Wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. For those who celebrate Chanukah, Happy Chanukah and for others who just want to enjoy the spirit of the holiday season, wish you a very happy and bright Holiday season…
Cheers.
I think the perfect gift for Riana this season would be a baby hair trimmer. Born in March, she is only 9 months old and has already had two hair cuts at the salon; three if you want to count the one I attempted. There seems to be a big selection of baby hair clippers online but I wonder if I have the necessary skills to be a Do It Yourself mom. I gave it a try with the scissors and needless to say that I failed miserably.
On the second thought, I thought perhaps the perfect gift for her this season would be to get her some wonderful hand made hair clips. So, now Riana will get some beautiful handmade clips along with some other surprises! 
As far as the haircuts are concerned, I think I will save that job for the hair stylists.
My husband and I are enjoying every bit of Riana. From her messy feedings, to her dirty diapers. From her crawling around the entire house to her trying to stand up on her own. We are enjoying her frowns just as much as we enjoy her smiles. It is difficult to imagine a life withour her. She brings immense happiness and satisfaction to our lives. We didn’t know what we were missing until we had her.
As first time parents, we couldn’t ask for a happier baby. She takes after Ashwin in terms of her calm behavior.
Lately though things have been especially difficult for both Ashwin and I. She got sick with a fever of 102 degrees that would not respond to Infant Tylenol. We spent the night of Halloween in the Pediatric Urgent Care in Worcester. What was more difficult was to see my 8 month old go through the torture of various exams. The staff was not equiped to handle a baby. After three failed attempts to insert the catheter, they asked that we get the blood drawn until a more experienced nurse started her shift. They poked her several times to draw her blood. Again, after three trials, I was done with them. They somehow managed to draw a little blood from her forefinger. It was not enough to run all the tests but just enough to run some basic blood counts. Needless to say, her WBC was very high. Riana threw up that morning but other than that, she had no symptoms of cold or flu. A WBC of 27,000 is unusually high for a viral infection so they suspected it was a bacterial infection and wanted to start the appropriate treatment. Riana received two antibiotic shots that day. The next day, we visited Fallon clinic in Leominster for her followup appointment. She got two more shots that day and felt great the following day.
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Going under the knife… fear free…
I have always been afraid of surgeries. Few years ago when I was in college, I got into an accident and the doctors said that I would need about 12-15 stitches for my injuries. I chose to heal slowly and scar instead of have someone sew me with a needle. Then, when it was time for my Dental surgery to get my wisdom teeth pulled out, I was terrified. I asked them to put me under general anesthesia because I did not want to be conscious knowing that I am being operated upon, regardless of how trivial this procedure was. When I got pregnant last year, my biggest scare was what if I needed a C-section? I knew I could never get prepared for it. I was extremely anxious as my due date approached. Thankfully, I had my baby naturally and did not need a C-section after all. I felt like a winner. However, I did require a few stitches. It wasn’t as bad as I had imagined and I was pain free in a week’s time.
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Is it the quality of shows or the quality of audience that we should question
In the recent years I have noticed a marked improvement in the quality of television shows. However, it is disappointing to see a lot of nice shows like Studio 60 on Sunset Strip being canceled year after year. I moved to the US four years ago. When I first came here, I had nothing to do. So in order to keep myself entertained, I would play computer games or sit and watch television with my grandmother-in-law who would wait anxiously every afternoon to watch an episode of Matlock. My father-in-law has a vast collection of movies and TV shows of yesteryears. I began watching a lot of old shows including the Honeymooners and I love Lucy. I immediately got captivated by to these shows and I could sit there and watch it for hours. I realized that though simple, the shows from the past were really fun to watch. Then my husband introduced me to a bunch of nice shows including CSI and West Wing. He also had a collection of Sports Night which was fun to watch but I heard that it was one of the shows that only lasted a season. For comedy, I would watch Friends, Simpsons and Mad about you. I try not to restrict myself to one particular kind of show. I like variety although I am not a big fan of reality shows like the Survivor and American Idol. American Idol has it’s moments but after a while, it is saturating. Today there are over a hundred channels to watch but only a handful of them broadcast good quality shows. It is not hard to find reality TV, game shows, Hollywood shows, adult soap operas and nighttime dramas. I watch TV every evening before going to bed and among my favorite shows are 60 minutes, Cold case, CSI, Criminal Minds, House, Bones, Cane and CSI: NY. I like to watch drama and thriller. I also like to watch football especially when the Pats are playing. I watch news occasionally though the quality of news that you get from the TV is atrocious. More than 95% of the news is filled with negative information and it brings negative thoughts to our minds. Sadly, this is the kind of news our audience likes to see and hear.
