’s request.

..the kids performing together at school 

The happiness is in the ‘together’ because it had never happened before. There were upmteen practice sessions at home, right before bedtime when my patience is at its lowest. But watching them trying to match steps (which never did happen since H is just not good at it) was so much fun.

…cooking up a dessert

We (the kids and I) made this. One of the easiest desserts that looks pretty enough to satisfy even N’s critical eye.

 A game of carom

Oh we had a ball… what a match it was!

… a relaxed lunch.

When I have someone over for lunch, no matter how informal, I often get stressed. Don’t ask me why. It’s the whole deal with trying to keep the house in order and getting everything without burning, spilling or spoiling onto the table. This week we had the SIL and her family over and surprisingly enough it was just a lot of fun. There’s nothing like a long relaxed afternoon in the company of people you enjoy hanging out with.

…. a happy gift.

Our order for craft supplies arrived from a spoonfullofideas.com (do check out the site if you like crafting) and there was much excitement. Since the package was addressed to the kids I had no chance at opening it even though I was more excited than them. Looking forward to some happy crafting.

..chatting books while on the treadmill

I’d mentioned a few weeks ago about my friend J who’d dragged me to the gym one fateful Saturday. Well our Saturday gym dates have become a regular feature and give a super start to my weekend. This Saturday we found ourselves discussing books while on the treadmill. Perfect!

So that’s it – that’s my happiness roundup. 

I do hope to make it right and get the next installment done this Sunday. Meanwhile all of you – be happy.

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Happiness roundup – Week 11

Week 11, here I am. I know I’m late – this post was supposed to go up on Sunday but I’ve just not found the time. If you’re interested enough to wonder why.. well I’m taking part in the April A to Z Challenge  that requires me to post everyday in April. With the holidays looming large I’m trying to finish off as many drafts as I possibly can. So while I might not seem up and about on my blog I’ve been having an extremely stimulating week in the company of some AMAZING AUTHORS, which is my theme for the Challenge. (There, that’s the first bit of publicity I’ve done for myself!)

And before I get back to the company of great minds here’s my list of happy things this week.

1. A heap of watermelon..

Yay! summer is here and watermelons can be breakfast, lunch, dinner or a midday snack. Love them.

2. Crafting crowns..

…with the kids. I love it when they sit together and make things although I have no idea what brought on this crown fixation.

3. A clean house..

… after the weekend. Those of you who do not have kids cannot even begin to imagine how messy the house gets over the weekend. On a cool Monday morning, when I get back from the gym to find the house spic and span it so makes my day. It’s almost like the maid has a magic wand. Such happiness!

4. Tea on skates..

H decided making tea was getting a bit too boring and that he needed to spice things up a bit. So this is how he delivered my evening chai. I had my heart in my mouth but well excitement is happiness too. Right? And he did manage to deliver without mishap.

5. A healthy colourful breakfast

Mung sprouts.. yum!

6. Flowers for me

..by me. Sometimes it’s nice to be nice to yourself.

7. Shopping for gifts

One of the best parts of going home for the summers is the shopping. Getting gifts for everyone at home is one of my favourite tasks. And so when the kids left for a birthday party this I spent two hours splurging on goodies. Super fun.
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