Happy 2013!

May there just be peace and no war

May we respect each other like never before

May we laugh ear to ear

May our hearts live with no fear

May our dreams come true

May happiness stick to us like glue

May we keep promises we make

May we live healthy for our own sake

May we love and be loved

May this be the beginning and not the end

For all things good, better, best

A little prayer

Passing through door to door

From our family to yours

 

May 2013 be all this and much more

Wishing everyone a wonderful and blessed year!

 

* Pic is from the net.

Weekly Photo Challenge: My 2012 in Pictures!

The prompt for this week is about 2012 in pics. While there was traveling and hiking and star-gazing and doing absolutely nothing there are a few pics I’d love to post. Not necessarily they round off my year in 2012 but they’ve been a fun part.

Like the visit to the zoo, where I absolutely fell in love with this Giraffe.

We came up and close with the tiger there too.

Going to Las Vegas is like a routine every year but this time around for the first time we went to Flamingo Casino and spotted these beautiful Flamingos in their garden.

The side view of the strip from the Hotel we were staying in Las Vegas.

And of course since we live in Bay Area so going to San Francisco now and then is like a normal thing to do. And every time you go to Golden Gate Bridge you get a different shot altogether.

We were also in Dubai for a night transiting while on our way back to US after the vacation and got a chance to shoot the Burj Khalifa and Burj Al Arab.

Wrapped up the year, witnessing the beautiful sunset and pristine snow.

Awards Night!

It’s been pouring awards for my blog this month and I couldn’t be happier. Although I got these awards starting from the beginning of December but I never got to post them. And here I am now combining all of these awards into one post. My heartfelt thanks to these kind people who considered my blog to be worthy enough for an award. Please do drop by their haven, if you haven’t already. You won’t be disappointed, I can guarantee that:

Soumya – She was the very first one to begin the awards season for me this month with not one but two awards (Shine On and One Lovely Blog). She’s so versatile in her writing and masters in poetry writing. In every post, she puts across her heart and you can feel the emotions through her writings.

 

Kz– She gave me an award (Versatile Blogger) wrapped as the Christmas present this holiday season. And I think I don’t have to give any introduction about her at all. Her creativity astounds me because she can write poetry and short stories at the drop of the hat. Every day you see her posting such masterpieces. She’s my go to person for any new writing challenges going on in the “blogville” because she participates in almost all of them.

 

Gegebearbear – She gifted me an award today for the New Year and I couldn’t be more thankful. Her blog is inspiring where she talks about her day-to-day life after surviving life threatening illness. Drop by her space and feel alive again. She’s full of warmth and love and life. And thanks to her I will be ending this year with 2 stars on my Blog of the year award.

 

Whilst the rules of the first 3 awards (Shine On, One Lovely Blog and Versatile Blogger) are the same, there’s a little variation in the Blog of the year award so I’d highly recommend visiting their posts for the specific rules.

Per the rules, here are 7 things about me:-

– I’m a mother of a 2.5 year old girl, whose energy I can never level with. It disappoints me sometimes. But overall, I love my family and feel blessed for having them in my life.

– If anyone would raid my closet, they’d find more shoes and perfumes than clothes. I have a crazy fetish for them which even shocks my family.

– I’m addicted to chocolates. I’d be pretty pissed but one chocolate is all it takes to melt my heart.

– I have crazy mood swings and it’s hard to tell when I switch from happy to sad to happy again.

– I love reading about zodiacs and for reasons obvious enough, I think Librans are the best! :-)

– I’m die-hard movie-buff and romantic comedies always work for me.

– Music and dance always cheers me up and brings me back to life.

And now here are the nominations for all the 4 awards and I wish I could give them many more because they all are truly inspiring and deserving in every way. I’m not sure if they already have all these awards but there’s no harm in having a duplicate I guess.. :-)

I’d also like to nominate the 3 lovely souls who nominated me for these awards to make a pick for the award they don’t have and flaunt it at their space. Also, can add a star to their “Blog of the Year” award.

