Anyways, being away from blogging has made me very very dissatisfied in one part of my heart, so I’ve decided to bounce back. As a ‘coming back’ gift to all of you from my side, I’ll be sharing details of a recent scrapbook project I am working on in my spare time (read minutes…).

Warning: this is the first time I am undertaking a scrapbooking project, so not sure my process is right. I am just going with what-works-for-me.

Before making full fledged pages and layouts, I’ve decided to put together various embellishments. Here’s first set of princess attire:

All these are made from paper.

	The dress: I have used thick pink color paper like the one used in greeting cards. (Do you call it cardstock?) It’s a simple evening gown cutout embellished with stones and white paper roses. I used the simple and fun tutorial by Dozi Design for making the roses. Grey and pink design is added later on the image using, what else? Photoshop!
For our princess’s make up we have (oh my I can feel the same excitement as I did when me and my friends used to dress up our dolls): a. Mirror: Again I cut the same think pink sheet (actually this is a recycled sheet from some brochure) to the shape of a compact mirror + face powder thingie. On the inside I’ve stuck a round foil paper to act as a mirror and a round off white colored paper to act as the face powder. Tiny glittering start on top are a work of PS. Lipstick and comb: Pink paper and handles wrapped in foil paper. Shoes (my fav.): Pink and dark pink colored paper cutout adorned with stone and a thick thread bow. The grey swirls are again PS.
	Accessories: I drew a tiny tiara and glued the thick thread tracing the line. Embellished in between the loops with pink and white stones. The bracelet is a simple ring adorned with stones. Earrings and pendant are again tiny metal rings from my jewelry chain maille collection on which I’ve hot glued matching pink and white stones.

I then took my hybrid scrapbooking project (is there even such a thing?) to another level. Combining these images with my older princess’s snaps, I made the following layout:

What do you think?

Would you to create something like this with your baby’s pictures? Is there some way I can help? Do let me know

As always, thanks for dropping by @ my e-place.

Cheers,
~Varada

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26th evening, me and my precious little one were at the Golden Temple guest house seeking a room for 2 nights. The gentleman out there gave us an address of the Angad Dev Sarai and off we went in search of it. Imagine the look on our faces when the last room had just been taken! :( Turned out, Babaji had better plans for us.

Across the street I asked one shopkeeper about some rooms where we two could put up and he gladly told us he himself had a couple rooms available and ready to rent. Warned by several folks that I should not trust strangers straight away, I managed to raise as many suspicions as I could. (If you know me you can imagine this was tough!) But then the kind old uncle passed my interrogations with flying colors. We made the payment, showed my ID proof and put up our stuff in the sparingly furnished (the best part? No TV!)but neat and clean room.

We freshened up a little and on Dipu bhaiya’s (our new shopkeeper friend’s) suggestion, went to the Jalianwala Bagh. That place, though made beautiful with fountains, lights & sculptures today, has a bloody history. I somehow managed to convey to my tiny-miny companion the importance of that place, the sacrifice of the innocent people, of all the unsung heroes who lost their lives to the brutality of Gen. Dyer. We prayed for all those who made it possible for us to roam the same place freely without fear of being shot down at the Amar Jyoti.

By the end of our stroll we both were nicely tired. When we went to our room (our “Amritsar-wala-ghar”, as per Diya), Dipu Bhaiya had another surprise for us. He told us that his mom had asked us to dine with them. It was dark already and she did not want me getting lost in the city looking for food. It was an offer I could not (and did not) refuse. When we went upstairs to their place, we met Honey-Money, Dipu Bhaiya’s 24yr old sisters – identical twins! Uncle, aunty, Dipu bhaiya, Honey-Money, all of them were so gracious, so good-natured that we soon became friendly and started exchanging gossips about tele serials. (Did you know that a real Maharaja was coming as a guest on Akshay Kumar’s cooking show? I did not.. until then!)