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I started working for Wyman-Gordon recently as a Network Engineer. I really enjoy my new position. It’s a very challenging position and gives me the ability to get exposed to other areas of Engineering such as Industrial Automation and Robotics. It is a critical position because I am responsible for the plant’s network infrastructure which runs the 35 million dollar Press machines. I especially like my short commute to work. It allows me to spend more time with my daughter.
It is a very different environment. I have to wear my safety shoes and glasses when I am out in the shop. Wyman-Gordon is a metals forgings company. We supply materials to all GE and Rolls-Royce Engines and virtually every commercial plane including the Boeing 747 and Dreamliner has our parts. Wyman-Gordon is a part of PCC, Precision Castparts Corp.
It is a great company to work for. I am enjoying the job. I will post some pictures shortly.
My husband thinks I am a geek but I am no geek compared to the thousands of people nationwide, who spent days lined up outside the AT&T stores to get their iPhones. Personally, I think they are crazy.
iPhone has some outstanding features including music player, web browser, wireless phone, GPS with touch screen, all in one small package, but it comes at a premium price. A 4GB iPhone comes for 499USD and a 8GB will run you about 599USD with a two year service contract with AT&T. To top it off, you still have to pay for the service itself which can run you about hundred dollars more per month!
I am happy with my Motorola Verizon phone for now. I have the chance to upgrade my phone now and I could get the Motorola razor for free. I am glad I did not spend 400USD to get my razor, just as I don’t intend to purchase my iPhone right now. I am sure once Apple launches its next gizmo, the price of iPhone will automatically go down. That is when I will get my first. But if anyone was thinking about buying one for me, by all means, go ahead!!!
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
Thursday, June 21, 2007, I was Naturalized to become a citizen of the United Sates of America. It was an exciting day for me and my family. My parents, my husband and my daughter were allowed to witness the entire ceremony. It was amazing to learn that there were more than four hundred people from over 150 different countries being naturalized that day.
To me it means a lot. I can now vote, serve the jury and apply for federal jobs. To my husband this means the end of paperwork with the INS
Please check back my gallery for the ceremony pictures. Cheers.
Ashwin and I have been to a number of barbeque parties and have enjoyed eating outdoors for many years now. We knew that when we get our own space that we are going to build a nice deck. When we got the house built, we opted not to go with the deck that the builder provided since it was only an 8×8 feet deck. Of course, it suits most people if they don’t plan on spending much time outside the house but it certainly is not big enough for entertaining. If you throw in a decent size grill and seating for four, suddenly it seems like a pretty tight space. Finally two years after moving into our home, we got the deck of our dreams constructed. It is a 14X16 feet deck with a bench running along the entire length. It has ample room for an outdoor grill and to seat enough people.
After much research, we bought a nice four burner Char-Broil grill with a side burner. With so many competing brands on the market, it is difficult for a novice griller to know what to buy. After reading the reviews and discovering that this particular grill won the consumer reports ‘best buy’ award for a mid-range grill, there was little to worry about. So, the grill is here. Now what? Needless to say that Ashwin could not wait to fulfill his pursuits of grilling so last night we tried an awful lot of things, grilled vegetables, corn, potatoes, BBQ chicken and hot fiery wings. Everything was delicious! I look forward to enjoying many more sunny afternoons and evenings cooking outdoors. It is such a nice way to spend time with your family and do something fun together. Please click here for the pictures.
all’s well that ends well…
The journey began long back in July, 2006 when Ashwin and I found out that we are going to become parents. Like every first time parents, we were nervous but happy at the same time. We had a little celebration the day we found out.
Everything seemed to go smoothly until I was 10 weeks pregnant. Then, I had to run to the Chiropractor two or three times a week. My back and my hips were misaligned. I could barely walk. As time went on, I began to gain weight and develop new issues. In my case, I gained a total of 65 lbs. Yeah, thanks to my crab rangoon cravings! And oh, how could I forget the chocolate cakes! I had a lot of swelling by week 24, not just in my ankles and feet but also my shin, my chin and my hands. I looked like a balloon ready to blast. Things got ugly and I developed severe carpal tunnel. I had many sleepless nights because of the pain in my hands.
By week 30, the baby had already flipped facing down. By week 32, she had already dropped causing more pelvic pressure and pain in my hips. It would hurt to walk. Towards the latter part, I would cripple while walking. And oh, did I not mention the countless trips I had to make to the restrooms? Every store I walked into, I first had to pay visit to the restroom and then carry on other business. At nights, I would wake up at least 8 times to pee.