Time sure flies !!

I never thought I'd be so busy even If I dont work. Thanks to Jaynie !! Now, its time to fly back to India again for my sis-in-law's wedding. All excited again. Everyone back in India would be amazed to see the changes in Jaynie. She walks now - literally runs, drinks from her sippy, eats some finger foods on her own, plays hide n seek (under her blanket :)). To the naughty side - she picks up things and scatters it all around the place, bangs on the laptop keyboard .. broke 2 keys already and always manages to keep me on my toes. But wait .. I think she ll be a clean freak when she grows up.. if she sees some onion or garlic skin somewhere in the corner of the kitchen, she gets it, comes to me, gives it and says 'Inna' :-) :-) That is so sweet. I love you my little angel. The time I spend with you is worth giving even more breaks to my career.

New Home

Moved in to a new apartment at Herndon..

2 weeeks since we came back from India.. Hmm... Still Home Sick !!

Okay, lots of moving boxes are still unopened.. Got to unpack them soon.. See ya!!

Last few days in Richmond

Sept 15 2008 was the day we moved in to Richmond. Life since the past 6 months was mostly hectic and mechanical. Jaynie's giggles, coos and all small milestones somehow made it lively. Bergin was mostly in DC and was travelling home just on weekends. hmm.. That was tiresome. Finally, my project with CapitalOne is getting over now and I'm going to join back in Chennai. Will come back after 3 months, whether on a work permit or as a dependant - thats something I'm not going to worry now. All I want is just enjoy the 3 months I'm going to spend in India with my family. Hmm... Jaynie and I will be missing Bergin though.. He's visiting India only for 2 weeks on April/May. Still, I'm feeling like a school kid eagerly anticipating the annual holidays.

Yayyyy!! Just 6 more days to go .. After that, Good-bye Richmond and ussssshhhhhh we'll be flying to India!!

Fun Weekend

Last weekend was full of fun and excitement with my cousin's family(Johny Akka, Justin Anna, Santo & Savio) and friend's family(Rajkumar, Jerrita, Jeni, Jonathan and Jason) visiting us Anddd the Oscars showering on 'Slumdog Millionaire'. Jaynie was all excited too on seeing the kids. She does have some stranger anxiety but it all went away in a few minutes. She was so comfortable that she sat on Rajkumar's lap with one arm on his hand and the other on his belly, as if she's sitting on a sofa!! Jerrita was the only one disappointed.. Somehow, Jaynie was not much comfy with her and cried whenever Jerrita played with her . Anyways, we all had a great time chatting, watching movie and more chatting..

The highlight of the weekend was the OSCARS.. With ARR bagging 2 OSCARS & Slumdog garnering 8 OSCARS, it was celebration time !!

Crazy Octo-mom!!

The first time I heard of Nadya Suleman I was really amazed. She delivered the octuplets on Jan 26 2008 & already has 6 children under age 7. She must be a Super-Mom to manage all the 14 children - Just managing Jaynie is a challenging task for me. How come 14 ?? Awesome lady , I thought.

My opinion on her changed after hearing more news on her. She's a single mother. She conceived all her children through InVitro Fertilization. She's receiving $490 per month in food stamps. Her house is in mortgage default. She just doesnt have enough money/support to bring up all her children. Then why did she bring the children to the world through unconventional means ? Her reply is "All I wanted was Children". What a selfish Answer!! This lady is Crazy!!

Mmmm !!!

Jaynie says mmmm when we call out her name. We played a game yesterday to check out if she s saying mmm only to her name or just to whatever name is called out .

Here, I'm calling out her Name..

Jaynie ma ... Mmm comes the reply

Kannu kutty ... Mmm (good, she knows her pet name)

Ammu kutty... Mmm (okay, thats her pet name too )

Now comes the real test

Rafaella.... ..... >> silence <<< (Ooh hoo.. she's smart)

Annie... ..... >> silence again <<

Again..

Jaynie ma... Mmm comes a quick reply :-)

Shrimp Fried Rice - South Indian Style !

Ingredients
1. Shrimp - 1/2 pound
2. Basmati Rice - 1 cup
3. Vegetables (corn, green peas, beans, carrots) - 1/2 pound
4. Ginger & Garlic paste - 2 teaspoons
5. Onions - 2
6. Soya sauce - 2 teaspoons
7. Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon

Method:
1. Cut the onions & vegetables to small pieces
2. Heat little oil in a pan
3. Saute the onions
4. Once the onions turn golden brown, add ginger garlic paste, salt and saute
5. Add the vegetables and stir
6. Add the chilli powder & saute.
7. Add Soya sauce and mix well
8. Keep the above prepared cooked vegies separately
9. Heat little oil in a pressure cooker
10. Add Rice to it and fry
11. Now add the previously prepared cooked vegies to the rice & mix well.
12. Scramble 2 eggs separately in a pan and add this to the rice
13. Add 1 3/4 cups of water to the rice
14. Add salt to taste. Cover the pressure cooker with the lid and cook
15. Once the pressure cooker blows off 1 whistle turn it off
16. Sprinkle some finely cut coriander leaves over the fried rice and serve it hot!

Last Evacuation Drill

A fire alarm rang at 6 PM when almost all shift employeesare in office(approx 5000). As usual entire office was evacuated within3 mins & every employee gathered outside office. 10 minspassed

5 more mins passed.

Security Officer -> Announcement started, "Dear Employees - With meltingheart I am making this announcement that for many of you it will be alast evacuation drill, as we are laying off almost 80% employee. Whilemoving in who-so-ever ID card won't work are lay off & all theirbelongings will be couriered to them tomorrow. We followed thisapproach as we don't want to fill email box size with layoff mail inthousands & also to avoid any fight inside office". Hope you have nicecareer ahead. Please move in & try your luck.

Chicken Curry

Here is the recipe of the chicken curry, which became a huge hit at our office potluck

Ingredients:
Onion - 1
Tomoatoes - 2
Chicken - 1 or 1.5 pounds
Ginger garlic paste - 1.5 tea spoon.
Chilli powder - 1 spoon
Dhania powder - 2 spoons

For paste: (saute these without oil in a pan until coconut becomes golden brown & grind to a smooth paste preferably with an indian mixie)
1.Shredded Coconut - 1 hand ful
2.Cinnamon sticks - 2 (medium sized)
3.Cloves - 3 or 4
4.Cardamom - 1 or 2
5.Fennel seeds - 0.5 tea spoon
6. cumin seeds - 0.5 tea sppon

Method:
Heat 1 table spoon oil in a pan.
Saute onion
Once onion turns slight brown, add ginger garlic paste & saute for a minute.
Add tomatoes.
Add salt & saute until the tomatoes are well mashed.
Add chilli powsder, dhania powder & turmeric.& saute for a minute
Add chicken pieces, saute and cook covered.
When chicken is half cooked, add the paste from the above list.
Add water if necessary.