Category: 100 happy days

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100 Happy Days – Week 6

It’s Week 6 at the 100 Happy Days Challenge . For the first time since I started off, it’s been truly a challenging week, which is why this post is late in coming. No point doing a happy post when you’re not feeling happy. The happiness won’t shine through.. I’m just not a good enough writer!

But obviously this had to happen, right? Or else where’s the challenge? The important part is that I’m back. How can one be unhappy too long in this week of love.. huh?

Here’s my list..

Happiness this week is..

1. .. Getting a clean chit in the medical report 

Yay!! I maxed it! I got an all-clear other than a very marginally high Cholesterol.

2. … laughing over culinary disasters

In honour of the impending V-Day celebrations I tried to make heart-shaped jelly.. the instant one which needs just hot water to set. I thought I’d pour it out into the moulds and it would be perfect for V-Day. Knowing my history with all things culinary I went for a trial. It looked so perfect sitting in the moulds that we were all thrilled. But the moment I tried to demould it, it just ran.. everywhere. How I could mess up such a simple recipe is beyond me. But I did. The happy part was when I mixed it with chopped bananas H pronounced it ‘perfect’. Then both of them clinked glasses and ‘drank’ some of it too.

I used to think I should completely give up cooking but the amount of entertainment it provides me and my family makes me go on.

3. … a smile from a stranger

The other day I was on my way back from the gym and was trying to cross the road on my scooter. I must have held up this lady in her car for a good few minutes before I realised it. I threw her an apologetic look but she just smiled back an ‘it’s okay, take your time’ kind of smile. So made my day.. and gave me an idea for a post here!

4. .. The Husband taking an unexpected holiday

This one’s such a rarity when your husband’s a workaholic. With kids all over the place and the TV blaring, shared moments of peace are to be truly treasured.

5. .. a bucket of caramel popcorn

…while watching a film. I’m still not sure what I like better.. the film or that popcorn. The thing is – the film might be a risk but the caramel popcorn’s dependably delicious.

6. … a V-Day card 

N ‘made’ me this card. If you’re wondering why it’s a Mother’s Day card.. well so am I! I think that’s all she could find in her card-making kit. But then does it matter??

7. … FB messages on Valentine’s Day 

Reading through the varied messages of love being sent out to friends and family fills you with amazing warmth. Too ‘mush’ love! 😀

… and I’ve just realised I’ve done a red red post! So folks how was your week? Happy, busy, rushed, relaxed? Do share here.

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100 Happy Days – Week 5

Welcome to Week 5 of my 100 Happy Days Challenge.. that’s 35 days of positivity. I’m getting used to this.

Now for a WARNING:  The kids have been home almost all this week so this is going to be pretty much a child-centric post. They had their annual day and that culminated in a long weekend. There was a time I’d dread them being home five days at a stretch.. yeah I do love them but their boisterousness can get a bit much specially if I bar them from the TV and the Computer! However as they’re growing older I find them much more fun. They’re at that stage when they do things on their own yet expect me to be around to sort their squabbles (which there are PLENTY).

So

Happiness is..

1. … watching the little ones on stage

There’s something very heartwarming about watching your children perform even if they are tucked in that far far corner. I couldn’t help but seek mine out (doesn’t every parent?) and watched them through the show. N danced to Saxobeat and J Lo’s ‘On the dance floor..’ both my favourite numbers (how the girl loves to dance!) and H very diligently sang ‘It’s a beautiful day..’. Perfect song for a happiness post, isn’t it? Check it out..

2. … a hot n cheesy pizza.

The Husband was travelling so to cheer us all up we ordered pizza. I’d had two deliciously wonderful slices before I remembered my weightloss target. I have to admit part of me was glad I remembered late heh! heh! The pizza was wonderful and the forty minute walk after that with the cool breeze on my face was even better. Now that’s what I call a win-win situation.

3 … shopping for books

I quite dislike this trend of having toys and books together in a shop because we always end up in a tug of war – me pulling the children to the books and they running off to the toys! Anyway since challenges are not something a mum is scared of I took them to Landmark with a budget of Rs 500 each ‘only for books’.
Here’s what they picked… H is a Geronimo fan (pure peer pressure I suspect) and trust N to pick a book that’s not a book!