*Drum rolls*

http://soumyav.wordpress.com

http://theeclecticeccentricshopaholic.wordpress.com

http://gegebearbear.wordpress.com

http://abcofspiritalk.wordpress.com/

http://thismansjourney.net/

http://hopethehappyhugger.wordpress.com/

http://thewritersvillage.wordpress.com/

http://eof737.wordpress.com/

http://creativenoodling.wordpress.com/

http://myothervoices.wordpress.com/

http://anneschilde.wordpress.com/

http://cncfashionaccessories.wordpress.com/

http://sethsnap.com/

http://retireediary.wordpress.com/

http://addgrainonearth.com/

http://arjunbagga.wordpress.com/

http://mridubala.wordpress.com

http://singingsparrows.wordpress.com

http://dreamtheimmpossible.wordpress.com

http://sakshivashist.wordpress.com

http://dreamysap.wordpress.com/

Congratulations bloggers! I am stoked I gave you all one more reason to smile before the year ends. Even if only I say so! :-) Please feel no obligation to post or pass on this award.

Happy Blogging!

The Journey!

As they say, it’s the journey, not the destination that matters. The last few days we spent amidst the snow clad mountains and had the most amazing time. We started our journey with a beautiful sunrise and then went on to see the most beautiful rainbow I’ve seen in a very long time. Past the cloudy skies we were greeted with the fresh snow which took our breath away. We are back home refreshed and spirited and look forward to another family trip, whenever that happens.. :-)

Weekly Photo Challenge: Surprise!

Surprise is the theme for this week’s Photo Challenge and this is what surprised me today:-

For a day forecasted with 80% chance of showers, we got lucky with sunshine for most of it. A pleasant surprise indeed. And I always love it when the mighty sun has to put up a fight with the clouds to coexist, especially during the cold, rainy winters. Keep up the fight, Sun! :-)

And for what’s it worth:-

 Life itself is a lovely surprise

Full of memorable moments

With a few bumps here and there

If there’s any solace

It’s that in the end

It all works out

Go ahead

Live it

Up

 

Life: Nonnet!

Life is a box of dark chocolates

It’s a bittersweet concoction

Having tasted the bitter

Your tongue desires the sweet

Alas! You don’t get

The preference

Of choosing

Only

Sweet

* Learning to write a Nonnet.

* Pic is from the net.

Your Story: Rain!

Every week Sethsnap posts a pic to write a story or poem or a caption on. Here’s my Haiku attempt on the pic!

Grey skies, barren trees

Add rain to the scenery

Nature’s artistry

The Lie!

“You are so late.” She snapped, opening the door.

“Sorry, honey. The freeway was all backed up because of an accident.”

“Oh! Really. The last time I checked online there were no reports of any accidents. In fact, I called up the office an hour back to remind you to leave early and they told me you’d already left for the day.”

His phone rings.

“Is she the reason for you being late?”

“Does it matter? Where did we have to go anyway?” He retorted.

“Well! Happy anniversary to you too!”

She walks out, closing the door. His phone beeps.

 

*  I’m learning to write fiction in 100 words. Would love feedback, does this make sense?

*  Pic is from the net.

Picture It & Write!

She always drew attention with her svelte body and collection of rare diamonds. Women envied her beauty and style whilst her vivacious and charismatic personality had men attracted to her like bees to honey.

Her first taste of real success was at the age of 18, when she won the Miss Universe title. It opened doors once unimaginable. The lure of glitter and glamor introduced her to the world she thought she belonged to. Success came easy and she was living a dream, signing endorsements and big budget movies at parallel. Her only mistake was the belief that it’ll last forever. As they say what goes up must come down. The basic law of gravity. Pretentious friends coupled with some wrong decisions led to her downfall at 30. It was the fastest they’d seen in the recent years. The girl, who lived in a mansion surrounded by friends, today struggled to even pay rent for a studio apartment with no visitors.

Substance abuse created an imaginary world full of pleasures she was seeking desperately in the real world. She felt abandoned and lay there curled up on the cold floor with tears flowing down her cheeks.

 

* This post is written for a picture posted by Ermiliablog for this week’s Picture It & Write.

For the love of Haiku 15!

This frosty weather

Create some magical moments

 ‘tis the season of love

* This post is written for the Haiku challenge posted by Allaboutlemon.