Saturday morning, aunty took us to Golden temple. Being weekend, several schools were  visiting this place and it was very crowded. But aunty requested the Darbaan-ji at the gates and we were allowed to enter from the wrong side (from where everyone exited ). That way we were able to get darshan and prasada without any hassle. Aunty and Money also accompanied me & Diya on our way to the Wagah border and Mata Mandir. We met some incredible people in our shared cab ride. One of the ladies we met in this cab, told us this saying,

Every person we met was a good Samaritan, going that extra mile for helping strangers like us. I was humbled by the whole experience. It was a trip of feeling great divine presence around you. All the while I was there, I felt deep inside me that my Kanhaji was looking after me, taking care of my every little need, making sure I and my baby was comfortable.

It is true that the great Golden Temple attracted the peace-seeker in me to Amritsar, but it was the golden heart of people out there who actually made me so attached to this place! Me votes 10/10!

Have you been to this place?

What were your experiences?

What other place made you feel like you were special?

p.s. Check out this desktop wallpaper I made with one of the snaps that I clicked of Golden Temple. Use it if you like….

Enjoy!

~Varada

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Lately I am feeling so lost. I am back on my job after 6 months of being stay-at-home mom. With 2 princesses in my life, *life* is having more and more demands. Days seem to pass by without me getting a minute to feel my own breathing.

I am liking the pace of it, but keep wishing there were more hours to my days. My jewelry making tools and my books are missing me. My colorful papers and paper-shapers are lying abandoned in my closet. Sigh.

May be I am just being lazy and this winter mood is getting the better of me. I need help and a dose of motivation to spring back into serious action.

So, those of you who have stayed with me so far, do you also feel this way sometimes? Feel like you want to do so much more? How do you manage juggling everyday have-to-do’s with want-to-do’s?

Appreciate your thoughts and your help…

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Do read and let me know your views…

Thanks,
~Varada

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You walk down the same road to work every day. There are some school-going kids that meet you on the way and they pass an occasional, timid smile. Mere acquaintances. That’s what you are. Then one day you have a few candies on you and on a whim you offer it to the kids. 
The smile that you get in return!!
Lights up your whole day!!!
And that is the beginning of your smile-friend-ship!!!

Magic!

I know because I’ve done that myself. Yes, that was a long time ago and that was in another place (Goa), but I can still feel that moment of joy.

Here’s another chance for all of us to experience this joy, to participate in this magic all across the nation.

We are celebrating “Joy of Giving week” from Sep 26 to Oct 2, this year. This is an event organized by NGO Goonj, which is based out of Sarita Vihar, New Delhi.

Goonj…. a voice,an effort                         Contact information – J- 93 Sarita Vihar, New Delhi – 110076. Tel. – 2697 2351, 4140-1216 E- Mail :- anshugoonj24@gmail.com Website or Map: http://www.goonj.org

The idea here is to recycle or reuse anything lying around in our homes or offices or schools to help out people who do not have enough. What a noble thing to do!

They are mainly focusing on the following items which people can donate, deliver to various Goonj offices and collection centers, which they will then spread out to people across India.

Here are the items they recommend:

Large quantities of surplus/waste cotton & hosiery cloth for making sanitary napkins & undergarments for initiative- ‘Not Just a piece of cloth’

Old newspapers & magazines- to be used in packing of sanitary napkins & also for raising resources to make GOONJ.. self sufficient.

CLOTHES- Old / New but in wearable condition – Woolens/ Sarees / Salwar Suits/ Kurta-Pajamas /Trousers /Shirts / children clothes / Bed sheets / Blankets

FOOTWEAR – Of all size, in pairs (if possible, left and right tied together)

UTENSILS – Old/ New- Pans, Plates, Bowls, Glasses, Tawa, Spoons & Ladles, Cooker, Cups, Tongs etc

STATIONERY – Old/new school bags, lunch boxes, water bottles, Pen, pencil, sharpener, eraser, scale etc.

