My Top 10 things to be grateful for in 2022

 I have stopped posting my gratitude lists being busy with much important stuff in life but I would love to try one last post in 2022 to show my gratitude. 

10 things I am grateful for in 2022:

1. Move to Texas:

Technically, we moved to Texas at the end of 2021, but we started the new year in a new place. I am grateful for the better weather, better health, and great environment. 

Initially, I was hesitant if I would like the place after coming from a scenic place. Thankfully, Austin is better than other cities in Texas. 

The rolling hills, lakes, and beautiful hikes are solace for the mind. 

Sunset Deck in Balcones Canyonlands National wildlife refuge, hike to Mt Bonnel and the scenic viewpoint, Oasis Restaurant on Lake Travis, Zilker Park, Blue hole regional park in Georgetown, and holiday lights at peppermint parkway are impressive so far. Grateful for the beauty of nature and I wish for more scenic hikes in the new year.

2. Dance School and Recital:

It was painful to leave the old students from Colorado and start my dance school from scratch in Austin. But, by God's grace, this has become easy and less stressful.

Within 6 months, my dance school grew and we even did our Annual Recital! 

By the way, here is the link to our Youtube channel to watch the recital.

https://youtube.com/@Kaladeepika

I am grateful for the Parents and students who trusted me even though I am new to Austin. I am happy about the recital as students could showcase whatever they learned. 

Now, it's holiday time of course. Time to relax, enjoy and replenish for the new year.

3. India Trip:

I am grateful that the India trip was not as stressful as I expected. The trip was short but we could visit all near and dear. I am happy to bring my parents along with me to the US.

Feeling blessed that all things went smoothly during the visit, especially with the extra rules after covid. 

4. Parents' visit to the US:

I feel fortunate to have brought my parents along with me. They are our moral support and a large help for 3 months. It feels like the time is running quickly and within a few months, they will return back.

These are some moments I and my family will cherish forever in the future. We could celebrate Diwali with them, and kids could learn Ramayanam, Mahabharatham, and some Telugu from them. I am grateful that I am being pampered especially by my mom. :-)

5. Learning Cypress and Javascript:

It's always the happiest feeling for me to learn a new language and implement something useful. I am grateful for my job which helped me to learn Javascript and cypress. 

Image by Dhruvil Patel from Pixabay 

I am doing a lot of experimentation and learning this year. This year has been the best year for my technical advancement. I also learned Kotlin and Appium at the beginning of the year. A few more feathers to add to my resume :-)

6. New Home:

I am grateful for the new home we bought. It's a single story as I always wished for. 

Since the house is at a bit of elevation, I enjoy the Sunrise and sunset and the views from the home every day. The Sunrise views from Patio are wonderful. The morning sunlight brings positive vibrations for the whole day.

The move is definitely stressful, but I am glad my parents are here to help. We could complete the moving at last though we were exhausted. Now, is the time to relax a bit and settle in.

7. Health:

So far, my health is great. I have to see how it goes in the future. I could join yoga on and off, but I want to focus more on yoga next year.

The weather definitely helped. With my mom's help, I could rest more, read more books and focus on my dance school.

8. Books:

I am grateful for the amazing books that I got to read this year. After coming to Austin, the first thing I searched for is the library. The library is not as great as Colorado but met my criteria.

Kids also loved the library and we read a lot of books this year including the ones from the little lending library near our home. 

I was certainly busy and couldn't publish many reviews this year, but here are some of the best books that I read in 2022:

• The Guest List by Lucy Foley
• The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkannen
• The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
• Burying Eva Flores by Jennifer Alsever
• Inner trek by Mohan Ranga Rao
• Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

9. Kids and School:

It is a frustrating move for our kids as they had to change schools multiple times this year. I am grateful that they could move on to a new place, and new school even though they miss their friends due to moving. 

The next year continues to be tough for them to adjust to a new school. I am grateful for understanding kids. 

10. A Long drive and a road trip:

We could go to Port Aransas this year and it's a wonderful beach vacation. Unlike our other trips, we stayed in a comfy Airbnb for all 3 days which is a walkable distance from the beach. Here is the link to Travelogue: https://www.fantasticfeathers.in/2022/09/a-perfect-weekend-getaway-from-austin.html

I am looking forward to our future trip at the end of the year. I am so excited about a long drive. Our travelogue will be up in the new year. Until then, I will be busy planning our trip. I am grateful for this holiday season and family time. 