And we rounded it off with a pure junk lunch at Mc Donalds. And I’m proud to report.. I stuck to my coffee. Yay!

4 … finding a partner in weightloss

This gets better and better. The Husband has joined me in my weightloss plans. I so couldn’t believe him because he’s a pretty finicky foodie. After I made him promise he’d have any soup I made (No saying.. this is too sour, this ones too sweet, this ones spicy till I go Aargh!) and he agreed I’m beginning to believe we’ll do it. Yeah.. this is what we hope we’ll look like by the end of the month. ‘Hope’, I said. (Besides, the Net just doesn’t put up pictures of overweight couples exercising).

5. … Watching the kids create ‘Toyland’

while I happily caught up with my reading in peace. They were so busy designing and planning there were no fights and no disagreements. I love it when they do things together.

That’s a slide that leads to a pool in the park.
The rest is still under construction.. stay tuned!

6. .. crafting with the kids

I’ve been missing this for some time now. The holidays gave us a chance to sit together and make some book marks for N’s friends for Valentine’s Day.

7. This last one is a bit much. And if we hadn’t had so much fun I would have struck this one off my list out of pure embarrassment.. but then happiness can be cheesy right? So here goes..

dancing with the kids to ‘Tune maari entriyaan’. 

How I dig these boys!!!!
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100 Happy Days – Week 4

Hey everyone, we’re in week 4 of the 100 Happy Days Challenge.

What a crazily packed week this has been. However, it ended in a very laid back lazy Sunday so that kind of balanced it off. Life’s been good. Touchwood.

Here’s my happiness list for the week..

Happiness is..

1. ….waiting for the sun to rise even while the moon refuses to go home….

… then finally when it shows up the clouds come by to steal its thunder. But the sun takes it in its stride and instead of sulking turns them a lovely red gold (perhaps it has also taken on the Happiness Challenge.. hee hee!!) Now that’s the attitude I like.

2. …the needle moving

.. the right way. It’s time to put your hands together ladies and gentlemen — I’ve gone back to my pre-Goa weight, finally. What I put on in a week, I’ve taken a month to kick off. The bold and underlining is to remind me how tough the whole thing is, next time I go on a binge. Sigh!!
But no dwelling on the past.. now I start my New Year target. As if on cue, the gym has announced a weightloss contest for February. I’m not going to win it, of course but I’ll surely be in it!! I do so love the whole excitement… the discussions ..
What did you have for dinner?
Haw! you had ice cream?
I made this super salad yesterday
Darn I have to eat out tonight.. .
I managed 4 ltrs of water yesterday..

Oh the excitement is so contagious and so much fun. And as always, I love the happy group feeling. Few years back we had the same contest. I blogged about it here. Everyone lost weight, at least a kg or two.. everyone! How cool is that!!

3. ….a day with an old friend

A school friend dropped in from Delhi. Pune is so out of the regular circuit we get very few visitors.. Delhi, Bombay, Bangalore seem to be the cities all my friends stay in and visit. This was a great surprise. She has two absolutely lovely daughters, all grown up. Just like newborns look universally cute, grown up daughters too always look pretty and responsible and bond with their mums in a special way that’s a treat to watch. Such a change from my chhotus.
We chatted, relived old memories over masala chai and caught up on mutual friends. A great afternoon well spent.

6. … green tea by N

Another easy yet important step for my daughter – she learnt to make Green tea for me. What made me happier was the way she’d set the tray.. might I add.. on her own.. I had a choice of sweeteners, a spoon and a box of biscuits. So proud of her!

5. … a deliciously fresh and crisp fruit salad

Strawberries, apples and a just a few black grapes tossed together in a lemon and honey dressing with a dash of salt. You must try it.

6. … chain blogging.

