Colors of February

February, was filled with a little more love than usual with beautiful celebrations of love all around. Thank you so much February for the fabulous moments. Au revoir February and Bienvenue March!!

February, a rhapsody of love.

Welcome to the month of love! Happy February!

It is fairly obvious to all of us that February is legendary as the month of love. The atmosphere of February is always filled with love, joy and lots of celebration for me and my loved ones especially this year. February has been a blessing for me with an opportunity to foster closer bonding with your loved ones that ignites a passion in your soul. I see it as a reason to appreciate the little moments that put a smile on your face and colors the life. It is a chance for us to show that love for someone in this celebrated month (even though you express your love everyday throughout the year).

There is something special in February. And this year was extra special since I and my husband both will be celebrating our birthday (my big 30) + Valentine’s Day. While I am not a fan of the overly sensational display of affection in just one day but I love the softer sentiment hidden in this month. For me the celebration of love is not all about pricey gifts, lavish dinner, exquisite holiday although those things can all be exciting, but truly, love is more priceless than anything else.




Our long distance marriage taught us a love that is precious beyond all those sophisticated style of celebration. We rather keep it sweet and simple while keeping the spark of love alive. Little things like making a cup of coffee, a walk under the moonlight, a pleasant dinner and movie marathon in the embrace of your loved ones are simply precious and that holds close to your heart. These little invisible acts of love come from the bottom of the heart and this is the true love.

Certainly we can’t run away from the worldly gifts to pamper our loved ones but it should be something that adds a little more touch to the love being celebrated. Honestly, I can’t wait to celebrate the joy of love to show my loved ones, well that I love them to bits. And expressing your life is always a good thing no matter what month it is. I will be taking pleasure to spread the love all over. Cheers February!

Our First Wedding Anniversary!

A year ago today, I married my love of my life, Raj.

Time flies when you are having fun – and when you are with the one you love. Husband and I will be celebrating a special milestone on 29th January, our wedding anniversary. It has been an exciting 1st year and of course from today onwards, we will no longer get the attention of a newlywed.

I can't believe it's already been a year - sometimes it seems like our wedding was just yesterday! I feel like our life has been such an incredible whirlwind so far, but that's how it's been ever since we met so I'm used to it by now ;) Raj was one of the most refreshing and wonderful things that could ever have happened to me and after about 4 years of getting to know each other, we walked down the aisle to start a new life together.
Although we spent the entire first year of marriage living hundred miles apart from one another but our hearts were always so near. Yes we encountered little challenges as we didn’t get to meet every single day yet our relationship grew stronger day by day through phone conversations. In fact, our long distance marriage raised the eyebrow of many people including family and friends. Some even made ridicule out of it. Yet I can only feel bad for them simply because the bond, mutual understanding, affection, faith and devotion that we share can out beat any other couple living together. Yes, our relationship is something precious that we cherish each and every moment despite the distance till today. The distance was never a curse but a boon for us to appreciate our bond.

I am so happy that he is my husband and that we're living our lives just the way we want, not driven by anybody else. He will always be a huge inspiration to me. I'm looking forward to spending the rest of my life with him. To the man I have chosen to love and be with me for a lifetime, Happy Anniversary! I want you to know that words are not enough to say that I love you.

It’s our one year wedding anniversary! What I’ve learned about marriage

Wedding anniversary is a time to celebrate the beauty, gift, and the blessing of our enduring love. This special day is a time to look back at the good times and a time to look ahead to live our dreams together.

Tomorrow, the 29th of January marks our big milestone, my husband and I will celebrate our first wedding anniversary. Five years since we first laid eyes on each other and we are still learning one another but thankfully, also still loving one another too. As we get ready to ring in the New Year I thought I would take a moment to share some of the lessons that were solidified for us or that we learned about our marriage and each other this year. We still have a lot of growing to do but we are committed to growing together, one day at a time.

Love brought us together as husband and wife and gave each of us a best friend for life. Perhaps it sounds cliché and all but I really cherish each moments as time goes on. As I sit serenely on my balcony and looking far across the horizon, I could recall the moments leading up to my big day. I was making sure last minute wedding details were taken care of, savoring the bride-to-be pampering by my family and close knit members of the family, watching the decorations being put up, gently reminding my makeup lady and wondering anxiously about how the event of my lifetime is going to take place. It was so beautiful. And I could still feel like it was only yesterday.