So those are my top 10 things to be grateful for in 2022. What are you grateful for this year?

I wish you all a happy holiday season!

Until next time,

Gratitude List - March 2021 #GratitudeCircle

 My March has been quite calm and good. Not much activity. No dance recitals with usual online classes. Could read some good books, hike a few places, relaxed at home watching multiple snowstorms by the window, and got my first dose of Covid vaccine.

It's the Spring season. I am hoping to start gardening soon. Temperatures are getting warm and so, I am excited about regular walks and weekend hikes. 

Here comes my Gratitude list for March 2021:

Covid Vaccine :

One important thing to be grateful for. Just the last year, exactly at the same time, the world started experiencing the seriousness of Covid 19 and at least we got some solution even though we don't know yet how powerful or effective the vaccine might be.

Spring Season :

In Colorado,  this year we saw many snow storms before Spring and we are eagerly waiting for the warm days ahead.

As you know, I am most excited to start gardening. 

Reading and Relaxing time :

With snow on most of the days in March, I had more time to read books, relax in the evenings and watch Netflix.

Rtu Vidya is one of the useful books I read recently and Love at first is a romance. 

I started watching Designated Survivor on Netflix and I am enjoying it so far. I am searching for good suspense series to watch in the evenings to relax after work. I am looking for something similar to Lost, Dark, etc., Any suggestions?

Catching up on new job :

I am grateful for my new job which made work-life balance easy. I  owe to my colleagues and seniors of the team who are always ready to help a new team member. I am learning new skills, expanding my technical horizons for the last few months and I am enjoying the journey.

Online learning and spring break :

At last, by the last quarter, both kids are getting in tune with online learning and completing assignments on time. It's a different situation especially for a kindergartener to learn online without going to school at least once, not knowing the names of their classmates, without playing in the breaks, not losing patience while listening to classes. 

I  really feel all kids who did virtual learning this year did a great job getting accustomed to it. I am grateful for the technology and options we have in these times to learn and work from home.

Due to snowstorms, our kids' spring break just went by with playing at home. We will make it up for their summer break. 

So, that's about my March. What are you grateful for today? Do let me know in the comments.

Until next time,

Linking to #GratitudeCircle hosted by Vidya Sury. 

37 things that I am grateful for! #MondayMusings

 We are reaching the last few days of the year 2020. Such a fancy number, I thought this year would be really different from others when it started. It sure is different, though not so positive.

If there is one thing that 2020 taught us, it's to be thankful for what we have. Even Simple things seem to be a luxury when we compare with other years earlier. So, Let me list 37 things that I am grateful for :-)

Why 37? that's a secret :-)

