Experiments.

Past few weeks on ..my friend (M) and myself have been exploring on the differnt hairl colors na hair dos'.

@ weeks ago ..I went to this beautician (B) (this is the place i go to get my eyebrows done.) and told her "along with threading off the extras on my face could you please do soemthing to my hair?" She gave me the look - "err do you want it short?" I said "no, keep the length as much as you can and STYLE" it."
To give oyu an insight ;-)..I basically have curly hair..which undergoes lots of torture and end result it is straight always :D The "orginal" length of my hair after straightening (ofcourse) is quiet long ...almost close to my waist!

B says " Ok shall I give you layers ..long ones?" I am like "Ok...but can you actually give short layers in the front and then do a "U" at the back?"
B - "errr..OK"
There goes chop , chop, chop...and whoosh...done.
I look @ myself to see short layers in the front - which is ok.. but the length of my hair is only till the shoulders!

I refuse to look down on the floor to see all the snippets of my hair. I pay and I leave.

My freind M comes home in the evening and she say -" Wow...your hair looks nice...it is a good style" That got me grinning. Mand M(the second M here is me:D) decide to get out hair colored. So off we went to CVS..to pick up hair colors.
I am still nto bold enough to make drastic changes...so I am conservative and I pick Garniers - Medium Dark Red for myself and M picked Light reddish brown.
We get back home to see M's hubby(R) @ home. We silently run off upstairs to start the lab experiments!
I first apply all the color to M and then we take turns.
According to the carton we were suppose to keep it for not more that 25 minutes.
We each put shower caps on and go downstairs. A1 and A2 jsut ket starting at us and then A2 asks me - "mama lala pochee in the bathroom not downstairs in the kitchen" (lala pochee = shower)
My mom had made yummy dinner and we sat off to eat...we ignored the clock!
Almost an hr pass by and then we both squeal and run upstairs to wash off the color. All the while M kept saying - "Ok are us sure the hair aint fall off"

We washed it , dried it...and came downstairs -
R looked at me and said -"Madsies, did you color your hair with invisible red?"!
M and M go --- Grrrrrrrrrr....

That was episode -1..episode -2 is about highlights @ Hair cuttery ......

2007

Wishing you all a very happy and wonderful 2007!

Holidays was great! Had my sis and family here. My mom is here too (from India). It is great to have family around.
Lil cosins played a lot. it was so much fun..... and today I had to drag my feet into work :( This sucks.
Mom is @ home enjoying the "gemini - door-darshan". Kids are back at daycares and hubby is scrambling the last few days at work before he leaves for India (yea offcial trip !)

On Jan 1st all of us were in front of gemini channel and the program was - "very gooddu" Apparently they pick a hero or heroine and ask her questions related to "very gooddu" answers.
The anchor is shown to be in a mega size "EGG". FYI - Gooddu translates to egg in telugu! Her head is the only one sticking out and she keeps moving her head to the side, back and forth - jsut like how a hen/rooster would do! With her eyes all rolling and it was so hillarious as she would keep saying - goodu goodu!!!!
But then comeon how would this girl show her expressions when her entire body is stuck inside an EGG!

Oh what creativity - "very gooddu..very gooddu"

Special Days.

Birthdays have always been very special for me. They mean a lot. Not just mine...
I have a "SUPER" memory (Yea keep my middle name - MODESTY aside for a while!)and I tend to remember anybody's B'days once told. (This includes colleagues, colleagues kids...my cleaning lady ...ok this is over board!) you get whst I am trying to say!

During my High School days, my good friend D, rubbed it into me that B'days are special days of people who mean to you. The least you can do is remember it and wish them.
From then on I started paying attention to this and I do feel bad when some friends don't remember to wish me on my B'day.
It feels so good to recieve a call or an e-mail from a friend /family....It brightens my day....

I guess I made myself pretty clear that my In-laws NOW think that "they better wish me or else I will be Mad"
I think the have the concept wrong here....it is not that they need to wish ME - but come on make an attempt to book mark your calendar for special days of people with whom you might just like, enjoy thier company, care, love ...admire...look up to....or just because they are family - the least you can do is acknowledge them especially on those days...

