Public Speaking and Life In General

There's anything fancy I do on my business trips, especially the ones to Richmond. I might put on a dress, heals and go on a date with my book to a nearby restaurant in the Short Pump area. The place literally has a beautiful fountains with short pumps. The pumps do bring back a ton of memory from my childhood in Chennai. Our primary source of drinking water. I cannot count the number of creative excuses my brothers and I made up to escape the daunting task of pumping water. There was always a test in school right when we were needed to pump water. Studying history sounded more fun than pumping those days.

I was in Richmond last week for a presentation and did an fabulous job at it. Even before I could cherish my itsy-bitsy  success at public speaking, something else happened actually something stupid I did, that took my entire energy and focus away. Pretty much the story of my life these days, before I take a moment to cherish small accomplishments, there's always something else waiting for me round the corner.

Looking for a tip or two on public speaking -

• Keep breathing, it makes you sound like you are not nervous. 

• Please please listen when others are speaking instead of going over your lines in your head.

• Add a joke or two as you get more comfortable with speaking in front of an audience. You tube or google can help you out, if you need an opening line.

I am also bitten by the "Guilt Bug" a little these days, especially when I travel and had to miss my daughter's solo singing performance. One of the parents in my neighborhood mentioned how beautiful my daughter sang, danced and entertained the audience, just like an American Idol contestant.

Missing moments like these sting and they sting hard.

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Mother's Day

The entire Sunday was spent going over Knowsys words with my daughter, close to 250 words. She has a test this Tuesday. It's one of those where a last minute effort has a short term effect. The review session we had was more to convince myself that she is ready than prepping her up.

Least of all, she kept it entertaining with her creative sentences. Recant, was one of the words and her sentence was - "Joe wished he could recant the moment when he said 'I do', to his wife.".

While we were busy reviewing words, the boys took over the kitchen. Breakfast was burritos. The cilantro - jalapeno tortilla from Sprouts was worth the try. If you have a Sprouts near by, do give it a shot, I highly recommend it.

The whole day went without me talking to my mom. Will catch up with our mother-daughter gossip when she returns from her trip.

I guess it's never too late to wish all the moms a 

Happy Mother's Day

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Bless Your Heart

I am reading Paula Deen's new book, "Savannah Style" and falling in love with everything Southern. The porches, the breezy afternoons, the dull hum of the ceiling fans and a nap on an old wooden or wicker  rocker. There's something genuine about Paula that draws me to her cooking and books, even though I hardly ever (another way to say never) make her recipes.

This is the season of lemonades and freshly grown cucumbers. With too many failed tomato plants, we decided to bring home the patio tomato plants in pots. I am probably the only one in the Northern hemisphere who complains about difficulties in growing tomato plants. I know many who distribute tomatoes to friends and neighbors because they had over-production.

 
The salad I am making all the time these days is none other than our very own kosumalli, a popular South Indian salad. The recipe is pretty simple. Here is my version and you should be able to get plenty of variations on this recipe.

Method

1. Mix diced Carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, finely chopped green chillies and salt.
2. Heat a tsp of oil. When hot, add mustard seeds and wait until it pops.
3. Add asefoetida powder, and a pinch of red chilli powder to the oil. Add it to the salad.
4. Add juice of half a lime and mix well and garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

*** In case you did not get the title, it's simply a Southern expression, that can be used to mean a lot of things.

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Panels

I doubt if I have ever shared pictures of my family room. There are several reasons for not doing so. One, I never got to dress up that room in all these 5 years we lived in and two, it's really tough to find that room clutter free and sun lit at the same time. Today morning, the sun was playing peek-a-boo, providing that perfect lighting for a shot. In between getting my son ready for school and trying to snap a picture of the part-light-part-shadow, I did manage to get some decent photographs to share with you all.

We re-arranged the couch in an angular way to provide better access to the master bedroom. I also added a set of four panels to the windows. The curtains reminded me of the ones we had at home when I was a kid, especially the colors and the pattern. It did not take me too long to choose this one and luckily they made these in 105". These panels are from JC Penny and are totally worth the money. It pleats well and you save a few bucks on the rings as it has attached rings. I ordered these online after checking it out in a store; bought some curtain rods and voila.

 My book shelf is filled with home decor books from the library, almost like I am on a home decor over drive. The wall behind Buddha can use some art and some colorful cushions. I also saw pouf made from Indian sarees in Pier One, that I absolutely loved. That will be a great addition to this room. I was just not sure if it can withstand regular usage. I hate to buy things for special uses. If it can't handle rough usage, it's probably not a good fit. For now, I guess I will sit down, relax and enjoy my new panels for a while, before I change a thing.

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What's Going On?

I was in Richmond on a business trip last week and spent my evenings reading blogs sans commenting. I was hoping to see cherry blossoms and did not get to. May be next year. On the home front, my husband and I debated between moving closer to my work and staying in our current house. After a series of back and forth discussions, we decided to stay and work from home more often. After all that new home research, we both are badly in need of a vacation and we are leaning more towards a beach resort, all inclusive types.

Spring is usually a teaser in Dallas. I am glad it extended more than a week this year. The vegetable garden is sprouting. The first few harvests of cilantro always tastes the best. The heat kind of takes away the flavor from cilantro.

I love roses, actually any flower for that matter. I could do posts after posts on roses. My next is to get a set of Knock Out roses. What's gardening in Texas with out some knock out roses.

Recently framed art work, looking for a wall space, which is not a difficult task.

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Cooper Lake, Texas

Last week was Spring break in Texas schools. We took some time off to enjoy the break with the kids. Also  kept up with our tradition of visiting a local state park and gave our best shot at not doing anything. My bar is set pretty low when it comes to Texas State park. Other than the close proximity, you are truly not missing anything by not visiting this one.

Like most parks, you could still do canoeing, swimming (may be not in March), and some long hiking trails.

The green pastures and the healthy cows were a sight for the sore eye. Too bad I did not stop the car to take pictures. You already know the books I read. Here's a pictorial of what else we did.

Camp fire in Lake Cooper

Long walk on the road as the hiking path was wet and slimy from all the rain.

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Vintage Thrillers and LOLs

Sure has been a while and will save you the long apologetic post on why I was distracted. Instead will get you started on the book I am reading.

The Larsson's series took me back in time to a period when I had all the time to read a gripping book cover to cover in one sitting accompanied by music and snacks. Thank goodness I found the book on our Spring Break trip and had the time to read it without distraction. I read book #2 first, #3 next and then book #1. I would highly suggest reading them in order, if you have not watched the movie yet.

Do not read Bossypants in public, unless you are really comfortable laughing out loud by yourself. I bought my copy of the Bossypants in the airport on my way back from Richmond. The book is drop dead hilarious (if I can coin a phrase like that). Numerous women stopped me and wanted to know how the book was. It's a must read.

Mindy's "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me" is more like having one of your chatty friend over for tea and she goes on and on ..in a fun hilarious way. As I read the book the voice in my head started sounding more like that of Kelly Kapor's (of Office fame).

 
Anyone who ever said women cannot be funny has to read Mindy Kaling's and Tina Fey's books.


Images Source : Google.com

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