Here we go again. That part of this blog when I write for myself and do the obligatory introduction that you will learn nothing from this post other than knowing what I did with my life this month. 😂
February is the month of love, courtesy capitalism and the birth of Valentine’s Day. Not that I’m complaining, just saying. And I for one received my share of love and I think have given my share of love here and there, whenever I could.
The first week of the month went in a whirlwind trip down home to attend a wedding. And I wrote all about it on my post here. We had our fair share of illnesses and boring road trips, but in hindsight, I had the opportunity to meet my entire family – dad’s side, mom’s side, my cousins, my grandparents and received so much love and ate so much food! In the end, despite all the tiring things and the emotional drama that comes with having a huge family, when I returned, I felt loved and was missing my family terribly 😊
The book that marked my trip home and added an extra punch was re-reading Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban 😊📚
When we got back, we were recovering from a good holiday, stomach upsets from eating too much and having to catch up with office work. However, it was also Valentine week. So all week in office, I saw teams dressed in red or pink and entertaining team competitions held by HR or the team members to brighten up the morbidity of work.
On Valentine’s Day though, my husband and I worked from home and honoured our annual valentine tradition of not doing anything romantic and watching a horror movie together instead. Lol.. relationship goals. We watched Annabelle Creations. Horror movies with kids is even scarier than I imagined, now that I’m a mom. My husband also surprised me with a little gift and I hadn’t got him anything. Sigh.. next year maybe😊
However, I celebrated my own reading experience by finishing a light hearted book of essays during the valentine week. And guess what, the book is red in color! I have reviewed this book here, if you’re interested 🙂
That weekend, we also hosted a dinner party at home, which was awesome fun. All the kids and parents enjoyed. But right after that, as life would have it (since how can one have fun all the time?) my daughter fell ill again with flu, followed by stomach flu, followed by major constipation. So we had almost and entire week of pain, tears, sleepless nights, being stressed about completing work deadlines on less sleep, constant trips to the doctor, and having to cook and do a complete diet makeover for the kid. Which means no junk or processed food for her. Which means more work for the parents. Sigh. I really wonder how do parents manage to work, cook healthy meals for their toddlers, make them eat it and have a life after all that too! During this one week, all my personal goals and exercise routine – Zumba and running were at a complete halt.
The only thing that helped me get through that nightmare week was reading Jina S. Bazzar’s second book on the Roxanne Fosch Files series and dreaming about Roxanne and Zantry 😊📚💖 Again, if you’re looking for a review, look no further than here 🙂
However, the third week soon bounced in with renewed energy for the whole family. The medicines had kicked in and mom and dad were happy with implementing a change in diet for the toddler. More oats, more prunes, more oranges and more vegetables. Toddler seemed to be complying and eating too, which was a miracle in itself😏 I resumed my morning Zumba classes and it felt great to be dancing again. On alternate days I ran, just short runs since I was short on time.
I also went to attend a lounge bar opening event with my friend. I freeloaded since he had an extra pass. Ahem. It was a Wednesday on a weekday and I was completely underdressed for the event, but I enjoyed a lot and made new friends too! I met a girl who was actually impressed with the fact that I read books and blogged about them! How cool was that for my ego! Lol.. otherwise mostly I get the ‘she must be a nerd’ look from people. There was free booze and free food and loud music. I had an amazing evening 😊
That week, I also finished a classic on audible, a book that I found hard to fully appreciate and a book that left me with a lot of questions unanswered 😊 I also cooked a new pasta recipe on Saturday afternoon – penne with creamy pesto sauce and shredded chicken salami. Even greater was the achievement when my daughter lapped it all up! Victory!! 😂
Finally, the last week came up. I received an appreciation and a note of thanks from my project client at work. That felt great.
I did some small charities by donating money to a driver who told me he had been driving all night trying to make up some money and his back was hurting because of that. I gave a ride to an old couple in the Uber I was in, since they flagged the car down asking if we could drop them to the hospital. Really small things I know, but I’ve realized that every time I do an act of charity or kindness, I feel as if it does me more benefit than the people I’m helping, because I feel something happy and light in my heart. An amazing sensation. Someone rightly said, ‘Charity actually helps us more than them’ 😊 It might feel like I am boasting and so what if I am, but I want to write this down so I remember how it feels and so that I remember to always do such things whenever I get the chance.
I managed to sacrifice my afternoon reading/Netflix time to go and watch this amazing Bollywood movie called Gully Boy, which talks about a man’s passion to rap and how he makes his dreams come true. Some instances in the movie seemed to draw parallels from Eminem’s 8 Mile, but this movie also touched on some social issues such as inequality based on class or money, about dreams and about flawed heroes. The soundtrack was amazing too! After the movie, I discovered a local library while I was walking around looking for tea, and I promptly became a member and borrowed books for myself and my daughter too! Woo hoo! I wrapped up my outing with a yummy traditional Indian snack of chai (milk tea) and samosa (no idea how to translate that in English lol) 😊
My daughter got to meet one of her best buddies after a long time and they had a blast together! Children are so adorable when they’re not being annoying lol
Finally, I started reading Paulo Coehlo’s Hippie, as part of my book club destination reading challenge (chosen destination Brazil), but I’m afraid I won’t be able to finish it this month. So I guess that’ll be the first review for March!
I had a great month, with it’s share of ups and downs and lots of love! Now I’m looking forward to the challenges, trips, rewards and reading for March! Hope you all are having a great day too!
Starry Eyed Enigma 