We are busy with our lives..but you can use say Y! calendar to help you..you never know you might have made someones day by dropping in a "Happy B'day".

How many of you feel there is a specail day in each ones life?

East in West.

A long due vacation was planned and executed.R me and the kids sat on a flight on 18th november afternoon and started our trip towards the west coast. Yes we were going to California (!)
The whole exercise made me relive my India trip last year same time. We have family and tons of friends there and we had been plannign a vacation for a long time now.
So...we landed at the Oakland Airport (yea saw the Raiders coliseum)and sat through an almost hour and half drive to sacramento (at around from 11.00pm). This is where family lives.
This is my 3 rd trip to CA. When I first landed on this side of the globe, I was here. Everytime I made my trip here, feels as though I was going home.
So we reach home, talk about how each one of us have put on weight, how the kids have grown up, the house looks beautiful...blah blah blah...and then call it a day.
Then R decided to meet his friends who are now in Cupertino. Few calls made, plans decided on and my poor Bro-in-law (R's bro) drove us to San Fransico.
Now are the patel points for pictures. We took the cruise to Alcatrez. Did the Audio Tour, Wow'ed at how Frank Morris and the other 2 guys escaped and top it all FBI is still looking for them. FYI - Alcatrez closed on March 21 1961. These guys escaped around 1958 (!) Again praised Clint East woods's classic - "Escape from Alcatrez". By now we are hungry.
So back on the cruise, get to the main land and then we drive through the Fisherman's wharf. I would translate that to RangaNatha Street in good old chennai, with all the vegie vendors replaced by Mexican/Chineese/whatever shops.
A1 says shes hungry. So we stop at this Pizza/Pasta - joint.
We walk in and we are kindly shown the table and handed the menu. I scroll down to the pasta section and I see Spegatti with marinara sause lunch portion priced at $18.50. I was ....what the $%&*????
We settle for a pizza and chow it down as fast as we could nad headed to the next patel vista point - Golden Gate. Couple of pics there and we started driving towards Cupertino.
We reach this friends place. I have to mention this here - This friend, lets call him C - C and family moved from Boston to CA 2 months ago.
Again the usual - hi /hello/blah blah ....some wine for the heck and then C took us to this restaurant - SARAVANA BHAVAN.
Mind you "Saravana Bhavan" is written in tamil outside and people were all gathered there.
C walks in puts his name down and we all wait outside.
Within a second on the "loud speaker system" we hear - "Sridhar party of 4". R , me and C's wife - A - were whats this?
The next name "Venkat party of 2 +1" Another friend says - "yenna 2+1 = 3 illaya". So A ane me scream +1 is the kid!!!!!
Anyways C was called and we settled - and had awesome food.
The next A took me on a drive on that famous road (whats that - Camino ..something...). I sit and i look aorund .....and I look both the ways - Strip malls - with shops like - Sujana Jewellers, Manisha Jewellers, Kumud Groceries, Kumud Electronics.....etc..etc...oh yea some chat bandars...
Man u can get vada pav for a buck!

Weather - It was awesome - it was around 65 - 70. All the kids were in hooded jackets , where as my kids were in shorts and T-shirts :)

Finally jsut before we said bye R asked C his opinion about moving to the west........

C hardly put any thoughts in it and said - "When I was in Boston I missed India , now I miss America"

Ah well all in all I had a great trip .....and I am damn sure that I will make a visit again as a vacation but nah - never would I want to settle there!

Vetti.

Idha idha thaan vetti time pass en solradu. Actually full kozhpu. I have these bunch of reports to write up. But I am not and I am sitting here and surfing idle brain.

Drooled looking at Mahesh Babu...wondered why Charmee acts like that, rather poses very wierd, read review of Samanyudu, droooled again at Prabhas in Yogi.....and then I tripped into the picture gallery of "Pogaru" (that means kozhpu, arrogant...etc etc on those lines!)


This guy is - Vishal. I dont think I have see any movie of his..ok wait ... maybe I did but I dont know. Anyways....he is paired with Reema Sen, Kiran Rathod and this guy .....oops(!) sorry girl called Sriya Reddy.

