After a really long time, I went shopping today because I wanted to, not because I needed to. I wanted to buy myself a dress. Because I've wanted to wear dresses for a long time, but I kinda felt that they didn't look good on me when I was rather pudgy.
Now, having shed at least fifty pounds and four dress sizes in the last three years, I am in the mood to wear dresses as often as I can. Of course, the warm weather here is very short lived, but, as they say, make hay while the sun shines.
But guess what? I didn't find anything I wanted to buy. I don't want to wear the kind of dresses that American women wear so often - halters or spaghetti straps or 33 inch lengths (that's too short for my liking). I did, however, find a few that had none of these disqualifications and also appealed to me otherwise - in terms of fabric, print and fit. Well, almost fit. I didn't find the correct size in any of those. But you know what the great thing is? All the sizes were too large for me. I could fit into the smallest sizes for a few styles that I tried on, just to see if what size would fit me correctly. Now, of course, the smallest size in an American clothing store is not the same as the smallest size in an Indian one, but this is still a big, huge deal for me.
So I'm happy today. Even though I didn't buy anything after a three hour shopping trip. So what's the problem? How do I celebrate? I don't celebrate this kind of success by eating something special. Shopping for something nice to wear was the only way I knew!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Thoughts For Today
So now we've moved to our new apartment and things are beginning to settle down. We spent our first week in an apartment with no cable TV and no Internet and a lot of our stuff waiting to be unpacked. After the weekend, things are beginning to shape up.
In the midst of all this I achieved a personal milestone which most of my good friends will know the significance of. For the first time since I was a little kid, I'm now in the healthy weight range for my height.
I was grossly overweight through most of my senior school years and college. I've been trying to make amends for about three years now. In these three years, I've been through weight loss phases, plateaus (that's when the weight refuses to decrease any further), and also put some of it back on around the time I got married. But early in 2010, I found a renewed resolve to take the weight off and keep it off. I still want to tone up a little and drop another ten pounds or so, but what I have now is a big achievement for me.
Trying to lose weight in the States is not the same as trying to do it in India. It's a lot easier here. You can actually eat all your favorite foods, because they have reduced fat or fat free versions of everything, from chocolate brownies to ice cream. The government requires manufacturers to have nutrition information printed on all packaged food items. A lot of restaurants post their nutrition information online. It's also easier to find whole grain pasta, brown rice, and other whole grain food products. Whole grains are a big help if you're trying to lose weight or just eat healthier. They have more vitamins and minerals, they have more fiber, which means you feel more full, and whole grain pasta actually has a lot of protein too.
This is not where I'm going to stop. I'm going to drop another few pounds and then keep it all off. But, of course, once things settle down at home, I'm going to go shopping for new clothes first.
In the midst of all this I achieved a personal milestone which most of my good friends will know the significance of. For the first time since I was a little kid, I'm now in the healthy weight range for my height.
I was grossly overweight through most of my senior school years and college. I've been trying to make amends for about three years now. In these three years, I've been through weight loss phases, plateaus (that's when the weight refuses to decrease any further), and also put some of it back on around the time I got married. But early in 2010, I found a renewed resolve to take the weight off and keep it off. I still want to tone up a little and drop another ten pounds or so, but what I have now is a big achievement for me.
Trying to lose weight in the States is not the same as trying to do it in India. It's a lot easier here. You can actually eat all your favorite foods, because they have reduced fat or fat free versions of everything, from chocolate brownies to ice cream. The government requires manufacturers to have nutrition information printed on all packaged food items. A lot of restaurants post their nutrition information online. It's also easier to find whole grain pasta, brown rice, and other whole grain food products. Whole grains are a big help if you're trying to lose weight or just eat healthier. They have more vitamins and minerals, they have more fiber, which means you feel more full, and whole grain pasta actually has a lot of protein too.
This is not where I'm going to stop. I'm going to drop another few pounds and then keep it all off. But, of course, once things settle down at home, I'm going to go shopping for new clothes first.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Reflections on a Year Gone By
It's hard to believe it's already been a year since I stepped into the pink lehenga and out of my parents' home. We set up home here, in a foreign land, and are about to take it apart and set up a new one. Such is life.
The year has taught both of us a lot. About each other and about marriage and relationships. About learning not to sweat the small stuff. And to tell the small stuff apart from the big. About being patient with each other. Doing little things for each other.