PAPER – Newspapers, magazines, one side used paper.

DRY RATION – Pulses, Spices, sugar, tealeaf, rice etc.

CASH DONATIONS – For Communication, Collection camps, storage, sorting, packing, travel, Transportation and local distribution expenses. Cash donations can be made at the collection centers or you can send an account payee Cheque / Draft in the name of GOONJ to J-93, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi- 76 (All donations are tax exempted u/s- 80 G of IT act.)

TIME DONATIONS- VOLUNTEERS, who can spare a few hours to be with Goonj for door to door campaigns, and who can help in sorting, packing etc.

SPACE DONATIONS – GOONJ.. needs many more collection centers to ensure easy accessibility for everyone who wishes to make a donation. So if you can spare a corner in your house/office please inform them. Also check with your friends/relatives if they would allow the use of a small place in their premises as collection center.

Here is how you can participate as an individual or as an institution:

Come, let us join hands to give. Let us give to receive “The Joy Of Giving”!

Add a task to your weekend TODO list to collect and sort out stuff that you would like to give. Find your nearest location of Goonj collection center and go drop your stuff.

And don’t forget to come back here and let us know your achievements on this task!

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Today’s a special day for me. It’s my Kanhaji’s birthday. Kanhaji is like my very own friend. Someone who is more than a mythical character, more than a deity, more than most people I’ve ever known.

Here are some of the pictures I collected from Internet. I sincerely wish I could back link to all the sources. So please pardon me, if you see one of your images here with my watermark.

We recently took a trip to Mathura. Wanted Akshara and Diya to experience the magic of that place. Here are some of the pictures of Kanhaji from that trip.

Here are a few Krishna idol I am love with

And here are some pictures of kids at my home dressed as Krishna

My nephew, Shubh

and my older one Diya dressed as Radha and Kanha

My desk at office and my older one when she was little with one of my Kanhaji idols

Oh, I know I can go on and on and on about Kanhaji, so let me stop rambling… Here’s wishing Happy Birthday to Kanhaji and Happy Janmashtami to all of you…. May the peace and joy of Lord Krishna be with all of you…!!!

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I am so very grateful to each one of you who is reading this post right now. I got so many mails, so many kind words, encouragement for starting my new service that I thanked Kanhaji for making me meet you in this life! I am blessed to have a friend like you!!

I’ve decided to name my service as “Times-To_Treasure”. T2T for short. Hope you’ll like my newest baby.

Of all the mails that came, there were some common queries which I thought would be prudent to address in a blog post like this.

The biggest one was: “Why are you doing this? What do you gain by giving your service free?”

Here’s why: I am the most kind, considerate and helpful friend you ever have come across. I have endless supply of money with which I do not know what to do. And since I do not have to work for money, I thought of working for humanity.

Crap. I know that does not make sense at all. (Although I am hoping the first sentence comes close to what you think about me.. Selfish, but that’s me )

This service has a strong business model. It is free. For you. But I’ve taken an affiliate membership with ZoomIn, which means every time you click on my link to buy something from them, they pay me commission. Now I thought that if I were to ask you to go through the trouble of clicking on my link, you should get something worth in return. And one thing which I have to offer is ‘my creativity’.

That’s the whole deal really.

The second question people had was, “how will this work”? That is work in progress still and I was hoping to resolve it by now, but looks like it is glitch-ier than I thought.

I have been talking to ZoomIn support guys to help me out on this, but currently they have no way that I can create something over your photos and share the creation with you so you can pay. So I thought of using PayPal to invoice you for the money you owe to ZoonIn and when I receive payment, I make payment to ZoomIn and get the item delivered to your shipping address. Should worked, right? Of course it should!

So, I conceived this idea of starting a service of my own. I planned and planned and worked and worked my brain. Connected with others, networked with friends. Even got support people @ ZoomIn involved.

Things looked good.