Now, I am into a year of marriage with the man of my life, Raj and couldn’t ask for a better soul mate. So what have I learned within a year? For many of us, marriage is an eloquent aide memoire that on which our lives revolve around.

Even though we were halfway around the world from each other, we still learned some valuable lessons about marriage. Here’s to another year of love and lessons learned after one year of marriage!

Grow Separately but Not Apart

One of the most valuable lessons that I learnt and taught people around me is about growing separately but not apart. I believe it's pertinent to my marriage as many twitch when they hear about my long distance marriage. In fact some even ridicule that we are ‘living apart’ after marriage. It is not ‘living apart’ but I would strongly say it is living independently. To my incredulity, the many that fail to understand our bonding will never understand the sanctity of our marriage until their mindset really comprehend to do so. As for both of us, we appreciate ourselves more and realize we learn more valuable lessons about marriage. The tolerance, devotion, affection and mutual understanding that we learnt and shared has brought us to where we are today. We are going to change and grow over time. But the key is to not grow apart.

Remembering our wedding vow

Each time I will be reminiscent the way I felt the day my husband and I exchanged our vow and I remember the promise of our love. It reminds me why I love my husband so much and why I chose him. Sometimes it can a splendid romantic gesture that he does for me or perhaps it’s just the little things that I have to watch out for. At the end of the day, it’s the little things that go a long way to inspire the feelings. As long as I get a little bit of that every day, everything else comes easy.

A good friend in my husband

Before getting hitched, both of us are best of friends. We spend time together and always make an effort to be there for each other when needed. The more we treat each other as friends, life is more fun. Both of us laugh together, confide in one another, share our happiness and sadness, keep each other’s secrets and do things that we both love to do. It makes a huge difference as we both continue to relish our lives as time goes on.

Re-live our Romantic Rendezvous

Even after marriage, we both continue to date like how we used to be in our early days of courtship. The relationship blossoms with every moment spent to re-live our dating days and make us feel younger too. Raj always impresses me with even the little things he does for me out of blue and makes effort to create sparks in our bond like before. I hope to do the same for him more in future.

Appreciative of our life

Life is so beautiful. Yet life is never like a bed of roses all the time. Keep living, loving, and moving forward one step at a time. And ever so often take a moment to look back, not to live in the past but rather, but to see how far you've come. I have come to believe to see beyond those hiccups and be grateful to be blessed with a good life and a charming husband.

Be there for each other

It’s never too difficult to stand by each other in times of need. I think being there for each other are really important and if you think you have to go an extra mile to do so, by all means, do so. Everyone loves that little boost that comes from someone you love so much. Raj and I look up to each other from time to time and we both have been a great inspiration for one another. Trust me, it works like magic.
Magnanimous for a better life
More often than not, it takes a moment to look back, not to live in the past but rather, and to see how far we have come. Life is short and time is ephemeral too. I learnt not to miss out every single moment of my life on a chance to enjoy one another. Life is all about give-n-take. So I keep living one step at a time.

So that was the very few lessons that the one year stint taught me. I’m so happy I married Raj and couldn’t have asked for a better husband. I never even thought I’d get married let alone meet a man like Raj, so really, I still pinch myself sometimes.

Toast to a brand new year, 2013

On the first day of this New year… I make a wish


Hours of happy times with loved ones
Abundant of love
Prosperity
Patience
Youthful excitement at life simple pleasures

Nectar of God
Everything you need
Wishing you

Years and years of good health
Enjoyment and mirth
Angels to watch over
Remembrance of joyful life

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013 :)

The year 2012 in Retrospect

As the year bit by bit approaches its last few days, we are getting ready to put the curtain down on 2012, it is now time to look back and reflect on the year. With the blink of an eye, 2012 is already on its back! It seems like it was just yesterday that we ushered in 2012 and yet here we are almost ready to bid 2012 a fond farewell. 
The year was surely filled with many bittersweet moments; so many that I just wish I could have the memories imprinted in my heart and it will forever linger in my mind. There were definitely some moments to cherish forever and others that we would rather forget but all in all we survived and that’s a good reason to celebrate and be grateful. Of all the moments in 2012, I wouldn’t change a thing simply because it helped me get to where I am right now. 
So this will be my last blog of the year to pen down my prospect in retrospect of year 2012. So as we wind up 2012 and count the days to welcome New Year 2013, let us take this opportunity to look back and appreciate the moments of the past 12 months which has been a wonderful year. I feel very blessed to be honest.

