wandering mind

Happy moments from yesterday: Sight of bright orange Pumpkin blossoms and purple Morning Glory greeting me as I step outside to go to work in the morning. Knowing that my daughter likes George Michael's 'Faith' as much as I do. Bridging the generation gap - singing it out loud together in the car on the top of our lungs and giggling together. Finding this recipe for those cravings you get when you MUST have something and you don't feel like baking a whole cake. Midnight cravings - I have got you covered :) Walking for a mile and half after dinner when most of the houses in the neighborhood have turned in for the day. A silent summer night. Finding about a Norman Rockwell exhibit in DC. (first image from here ) (second image from here )

Happy moments from yesterday: Olive bread with coffee for breakfast. Nourishing. Temperature dipped below 90 degrees - taking the time for a walk at lunch time. Refreshing. Sitting on the deck wrapped in summer sounds and a cool breeze. Peaceful. Simple pasta dressed in olive oil, basil and big chunks of partially melted mozzarella for dinner. Delicious. Pulling weeds - don't know why that always makes me feel so good. Rejuvenating.

Happy moments from yesterday: 1. My sister's company, reminiscing, planning. 2. Blueberry yogurt loaf , garbanzo curry on rice, a glass of chardonnay. 3. Neighborhood swimming pool, cool water kissed breeze, smells of summer. 4. Clouds tinted pink by the setting sun, a feeling of well being. 5. Kids giggling for no reason , no set bed time, summer vacation.

I managed to spend the whole weekend without much internet -hence the missing gratitude journal post. So this day three is actually day 5 - I will pick up where I left off :) So, what are the five things I am happy about? 1. Mom's cooking – need I say more? 2. Had my brother and his friends over for lunch. We sat around the dining table for several hours - just talking and eating and drinking - enjoying a great bottle of Vinho Verde. If feels so good to take the time to just sit around and linger after the meal for hours. We are always rushing through our lunches and dinners during weekdays, so these lingering meals over the weekend are greatly needed. 3. Harvested a basket full of tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers from my garden. Ah… this is what I dreamed of all winter. 4. Remember the pumpkin that showed up in my garden last year? Well, this year two of them showed up in my front yard. Most probably from the Halloween pumpkin that was sitting on the front porch. They are doing r...

Five things I am happy about from yesterday: Going to mom's place after work, sitting in her backyard under a tree, admiring her jasmine blossoms and sharing a slice of jalapeno pizza. Spending time with the neighbors in our cul-de-sac, watching kids jumping rope and riding their bikes around, watching our dogs chasing each other, one of the neighbors offering to make a drink made of pineapple juice and coconut rum (who can refuse such an offer?), enjoying the drink on the driveway with the neighbors - pure bliss. Biting into a perfectly ripened apricot. Playing DDR with my daughters and dancing to lady gaga's 'just dance' and Pitbull's 'you know you want me' and giggling to the younger daughter mentioning that the Pitbull song is highly inappropriate :) (I would have won if it wasn't for that rum earlier that was making me light headed) Falling asleep while reading 'Twenty chickens for a saddle' - a prefect end to a perfect summer day. (image fr...

I was reading Preeti's blog and came across this great project of seven day positivity experiment. I want to try it too. So what were the five things I am happy about from yesterday? Bright blue chicory flowers , sprinkled generously on the road side, on my drive to work. These weeds have become my favorite flowers. Would it be too weird if I pulled some of these weeds and gave them an honorable place in my front yard? Eating a grilled cheese sandwich made with havarti cheese on 'white bread' with good amount of butter on it - and not feeling guilty about it. Family dinner which consisted of leftovers and freshly made strawberry lassi (yogurt smoothie). 'aha' moment at work about automating testing. Sitting under a tree with my mom and watching both my daughters riding horses at their lessons. Petting the horses and feeding them sliced apples after the lessons. I never knew horses like hearing 'good boy' and being petted as much as the dogs do.

Sometimes when a book ends you hear yourself say - "No, wait, please don't stop yet - I want to know more." I think we have all been there -a plot that is like a good dream that you don't want to wake up from. A book where you fall in love with the characters and the line between fiction and reality is blurred and you find yourself wanting to know what happened to them. You want to wish these characters well and want to continue to be part of their lives. Well, I recently read three such books. I am not going to provide a review as there are lots of reviews online by people who write much better than I do. But do add these to your reading list if you haven't already read them: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows The Help by Kathryn Stockett