And then, ‘ouch’!!!

I was so very confident that PayPal would be my thing to create invoices etc., but turns out they do not support Indian Rupee as a currency. No plans to do so anytime soon too. Checked out several others but again either they support only limited clients or limited invoices or are very very expensive!!

Aargh.

So may be I’ll have to find a ‘work around’. My software buddies will raise eyebrows, I know. I know I cannot possibly meet the friendship day deadline. But I think I can make it in time for Raksha Bandhan.

Pray for me as you always do. Kanhaji will find a way!

Amen.

P.s. Most people who deal in Indian currency seem to prefer bank transfers for receiving payments. Do you think I should consider that route? Would you be willing to use it? Do let me know.

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I modified this exercise just a little bit here and there to make it more like the ‘W’ in SWOT analysis.

So here’s a list of my top 10 vices that irk (some sinless) women…

1. I prefer the company of my lappy, my digicam and books to the TV.

2. When there are plumbers or carpenters or painters in our house, I am the one asking them to do things differently. Often experimenting with their tools.

3. I don’t like to wait for some male member to come over and change the light bulb. Or fix the plug. Or carry my lappy around for me.

4. I do create jewelry (and yes, it is quite beautiful) but don’t like wearing jewelry myself. I also feel uncomfortable carrying any artificial colors on my skin and nails. I like me just the way I am.

5. I like to shop but only for others. I am extremely lazy when I’ve to go get a new dress or shoes or anything for myself. The same is with beauty treatments or haircuts. Buying books is a different ball game, though.

6. I love big bikes and tall cars even SUVs. During my first US visit I was in awe of the 12 wheeler trucks and seriously envied the truckers.

7. My favorite TV channel (once in a few months when I do watch it), is Disney and not Zee TV or Star Plus. Also I can’t sit straight for 3 hours and watch a typical romance unfold in front of me with predictable twists and turns. I would rather create another pair of earrings.

8. Love to watch car racing or horse racing or even wrestling. (Yeah, John Cena!)

9. I can (barely) manage house work. But please, NO ironing. And no keeping a tab about how and when I do the cleaning and cooking.

10. I hate sitting and yapping about what’s happening in whose life. If it ain’t concerned to me, I don’t care how they do it. At the same time, if it is about me, I get involved without waiting to be asked.

11. I speak my thoughts, often thinking out loud, not really getting worried about who will think what.

12. I’ll try to do everything myself until the last moment. Only give up when I know I’ve exhausted my ways of dealing with things. (Yeah, I am working on this one! High time!!)

There. My sins. Laid bare for the whole world to see.

I am trying to change the last one, since it is causing nuisance to my own peace of mind.

Other than that, I think I am perfect! I love being me.

So, friends who have blogs, go list out similar vices for yourself and may be a couple action items. If you want to do it in the original style, head over to IHM’s blog and ask her to tag you.

Or, you could always list them out as a comment to this post! Well, why not?

Have fun!!!

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I owe each one of you a HUGE and heartfelt "thank you". I mean it.

8th July was my birthday. Completion of my 32nd summer on this blue heaven. (Yeah I know, I don’t look like 32.

And yeah again, I do count “summers” not "Sawan" as they do in Hindi. You can take a beach bum out of Goa but you cannot take the summers out of her…)

My day started with a very sweet birthday wish from my loving husband at  midnight on the day before.

Morning came with the announcement from Princess Diya – "Aaj mumma ka birthday hai, isiliye mein school nahi jaunga!".

This followed by the chorus "Happy Birthday, Chachiji" by my nieces and nephew.

The whole day my cell phone kept ringing. (and I smiled each time I picked it.).

My Gmail overflowed with notifications from facebook when people all over the world left messages. (and I smiled each time I checked the unread mails.).

Went to the temple and was greeted by a whole new picture of My Kanhaji on the wall. It was as if he dressed specially for my birthday. I was mesmerized. ("Beauty lies in the eyes of beholder…", heard somewhere?)