Well, here are few of my personal favorites that 2012 has blessed me;

January changed my life forever where I was blessed with the love of my life. It was a month of euphoria for the whole family to be gathered for the wedding gala. By God’s grace the sweet celebration worked perfectly fine in our favor. The New Year brought on new hope, newly found relatives and new beginning.

February showered me with more bliss as I begin to walk in the journey as a wife. The wedding joy lingered on with our reception and honeymoon marking the celebration of love. On the other hand, February also surprised me with mixed blessings as I saw the new members in my research team and a new hope.

March was a remarkable month as I was still basking in the glory of being newlywed and also a moment that ring a bell of how amazing friends, family and even complete strangers that turned into acquaintance can be. The outpouring affection, blessings and compassion shown in many different ways during the wedding was amazing. Besides, a new hope of life was bestowed upon us as we moved on in our lives into a new neighborhood. Much generosity and heartfelt prayers made me and my family humbled beyond any measure.

April saw me making headway in my work. It was such a challenging time as I had to plan out the research work frame and take it to next level. Although challenging but it was a fulfilling experience to spearhead the research project. 

May was definitely a laidback month. Nothing much to shout about but well I was mesmerized by the photography skills that my husband put forth into action. His passion overwhelmed me when I accompanied him to click away. 

June was the month with a blend of mixed emotions. It began with a heightened work pressure and eventually I began to start breathing again. It was the month that I remembered the joy and serenity of finally being able to relax after a rather nerve wrecking early of June. I began to be grateful for family, friends and myself. Nothing was more rejuvenating than spending time old friends, get together and celebrate our friendship. Life was finally back on track. 

July showered me with a sweet surprise as I was gifted with a career promotion. It was an opportunity for me to climb up the corporate ladder with appreciation of my work quality. I went from Scientist to Senior Scientist. It was truly blessed of how happy I was starting to feel. 

August inspired me with an unbelievable salary raise that we all have been waiting for a longest time and it has to come in this year. Just in time for tired soul like us who has taken a turn for droning work culture. Everyone was suddenly awakened to their senses and ignited for a change in workforce. A good start to show appreciation for our efforts. It was also in August that I and Raj had a dreamy dinner at rooftop restaurant to evoke our early days rendezvous after marriage.

September taught me that nothing comes easy. There is a price to pay for everything good that we are gifted with. It comes as a lesson in learning for me to progress further in my career. There was anxiety, challenges, laughter, stories and the knowledge that I saw it all coming that nothing could take away it from my life. It was a big life changing month for me in my career as I am embarking on a totally new research approach, positional cloning to hunt down the gene of interest that I am in quest for. Thumbs up to me!  

October made me realize one of two things. Either I am simply oblivious to the world around me and completely gullible or my family and friends can REALLY keep a secret. I was honored with a surprise birthday party for a landmark birthday. Yes folks....I turned 50. As intimidating as AARP tried to make it for me....I did come to terms with the fact that I was darn lucky to have made it to such an age in as good of condition as I am in. I had no complaints. 

November indeed a sweet November for me as it was our first Diwali as newlyweds. It seems to be a rather special and memorable celebration together with my hubby and family, It brought a whole new meaning this year. A lovely get-together with kith and kin, friends and acquaintances made our festive spirit merrier. On top of it, wedding season is back with a bang. Being a part and parcel of Raj’s cousin’s wedding extravaganza brought out the beauty of family bonding. Being gifted with the recognition into a lovely family, I don’t need to scream for attention on my own. Instead, I was shining like a star amidst all. Thank God for all the love and respect I gained in this year that I became part of Raj’s family. I was beyond baffled at how it happened. It made me Happy! 