Reema Sen is cute - I liked the pair of earrings she was wearing...... here...

Kiran rathod - Never heard of her. Why is she getting kicked by Vishal????

Shocks of all is this - SRIYA REDDY..... Yenna orru kodumayi appa!

Honestly she hardly looks like a girl .....

and apparently she is a famous DJ. But previous janma could be a Vampire....and why I say this.....> for your Eyes Only!

Poor Vishal.....he must be thinking in his head - "They better pay me double the money for this torture...My life is in her hands!!!!!"

After all this trauma for your eyes and brain ..........

Don't they look cute :)

Tagged

Rads tagged me.

Shilpa havent forgotten your tag. Thats coming soon too!

But I have been getting too many calls from Rads asking me if I am alive. I guess before she decides to call a mourning date and land on my door step dressed in expensive Ann Taylor black.

Ok Rads why did I chose Ann Taylor - no idea...(Hint! Hint! ... I have the shopping bag in front of me!)

So here you go ......

Smells I love:

1. Lavender oil
2. Have you tried the Febreez fabric care?
3. Fresh paint

3 Smells I hate:

1. Something that just got burnt (yes you got it right - burnt food - that happens so often at my place)
2. stagnant water.
3. Damp laundry sitting in the basket for too long (lazy me)

3 Jobs that I have had in my life:

1. Wife
2. Mom
3. Daughter - in -law

3 Movies that I could watch over and over:

err....too many of them. Ok let me think! Oh yea BTW I like wathcing horror movies and then get scared thinking about it for few days later! On those lines...
1. Omen
And now to some normal ones..
2. Punagai manan
3. Silsila

3 Fond memories:

1. My hostel days (in a way!)
2. The travel in the train from CDM to Chennai with no reservation
3. My paris trip (with R )

3 Jobs I would love to have:

1. School Teacher - I love spending time with kids.
2. Astronaut
3.Fashion designer ( this is really a wish list rt?!)


3 Things I like to do:

1. Write
2. Dance
3. I like playing my veena.

3 Of my favorite foods:

1. Pav Bhaji
2. My mom makes this potato fry.
3. Maamidikaya pappu (mango daal!)

3 Places I would like to be right now:

1. India - chennai Home. (childhood with sis - ofcourse I bugged her quiet a bit and I enjoyed that so very much!)
2. Right after college working at EDS.
3. With R and girls. (with R's attention on us and free of stuff on head...this can be in my very own cozy home right now)

3 Things that make me cry:

1. When I am hurt by my friends. I give my complete self in friendship and when I get messages that I really dont matter to them)
2. When a friend tells me that "I know you ,you dont mean that." - The trust.
3. When R gets back after all his travel and tell me - "I missed you."

My "A" girls

A2 started getting into a formal daycare yesterday. She is 22 months young and I cant see her growing to be all independent.
On Monday I dropped her off and I was talking to the teacher in charge and A2 was in her lap. She had this look on her face that she would burst out in tears at any time. My heart was in pain.
Then teacher to A2 ..."say bye bye to mommy". A2 turns around and waves at me still the same look and blows me a kiss.
I swear she had this look on her face that "I understand mom you need to go , I dont like this but I will do so..." I'd rather have her be a baby and cry. After all come on she's hardly 2.

This morning, I go to school to drop off A1 and A2.
They both get off the van and both of them have their backpacks on (A1 - princess and A2 - Mickey mouse!)
A2 holds on to A1's hand. BTW A1 turned 3.
A1 to A2 - " You see all moms dropoff and Dad's pick up. Its not bad here. You like Dad right, so he will come soon and pick us up and we can go home to mom too."
A2 - Yesh...!
A1- This is your playground (points to it) and I am just in the next one big kids playground. It fun to play on the swings.
A2 - yesh....
A1- Miss Natalie is very nice.

So we go to A1's class, drop her off there, hugs and kisses ...and A2 trots towards her class.
I am thinking maybe she will cry today. A2 walked all by herself into the classroom to the library and picked up a book and started reading, her mickey mouse still on her shoulders.
I was almost in tears. I gave the stuff to the teacher and I walked to A2 , kissed her and said bye bye and walked out sniffing into a tissue.