I know this is a bit of a cliche, but you don't really understand it until the time you experience it for yourself. Marriage is not always smooth sailing. You have to make adjustments and compromises. But it's all worth it. When you see the smile on your partner's face when you do something special for him, that makes it worth it. When you feel the warmth in your heart when he does the same for you, that makes it worth it. When you know there's at least one person in the world you can always count on, no matter what. When you know there's one person with whom you can discuss all your fears and worries and share all your joys.
That's what marriage is about. Knowing that you have a companion on the journey called life.
The year has taught both of us a lot. About each other and about marriage and relationships. About learning not to sweat the small stuff. And to tell the small stuff apart from the big. About being patient with each other. Doing little things for each other.
I know this is a bit of a cliche, but you don't really understand it until the time you experience it for yourself. Marriage is not always smooth sailing. You have to make adjustments and compromises. But it's all worth it. When you see the smile on your partner's face when you do something special for him, that makes it worth it. When you feel the warmth in your heart when he does the same for you, that makes it worth it. When you know there's at least one person in the world you can always count on, no matter what. When you know there's one person with whom you can discuss all your fears and worries and share all your joys.
That's what marriage is about. Knowing that you have a companion on the journey called life.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Bloodsuckers
We’ve had a major bed bug infestation in our apartment. I'd never really heard too much about this kind of thing, because it's not very common in India. They can't survive above 45 C and they don't like dusty places. Ha. You would think you were less likely to have bugs if your apartment was clean.
Apparently these little vampires spread over from neighboring apartments - that's one of the many ways in which they spread - and they reproduce so fast you really can't imagine it. A female can lays about 5 eggs a day. Plus, they can live for 18 months without food.
The building management has had the exterminators come in and treat the apartment twice and we did it once ourselves. But it doesn't really help too much. Strong pesticides like DDT are illegal here. The others don't really kill them, because they can go and hide in the neighbors’ apartment and then come back once the pesticide wears off. Now you have an infested apartment and infested neighboring apartments. There’s also some rubbing alcohol that can be sprayed on them, but you have to spray it on the bug to kill it. It’s just not humanly possible to spray every single bug, given the rate at which they multiply.
They can nest in anything wooden, paper, or fabric. Now we're going to move and discard everything that might be infected and cannot be treated. Clothes can be treated by running them in the dryer on high heat. But that's about all. Clothes, kitchen utensils. That’s it. We can't take anything else with us. We have to part with almost brand new furniture that we spent thousands of dollars on. Plus we have to part with bed linen, some of which was a gift, and stuffed toys, greeting cards, picture frames - just about everything of sentimental value. We’re not even sure how safe it is going to be if we take our passports, academic certificates and other papers with us, but that is a risk we have to take.
Anyway, we have been apartment hunting and we have found a couple of places we like. We’re just trying to get out of here as soon as we can.
Anyway, I know I'm rambling on too much about this, but that’s how life is these days. But hey, what has happened has happened. Can’t do anything about it, can we? Just trying to accept it and move on with life.
Apparently these little vampires spread over from neighboring apartments - that's one of the many ways in which they spread - and they reproduce so fast you really can't imagine it. A female can lays about 5 eggs a day. Plus, they can live for 18 months without food.
The building management has had the exterminators come in and treat the apartment twice and we did it once ourselves. But it doesn't really help too much. Strong pesticides like DDT are illegal here. The others don't really kill them, because they can go and hide in the neighbors’ apartment and then come back once the pesticide wears off. Now you have an infested apartment and infested neighboring apartments. There’s also some rubbing alcohol that can be sprayed on them, but you have to spray it on the bug to kill it. It’s just not humanly possible to spray every single bug, given the rate at which they multiply.
They can nest in anything wooden, paper, or fabric. Now we're going to move and discard everything that might be infected and cannot be treated. Clothes can be treated by running them in the dryer on high heat. But that's about all. Clothes, kitchen utensils. That’s it. We can't take anything else with us. We have to part with almost brand new furniture that we spent thousands of dollars on. Plus we have to part with bed linen, some of which was a gift, and stuffed toys, greeting cards, picture frames - just about everything of sentimental value. We’re not even sure how safe it is going to be if we take our passports, academic certificates and other papers with us, but that is a risk we have to take.
Anyway, we have been apartment hunting and we have found a couple of places we like. We’re just trying to get out of here as soon as we can.
Anyway, I know I'm rambling on too much about this, but that’s how life is these days. But hey, what has happened has happened. Can’t do anything about it, can we? Just trying to accept it and move on with life.