And here we are in December. December will always be my favorite all year long. I planned to do much more than I actually accomplished. I get to spent time with loved ones, shopping, spreading Christmas spirit all around, family gathering and short getaway despite my busy schedule. I got a bigger Christmas tree and spend time decorating it. In fact my office was filled with the festive joy as we all played Secret Santa and had gifts exchange. Something that I will never forget will be the false prediction of Mayans. They were wrong that the world is gonna end. It did not and we are here still :)

Well, 2012 was quite a year. It marked a milestone in my life and somehow there was so many lessons learnt and moments cherished than ever before. On the personal side of things, while this year has taught me more yet it has also given me a great deal of peace, self awareness and a happiness that made me appreciate life in more subtle manner. I will miss 2012 when I bid adieu to 2012, for later down the road when I find myself evoking nostalgia one fine day. There won’t be tears as we welcome 2013 which holds so much of promise and hope. It is really exciting if I start contemplating of what is ahead of us. I guess in retrospect 2012 had a little bit of everything and I have no doubt it gave us all what we need to continue on to 2013. So for all of you, my family, and friends, I wish that 2013 will be a happy and blessed one, full of love and brings you joy and is your best year! Let us all raise a glass and celebrate the end of another good year. Till next year folks, wish you all a fruitful New Year. Happy New Year y’all!

Christmas Spirit in the air

It’s already middle of December and Christmas is around the corner! In case you hadn't noticed that this year, the Christmas movies on our satellite channel, Astro are only handful. It’ such a shame that all those traditional Christmas movies that we use to watch brings out the spirit for a lovely yuletide celebration seem to be missing out of the picture. I just love watching the movie line-ups during the month of December as it cultivates hope, joy and love in our hearts. I, likewise, love to watch them to inspire the spirit of a holiday. 

So what’s your favorite Christmas movie? When it comes for magical and entertaining movies that can enthrall us, Disney is always holds the zenith for the best movies. Disney movies works like magic to spread cheers and ignite thoughts for eternity especially during Christmas season. It never fails to enthuse us with a virtuous message at the end of the movie. I would love to share few of the feel good Christmas movies for the rest of you to prepare for the forthcoming Christmas celebration. A must watch Christmas movies. Here you go!

1. Home Alone
2. Home Alone 2
3. Elf
4. A Christmas Story
5. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
6. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
7. It's a Wonderful Life
8. The Santa Clause – The story is about a man accidentally killed Santa and unknowingly become the person to replace the dead Santa.
9. The Santa Clause 2: The Mrs. Clause (2002)- This sequel , Santa finds himself a lovely Mrs. Clause
10. Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006)- The 3rd series sees Santa in dilemma to stop Jack Frost from ruining Christmas
11. The Polar Express White Christmas
12. Santa Claus: The Movie
13. A Christmas Carol (2009 version)
14. Christmas Classics 


Happy movie watching peeps!

Last Sequential Date for the Century: 12-12-12

Its here. Wednesday 12-12-12. So what? It could be a special numerical day on the calendar and there will not be another with so many sequential dates in another 100 years but so be it then.

Of course it is one of the century’s most significant dates. Wednesday 12.12.12, the last of the great repeating sequential dates to occur in our lifetimes not until Jan 1, 2101 (unless we are alive till then). That’s bizarre to me! Despite the excitement of this milestone date, 12.12.12 doesn’t seem to be quite a big deal at all. For some it was believed to represents luck whilst for others, it’s a day that one may not forget for a lifetime. But for most of us, it is just another day. Regardless of your beliefs, 12.12.12 comes along with rather amusing facts and superstitions. 

Delving into 12s obsession was something exaggerated and people just got carried away with it. When I sat down on Wednesday morning flicking the newspaper, the news was so hyped about the triple 12s, where expectant mothers are booking themselves in for C-sections to ensure a fortuitous birth date for their offspring, and young couples around the world are tying the knot. Perhaps these triple nifty numerals were blindly hailed as a lucky number. However, to a numerologist, it’s just not an auspicious date although it can be memorable. In a mind of a frenzied person, the will definitely go all out to imprint the remarkable date into their lives for remembrance. Seemed like 12/12/12 just wasn't going to get enough respect. 

I am just a little jaded after so many numerical notables during the past decade, from 1/1/1 on up. The hullabaloo over the sequential dates doesn’t excite me at all. It’s just another date that pops up in our calendared years. So same goes for me on this 12.12.12, where I was back to work after a day off on Tuesday and ready to mingle with the bacterial cultures and date with my oodles of ‘ACGT’ data. J I am getting worked up in lieu of my scientific meeting. It’s more worthwhile doing something that I love to do rather than becoming dramatic over a mere triple date? Funny!

Certainly, another triple set of 12s won't happen again for another 100 years, in 2112. Or any more repeating digits until 2/2/22 (2022), and certainly not the same three-in-a-row style until 1/1/1 (2101), depending on, well, you know. So let’s bid adieu to the 12.12.12!