I am grateful for 🙏

1. Family 👪- An important part of my life and a backbone.

2. Career - Of course, one way to earn money and another way to improve my technical skills 

3. Dance - A hobby turned to a dance school

4. Travel - I can give away any luxury that I have to see new places

5. Health - After Covid, we all know how important health is in our lives

6. Friends - Good or Bad, a friendly ear to share our experiences

7. Students - For believing in me and learning dance from me

8. Food - Keeping me alive and nourished

9. Phone - What I could have done without the world of information ready in my hand any minute I need

10. Photos - A way to treasure my memories and relive them

11. Painting - To bring my creativity alive

12. Books 📙 - A pass time which has become an important part of my life

13. Coffee  - the smell of coffee makes my mornings happy

14. Fresh Fruits and Vegetables - Keep me nutritious and energetic

15. Nature - Beautiful and peaceful

16. Social Media - The unlimited scrolling sometimes is relaxing :p and the best way to reach friends

17. Blogging - Writing which removes the stress away from the mind

18. Music - Good music for my happy soul

19. Canva.com - Able to create these cool graphics which enhance my blog posts

20. Hiking - Because it's relaxing to be nearer tot he nature and admire it

21. Home - A roof overhead and the most comforting place

22. Money - Without which many from the above list not possible

23. Sleep - To relax the body and mind every day

24. Art - To bring out my creativity and relax my mind

25. Self - Confidence - A must-have to achieve multiple things in life

26. Gratitude - A quality which brings happiness and satisfaction in my life

27. Love - Which ties the life like a base thread and supports

28. Car - Which makes our travels fun and helps us to reach beautiful places

29. Laptop - Happy place when I need to blog and research

30. Office - Diversion from home and a place to show my skills

31. Library - A paradise when I have some free time

32. Clothes - Fashionable clothes increase confidence

33. Earrings - I am crazy about earrings, love shopping them!

34. Mountains - I love mountains and happy to be residing in one mountain town

35. Kitchen Appliances - Which make cooking quick and not boring

36. TV - Oh my God, how can I forget Netflix :D

37. Yoga - Peace to the body, mind and Soul.

That' it from this list. What are you thankful for?

Do let me know in comments.

Until next time,

Linking this to #MondayMusings hosted by Corinne.

Gratitude List - Aug 2020 #GratitudeCircle

 It's difficult to write this gratitude list when Corona Virus is showing it's harsh impact everywhere and wildfires making many homeless in US Western states. What can we be grateful for when people are suffering around us and losing jobs?

But, this list might be a reminder that we should be thankful for our basic needs fulfilled in these uncertain times. If we have a place to stay, enough food to feed our family, clothes to cover ourselves, and no health problems, who is luckier than us? Shouldn't we be grateful for these simple yet important things in our lives?

I am grateful for relaxing weekends, simple, yet comforting meals I cook, the good health of my family, friends, and some Me-time.

So, Here is my Gratitude List for last month - Aug 2020 :

Virtual Recital

My time is majorly spent on editing our students' dance videos and publishing them on youtube in August. We couldn't do a stage Recital this year on behalf of our dance school - Kala Deepika Dance Academy due to Covid-19.

I am grateful for this activity as I passed time with video editing every evening and enjoyed publishing them on Youtube. Parents and Students felt good too to be able to showcase their dance even during COVID-19 time.  

All our Virtual Annual Recital videos are in the below Youtube channel.

Kuchipudi Dance Practice Videos

Book Reading:

I couldn't read more books last month but could read at least one book from the library. Chitra Banerjee is my favorite author and I completely enjoyed the short story collection about arranged marriage.

Read my Review for more details. 

Click the book image to buy on Amazon.

Festival Celebrations:

We celebrated 2 festivals in August. Varalakshmi Vratham and Vinayaka Chavithi.

Both are important festivals celebrated annually by us. Both have a procedure to follow with the offerings to make and the puja process to do.

Varalakshmi Vratham

I am still not getting better in preparing offerings to God, but a lot better than earlier. I celebrated Varalakshmi Vratham on a weekday, so it was not a pleasant experience running between puja and work.

We celebrated Vinayaka Chavithi to our heart's content as it was on weekend. Kids participated in preparing the clay Ganesha and we enjoyed our family time. 

Vinayaka Chavithi

Local hiking and outdoor time:

August is the last month before the Fall to enjoy the Summer outdoors in Colorado. We did some local hiking, relaxed at the river-side, and watched beautiful skies. 

It rained more than it usually does in Colorado this month. So, we could see some beautiful rainbows and colorful sunsets.

Is the Sun Smiling?

Self-care :

My Health continued to be better in August as well. I reduced my blogging time, could spend some time watching Netflix, editing videos, and reading books.

I am really grateful for my Saturdays. Took afternoon naps on some days, cooked one-pot dishes, and relaxed overall.  

What are you grateful for this month or the last month? 

Do let me know in the comments. 

Until next time,

Linking this post to #GratitudeCircle hosted by Vidya Sury.

Gratitude List for July 2020 #GratitudeCircle

 With this COVID and Social distancing, days are just going one after the other without much change in the routine. However, this weekend is relaxing for me as I took off from dance classes and even cooking for a day!

So, Here comes my quick Gratitude list for the month of July.

1. Scenic drive

We couldn't travel much this summer and all our plans are thrashed by COVID :-( 

Fortunately, we could go on a scenic drive for a day trip. One Sunday afternoon bored with staying at home, we quickly searched for scenic drives near us and we started within minutes. 