Some twenty of us blogger friends got together to blog about our earliest memories. It started with Suzy Que who tagged another one, then another and another.. and so on. The posts went live at half hour intervals and what fun it was. Messages flew back and forth.. Did you tag me? Is your post up? My predecessor’s post isn’t live yet. Check check.. Change the tag…All done!
I think we guys were responsible for a lot of FB traffic on Saturday morning. Did I just mention I love doing things in a group? Here’s another example of how wonderful it is to come together and form a happiness chain!

7… and finally putting up your feet 

…and watching the world go by on a Sunday evening… bliss!!

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100 Happy Days – Week 3

Yeah we’re in Week – 3. If you’ve been around you’ll know that I’m trying to find one happy thing each day, hundred days in a row as part of my own version of the 100 Happy Days project. I am hoping to take it through the year after the 100 days are through. So far 2014’s proved to be a happy year. The New Yeary feel is still with me.

Here are Week 1 and Week 2.

Each day I end up with many many more than the prescribed ‘one’. However one happiness that’s been eluding me is my weightloss target. I’m hoping putting it down here will inspire me to try harder. Maybe next week it’ll be on my list.. I’m short by 500 gms. Think that’s easy?? Well last week I was short by a mere 300 gms. So there. This weight thing is tricky as hell. It can swing any way.

For now here’s my list for the week..

Happiness is..

The kids ‘cooking’ their own milk…

Which essentially means pouring, warming and adding sugar and Horlicks. No big deal there. But their pride and their happiness is crazily contagious. “We’re all grown up na ma?” said N.

Catching a favourite, much-watched film yet again….

and having the leisure to watch it. Hunger Games..on the telly.

Table for four on Sunday

… and wondering how I can overeat even when the menu’s a basic chhole-chawal!!

N cleaning her cupboard on her own…

This one actually deserved a full post considering it was completely on her own initiative. She emptied her cupboard and it was such a scary sight that I offered to help. Here’s what she had to say.. “Main mehnat se nahi darti, bas aage badhati hoon.”  :-|. (Note to self: Need to do something about this very filmi brand of Hindi the kids are picking up from the telly). But she did clean it up and happily posed for the picture.

Comparing rings with your daughter and losing the contest..

Need I say more??

A latte at CCD 

Love love that heart. 

.. and then a cake n coffee meet with mums and chintus

That’s my list. What’s made you smile this week? Do do share … happy people make me happier.

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100 Happy Days – Week 2

This 100 Happy Days project is growing on me. I blogged about it last week – it’s a pledge to find at least one happy thing each day for 100 days.

Over the last week I’ve found myself watching out for the happy stuff and rejoicing each time something happy happens. I’ve had to pick and choose the happiest of them all. Here goes..

Another surprise!

Last week I came back after a spot of very functional, very boring shopping. Not the kind I enjoy at all. My feet were hurting as was my head from an impending cold. The thought of making even my single chapati for lunch seemed terribly daunting. I was considering settling for bread. I unlocked the door and found my cleaning maid at work. Now she is not a cook but there she was at the stove making a chapatis! She’ a true blue Maharashtrian and days ago she was telling me how they made jowar rotis with peanut-garlic chutney and I had said “You must make it for me one day.” And this turned out to be that ‘one day’. Miraculous, isn’t it? So both of us had these huge jowar rotis with the hottest, spiciest chutney. Yumm…I don’t even remember when I’ve last had a hot chapati straight off the tawa.

The kids are my next happiness..

N has taken to putting the alarm and waking up half an hour before I wake her up each morning. It’s been a week and it’s just such a blessing not to have to start your day with a crying reluctant girl. H is no trouble in any case. I guess half my happiness stems from starting my day on such a happy note. So after the kids are up I sit with my cup of tea and they laze round, chat and cuddle before the day starts off. Such peace.

..and there’s more

Since I was in Goa for my birthday my friends decided to celebrate it now. So some two weeks after the real thing I had another one. One of them got me this wonderful soup bowl which goes so well with my current weight loss drive. And there’s a set of deos too.

Souper fun!

Since it’s a 100 day project I’m looking at 15 weeks of happiness. Keep reading. And if you’re blogging about this too, leave a comment and I’ll hop over to share your happiness.

Meanwhile.. keep smiling!

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