Friday, March 26, 2010
A First - A Weird One
In Delhi, I've stopped my car because there were cows in the middle of the road, even donkeys or pigeons (right in the middle of the DND flyway, when I was coming at almost 80 kmph, and the car behind me was at 80 kmph), but I did not expect that kind of thing out here. Well, what do I have? A big, fat, probably quite juicy turkey crossing the road in a leisurely fashion just inches away from my car! Now that's a first.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
The Choice
After the disaster called The Inheritance of Loss, I sought comfort in the soothing familiarity of a Nicholas Sparks novel. The Choice is about a loving couple whose lives are turned around by a car accident in which the husband escapes with minor injuries but the wife slips into a coma, leaving him to take care of himself and their two young daughters.
It is a typical Nicholas Sparks story with all the usual elements - undying, relentless love, hoping against hope, lasting togetherness through sun and rain. Well written, as usual. With a twist in the story near the end that tells the reader of the choice that the husband is faced with. Like the other Sparks novels, a twist appears near the end of the story which makes the readers feel for the characters even more than before, makes the readers weep with the characters. A beautiful story that touches your heart.
But, well, I think I'm done with Nicholas Sparks for quite a while now. His stories are way too similar to each other. Plus, the promos of The Last Song that I see on TV all the time kind of put me off. I don't know why Miley Cyrus has that effect on me. But this post is not about her. I was talking about Nicholas Sparks. Speaking of whom, I did watch Nights In Rodanthe recently on TV, and it was pretty good. Okay, now I'm just rambling. So here's the thing. If you haven't read anything by Sparks, you must read The Notebook, and The Choice would also make a good read. If you've read a lot of his work already, there's nothing much that's new here, but it's still a good read.
It is a typical Nicholas Sparks story with all the usual elements - undying, relentless love, hoping against hope, lasting togetherness through sun and rain. Well written, as usual. With a twist in the story near the end that tells the reader of the choice that the husband is faced with. Like the other Sparks novels, a twist appears near the end of the story which makes the readers feel for the characters even more than before, makes the readers weep with the characters. A beautiful story that touches your heart.
But, well, I think I'm done with Nicholas Sparks for quite a while now. His stories are way too similar to each other. Plus, the promos of The Last Song that I see on TV all the time kind of put me off. I don't know why Miley Cyrus has that effect on me. But this post is not about her. I was talking about Nicholas Sparks. Speaking of whom, I did watch Nights In Rodanthe recently on TV, and it was pretty good. Okay, now I'm just rambling. So here's the thing. If you haven't read anything by Sparks, you must read The Notebook, and The Choice would also make a good read. If you've read a lot of his work already, there's nothing much that's new here, but it's still a good read.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Eat Healthy, Think Better
I don't understand the eating habits of Americans. I mean, they'll eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch (which is not entirely unhealthy but not the healthiest of lunches either), with a side of pretzels or chips, and a cup of yogurt. And they'll pick the fat free yogurt. I mean, hey, there's a bag of pretzels that you're eating, there's all this other stuff loaded with fat and carbs, and how many calories can there really be in that tiny 6 oz cup of yogurt?
I was just thinking, today, that it's so much easier to pack a healthy lunch than one that is unhealthy, if you're preparing either from scratch. Chop a few veggies, boil some chicken in water, mix it all up into a soup or salad (save the chicken broth for later). But there are all these processed foods and takeout lunches loaded with stuff that's not good for you which make people choose convenience over health.
I heard something about how McDonald's switched over to using peanut oil for frying and then switched back to using animal fat and how people who were vegetarians or those who were worried about their health made a ruckus about it. Hello, if you're concerned about your health, why are you eating at McDonald's in the first place and why are you picking the one thing that contributes a drop in the ocean?
I was just thinking, today, that it's so much easier to pack a healthy lunch than one that is unhealthy, if you're preparing either from scratch. Chop a few veggies, boil some chicken in water, mix it all up into a soup or salad (save the chicken broth for later). But there are all these processed foods and takeout lunches loaded with stuff that's not good for you which make people choose convenience over health.
I heard something about how McDonald's switched over to using peanut oil for frying and then switched back to using animal fat and how people who were vegetarians or those who were worried about their health made a ruckus about it. Hello, if you're concerned about your health, why are you eating at McDonald's in the first place and why are you picking the one thing that contributes a drop in the ocean?
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