I feel thankful to call Colorado Springs our home as this is such a beautiful place with a lot of hikes and scenic drives around. 

Rampart Range drive is kind of a hidden gem, not a popular tourist attraction. It's a dirt road with lots of curves, scenic views with no place to take a U-turn. So we had to travel around 1.5 hrs till the route ended near Woodland Park. We got a glimpse of a rainbow as well :-)

Did you watch our Video?

2. Work

Work has been pretty much the same even in July. Some pressure, some challenging work and, more overtime. 

I am grateful for learning and improving my technical skills on job day by day. I am also grateful to God to have a job in such tough times outside.

3. Health

I could maintain my health well in July. I could go to yoga class every week and practice at least weekly thrice at home. I am advancing bit by bit in Yoga and learning breathing exercises and some interesting asanas. 

I am very happy to make my body flexible.

4. Dance Classes

Since we couldn't do the Annual Recital of our Dance school - Kala Deepika Dance Academy this year due to COVID, we planned for a Virtual Annual Recital. 

Rain or Sunshine, we dance :-)

So, I was teaching and correcting my students in online classes in July. I could see a lot of improvement in students over the last year even though face to face classes might have had more impact. 

I am grateful to the technology available to everyone to practice, teach, and learn to dance online. 

One more good news!

I am going to start my Dance school website soon!

Also, if you are interested in watching Kuchipudi Classical Dance videos, here is my channel.

Kala Deepika Dance Academy

5. Varalakshmi Pooja

I am glad that I could do this pooja like I do every year. But, I did a lot of multi-tasking this time, preparing Naivedyams (offerings to God) in the middle of work calls and decorating the idol. 

It was tough really but I am glad I could. This is a yearly tradition for all Telugu women.

That's about my July. Hope you all are having a Happy August.

What are you grateful for this month or in July?

Do let me know in the comments.

Until next time,

Pin it for later!

Linking this post to #GratitudeCircle hosted by Vidya Sury.

My Gratitude List for Jan 2020 #GratitudeCircle

Jan has just gone in a jiffy. While I didn't get time to write even one personal post after the new year, I feel happy that Jan was productive. I could read 2 good books and relax a bit. 

Here are a few things that I am grateful for in Jan:

Family Health:

This is the top point that I am thankful for in Jan. Even though we all started with some health problems initially, we bounced back. This made us join a yoga class and also look into our diet to modify it. I am thankful to God that I could find a good yoga teacher.

We don't realize the importance of something until we lose it. But, I hope, this doesn't happen for our health. We should never take it for granted and take good care of one's health.

Challenging work:

The workplace allowed me to learn new technologies and it brought the tough situations while balancing work and personal life.

With extra work once a week, Iam trying to juggle between yoga, work, dance, cooking and taking care of kids in the evenings. I am learning to balance things in a better way.

Books:

Actually, I didn't get much time to read books. But, I managed to read 2 good books when I was sick and taking rest. 

Gild the Weeping Lily is an Egyptian Historical Fiction. My Rating : 4.5/5.

Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal is a humorous fiction about marriage in Pakistan. It's a retelling of Jane Austen's novel 'Pride and Prejudice' set in Pakistan. My Rating: 5/5.

Dance Classes:

I couldn't focus much on my dance classes this month due to office work. But, I have some upcoming projects that I started my preparation for.

The number of students increased this month. It's good to see enthusiastic students practicing well at home before coming to the class.

I have started choreography for 2 songs and I am also getting ready for our Annual recital tentatively planned for Sep 2020. I am thankful to my teacher Ms. Parvathi garu and to the parents of my students. 

So, that was about the first month of this year. How was your Jan? Are you grateful for something in Jan?
Do let me know in the comments.

Until next time,

Linking this post to #GratitudeCircle hosted by Vidya Sury. 

Gratitude List for November and December 2019 #GratitudeCircle

We have reached the last week of 2019. Are you all ready to ring in the new year in a few days? 

Before we welcome the new year, I think, it's time for us to be grateful for the last few days of 2019. 

Work-life and Flexibility :

November and December have been pretty hectic both in personal and work fronts. So, I am really grateful to my colleagues and my Manager for allowing me to work from home whenever required. This reduces a lot of stress.

