LIFE AS IT IS

When I look at my 8-month-old daughter now, I find it so hard to believe that she was once a tiny newborn. She weighed less than 6lbs, even though I gained 32lbs during my pregnancy. After her birth, she was unofficially named the "tiny baby" of Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Minneapolis! Every doctor and nurse who saw her called her a tiny baby. Now at 8 months, when I look at her, she looks so mature and strong (God bless her!) that I find it hard to believe that she was once a tiny newborn. When she sleeps next to me, I cannot help but put my nose against her soft skin. Sometimes, I would wake up in the middle of the night and give her a quick kiss on her forehead. I love her distinct "baby smell." I love to kiss her on the neck when she is in my lap. I love her so much! I know it is perfectly natural, but it often feels unnatural when I think about it. I love to run my fingers through her soft hair. Sometimes, I scratch the back of her head and she closes her...

So, my anklet arrived last Saturday. And it looks just as pretty as it looked online. Unlike most websites, the photos posted on Etsy are not photoshopped. What a wonderful thing! I am so happy with the anklet, the seller and the website as a whole. Yesterday, I ordered a handmade ball made of fabric for my 8-month-old daughter. With shipping, it cost me $6. I would say the price was very reasonable. The seller had a number of handmade balls to choose from on her virtual shop. I think Wareesha will love to play with it. Just a few hours after I placed my order, I received an email saying that the item had been shipped. That was quick! A couple of weeks ago, I bought a Papyrus card for a good friend of mine. Then yesterday, I suddenly decided to find out if there were handmade cards on sale on Etsy. Guess what, hundreds of handmade cards are available on Etsy. After a half-hour browsing, I ordered one for my friend. The seller made only piece of that particular card so I know that n...

The title may sound cliched. But the birth of my daughter has proved for the "nth" time that friends are indeed forever. (How? Well, it will take another write-up to explain why I think so, so I will not get into that discussion today.) But not all friends are forever, some friends are forever. Friendship is such a complicated relationship. I mean it always baffles me.  I talk a lot so I get along with people pretty well, provided that they do not do something to upset me. But other than that, I get along with people well from the first day I meet them. But getting along well does not necessarily make the person you are getting along well with your "friend." I have found it tougher and tougher with time to make new friends. The people I have befriended during my school years are still my closest friends. In college, I made some close friends too. But after college? Oh no! I have been living in Minnesota, USA, for the past 5 years. In the last 5 years I have made...

Yesterday, I was looking for an anklet to buy online. I have always loved anklets but the sad truth is I rarely find anklets in stores. Some stores do carry anklets but they just happen to be not my kind. So yesterday, I went to Amazon, Macy's and several other shopping sites to see if I could find an anklet that I could buy. After spending almost an hour, I came to my personal conclusion: women do not like wearing anklets! How come there are so limited choices available for anklet lovers?? Then accidentally, I bumped into a website  called www.etsy.com! Although Etsy has been around for a pretty long time I never heard of them  before. While browsing the site, I learned that the site was featured in major TV networks, newspapers and magazines. Etsy is a virtual marketplace for home-based business owners. It is literally a heaven for people, who love handmade goods. While browsing the jewelry on Etsy, I came across a few anklets that I absolutely loved. I ordered one...

I have seen babies as young as one month old spending time before the television. They watch everything — from the English Premier League, SpongeBob SquarePants to Hindi daily soaps! But have we ever wondered what television viewing from a very young age may do to our children? Yes, television can occupy your children for hours. Apparently, they love TV programs. But the truth is the undeveloped brain of a baby cannot process more than one function at a time. As a result, she cannot shift her attention from the television screen, she keeps staring at it regardless of whether she understands a word or not. Moreover, a baby cannot and does not understand TV programs. American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends no television time for babies under the age of two. Research has shown that a child’s brain grows rapidly during the first two years of his life. What exposure to television and other entertainment media does is prevent the normal development of this brain. A child learn...

The weather is finally getting better. I like living in Minnesota. Well, to be specific, in Minneapolis. Had it not been for its long, frigid winter, I would have considered settling down in this midwestern state. But to me, sunny days are important. I feel down when the sun hides behind white and grey clouds. I wish to live in a place, where I can go out for a walk with my daughter, where I can wear open-toed sandals for most part of the year and where I will not have to put on massive coats and jackets for 4/5 months in a row. I have seen the longest winter of my life this year. Well, the winter started last year but continued into April of this year. It even snowed in May! In May? Is nature kidding with us? I am probably one of those very few living people to have witnessed snow showers in May. I was almost thinking that the cold weather would last forever until it suddenly began to warm up from last week. Well, the temperature will dip tomorrow though but at least we hav...

I beg to differ with those who think that fatness comes with the pregnancy package. People ask me how I managed to go back to my pre-pregnancy body weight in just 6 months. I tell them that it is not as difficult as it might seem. All one needs to do is eat healthy and exercise. I feel so happy every time I wear an old pair of pants - there was a time when I thought that I would never fit into them again! From the day I learned I was expecting I tried to eat as healthy as I could. My daily meals included milk, eggs, wheat bread, rice, freshwater fish, chicken and lots of fruits and vegetables. I avoided fast food and fizzy drinks. I ate more than I used to because I needed to gain weight for my baby but I did not overeat. A lot of women tend to think that one needs to eat for two people when pregnant. Such a misleading idea! I am not a health professional but I can tell you from my personal experience that it is so not true. All a pregnant woman needs to consume is an additional 20...

For someone like me, who loves to walk, the long, snowy winters of Minnesota bring nothing less than frustration with the weather. In the first few years here I could only walk outdoors during the summer and early fall — the rest of the year I moved about in our car and the public bus. But it changed after we moved to Minneapolis, which is believed to boast the world’s most extensive skyway system. Now I can walk about downtown Minneapolis in spring, summer, fall and even frigid winter. Its climate-controlled skyways stretch more than 8 miles and one can find almost everything there. By everything I mean that without having to go in the open air, one can go to her bank, health clinic, dentist’s office, pharmacy, salon, spa, department stores, post office and last but not least, her favorite coffee shops and restaurants. If one stands in the city’s downtown area and looks up, one will be amazed by the huge metal-glass footbridges that have connected the city’s various high-rise bu...