Then we went to get treat items for dinner party at home. When we came  back, another surprise awaited us. The kids had arranged a mouth watering pineapple cake, candles that said "32" and even balloons….

We had a blast. 

I know this was one of the most memorable birthdays I ever had. Thanks for each one of you for making it so special for me…

I know I’ve been going through rough times these last few months. It was as if my Kanhaji was flooding my day with happiness, making each of you as an instrument of His wish in communicating to me that happy days are just starting. I was overwhelmed.

I also took a moment to be introspective. Here’s what came out… (Most of this is personal, but I am counting each of you as my best friend and sharing it as-is with you. I do not mean to hurt anyone’s feelings or pass comments etc. These are just my views. At this time and place. Nothing more.)

• It is easier to change yourself than to change others.
• You only have so much time to appreciate this life. You only have so much time to value things like friendships, love. To reach out to people. To give.
• It’s pointless wasting precious time chasing things you don’t think are worthy. I don’t think giving up material pleasures entirely is the way to live. But know what you need absolutely and what you can do without.
• Envy, greed even guilt and fear are emotions not worth keeping with you.
• A super-mom lives only in myths and fairy tales. And yes in television daily soaps. So do super-employees, super-wives, super-dads, super-<anyone>. Real life is all about balance. Each of us plays multiple roles in a day. Each of us are better at something, good at something else and not-so-good at some other stuff. It’s worthless trying to be super-good at everything.
• Each person you meet is intended to bring meaning to your life. Each smile you exchange is special. Don’t waste a single opportunity to smile.
• A successful Marathi actress once mentioned in a TV show – “Apal bhav-vishva sambhalun milavlel yash mhanaje khar yash.” Meaning, “when you achieve something while taking care of your emotional universe, that is real achievement.”
• It is not that important what people think about you. What matters is what you think when you stand in front of yourself. Your inside is far more important than the whole outside world. This is the most important lesson that life has taught me.

Hmm.. The list does not end really here. But I do not want to be too 32-ish, right on day 5 of my 32. So, I’ll save the rest of my ramblings for some subsequent posts.

I do sincerely hope this post and the others on this blog are helping you in some way – some giving you a handy tip on parenting, some on practical business plans, if nothing else, at least my words are making you think some new and worthy thoughts.

If there’s anything you would like to read here, please email me at varada dot sharma at gmail dot com or drop a comment on any post. I always try to respond to comments. 

Here’s to the splendid journey called ‘L.I.F.E.”. Thanks for making it a rich and fulfilling one for me.

Love you all, can’t thank you enough…

Sincerely,
~Varada

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* When Diya first learned that we were expecting, she made it a point to talk to my tummy each night and kiss Chotu good night.

* Everyone in our locality, Diya’s school, her school-bus stop friends everyone knew that a little someone would come in our family long before the due date.

* She practiced things like collecting her stuff for bath, taking a bath, brushing etc. so she could teach the same to Siya.

* She is also giving up on some bad habits like not-washing-hands-after-playing, because she wants Siya to learn good habits. This is still work-in-progress.

* The first day Diya met Siya, she had just returned from school and then she came to visit us in the hospital. Boy, was she thrilled!!! Beyond words! An hour later when she went back she kept telling each person on her way that her little sister had come. The little one would call her, ’Diya-didi’ and the little one was so pink like a tomato and the little one was so tiny like a doll. From them on for the four days I remained hospitalized after c-section, she made it a point to come daily and talk to Siya. And yes, BTW, it was Diya who decided to name her “Siya”.

* Even now when Siya cries for anything, Diya is the first one to reach her. She’ll sit besides her and talk to her, sing rhymes etc trying to console her…

Looking at all this I am often wet-eyed (officially I am blaming it on postpartum-stress!) and I silently pray to Lord Krishna to make them love each other unconditionally like this forever. Amen.

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