Yes, there were many calls that I ended from early morning, worked some extra hours on weekdays, but because of the flexible timings, it became bearable.

Cakes and birthday celebrations :

We celebrated birthdays of some of our colleagues and ate great cakes too. I am grateful for the good and delicious food that I ate these 2 months. 

Books :

In December, I couldn't read as many books as I wanted to, as kids were sick a few days. I am currently reading this romantic novel in bits and pieces from a long time - The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Loved this quick read - Stories in a Satchel. 

Fun and Easy Crafting is an awesome book and my kids enjoyed making some cool crafts from the book. Whee to the Moon is an inspirational story about the life of Astronaut Neil.

Blue Girl on the night dream Sea is a different story and a good thriller. 

In November, I couldn't read any books as I just joined back to work. I am thankful for all those few hours that I got for reading. 

PC: www.pixabay.com

Family health : 

In December, kids got sick. We had tough days working from home and taking care of them. But, I am grateful that at least we are together and have good medical support. 

These are some of the days when I thought of writing a gratitude list. In tough times, it's better to focus our minds on our blessings, right?

I have joined yoga recently and I am enjoying these classes. I couldn't practice regularly for now but from Jan, I want to spend some time daily on that. I am grateful for the yoga class that's available near to our home.

A long drive :

We always love to travel as a family. Unplanned trips are more fun to me than planned ones. I took one day off for Christmas and took enough rest at home by relaxing and reading books. We also went on an unplanned long drive and the drive was beautiful.

I am grateful to my husband who is a good partner for these sudden travel cravings. 

So, that's about the last 2 months in 2019.

What are you grateful for in December? Do let me know in the comments.

Pin it for later!

Until next time,

Linking this post to #GratitudeCircle blog hop hosted by Vidya Sury.

My Gratitude List for October 2019 #GratitudeCircle

This is my Thank you note for the last month which has been wonderful. We had a birthday celebration at home and I got a lot of free time, especially Me time. 

Here are the things that I am grateful for in October :

Birthday Celebration :

We celebrated the birthday of our younger son at home. Earlier, I used to feel nervous arranging parties at home and talking to guests, but now-a-days, I am enjoying these parties more.

Kids enjoyed playing with play-doh and I enjoyed arranging everything for the play-doh party. I shopped various tools like cutters, shapes to mold the play-doh to different shapes. 

Netflix :

I had an amazing time in October watching many shows and movies on Netflix. I took a break from work and so, got more time to enjoy the quality shows of Netflix.

Here is a post about our favorite shows on Netflix to watch with kids.

I loved 'Dark' which is a mystery, 'The Haunting of Hillhouse' which is an emotional drama and horror, 'Riverdale', a drama and many thriller movies like 'The Ritual'.

Me time :

I could blog more in October and read books. Here are some of my recent reviews:

Hallowed Ground is a mystery and fantasy, which I loved. 

The palace of Illusions is the best book that I have read recently as I love mythology. Chitra Banerjee is my favorite author from the time I read her book "Before I visit the Goddess".

I have learnt a lot about social media strategies in October and experimented with Pinterest and Instagram more. Thanks to the tips from Shailaja V, I have also improved on creating graphics with Canva.

I couldn't travel anywhere though and couldn't get time to paint. 

Teaching Dance :

This time of the year is our Annual Diwali event in Colorado Springs. I took this opportunity to teach Dance to 8 year old kids' group a Odisha folk song. It was a lot of fun of course. 

Kids looked amazing in the final event and everyone danced without forgetting anything. 

Cooking :

Even though I don't enjoy cooking, I had nice opportunities to love it in October. I bought an instant pot and experimented a lot. Biryani, Pasta, Ghee, Spinach Dal, Mutton curry - the list goes on.. and my experiments are continuing. The Instant pot is worth the money and Iam thankful to all the cooking videos available on Youtube to cook with instant pot.

I have also started OPOS method of cooking and I am experimenting with this style as well. Read more about OPOS cooking here.

So, that's it about my October. How was yours? 

Happy November to you all. 

In the next week, we have Thanksgiving break here, so more family time and fun for us. I am not much interested in shopping, but if you are, check this post on Black Friday shopping tips. 

Until next time,

Linking this post to #GratitudeCircle hosted by Vidya Sury.